Rozita V. Lee: A Lifetime of Service in Pursuit of Civility for All

Civility for All. Three words Rozita Villanueva Lee scribed onto the board of the Uncommons at her dedication ceremony. She, and several other exemplary community leaders and participatory democracy activists were receiving commemoration in the form of dedicated street signs and accolades from peers and admirers alike. 

The board asked “What Does Community Mean to You?” and those three powerful words were the answer her lifetime of leadership and service provided her with. To understand how a community built on civility has become the pinnacle of Manang Rozita’s worldview it is imperative to take a look at Community, from a Filipino perspective. 

Born to Lead - Called to Serve - Moved to Act 

Rozita Villanueva was born into a world that provided a unique combination of strong Filipino familial and community tradition and American business and political discipline. Nurtured, motivated, and supported Rozita was able to demonstrate her tenacity for leadership by becoming the first non-Caucasian president of her high school’s student council.

Rozita’s next call to serve came while she was attending the University of Hawaii Manoa in Honolulu. Governor George Ariyoshi, the first US Asian-American Governor, appointed her to the Commission on the Status of Women. In her capacity as a member of the commission, Rozita was tasked with promoting women's rights as well as documenting the reality of women's lives throughout the Islands. With this information, she helped shape state standards on racial and gender equality and created avenues to empower women throughout Hawaii.

Eventually, life and love led Rozita Lee to move from coastal Hawaii to land-locked Las Vegas where she enrolled in UNLV to complete her degree in communication. Rozita began writing for the campus paper as she cultivated an active community similar to the one she had left behind. 

The loneliness of leaving the island was all the ignition needed for Rozita to join, advise, and found various community groups that uplifted and brought together Polynesian, Filipino, and Asian-American groups across the greater Nevada region. For over a decade Madam Rozita ensured that every minority group she could reach out to was heard and seen and that their day-to-day struggles were brought before the people who could alleviate their suffering as compassionately as possible.

After finishing her studies Rozita Lee immediately put her experiences to use and started work with the newly launched PBS Las Vegas. She hosted a multi-ethnic cultural television show SPECTRUM; a concept that still exists today and shares art and music from cultures around the world on PBS networks Nationwide. 

For the next several decades Manang Rozita would continue to showcase Asian-Pacific glitz and glamour while launching shows and programs that would be both cultural and commercial successes. As the owner of multiple businesses Rozita had firsthand knowledge of the challenges minority business owners faced accessing business resources. Working with local political and community leaders she set out to ensure equal access to resources for all business owners regardless of gender or ethnicity.

Loudest Advocate with the Softest Voice

In today's society it seems that the only way to have your views heard is to yell the loudest or stage the largest protest. But time and time again history has shown us that one quiet voice in the right ear has ended more wars, spared more lives, and enacted greater social change than any clamoring and shouting of the masses. Rozita has been that soft voice for so many communities globally. 

Starting her political advisory career in 1989 Rozita became Special Assistant to Nevada Governor Bob Miller and specialized in meeting the needs of the growing numbers of minorities in Clark County. Talking to small business owners and coordinating on the community level, Rozita was able to advise the Governor on what was needed to help the population. 

Her integrity and exceptional service led her to be appointed Commissioner for the Clark County Asian American Commission where she was responsible for identifying and addressing the needs of the entire Asian American community, the fastest growing population in Las Vegas. Her work has been instrumental in ensuring the high quality of life most Las Vegas Asian Americans experience and the sensory array of Asian spectacles that this city is home to.   

Word of Rozita Lee’s contributions to social advancement eventually caught the attention of the highest office in the Country. In 2010, Rozita was appointed by President Obama to the U.S. Commissioner for the White House Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. 

Treating such a distinguished task with the diligence it demands, Rozita worked to better the understanding and relationships between various Asian American groups. Her work extended to relationships with other minority groups and paved the way for a more equal and respectful business environment throughout the United States. 

Her advocacy for Asian Americans also ensured that although most individuals in this ethnic group prefer to keep their heads down and work hard, not complain, they still have very real needs at the community and personal level. She tirelessly advocated making sure those needs were properly identified and dealt with and not just pushed aside amid other global concerns or louder marginalized societies. 

Civility the Path to Unity

As is wont to happen, Rozita Villanueva Lee’s life of service to humanity led to a calling to minister to man’s spirit as well. In 2015 she became an ordained Executive Pastor for her local church Seek Jesus First Ministries. Continuing her studies in 2019 she was conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Humanities by the United Graduate College and Seminary International cementing her dedication to serving as an eternal mission.

Rozita’s path from the youngest daughter of immigrants to being a team member of the world's leading voice of civility has been one walked with grace, respect, dignity, and compassion. The Filipino and Pacific Islander sense of community instilled in her no doubt was the loudest voice guiding her through the tough times and seeing her to the other side of some insurmountable task. 

Through it all Rozita Lee’s community grew from a group of Islands to a Country to the entire world and so too did her ideals for the necessary community to bring about world peace. In Rozita’s words, community means “Civility for All”. All people, from all places, all colors, genders, and walks of life, respect them because they are and we are, all that this world has by which to heal and move forward. 

Thank you, to a living legend and the most incredible person I have ever had the privilege of meeting, Rozita Villanueva Lee, you are a heroine.

TimeLine - Of Rozita Villanueva Lee

Below is a Timeline of most of the many accomplishments Manang Roita has accomplished throughout her life. While I am confident that there are many more achievements not listed it paints an accurate picture of the level of service and commitment she had given to the Asian American Community. 

What strikes me as most impressive is that this list rivals that of any of the most influential men I have studied throughout my life. These man did notable things to progress society but they were never a young woman full of passion striving in a world where men come first. Rozita was. They were never a dutiful wife caring for the needs and desires of their husband's, Rozita was. They were never mothers or grandmothers leading a household with intuition and empathy, Rozita is. Her accomplishments are so much more impressive knowing the mountains of difficulties she has had to endure to enact the good she has on such a global scale. 

The Life Accomplishments of a Most Impressive Woman

October 31, 1934 - Born to Filipino Immigrants in Lahaina, Maui

December 7, 1941 -  Her and her family moved to Honolulu

c. 1950 - First non-Caucasian president of her High School student council

1952 - Rozita graduated from Roosevelt High School

attended the University of Hawaii Manoa in Honolulu.

c. 1975 - Appointed to the Commission on the Status of Women by Governor George Ariyoshi, the US first Asian-American Governor

1979 - Rozita Villanueva moved from Hawaii to Las Vegas, Nevada, and married her longtime friend, the late Dr. Clifford C.H. Lee 

c. 1980 - Attended UNLV to complete her degree in communication where she wrote for the university student paper

c. 1980-1990 - Community Groups

• President of the Ilocano American Association of Nevada

• National Vice President of the National Federation of Filipino Americans Associations

Board member

• Organization of Chinese Americans

• Japanese American Citizens League

•  Ka Poe Aina Hawaii Club (the initial Las Vegas Civic Club comprised of local military veterans stationed in Las Vegas)

Founded

• Asian Chamber of Commerce (founding Chairwoman)

• Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Nevada (Founding Board Advisor)

• One of 12 founding charter members of the Las Vegas Hawaiian Civic Club in 1989

1981 - 1983 - Hosted a multi-ethnic cultural television show on the local PBS station called SPECTRUM

c. 1982 - Taught TV Production and Speech courses at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

1984 - 1989 - Vice President (Conference Coordinator) for the Nevada Economic Development Company

• coordinated many national Minority Business Conferences

• organized business conferences with civil rights leader, Dr. Bob Bailey specializing in minority-owned small businesses

1989 - 1991 - Special Assistant to Nevada Governor Bob Miller

• specialized in meeting the needs of the growing minorities in Clark County

1991 - 2009  - Owner of Drums of the Islands Polynesian Entertainment

• The longest-running Polynesian show ever in Las Vegas

• Featured at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas as well as in North Dakota at the Dakota Magic Hotel

• Presented the cultures of Hawaii and Polynesia through the art of songs, dances, and cuisine

1996 - Commissioner for the Clark County Asian American Commission

2010 - Chairwoman of the Southern Nevada Asian American Pacific Census Coalition

Sep 2010 - 2014  U.S. Commissioner for the White House Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

• Hand-picked by Obama

2012 - Present  President - CEO of Rozita V. Lee Consulting, Las Vegas, Nevada

May 2013 - Advisory Committee on Participatory Democracy Selects Winners for Jean Ford Democracy Award, NASS Medallion Award

• Heavily involved in civic engagement, voter registration, and voter education in the Asian and Pacific Islander community

• Organized voter education, registration, and mobilization programs to increase the number of registered Asian and Pacific Islander voters

• Create a unified force and increase Asian American communities political influence

2015 - Present Active in the Asian American Pacific Islander community in Las Vegas. She serves on various Advisory Boards and is: 

• Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce Greater Nevada(FACCGN)

• An ordained Executive Pastor for her local church Seek Jesus First Ministries and 2019 was conferred the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Humanities by the United Graduate College and Seminary International

• Family matriarch for her 3 children, 11 grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren

• Community leader and Inspiration for Asian-Americans and Nevadans of all walks of life 

• Works in the field of Civility for All as National AAPI Liaison for World Civility with HRH Dr. Clyde Rivers conducting meetings in the practice of Civility-- Kindness and Respect, locally, nationally and globally

• Has an Avenue named after her, in Las Vegas dedicated to her for her Lifetime of outstanding achievements