Bethany Li

Bethany Li is the executive director of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), bringing over 20 years of experience in community/movement lawyering  working with Asian American communities and other communities of color. She has led  litigation and policy efforts on issues such as deportation defense, immigration, workers’  rights, housing and displacement, language access, and hate violence. 

Bethany has represented Southeast Asian immigrants facing deportation; sued Florida over its anti-Chinese alien land law; won millions in back wages for low-wage workers; represented a multiracial coalition to defend and promote racial equity in Boston Public  Schools; and represented multiple coalitions resisting displacement, including a  successful effort in Philadelphia’s Chinatown to defeat the proposed 76ers arena. 

Bethany began her career at AALDEF as an Equal Justice Works Fellow, returning as Legal Director in 2022 and becoming executive director in 2024. She previously led the Asian Outreach Unit at Greater Boston Legal Services, Massachusetts’ largest legal program serving Asian American communities, and taught in the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at  Yale Law School.