Diana Ming Chan (; 1929 – August 2008) was an American

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

er,

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, advocate, and educator known for her pioneering work in school social work and direct services. She was the first

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

-speaking bilingual social worker in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

's Chinatown. She was known for her "dumpling diplomacy", in which politicians were invited to her home to discuss the importance of social workers in public schools over

dumpling Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, fi ...

Early life

Chan was born in 1929 in

, California to a former prostitute. After the

Page Act of 1875 The Page Act of 1875 (Sect. 141, 18 Stat. 477, 3 March 1875) was the first restrictive federal immigration law in the United States, which effectively prohibited the entry of Chinese women, marking the end of open borders. Seven years later, the ...

prohibited the immigration of nearly all Chinese women and blocked the formation of families within the Chinese American community, Chan's mother came to California for the flourishing sex trade among Chinese Americans. When Chan was 18 months old, her mother died and Chan was sent to an orphanage. Once she was returned to her father, she often spent her evenings in the care of an

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

addict. Under such circumstances, Chan did not take her education seriously until the fifth grade when her teacher invited Chan and other students into her home. The newfound interest in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

led Chan to work in a

Medical laboratory A medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are conducted out on clinical specimens to obtain information about the health of a patient to aid in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Clinical Medical labor ...

at San Francisco's Chinese hospital during

middle school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

and

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. As a freshman in college, she worked with low-income students on behalf of

YWCA USA : ''For other uses, including specific buildings and chapters, see Young Women's Christian Association (disambiguation).'' YWCA USA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedo ...

at the

Settlement house The settlement movement was a reformist social movement that began in the 1880s and peaked around the 1920s in United Kingdom and the United States. Its goal was to bring the rich and the poor of society together in both physical proximity and s ...

in New York's

Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "B ...

Education

Chan earned a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

and a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

Career

After she earned her Master's degree in social work, she worked with Hispanic, African American, and Chinese adolescents and kids in the

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

Recreation Department. She worked with young married couples in the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, California, as well as in low-income housing projects with African Americans. Chan was the first Chinese social worker at Donaldina Cameron House and continued her work with the organization for 18 years. Chan taught social work at the

City College of San Francisco City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a State school#United States, public community college in San Francisco, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local ...

and the

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

. In 1970, she taught bilingual workshops for teachers of the

San Francisco Unified School District San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), established in 1851, is the only public school district within the City and County of San Francisco, and the first in the state of California. Under the management of the San Francisco Board of Educa ...

to improve educators' Asian American cultural competency. In May 2005, Chan was one of two featured individuals in the

National Association of Social Workers The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is a professional organization of social workers in the United States. NASW has about 120,000 members. The NASW provides guidance, research, up to date information, advocacy, and other resources f ...

Foundation's Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month. In February 2007, Chan helped plan and present a town hall meeting as part of the national project "Eliminating Disparities at End-of-Life."

Philanthropy

In 2000, Chan and her family committed funds to the

Foundation's Learning Springboard Endowment, which supports social workers in San Francisco schools. After Chan's death in 2008, the Asian Pacific Islander Social Work Council,

California Chapter, and the

Foundation established a scholarship fund called the Diana Ming Chan Bilingual Scholarship in honor of her memory and legacy.

Advocacy

After she became a licensed clinical social worker in San Francisco's

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

, Chan advocated for more Chinese bilingual social workers. During the

War on Poverty The war on poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national p ...

in the 1960s, Chan provided substantial evidence for San Francisco's Chinatown to be considered a "targeted community" and thereby be eligible to receive federal funding for social work programs and services. This funding led to the creation of many organizations including Self-Help for the Elderly, Chinese Newcomers Service Center, Chinatown Child Development Center, and Northeast Mental Health Services. In reaction to the new demand for Chinese American social workers, the

created a two-year program for social work paraprofessionals. Chan also lobbied for school social work. She successfully convinced the

San Francisco Board of Education The San Francisco Board of Education is the school board for the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco. It is composed of seven Commissioners, elected by voters across the city to serve 4-year terms. It is subject to local, state, and f ...

to create school positions for social workers.

Personal life

Chan married her first husband, Monfoon Leong, in 1951. They had two children before Leong died in a car accident in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

during a family trip in 1964. She later remarried. Chan also danced in San Francisco's

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

s. Chan died in 2008.

Awards

References

External links

Oral history interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Diana Ming American social workers People from San Francisco 1929 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American philanthropists