Posted by Rob LoBosco on Aug 14, 2019
I love welcoming new members into our club, especially younger members. But some are so young they make me feel a bit old. Well brace yourselves, this one makes me feel old…and lazy!
Crysti Chen was born in the Yunnan province in southeastern China, a popular tourist destination near the Vietnam border that includes Shangri-La. Her given name is Zinan, made from Zi, which means purple, and Nan, which means sandalwood. Now, the fact that purple sandalwood doesn’t exist in China, or anywhere, for that matter, only reinforces her individuality.
 
Crysti grew up in the capital city of Kunming, the only child of an enterprising, prosperous family. To keep her grounded, her parents imbued a spirit of charity so strong that, when first visiting her family’s rural ancestral home, where abject poverty makes education an unattainable dream for most children, she decided then and there to do something about it.
 
So, she came to America, alone, with only an academic grasp of the English language, and founded a charity to raise money to educate those children. She was 16—a High School junior in an exchange program attending Lincoln High School in Tacoma.
 
She first raised money at Lincoln by asking fellow students to donate one dollar each. She then moved on to other high schools, across America, raising over $30,000. She returns to the area each summer to improve the schools and visit with the recipient families. The charity is now raising funds from Chinese companies, leveraging their need to invest in education for their own futures.
 
After her exchange year, Crysti returned to China for senior year, but came right back to attend the UW for her undergrad. She then went to Columbia University for a master’s degree in social work and is now working on her second master’s at UPenn in education entrepreneurship.
 
In her “spare time,” Crysti co-manages a family venture capital fund with a partner in Palo Alto, a young man from China with a background very similar to hers. She wants to convert the fund to a social impact fund focused on her passions for charity, education, and the environment.
 
Crysti draws inspiration from her father who taught her the importance of knowing what not to do and when to say “no.” He helps her to be consistent and not get distracted from her passions. Sounds to me like a very wise man.
 
She and her father also share a love of German shepherds. Crysti had a German shepherd named Andor while attending the UW, but had to give the dog to her father when she went to Columbia University in Manhattan. Her father says it’s like having a second daughter.
 
So, think about it for a second—Crysti comes to America by herself and has to learn English. And Andor goes to China by himself and has to learn Chinese! They set the bar pretty high in this family.
In fact, I couldn’t conceal my amazement while learning about this incredible young lady during our interview. At one point, Crysti humbly pushed back, saying, “No, I haven’t done that much, yet. I’m too young!” I think that about says it all.
 
Thanks to proposer, John Adams, for this wonderful addition to our club. 
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