It is with great pleasure that we share with you this good news: As of Nov. 1, Leng Leng Chancey – activist, community organizer, and champion of equality – will be 9to5’s new Executive Director.
Leng Leng has held numerous management positions in nonprofits such as the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), the Center for Pan Asian Community Services, and Culture Connect. Most recently, Leng Leng served as the Vice President of Development and Marketing at Quality Care for Children, working on affordability and accessibility to high-quality childcare.
We are confident that Leng Leng’s professional experience combined with her personal motto of “equitable access for all” will serve her well as our new leader. She will help us realize the opportunities to grow our work and increase our impact for working women. As this new chapter at 9to5 unfolds, we look forward to both engaging you further in this important work and sharing our progress with you.
In solidarity,
Cathy Deppe & Gloria Smith, 9to5 National Board Co-Chairs
A message from Leng Leng Chancey
Dear 9to5 Members and Friends,
I am extremely honored to take on the role of executive director of 9to5. It was more than 25 years ago that I left the country of my birth, crossed the Pacific and landed in North America. I was seeking an education and a better life. I found that life in America was not easy and it wasn’t long before I experienced racism and quickly realized how differently I was treated.
Over the last 25 years, I have worked as an activist and a champion for human rights and much of my work has centered on advancing the rights of women of color. In today’s America, we are witnessing the rollback of our most basic rights and freedoms, and working women and communities of color are most impacted. It is a travesty that Black women and Latinas still earn only 63 cents and 54 cents respectively, for every dollar earned by white males and that more than 50% of women of color lack basic health insurance.
Working women are the backbone of this nation and our communities, and the poor economic conditions they face is a shame for this nation I now call home. 9to5 has played a critically important role in defending the rights of women and our work is now more important than ever.
For 45 years, 9to5 has always lifted the voices of working women struggling at the intersection of work and life and now is the time to redouble our efforts and amplify our impact. I pledge to work with all of you to achieve pay equity, increase access to affordable housing and childcare, fight to end sexual harassment and much more! Together we will build a more just and equitable future for working women and our communities.
I promise that this organization will hold onto our values for fighting for women’s justice, including lifting up the voices of women of color, immigrant women and queer and trans women and together charting a better tomorrow for all of us.
Lastly, I am committed to shepherding this organization with love, dignity, and compassion, for nothing is more critical than respecting and loving each other as we build a better tomorrow together. And I need your help! I will need your commitment, strength, kindness, and perseverance to attain this reality for all of our futures! Together, we must!
Thank you all for your support and continued commitment to 9to5. I look forward to working with all of you for our tomorrow!
In Solidarity,
Leng Leng
