Clara Wu Tsai is an American businesswoman, philanthropist, and criminal justice activist. She is a co-owner of the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...

, the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was f ...

, the

San Diego Seals The San Diego Seals are a box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. They play their home games at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located ...

, and

Barclays Center Barclays Center is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty o ...

. She is a founding partner of

REFORM Alliance REFORM Alliance, also known as REFORM or Reform, is a non-profit organization dedicated to probation, parole, and sentencing reform in the United States through legislation and lobbying. History Founding REFORM Alliance was founded in January 2 ...

, a nonprofit focused on prison and parole reform in the United States.

Early life and education

Wu Tsai was born in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

to Dr. De Min Wu and Chin-Sha Wu, who were immigrants. Her father was a professor of economics at the University of Kansas. Wu Tsai attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, receiving both a bachelor of arts degree and a master's degree in international relations in 1988. She later received an MBA from Harvard University in 1993.

Career

Wu Tsai was a senior manager and vice president in the business analysis unit of the finance group at

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

. Wu Tsai also worked for Taobao Hong Kong. Wu Tsai was a founding partner of

and sits on the board of directors. In January 2019, her husband, Joseph Tsai, purchased the

and the Nets' arena Barclays Center from

Mikhail Prokhorov Mikhail Dmitrievich Prokhorov ( rus, Михаил Дмитриевич Прохоров, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈproxərəf; born 3 May 1965) is a Russian-Israeli oligarch, politician, and former owner of the Brooklyn Nets. I ...

Philanthropy

Wu Tsai and her husband started a foundation, the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation. Wu Tsai leads and manages the foundation's work in supporting scientific research, economic mobility, social justice, and creativity in the arts. The

neuroscience institute is named after Wu Tsai. In August 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd protests, Wu Tsai and her husband donated $50 million to social justice and economic equality initiatives which support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. The couple developed a five-point action plan and stated that they planned to focus on organizations in Brooklyn, New York. Wu Tsai and her husband donated to Yale University to create the Wu Tsai Institute, which is set to open in the fall of 2022. The Institute will have three centers: the Center for Neurodevelopment and Plasticity, the Center for Neurocognition and Behavior, and the Center for Neurocomputation and Machine Intelligence. The Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation also donated to the University of California San Diego’s 21st Century China Center to expand its data-based research, policy engagement, and education on issues related to U.S.-China relations. In 2021, the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation funded a

Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...

educational arts program developed in partnership between the

, the New York City Department of Education and the Fund for Public Schools.

Awards

In February 2021, Wu Tsai was named "Champion of Justice" by

John Jay College The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts co ...

for her role in creating and forming REFORM Alliance. The award also recognized her $50 million donation to create the Social Justice Fund for Brooklyn's Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

Personal life

Wu Tsai married businessman Joseph Tsai at Park Avenue Christian Church on October 4, 1996. They have three children: Alex, Dash, and Jacob. Wu Tsai has a residence in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu Tsai, Clara People from Lawrence, Kansas Living people Brooklyn Nets owners American chief executives American businesspeople American philanthropists Stanford University alumni Harvard Business School alumni New York Liberty owners Stanford University trustees 1966 births