Biography
FILMMAKER, AUTHOR, MEDIA EXPERT
Richard is a bestselling author of Enough About Me: The Unexpected Power of Selflessness (HarperCollins Zondervan), which covers the big ideas of our time — from caregiving to racial equity — and challenges dominant thinking about self-focus in a way that’s healthy for productivity at work and home.
Richard is also the Director and Producer of two feature documentary films. His Academy Award® and GRAMMY® qualified directorial debut, Sky Blossom: Diaries of the Next Greatest Generation (2021), on children caring for military veteran parents and grandparents with disabilities, was the year’s most widely distributed documentary, with broadcasts on PBS and MSNBC, and won the prestigious Christopher Award. His second film, Hidden Wounds (2022), profiles three families at the intersection of mental health and caregiving.
25 YEARS OF NONPARTISAN REPORTING
Covering every national election since 2004, Lui has interviewed hundreds of politicians, from Detroit Mayor to U.S. President. In the 2000s, Lui reported from Asia as two key Muslim countries and Taiwan experienced pivotal elections while at Channel NewsAsia, an English-only news network broadcast in 20 Asian countries and territories.
LAUNCHED 6 TECH BRANDS OVER 3 BUSINESS CYCLES
Before journalism, Richard spent 15 years in business, launching six brands over three tech cycles, patenting a fintech model in 2003. He has held various board seats including audit committee for a fintech firm, advisory board chair for a Silicon Valley deep learning firm, and various non-profit boards. Business Insider named him one of 21 careers to watch and Twitter Counter ranks him in the top 1 percent in social media users.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Lui has spoken at 500 community events over the last 15 years and is seen as a reasoned voice on American society. He is on the board of Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation and Freedom United. He is a Fellow at the National Association of Corporate Directors, one of 200 US State Department Traveling Speakers, a Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund think tank,. He is ambassador for six NGOs focusing on gender equity, human trafficking, and family caregiving.
Lui holds an MBA from Michigan Ross School of Business and is a graduate from UC Berkeley. A first generation Chinese and Polynesian American, Lui has a twist in his background. Because his grandfather, an unauthorized immigrant, filed false “Paper Son” documents, Lui’s real last name is Wong.
Articles, Publications, and Appearances
Author, Enough About Me (HarperCollins/Zondervan, 2021)
Director/Producer, Sky Blossom
San Francisco Chronicle Op-Ed: My dad was pushed to the ground in San Francisco, too. I said nothing
NBC TODAY Show: MSNBC’s Richard Lui shares lessons learned since becoming his father’s caregiver