Stephen Lesser grew up in Los Angeles.  His grandfather and father both worked in the movie business.  After attending private schools in LA, he attended UCLA, and then Stanford where he met Al Lowenstein, Dean of Students, and went to the South as a part of the Lowenstein’s and Bob Moses’ voter registration efforts called the Mississippi Summer Project. 

Later, he got a Masters Degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.

He worked in the United States Foreign Service in different parts of Japan and through that experience, developed a lifelong interest in the politics and culture of Japan, China, and especially Vietnam.

His philanthropic works includes support of Vietnamese families settling in the United States, the Nom Language preservation project in Vietnam, and a film exchange program between Chinese Film Students and those at the USC Film School.

He is avidly interested in paintings and sculpture, and buys arts in Asia to donate to museums in Los Angeles.

He is also on the board of directors of the Wende Museum, which is devoted to the history of the Cold War.