Julie Soo

Woman Warrior 2019

Community Advocate; Commissioner, SF Commission on the Status of Women; Attorney, State Dept. of Insurance

Julie’s passion and dedication to the Asian Pacific Islander communities go beyond her job as a senior staff counsel with the California Department of Insurance. Julie volunteers in a variety of community causes, including addressing hate crimes, civil rights education, campaign work, and community health advocacy.  She serves on the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women and is a past president. She is active with the California Democratic Party Executive Board as a co-chair of the Platform Committee, and served two terms as the chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus. Julie also served nine years on the Board of Trustees for Saint Francis Memorial Hospital. 

Along with other Asian American attorneys who sit on the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Civil Rights Committee, Julie takes on civil rights issues affecting Asian Americans and their communities. Her experience ranges from working on the Dr. Wen Ho Lee case with the Asian Law Caucus nearly 20 years ago, to now tackling racial profiling of Chinese American scientists. She was a journalist with AsianWeek, where she covered breaking stories, provided legal and political commentary, and wrote about Asian American history and notable figures. 

She was selected as a 2006 California Endowment Health Journalism fellow based on her story about a Chinatown shooting that led to helping non-English proficient patients and families policy changes. Julie has also served as a legislative aide and advisor to members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Julie holds numerous awards from the Filipina Women’s Network, Asian Women’s Resource Center, the Korean American Journalists Association, and the SF Collaborative Against Human Trafficking (SFCAHT).