Educator, activist is ‘Woman of Prestige’

When then-Maryland resident Phale Cassady Le landed a FEMA contract job three years ago to do public relations work in the city’s Asian community following Hurricane Ike, she made the move to Texas.

Le reached out, informed people of the services offered by FEMA and quickly became a well-known pillar of Houston’s Vietnamese community.

“While I was out there helping, people got to know me and they started coming to me for a lot of different things,” Le said. “That’s a tendency with Vietnamese people: Once you help them, they just keep coming back to you.”

When members of the Asian community came to Le for help, she was there for them. In addition to her public relations work, Le began volunteering at a local community center, teaching English as a Second Language and citizenship issues. She recently opened an ESL and citizenship education center in the area. 

Le has also worked as an anchor for the Vietnamese American Network Television station in Houston and  is a health educator for the Harris Health System.

The Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce of Houston recognized Le at its Women of Prestige Gala on Nov. 15 at the Le Virage Ballroom. She was one of 10 Houston area women honored for their contributions to the Vietnamese community.

“I’m very honored to be recognized,” Le said. “Just being listed among some of those women who have been working all their lives and have accomplished so much. It’s just a great honor. I want to thank the Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce for having such an award and hope that it will motivate more young women to help in the community and follow in our footsteps.”

When she’s not fulfilling her duties as a health educator or teaching ESL and citizenship classes, Le enjoys running and has participated in a number of marathons and half marathons. She’ll run her next marathon in December.

To learn more about Le, visit her YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/Phal3.

Megan Mattingly-Arthur is a freelance writer. She can be reached at neighborhoods@chron.com.

ABOUT PHALE CASSADY LE AGE: 26 OCCUPATION: Harris Health System health educator; local TV anchor and emcee COMMUNITY CONNECTION: Galleria resident FAST FACT: Le has three dogs, a Pomeranian and two Chihuahua mixes.