842: Proud To Be Very Asian With Michelle Li

Michelle Li is the co-founder of the Very Asian Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization committed to amplifying diverse AAPI voices through education, storytelling, and community connection. She is also a news anchor for NBC-affiliate KING-TV in Seattle. She is a morning show anchor and co-created and hosted the show Take 5, a daily, hour-long, interactive news show before it sunsetted in 2019. Michelle has been recognized for leading innovation and audience engagement projects in newsrooms. Google, Poynter, Facebook, and RTDNA have showcased her work in newsrooms across the country. She has received four national Murrow awards and 9 regional Emmys. Congress also honored her with an Angels in Adoption award for her dedication to international and domestic adoption causes. As a Korean adoptee, Michelle spent many summers volunteering with adoptive families and in orphanages in Seoul. She launched a television program in Missouri to help foster kids find more permanent solutions and spoke at the National Press Club for international adoption awareness.

Michelle shares her journey about the #VeryAsian movement and the support she has received from the Asian community and the rise of the Very Asian Foundation. She also shares her own journey to building self confidence to be the powerful Asian woman that she is today. Happy International Women’s Day!

Bio

Michelle Li is a journalist and the co-founder of the Very Asian Foundation

Cultural Background

Michelle is of Korean descent.

Favorite Self Confidence Quote

Be authentically you.

Definition of Self Confidence

Self confidence is about being comfortable in your own skin which can help be comfortable in the decisions that you are making and help focus on yourself.

Her Life Before the Discovery of Self Confidence

Michelle had her parent’s confidence building skills to help make decisions for herself but she also went through challenges such as trying to be liked, valued and be seen.

The “AHA” Moment

Michelle always dreamt of creating a space to empower the Asian community. When she saw the support she got following the video she posted in the new year and being a guest on the Ellen Degeneres show, she decided to move forward and create the Very Asian Foundation. Also selling Very Asian merchandise to people globally helped make her decision to move forward with the foundation.

Her Life After the Discovery of Self Confidence

For Michelle, it’s been beautifully messy and she wouldn’t want it any other way. Of course she still faces many challenges but she is committed to create a space for the Asian community.