Yongmei Chen immigrated to the United States from China, so she appreciates the vital role community-based organizations like the Asian American Civic Association (AACA) provide to new settlers. Because she has accomplished a great deal since her arrival, the AACA would like to recognize Yongmei for helping her Chinatown neighbors aspire to greater levels of opportunity.      

 Yongmei is the Vice President of Cathay Bank in Boston, the oldest Chinese-owned banking institution in the United States.  Though only in Chinatown for a few years, the bank has already had a significant impact on the neighborhood’s economic development.  It has driven new capital into the community by creating new job opportunities and funding several development projects. 

Through her work with Cathay, Yongmei has become increasingly invested in improving the quality of life for Chinatown residents. Yongmei is a member of the AACA Board of Directors, and has been for the past four years, lending her voice to issues affecting disadvantaged community members.  She is filling an important role in the organization’s fundraising effort to find a new home for the AACA, using her ties to the local business community to expand the donor base. 

Yongmei also helped design the curriculum for the AACA’s office-skills training program, involving her colleagues at Cathay Bank as mock interviewers. She also established a scholarship fund to help members of her community access this crucial workforce development program.   

“Yongmei serves as a role model to not only the people we serve at AACA but to the larger business community,” said Chau Ming Lee, director of the AACA. “All of Chinatown benefits from her efforts.”