Wei Han to Receive the League of Women Voters Civic Leadership Award

The League of Women Voters of Winchester announces Wei Han as its recipient of the 2023 Civic Leadership Award. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to civic life at the local or state level.

Wei was born an only child in Beijing China in 1972. In 1992, he attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington where he majored in Computer Science. Wei then moved to Boston in 1996 and has worked for Epsilon as a Computer Engineer for the past 27 years. He moved to Winchester in 2003, married in 2004 and has two daughters.

He became active in town affairs in 2012 when he was approached by a group of town activists advocating for an upcoming Winchester High School renovation override. Earlier in 2012, Wei created the Parent Association of the Winchester School of Chinese Culture to support the school, the parents, and the community. He then mobilized the Chinese school and many parents in the successful override campaign.

Wei was then encouraged to run for Town Meeting Member. In 2013, he became Winchester’s first Chinese American Town Meeting Member. The New England model of self-governance appealed to him as did campaigning and asking for people’s votes. Wei was instrumental in turning out the Chinese community’s voting in town elections, effectively improving its participation rate from a handful of people to over a hundred.

In 2016, Wei co-founded the Chinese American Network of Winchester (CAN-Win) with Mr. Jifeng Liu, and became its President in 2019. This network continued to promote voting and also organized Chinese residents into Town activities. The CAN-Win also stepped up to help the Winchester community in the early days of the pandemic providing over 44,000 PPEs, including masks and goggles to seniors, senior housing residents, 5 nursing homes, 20 hospitals, local police and firefighters!

In 2017, Wei joined the board of the Network for Social Justice and became very active in its Immigration Justice Committee (IJC) work. In 2021, he became the Network’s President. The Atlanta spa shootings of eight individuals on March 16, 2021, six of whom were Asian-Americans, highlighted the rise of hate speech and attacks against the Asian American community. Massachusetts wasn’t immune. Some Winchester residents experienced hate speech while commuting to work in Boston. Wei and the IJC organized an “End Asian Hate” floating candle lit lantern vigil with speakers from the State and Town government as well as Winchester houses of worship. This beautiful community-wide event was healing for many.

In 2022, Wei’s IJC and the League of Women Voters of Winchester submitted a warrant to Town Meeting which would ask the Massachusetts legislature to permit our non-citizen legal residents to locally vote and hold office. Wei’s compelling voice led to its passage and subsequent home rule petition request to the State legislature.

In 2017, Wei also became a Board member of the Council of Aging (COA) where he introduced the Chinese community to the Jenks Center. He is actively involved with the COA in bridging diverse communities as well as conducting surveys of local residents to learn more about how the Jenks Center can better serve Winchester.

The League of Women Voters of Winchester is proud to recognize Wei’s many accomplishments and continuous outstanding service to our community on September 20, 2023, from 6:30 - 8:30 PM at the Jenks Center in Winchester. See the LWVW website for more details at https://www.lwvwinchester.org