Meet Our 2025 Phyllis Mills Living Legend Award Winner: Teresa Lin
Teresa Lin was waiting for a subway at Times Square not long ago when a police officer approached and asked, “Are you Teresa Lin?”
The officer explained that 25 years earlier, he’d been a teenage hospital volunteer. His grandmother had been a co-worker where Teresa worked, and he remembered her. He thanked her, saying his grandmother had always spoken fondly of her.
“I was speechless,” Teresa recalls. “It reminded me that every interaction matters. You never know the impact you’ll have. That experience reaffirmed for me the importance of treating everyone with kindness and respect, regardless of title or circumstance.”
This philosophy, along with her religious faith, has guided Teresa’s nearly 30 years in health care and her 16-plus years at VNS Health—a career that she’s now being honored for with the 2025 Phyllis Mills Living Legend Award. The award recognizes a team member with at least a decade of service who has made exceptional contributions to VNS Health’s mission—exemplifying the dedication of Phyllis Mills, the legendary nurse and longtime VNS Health Board member for whom the award is named.
As Vice President of Cultural Market Development, Teresa has transformed how VNS Health serves communities facing significant barriers to care—including low-income individuals, older adults, and people whose first language is something other than English.
“As a first-generation immigrant from Hong Kong, I’ve personally experienced how complex the U.S. health care system can be,” explains Teresa, who is also a licensed social worker (she holds an MSW and an MBA). “I’ve had to navigate it both as a caregiver for my parents and in my professional work.”
One of Teresa’s most rewarding initiatives involves educating various communities about the benefits of hospice care—an area of interest that dates back to Teresa’s MSW internship experience with VNS Health Hospice. New York State ranks near the bottom nationally in hospice utilization, due in part to cultural factors. In Chinese culture and others, for example, death remains taboo, making end-of-life conversations harder to engage in.
To help break down these barriers, Teresa started hosting hospice education seminars at VNS Health Community Centers as well as senior centers across the city. One session in Chinatown drew nearly 100 people. “The response has been incredible,” she reflects. “People want information about hospice care. They just need a safe and respectful space to learn and talk about it.”
Three years ago, Teresa also began overseeing our Veterans Program. She immediately applied her inclusive philosophy to her new position, expanding the program’s focus from just VNS Hospice and Home Care alone to include our Personal Care, Behavioral Health, and Health Plans teams. “Veterans and their families deserve to know about all our services that are available to them,” she says.
Teresa’s nominators praise her leadership and passion across a number of roles at VNS Health as “nothing short of inspiring,” citing her success in driving the organization’s mission forward and the significant and lasting impact she’s had on the Asian American community.
VNS Health’s three popular community centers in Manhattan’s Chinatown, Flushing, Queens, and Sunset Park, Brooklyn bring that impact vividly to life. Teresa is enormously proud of how these centers express the One VNS Health ethos. “Anyone can walk in or call us, whether they need assistance with insurance, home or hospice care or social services, or they want the chance to join a wide range of activities,” she notes. “Whatever their goal, they’ll leave feeling supported and connected to the right resources.”
Looking back on her time at VNS Health, says Teresa, “What comes to mind first is seeing people grow and shine in what they do. I’ve worked with so many incredible colleagues at VNS Health who do amazing work every day, so to be nominated and then selected for this award feels humbling. I’m deeply grateful for my mentors, my team, and everyone I’ve had the privilege to work with. It inspires me to keep learning and growing.”