Christine Chen was the founding executive director of Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) from 2006-2008 and has since returned to the organization in January 2011 to serve as its current Executive Director. During her tenure, Christine strengthened and expanded APIAVote’s partners into 29 states. APIAVote’s research and polling of Asian American voters and their regional trainings and field programs have strengthened the local grassroots programs in reaching and mobilizing Asian American and Pacific Islander voters.
Profiled by Newsweek magazine in 2001 as one of 15 women who will shape America’s new century, Christine served from 2001 to 2005 as national executive director of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), one of the leading AAPI civil rights organizations in the country. Christine has nearly three decades of experience in organizing and advocating on issues such as immigration, hate crimes, affirmative action, census, racial profiling, voting rights, election reform, and various derogatory and racist media incidents. While serving as Executive Director of OCA National from 2001 to 2006, Chen was also a member of the executive committee of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, founding member of APIA Scholars, and served on numerous boards including the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans and Demos Board of Trustees.
She was a Resident Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics during the 2022 spring semester. She currently serves on the Kennedy Center Community Advisory Board and the Center for Asian American Media. In addition, she is a member of the Election Assistance and Policy (EAP) Standing Committee at the American Political Science Association.
