MassLive recently asked readers to identify people who are leaders from the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community throughout the state, working to make a difference in politics, education, business, the arts or another area of interest.
Profiles of these leaders will be published through AAPI Heritage Month in May. These are people our readers have identified as inspirational, who may be doing good acts for their communities. They are being recognized for their accomplishments, leadership and commitment to inspire change.
Jerren Chang, co-founder and CEO of GenUnityLeise Jones
Jerren Chang
Age: 31
Community: Boston
His story: Jerren Chang is on a mission to heal civic culture. The New York native and alumnus of Duke University, Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School is the CEO and co-founder of GenUnity, a Boston-based community leadership nonprofit that brings people of different backgrounds together via locally-focused programs to drive systemic change.
Since its founding in 2020, GenUnity has supported more than 150 everyday leaders who are now expanding access to culturally competent healthcare, promoting housing security through legislation to combat discrimination, and creating new programs to support people in low-income communities of color in becoming first-time homeowners.
Chang says growing up as a first-generation Asian American in an affluent New York suburb made him keenly aware of how the lived experiences of people of color are often overlooked, even by people with good intentions. He brought that lens with him to social impact work at McKinsey & Company global consulting firm and later to an economic development position at the Chicago Mayor’s Office.
When Chang arrived in Boston to attend school at Harvard, he started thinking about the need to build deep partnerships between residents closest to the issues and staff at institutions who want to create positive change. From there, GenUnity was born.
In his words: “A common entrepreneurial phrase is, ‘Fall in love with the problem.’ It’s a great reminder that too often we jump to a solution without understanding the root causes of an issue or the systems surrounding it. By focusing on the problem, we bring a humble inquiry and learning mindset that is essential, especially if we want to address our society’s most entrenched inequities.”
We’re always open to hearing about more inspiring people. If you’d like to suggest someone else who should be recognized, please fill out this form.
