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Our Story

 

The 2020 global pandemic was a stressful time for many Asians living in the United States, including the founding executive director of The Bittermelon, Al Lee. With increasing attacks against Asian American communities during the pandemic and stories of Asian American children experiencing bullying in school, Al began thinking of ways to help the local community. Her first project was researching and creating a list of books that is inclusive of Asian Americans. That project now titled AAPI Library can be found here

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Realizing there weren't any programs for youth in Westchester County, New York to learn about their Asian American history, Al felt compelled to create comprehensive lesson plans allowing Asian American children to learn about their racial identity and history, and piloted several first-of-its-kind educational programs for Asian American youth (ages 5 to 17) in the summer of 2021 and a teen podcast program in the spring of 2022. 

 

Together with the students, Al established The Bittermelon as a safe space for Asian American youth, which officially became a registered 501c3 not for profit in September of 2023. 

Meet the Team

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Founding Executive Director

Al Lee

Al is a second generation American of Korean descent from the New York metro area, who truly believes in Gandhi's teaching that we must be the change we wish to see. With this belief system, Al has led clean up efforts all over the globe from NYC to Iceland to Peru to Korea, volunteered with organizations such as the GrowNYC and the Bronx River Alliance, and educated the public on the importance of sustainable living to fight climate change. Although working with youth through her activism is not new, the creation of The Bittermelon and swimming in this new space of Asian American identity has allowed Al to process her own experiences growing up in New York with immigrant parents and is honored to provide support she wished she had as a child to Asian American youth today. ​ Fun fact: Al lived in a Buddhist temple in New York and monastery in Korea for several years as a young adult, and hopes to start her own sangha for Buddhist families in Westchester.

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Board President

Kim Ima

Kim is a fourth generation Japanese American and a fourth generation Eastern European Jewish American. Kim works primarily in the arts, including being a company member of La MaMa’s Great Jones Rep since 1996. Kim is one of the founders of The Trojan Women Project, a community arts program. Other credits include The Interlude, a play about her American-born Japanese American father and his childhood in a Japanese American concentration camp during WWII; Within The Silence for Living Voices; The Seven Deadly Sins at The New York City Opera and A Midsummer Night's Dream with the National Asian American Theatre Company. Kim produced films for the filmmaker and comic book writer, Greg Pak, both the feature film, Robot Stories, and some short films. ​ Kim served on the board of the SITI Company and is a current member of the New York Day of Remembrance Committee. The NYC DOR Committee organizes annual Day of Remembrance events and participates in community projects and events throughout the year with the purpose of promoting and  protecting the civil liberties of all people.  Fun fact: Kim was the owner of The Treats Truck, a Vendy Award winning food truck in NYC, and is the author of the cookbook, The Treats Truck Baking Book, published by HarperCollins.

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Board Member

Amy Hall

Amy has worked for clothing brand EILEEN FISHER for over thirty years, where she founded and led their signature Social Consciousness work (human rights, environmental sustainability, philanthropy, and policy advocacy). Today, Amy serves as the Social Consciousness Strategic Advisor for the brand. She also owns and operates a mission- driven independent bookstore - Hudson Valley Books for Humanity - in her hometown of Ossining, NY.  Amy, a fourth generation Chinese-American, reconnected with her roots by studying Chinese language at Georgetown U. and East China Normal University (Shanghai) and later visiting her ancestral village in Toisan. She also has Scottish/English ancestry that one day will be explored. Fun fact: Amy plays the bassoon in various musical ensembles throughout the Hudson Valley.

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Senior Mentor

Olivia Horwitz, LMSW

​Olivia’s identity as a Chinese American Transracial International Adoptee (TRIA) raised in Westchester, New York, afforded Olivia a unique perspective on identity while growing up in predominately white spaces. Not knowing her biological origins has inspired her to connect with other TRIAs and Chinese Americans, which led her to the Bittermelon. Olivia aspires to create a community of TRIAs and foster a profession-wide discourse on transracial adoption and its effects on the adoptee, adopter, and birth parent. Olivia develops curriculum and leads one-of-a-kind workshops addressing teen issues specific to the needs of The Bittermelon youth with a focus on mental health. Olivia received her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental and Urban Studies with a focus in food systems and agriculture from Bard College. After working in the environmental non-profit space, she decided to pivot and change her career trajectory to become a psychotherapist in response to the lack of transracial adoptee providers. Olivia believes strongly in the importance of racial and cultural representation when nurturing and supporting those who have been excluded from receiving therapeutic services in the past. Additionally,  Olivia received her Master of Social Work from NYU Silver School of Social Work with a focus on mental health. She works at a group practice providing psychotherapy to individuals, couples, and families. ​ Fun fact: As a child, Olivia enjoyed eating raw onions like apples. She couldn’t tell you why, but she loved the crunch and taste!

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Read Aloud Program Mentor

Betsy Kates

Everyone loves Betsy's Read Aloud on Saturday mornings at Hudson Valley Books for Humanity and Bittermelon student leaders have the priviledge of learning from this master reader with decades of experience when they volunteer to read aloud! Betsy is a retired teacher from the Lakeland school district and continues to be an active member of our community!

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Mentor & Designer

Emma Zhu

Emma supports our marketing and branding with her incredible artistic talents! Emma worked directly with the founder as a summer intern on a pilot program focusing on empowering Asian American youth after establishing the first AAPI club at her high school during her junior year. Currently, Emma is in her final year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology majoring in Computer Science and Economics.​ Fun Fact: If Emma was reincarnated, she'd be a rock. She will be survived by three plants, Peter the Pothos plant, Peter, Jr. the propagated Pothos plant, and Bægull the Basil plant.

Founding Student Members

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Founding student members and first years of The Bittermelon

top left going counterclockwise: Jack, Al, Ava, Lilly, Olivia, Amani, Maisie, Riona, Elizabeth, Amy, Rebecca and Sara

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