Debbie Chinn

The proud daughter of immigrants, Debbie Chinn is first-generation Chinese, born and raised on Long Island, New York. While other children participated in sleep-overs, summer camps, and sports activities, Debbie's childhood was spent at The House of Mah Jong, her family's Chinese restaurant where she entered the workforce at the age of three. Her first job was selling cigarettes. By the age of six, her responsibilities expanded and she spent time on a bar stool inserting umbrellas into cherries...See more

The proud daughter of immigrants, Debbie Chinn is first-generation Chinese, born and raised on Long Island, New York. While other children participated in sleep-overs, summer camps, and sports activities, Debbie's childhood was spent at The House of Mah Jong, her family's Chinese restaurant where she entered the workforce at the age of three. Her first job was selling cigarettes. By the age of six, her responsibilities expanded and she spent time on a bar stool inserting umbrellas into cherries and pineapple slices for an assortment of exotic drinks.As the family business grew in popularity and fame, she was thrust into the land of the South Seas when Mah Jong evolved into a Polynesian nightclub; ubiquitous dining experiences during the 1960's and 1970's. She became an exotic hula and sword dancer performing weekly at nights when not a middle and high school student during the day.In their quest to assimilate in the United States, her parents abided by the value of strong work ethics, fanatical hospitality, the importance relationship-building and maintaining, of supporting organizations doing good work in our communities, and always taking care of others. It was a family ethos that is known today as philanthropy.It is no wonder that Debbie eventeually established a distinguished 30 year career as an arts activist, a non-profit consultant, and CEO - leading some of the country's most renowned cultural institutions and their programs - which was inspired by her Mah Jong upbringing. She has long championed equity and inclusion - a business philosophy instilled in her by her father - before it had a DEI acronym.She is a fervent life-long learner with an insatiable appetite to make sense of these convoluted times by forging bridges via the arts, humanities, and cultural heritage. Here, she carries forth the legacy of her ancestors and elders who contributed to this world's economic growth and reputation in the fields of science, engineering, medicine, aerospace, cultural diplomacy, academia, and culinary hospitality. She has many passions - too many to mention here, but wine tasting/collecting is high on that list.Debbie currently serves on a variety of non-profit boards providing advice on governance, finance, fundraising, marketing, strategic planning, artistiic programming, and board/staff relations. She lives in Northern California with her two cats, Kona and Leilani, surrounded by her collection of 100+ bottles of wine. See less