A former employee at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the nonprofit and nine of its leaders, alleging she was wrongfully terminated in July in retaliation for reporting that she had endured years of sexual harassment and assault at the hands of the group's leaders.
Judy Lee, who was hired as the chamber's program director in April 2025, seeks at least $1 million in damages for the alleged hostile work environment and sexual harassment she said she faced while in that role and as a volunteer for years before she was formally hired.
The chamber is a powerful advocate for the neighborhood's businesses and organizes the beloved annual Chinese New Year parade, but the lawsuit describes an organization marred by a culture of pervasive sexual harassment and political infighting. It alleges the nonprofit was run by older men whose recurring, unwanted romantic and sexual advances toward Lee and other young women were well-known by its leaders, who did not take action to stop them.
"It's truly my time to share my truth now and to really tell my side of the story," Lee told the Chronicle Thursday. "It's hard but I know it's necessary because I need to speak out about what has happened to me for the last decade."
The lawsuit is the latest escalation in a dispute that spilled into the public eye in June, when more than a dozen board members supporting Lee threatened to quit unless the chamber's leadership ousted its president, Donald Luu, one of the most influential and well-connected figures in San Francisco's large Chinese American community.
In calling for Luu's ouster, board members referenced claims of assault and sexual harassment that Lee had made through her lawyer in a letter to chamber board members.
Neither the chamber nor six of the named defendants contacted by the Chronicle responded immediately to a request for comment. Three of the named defendants could not be reached for comment.
The chamber released a statement in July amid the turmoil.
"The San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce remains fully committed to its longstanding mission of serving Chinese Americans and the broader San Francisco community," it wrote, but did not acknowledge the lawsuits. "Planning and preparation are actively moving forward without interruption for the Chamber's signature annual events."
In April, Lee's attorney, Kathleen Alparce, sent an email to chamber board members on her behalf, stating that she had been "subjected to despicable and egregious acts of sexual harassment, assault, false imprisonment, hostile work environment, retaliation, discrimination, failure to prevent harassment, discrimination and retalation … at the hands and direction of Donald Luu and his associates."
In response, Luu filed a defamation lawsuit in July against Lee stating that he suffered "severe emotional distress and public humiliation" as a result of Lee's allegations. He has denied all allegations against him and said he is suing Lee to shield himself from what he called "inaccurate claims."
Luu's lawsuit also said Luu had agreed to pay a substantial sum of money to Lee as part of a confidential settlement agreement "under imminent threat of reputational ruin" but that Lee subsequently violated the confidentiality agreement.
He has since stepped down as president of the chamber and decided not to stay on the Board of Directors in July, saying, through his spokesperson, that he had promised his family he would only serve two years.
Luu is not named as a defendant in Lee's lawsuit. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Born and raised in Chinatown, Lee was a finalist in the 2014 Miss Chinatown USA pageant.
Soon after her pageant appearance, her lawsuit stated, one of the defendants "professed his love interest toward her," "often demanding that she accompany him as his 'date' at various community events." Lee alleged that he would touch her legs inappropriately during these dinners, grab her thighs, kiss her on the cheek and graze her breasts.
The lawsuit also alleged that other, older male chamber leaders who were named as defendants pressured Lee to attend chamber-sponsored dinners and "demanded that she bring her girlfriends of similar age, female real estate professionals, and/or pageant contestants to accompany her."
During those dinners, the lawsuit stated, Lee and female friends were forced to drink heavily, consuming expensive bottles of wine, sake, Hennessy brandy and McCallan whiskey at the chamber's expense.
"Ms. Lee was lured by the idea of networking and mingling with high-ranking and influential members of the chamber, when instead, she was faced with romantic and sexual advances," the lawsuit stated.
Lee said she thwarted the older man's advances and appealed to chamber leaders, who are named defendants, for help. The lawsuit stated Lee noticed that the older man started "withdrawing his support for Lee" at the chamber and began acting "cold" toward her.
The lawsuit also alleged that another older male, named as a defendant, would invite Lee to private dinners where he would place his hand on her thigh under the table. It detailed an incident at a February 2024 dinner honoring Mayor Willie Brown and celebrating the Chinese New Year pageant where the man would graze Lee's breasts while serving her food.
The lawsuit said Lee was afraid to react because of her deference to the "OGs," a term used in the lawsuit to refer to the older, senior members of the chamber's leadership.
Lee told the Chronicle that she was scared initially to report the harassment to chamber leaders because "it felt like what seemed to be accepted behavior within the organization." She also said she was afraid of being stripped of her Miss Chinatown USA pageant title.
"When I did share my concerns, no one really listened to me," she said. "They just wrote me off. It fell on deaf ears."
In 2020, Lee was elected a member of the chamber's board of directors.
Lee's complaint detailed an alleged assault during a trip by chamber board members to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in May 2024 when another chamber board member broke into her locked hotel room at night.
"The individual ran towards her, told her to be quiet, and started putting his hands down her pants and rubbing her vaginal area while groping her breasts," the lawsuit stated, adding that when Lee screamed, the individual covered her mouth and asked whether she "enjoyed it." He eventually ran out of the room.
After the assault, the lawsuit said, Lee tried to distance herself from the chamber member but that he continued to communicate with her.
Lee's attorney declined to answer questions about this incident, including who the board member is.
When she was hired as a full-time program director in April 2025, the man invited her on a trip to a Napa resort to celebrate her new role, saying she "owed it to him" because he convinced others to hire her.
The lawsuit said Lee was afraid that if she declined, the job offer would be rescinded.
On the drive to the Napa resort, the lawsuit said, the man forcibly held her hand. When they checked in, the lawsuit said, Lee learned the man had booked only one room and no other rooms were available. After initially promising he would sleep on the couch, the lawsuit stated, the man then said they were going to share a bed. After an argument, the lawsuit said, Lee booked an Uber to make the two-hour drive back to San Francisco.
Starting in January, the lawsuit said, Lee noticed her desk drawers often looked as though someone had been rummaging through them. She also said she noticed that older men, not affiliated with the chamber, would often appear unannounced at the office late at night when Lee was there after working events, having apparently gained access to the office with their own set of keys.
Frightened, and to "take matters into (her) own hands," Lee told the Chronicle, she placed a surveillance camera pointed at her workstation to protect herself against theft of her personal items as well as harassment by older men.
The surveillance camera was discovered by three other employees on April 10, prompting them to notify the chamber's management and subsequently file a separate lawsuit against the chamber on June 5, alleging that the organization's leaders had "negligently failed to conduct a prompt investigation, failed to perform a physical and technical sweep of the premises and failed to implement interim safeguards to protect employee privacy."
The other employees' lawsuit also said the chamber "ratified" Lee's "unlawful conduct."
Meanwhile, Lee's lawsuit said chamber leaders threatened to investigate her for criminal behavior and terminate her over the surveillance camera.
Her lawsuit stated that chamber leaders developed a "smear campaign" attacking her "credibility, chastity and professionalism," and that three of the named defendants claimed Lee was having an affair with a married chamber official.
She was placed on paid administrative leave and then terminated on July 22.
"The chamber did so in full and complete retaliation against Ms. Lee based (on) the claims she had raised and the vile attacks against her," the lawsuit stated.
Ultimately, Lee said, she decided to file this lawsuit because she did not want anyone else to endure what she did.
"It's an unacceptable culture," she said. "It's a longstanding culture. It's a big part of Chinatown. The leadership has to change."
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This article originally published at Sexual assault allegations hit powerful S.F. Chinatown group behind Chinese New Year parade.