Stephen Chan

Master in Public Administration candidate
John F. Kennedy School of Government

Prior Education

Harvard Business School, M.B.A. candidate
Stanford University, B.A., cum laude

Professional Experience

Booz Allen Hamilton: Summer Associate
The Boston Foundation: Special Assistant to the President
Sam Yoon for Boston City Council Campaign: Volunteer and Finance Coordinator
Saffron Circle: Co-Founder and Steering Committee Member

Biography

My identity as an Asian American and a gay man has unavoidably heightened my sensitivity to the most vulnerable and marginalized in our society. In my civic and professional experiences, I have sought to apply my analytic capabilities to build the capacity of traditionally underserved urban communities—whether through strategic planning at a $750M regional grantmaking and civic leadership institution, serving as volunteer and finance coordinator to help Boston’s first Asian City Councilor win elected office, or helping launch a giving circle to fund emerging projects in the greater Boston Asian community. These experiences have shown me that effectively addressing age-old social issues requires inclusive, creative leadership that brings new voices and bold ideas to the decision-making table.

In the future, I aspire to practice a kind of civic entrepreneurship that brings together public and private sector knowledge, relationships, and capital in pursuit of collaborative and sustainable systems change at the regional scale and beyond. I am particularly interested in exploring how social innovation can be applied to boost civic engagement and improve the effectiveness and accountability of public and nonprofit institutions. The Kennedy School MPA program and the Zuckerman Fellowship will be instrumental in expanding my knowledge base of creative approaches to social impact in the public and private spheres.