Community means everything to me. I grew up in a large and tight-knit family whose roots were solidly in the Chinese American communities of San Francisco and Oakland, CA. As one example, my maternal grandfather headed up a family association to help new immigrants as they arrived in the US, and also created one of the most vibrant restaurants in SF Chinatown where the community gathered for banquets and weddings. My mother and father also created places of belonging for Chinese Americans facing discrimination. It was this strong connection to community that inspired my future work at the intersection of finance and social justice.
In college, I joined with my community of Asian American students in successfully lobbying for Amherst College’s first-ever Asian American Studies class. In addition, we also found common cause with the African American and Latinx communities on campus. Soon after I graduated, I joined Asian Americans Advancing Justice/Asian Law Caucus, where we advocated for better housing conditions, more humane immigration policies, stronger employment protections, and justice for hate crimes. Much of this work was done in concert with Latinx and African American community leaders. When I went to business school, my community encouraged me to find ways to leverage finance and business for social good.
After several years in traditional finance, I founded Correlation Consulting and ‘Take Action! The Impact Investing Summit.’ Both connected and advised individuals, families, foundations, financial institutions, and government agencies that aimed to balance financial returns with social and environmental impact. Take Action!’s last convening in 2012 brought together asset owners collectively managing $4.5 trillion and set the stage for much of impact investing today. The intersection of community and finance led me to serve on the Board of Directors of Nonprofit Finance Fund – first as a committee member, and now as Board Chair. I am proud to have devoted the past thirty years of my career to institutions that unite two of my greatest passions: supporting communities in achieving their aspirations and leveraging finance to bring them the resources they need to get there.
Outside of my role at NFF, I currently serve on the Investment and Audit Committee of The Russell Family Foundation. I am lucky enough to now live in one of the most beautiful corners of the world: the San Juan Islands of Washington State. I spend as much time as possible with my family and am an avid bread baker and tennis player.