Henry Lee was born at Malstrom AFB, Great
Falls, Montana, and grew up in Pendleton, Oregon. He is a 6:2 generation (6 male/2 female)
Chinese American. The first male members of his family arrived in the U.S
before the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Female members arrived 2
generations ago. That infamous Act restricted Chinese immigration in the U.S
until it was repealed and replaced in 1943 by the Magnuson Act, which
allowed Chinese women to immigrate to the U.S. Fast forward to 1967, the young
Henry Lee moved to D.C. with his parents and attended Western High School. In 1969, his parents relocated to Montgomery
County. After high school, Henry
attended the University of Maryland, College Park, where he studied Biology. He
was awarded a Public Health Service grant to the University of Notre Dame to
pursue his Master’s in Parasitology/ Immunology. From the NIH and Notre Dame,
Henry Lee returned to the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and enrolled in
the dental school. Dr. Lee’s been practicing dentistry for 39 years.
Q: Dr. Lee, in what year did you join the ICB
– Do you remember the occasion that led you to get on the Board?
A: It all
began after I had served as chair of the Mid-County Advisory board for 2 years. In 1999, the CAO (Chief Administrative
Officer) who attended our meetings learned I was leaving the board because of
term limits. He told me of an opening on the ICB. And I’ve been a member since
except when I served on the School Board in 2004- 2005.
Q: In CUPF
and ICB’s forty years that we celebrate this late summer, can you share with our
readers and users how has the ICB-CUPF changed over the years?
A: In the 60s and 70s all the facilities and
fields were permitted by Principals or the school business managers. If an
individual was well connected, they would have easier access to facilities.
County Councilmembers came to realize there needed to be a more equitable and
fair system to allow County residents to use school facilities. Members such as Marilyn Praisner and Mike
Subin helped shape and legislate what the ICB and CUPF is today. In those early
days the CAO, the MCPS Board of Education President, MCPS Superintendent, Park
and Planning Chair, and Chief Staff Administrator for the County Council came
to every meeting. There were many heated
discussions of how and why facilities needed to be open to the public. I recall
one meeting the principals were vocalizing their opposition to the ICB’s viewpoint
on universal access. Superintendent
Jerry Weast arrived late to the meeting.
After listening for a few minutes, he interjected calmly and resolutely by
siding with the Board, stating the county’s facilities must be made available
to all residents. Opposition dissipated after his pronouncement.
Q: What major differences are there, if any,
between serving on the Board nowadays and let’s say 20 years ago- and what’s
the most challenging part of the job of the Board?
A: Many of the
most controversial issues regarding access have been settled. The most challenging issue is the “process of
access.” We don’t have many large controversial issues, except for the child
care program. The controversies surrounding the “who gets first use of a gym,”
have all been settled because they have been adjudicated. Our biggest responsibility is balancing the
wants of user groups with what the schools and essential users have
available. This balancing act is our
responsibility.
Q: You are stepping down from the ICB, what’s
next for you after CUPF?
A: Yes, (chuckle) this is it. The ICB needs new
blood and new perspectives. The ICB needs
to recruit my replacement. The ICB
should not become complacent and should let new ideas come from new generations
such as the millennials. I have always
had a passion for teaching, some of my friends at the University of Maryland
Dental school have asked me to teach. It is something I am seriously
considering.
Q: What advice do you have for other folks interested in serving on the
board, and for the ongoing interaction between the Board and CUPF?
A: The ICB members
should not go “into the trenches” of CUPF’s tasks on a daily basis. The ICB should and can define the goals for
CUPF. The ICB should let CUPF management and staff do their job(s) to obtain
those goals.
Historic users are very important for the future of CUPF. They
were the users who opened the doors. The Board should publish and communicate
their policies in lay terms.
I would encourage the user of our facilities to apply and work on
the ICB by volunteering to be on the different committees of the Board.
The next generation of users must take ownership of our facilities
and how their use is regulated. We need more “ground-level” users on the ICB. We need to recruit millennials and X-gens to
the ICB We need them to participate, to learn the
system, and to understand the process. With
their help the ICB can make things better, make the operations of CUPF more
efficient, and continue to make the process as fair and transparent as
possible.
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