2023 TAAF Heritage Month Summit

Don Chen is the President of the Surdna Foundation where he leads the 100-year old foundation’s efforts to strengthen and further leverage its commitment to social justice.

Prior to his appointment, Chen was the Director of the Cities & States program at the Ford Foundation, where he worked to make housing more affordable, promote more equitable land use practices, and empower communities to have a powerful decision-making voice in U.S. cities and in developing countries. He also led a multi-program team to strengthen social justice organizations and networks in the U.S.

Chen was also the Founder and CEO of Smart Growth America, where he created the National Vacant Properties Campaign and Transportation for America, and managed a merger with the Growth Management Leadership Alliance.

Chen currently serves as Co-Chair of the Presidents’ Council on Impact Investing and on the boards of Living Cities, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, and Philanthropy New York. He holds an M.A. from the Yale School of the Environment and a B.A. in political science from Yale.

Professor Erika Lee is an award-winning historian and author, Regents Professor of History and Asian American Studies, Director of the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota, and President-Elect of the Organization of American Historians.

The granddaughter of Chinese immigrants, Lee was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and testified before Congress in its historic hearings on anti-Asian discrimination and violence.

Lee is the author of four award-winning books including The Making of Asian America and America for Americans: A History of Xenophobia in America, which won the American Book Award and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and more. Identified as an essential book illuminating the Trump era and the 2020 elections, it will be published with a new epilogue on xenophobia and racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Making of Asian America will also soon be republished with a new postscript about the latest campaigns against Asian Americans. Lee has been featured in PBS’s film series “Asian Americans” and has been interviewed for many news shows, podcasts, and publications.

Li Lu is the Founder and Chairman of Himalaya Capital, a multi-billion-dollar investment firm that primarily focuses on long-term investment opportunities in Asia and the U.S. Li Lu was born and raised in China. As a college student, he participated in the Tiananmen Square student movement in 1989. He was forced to leave the country and came to the U.S. later that year. From 1990 to 1996, Li Lu attended Columbia University and became one of the first students in the university’s history to graduate with three degrees simultaneously: B.A., J.D., and M.B.A. from Columbia College, Law School, and Business School.

He founded Himalaya Capital in late 1997 and has been running its principal fund ever since. Li Lu currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Columbia University and a member of the Board of Trustees of California Institute of Technology. In January 2020, Li Lu co-founded the Guardians of the Angeles Charitable Foundation to combat the global COVID-19 crisis and now serves as Chairman of the Board of the Foundation.‍ Li Lu is a member of the Committee of 100, the Council on Foreign Relations, and an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow.

He is featured in the Smithsonian Institute’s Family of Voices, part of the ongoing Many Voices, One Nation exhibition at the National Museum of American History. He is the author of Moving the Mountain: My Life in China (1990 in English) and Civilization, Modernization, Value Investing --- and China (2020 in Chinese). Li Lu was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020.

Shamina Singh is the Founder & President of the Center for Inclusive Growth, the social impact hub of Mastercard, and serves as Executive Vice President of Sustainability. As President of the Mastercard Impact Fund, she is charged with activating philanthropic dollars to advance inclusive growth and financial inclusion around the world. She is also a member of the company’s Management Committee.

Since 2014, she has led the Center with a remit to leverage Mastercard’s data, technology, capital and expertise for social impact. Under Shamina's leadership, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth was named as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies 2024. She has also been recognized for her work and leadership in American Banker and Financial Times.

Deeply committed to public service, Shamina currently serves as a member of the President’s Export Council, the principal national advisory committee on international trade. Shamina was Executive Director for the historic first President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, which was created by Executive Order in 1999 and has been renewed by each President since. In 2015, Shamina was appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a six-year term on the Board of AmeriCorps, a $1B independent agency that places over 270,000 volunteers with social sector organizations across the U.S. She served as Chair for two years.

Shamina sits on the board of the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders in Austin, Texas, co-chairs the Ad Council of America’s Advisory Committee and serves on advisory boards of, data.org; The Aspen Institute Civil Society Fellowship; the New York Department of Financial Services Innovation Advisory Board; and the CGAP Financial Inclusion Initiative.

She earned a Bachelor of Science from Old Dominion University and a Master of Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin. She received the alumni of distinction award from both institutions and is currently a contributor to MIT Sloan Management Review on the topic of Responsible AI.