Priscilla Chan (philanthropist)

Priscilla Chan
Priscilla Chan in 2014
Born	(1985-02-24) February 24, 1985[1] Braintree, Massachusetts, U.S.
Residence	Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	Harvard University University of California, San Francisco
Occupation	Pediatrician Philanthropist
Spouse(s)	Mark Zuckerberg (m. 2012)
Children	1
Awards	S

Priscilla Chan (born February 24, 1985) is an American pediatrician and philanthropist. She is the wife of the co-founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. As of 2015, she and her husband have pledged more than $1.6 billion to charities. In December 2015, they pledged to donate 99% of their Facebook shares, valued at $45 billion, to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a philanthropic and political action company that focuses on health and education.

Biography

Chan was born in Braintree, Massachusetts,^[2] and grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. Her parents were ethnic Chinese refugees who fled Vietnam in refugee boats to escape oppression from the socialist Vietnamese government.^[3][4] She grew up speaking Cantonese and served as an interpreter for her grandparents. She has two younger sisters.^[5] In 2003, she graduated as class valedictorian from Quincy High School, and was voted "class genius" by her classmates.^[5] According to a Facebook post by Mark Zuckerberg, Chan is a Buddhist.^[6]

Chan entered Harvard University in 2003, where she met and began dating Mark Zuckerberg. She graduated in 2007 with a BA in biology, and also studied Spanish. She is fluent in Cantonese, English and Spanish. She is the first person in her family to graduate from college.^[5]

After graduation, she taught science at the private Harker School for a year, before entering medical school at the University of California, San Francisco in 2008. She graduated in 2012, and finished her pediatric residency in the summer of 2015.^[5] She married Zuckerberg on May 19, 2012, a day after Facebook's stock market launch.^[5]

On July 31, 2015, Zuckerberg announced that he and Chan were expecting a baby girl. He said he felt confident that the risk of miscarrying was low so far into the pregnancy, after Chan had already suffered three miscarriages.^[7] Chan and Zuckerberg announced the birth of their daughter, Maxima Chan Zuckerberg ("Max"), Chinese: 陳明宇; pinyin: Chén Míngyǔ^[8]), on December 1, 2015.^[9][10][11] In March 2017, he announced that the two are expecting another baby.^[12]

Philanthropy

Zuckerberg and Chan have pledged about $1.6 billion to charities,^[13] including a donation of $75 million to San Francisco General Hospital, where Chan worked.^[5] In 2013, they gave 18 million Facebook shares (valued at more than $970 million) to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. The Chronicle of Philanthropy placed the couple at the top of its list of 50 most generous American philanthropists for that year.^[14] They also pledged $120 million to public schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.^[4]

On December 1, 2015, Chan and Zuckerberg posted an open Facebook letter to their newborn daughter. They pledged to donate 99% of their Facebook shares, then valued at $45 billion, to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which is their new charitable foundation that focuses on health and education.^[4][13]

Chan's charitable goals focus on education, healthcare and science, which are closely tied to her personal background.^[5] She is considered to have had a strong influence on the philanthropy of her husband.^[4] She plans to launch The Primary School in 2016, a nonprofit organization that will provide K–12 education as well as prenatal care, in East Palo Alto, California.^[5] She was one of six nominated for The San Francisco Chronicle’s third annual Visionary of the Year award in March 2017. The award honors leaders who strive to make the world a better place and also drive change by employing new, innovative business practices.^[15]

In March 2017, Chan and Zuckerberg donated $50,000 to The Aloha Angels Endowed Fund, a program aimed to fund teachers and after school activities in Kauai, Hawaii.^[16]

References