Edgar Lin’s path to defending democracy began with a childhood spent shuttling between the United States and Taiwan, and with quiet afternoons at political meetings where big ideas took shape.
“I moved a lot between the U.S. and Taiwan when I was very young,” said LIn, one of Madison365’s Most Influential Asian American Leaders for 2025. “My dad was recruited at one point by his political mentor … who was in prison for 20-plus years trying to start an opposition party.” Those early memories, even if incomprehensible at the time, left a mark. “We didn’t have childcare. My mom was working. My dad had to bring me … Very boring for me at the time, but I knew they were talking about important stuff.”
That mentor, Lin said, was imprisoned multiple times, subjected to solitary confinement and torture. But, Lin said, “he just wouldn’t stop doing democracy work.”
Lin’s father eventually became one of the first elected officials from Taiwan’s pro-democracy Democratic Progressive Party.
“A lot of the people who then rose to the party’s leadership were former criminal defense lawyers who were also jailed because they were defending dissenters,” Lin said. “That maybe tells you my background of being a public defender first.”
Lin came to the U.S. permanently to finish high school and later studied economics before deciding that law was his true calling. “I worked in finance for a year … They were going to send me to Hong Kong. Twenty-two-year-old me was like, yes,” he said. “I was in Hong Kong, I was in Tokyo for a little bit, and it just wasn’t the dream for me.”
He came to Madison for law school in 2008 and never left. He spent seven years as a public defender and a couple more in private practice. In 2016, Lin ran for state Assembly in Milwaukee, losing a crowded primary but gaining invaluable experience. “I really enjoy knocking on strangers’ doors,” he said. “It brings me back to one of my core memories of America.”
That memory? Making friends when “my aunt … said, just go around the neighborhood and knock on doors and say your name is Edgar, ask if anybody’s playing … I just went on to knock on doors, and some kid was like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re about to play baseball.’ It was so picturesque … Best time of my life growing up here.”
After a stint in private legal practice, Lin found his way to Protect Democracy, a national nonprofit focused on preserving democratic institutions.
“We work on stopping the consolidation of power, defending dissent, protecting our elections,” he explained. “Our whole org is anti-authoritarian … but we do work with both sides to try to bring that rational center or center-right together.”
Now leading the Elections team, Lin’s day-to-day includes managing efforts across battleground states like Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and his home state of Wisconsin.
“We do legislative advocacy as well … One [bill] was protecting election workers … because we were hearing that there were a lot of threats, and people were quitting because of the threats,” he said. “These election officials are our neighbors, right? … There’s no conspiracy. These people are trying to just do their job.”
He warns of disengagement as a growing threat. “Don’t give up on democracy,” he said. “When people are living in fear, they may disengage with the democratic process. And this is the time to … show up, whoever you vote for … Follow the rules of the election official. Stand there. Get in line. Vote.”
For young people wondering how to make a difference, Lin advises: “Find the issue you’re interested in … Get involved in the political process … If you’re skeptical about the election process, go be an election worker … You’re going to see how methodical and boring it is.”
What gives him hope, despite the mounting challenges? “People. People have good days. People sometimes have very bad days. But … we are a courageous bunch of people.”
“I’ve seen a country go from an authoritarian (regime to) become a democracy,” he said. “It’s really hard, but we have to cherish it. Americans don’t know this, because Americans didn’t live under authoritarian regimes … In fact, more of the global population lives in autocracy than in democracy … You have to cherish your democracy.”
Lin’s story of shifting identities — of “core memories” and name changes and knock-on-the-door moments — is ultimately about belonging, resilience, and the democratic practice of showing up.
“We can’t lose hope,” he said. “These are difficult times. But we’re going to make it through.”
