The most appropriate way to describe Yeni Wong, chair of
the board and president of Riverdale International Inc., is “world-class
leader.” Her sharp, strategic mind, tremendous market insight, and humanitarian
contributions all combine to make her a rare executive among the American
community giants.
Simply, I am in awe of Yeni Wong. There is no more
courageous, passionate, and committed fighter for our community revitalization
and the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) project.
The BID is a private, nonprofit
organization that provides capital improvements, resources, and research to
help diversify the economy and enhance the downtown experience for all. This
special district, where property owners have agreed to tax themselves to fund
services, encompasses a 138-block area of approximately 520 properties from
Massachusetts Avenue on the north to Constitution Avenue on the south, and from
Louisiana Avenue on the east to Sixteenth Street on the west. As a catalyst,
facilitator, and thought leader, the BID promotes public/private partnerships
to create a remarkable urban environment.
Since its
founding in 1997, the BID has played an integral role in
the economic vitality and development efforts of downtown DC by keeping the
streets clean and safe for all who work, live, and play here. In the immediate
months and years ahead, the BID will be refocusing on its core values of
cleanliness and safety. Yeni Wong brings city experience, private- and
public-sector connections, and a deep commitment to DC to this position, and we
are certain she will help sustain and build upon the past success of the
Downtown BID.
Yeni is a leader. It’s what she says she does best,
whether in the private sector as cofounder and CEO of the Asian American Action
Fund (AAA-Fund) or in the public sector as executive committee member of Downtown Business
Improvement District (BID). Her latest undertaking is a job that will require
all of her skills.
In 2003, Yeni was elected to be a committee member of the
BID board of directors’ executive committee. The whole project was outspent,
and hope was fading fast. Then Yeni showed up, not afraid of the attacks, the
money, and the influence of the other local business leaders. Her wisdom and
support helped the committee to achieve great success with a cultural redevelopment
plan and an arena that might revitalize Chinatown.
The essence of good community leadership is to have the
courage to do what you believe is right when it is unpopular and the skill to
bring people of differing viewpoints together to get things done. By those
measures, Yeni is an excellent entrepreneur and also a very
good community leader. Yeni has worked her whole life to improve the lives of
people in our community. She knows that through quality community and a strong
revitalization plan, our business district will be prepared to succeed in
tomorrow’s markets. The downtown conservatives recently recognized Yeni’s
outstanding contributions to revitalizing the city’s traditional urban center.
Her personal values, strength, and experience in community
and business have prepared her well to revitalize and develop efforts in
downtown DC. Besides all that, Yeni likes to laugh—often at herself—which is
another kind of courage not found in all entrepreneurs and philanthropists.
Yeni’s life has earned her a place on the most inspiring Asian Americans list.
Yeni’s professional career has focused predominantly on
Chinatown revitalization and humanitarian contributions.
Her community affiliations include the following:
- a presidential appointment to the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts (John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts);
- an appointment by the mayor of the District of Columbia as an executive committee member on the Workforce and Investment Council;
- chair of the board of directors of the Washington Chinatown Development Company board of directors;
- vice chair of the board of directors of the Women’s Leadership Forum;
- a director of the Women’s Business Center; and
- a director of the National Museum of the Woman in Art.
She was the first person I would see every morning at the
Chinatown Cultural Development Strategy (CCDS) meeting and usually the last one
to leave in the evening. I came to value highly her grasp of revitalization
affairs and her business insight and judgment.
Her meteoric rise continued at the BID, where she
eventually became the most influential committee member of the Downtown
Business Improvement District. Cool, calm, and collected, this is a woman who
would never be rattled by a sudden phone call at three o’clock in the morning.
When I heard that Yeni Wong was elected to the seat of
committee member of the Downtown Business Improvement District, I was thrilled.
This was a woman who had overcome so much herself, rising to become the most
famous Asian American entrepreneur and philanthropist.
And I remember thinking how wonderful it would be for a
woman to break through yet another barrier and to help her
beloved community revived through revitalization.
When we met in September 2003 during her endeavors, she
spoke with deep passion and even deeper expertise on the challenges facing her
community, from revitalization to modernization. I had been very eager to
finally speak with her in person. Being a woman in revitalization can be a
tough business, and Yeni made it look effortless. In our meeting, I learned
why: because Yeni speaks and leads from her heart. She won, of course.
In Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and around the
country, women are not only blazing new trails but bringing others along as
well. In every community, in every city—in places where women are soaring to
new heights and in places where too many women remain second-class
citizens—women and men can draw inspiration from leaders like Yeni—leaders with
grace and courage, leaders who never give up and never give in. Count me among
the inspired. In the past few months, I’ve had the privilege of watching Yeni
inspire many Chinese Americans to participate in the Chinatown revitalization.
She has also reached out to hundreds more who might not have known there was a
seat for them at the table at all—people who desperately need a voice.
Over the past twenty years, Yeni has developed and nurtured a relationship with community citizens and folks built on the recognition that there is more that unites us than divides us—that our shared experiences in work, life, and love; in family and community; and in our hopes and dreams know no barriers. Regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or hometown, we are our brothers’ keepers, our sisters’ keepers.
Shakespeare isn’t usually associated with entrepreneurs
and philanthropists, but Yeni is quick to apply the Bard’s insights on
dedication and responsibility, intrigue and honor to life in Chinatown and
beyond. No one would assume she does not know or talks without knowing. Every
day, from nine o’clock in the morning, she simply works and looks as if there
is no misunderstanding about her work. She is progressive, perfectly behaved,
and an inspiration for Chinatown revitalization. She has certainly experienced
as many spectacular reversals of fortune as any Shakespearean hero.
As a Chinese American myself, I am particularly pleased
that she is not inclined to accept the prevalent tide of Sino pessimism. She
sees Chinatown with fresh eyes as a district of opportunity. She thinks in the
long term, developing business that will thrive well beyond the prosperity of
downtown business improvement. This is how Chinatown in Washington, DC, should
be.
Yeni is a wonderful friend and an incredible force. Her
dedication and support have meant so much to those in DC’s Chinatown. As Yeni
often says about her own life, her story is one that truly could happen only in
America. After the struggles she endured as a young immigrant, she became a
popular entrepreneur and philanthropist with a community following. But she
didn’t stop there. Using her platform to serve as a national role model, she
challenges us to make the nation as it should be. And she is always the first
to show us how it can be done, as discussed in the following interview.
What is the biggest change your industry has seen in the
past five years?
The BID has evolved from just keeping the streets clean and working with the property owners to ensuring a high level of security and awareness. It’s really now about creating infrastructure that will allow businesses to want to choose downtown DC as their destination of choice for working, socializing, shopping, and living. We have a robust economic development and research component to what we do.
How did you adapt to those changes?
The BID has been around for about nineteen years. It’s
been an evolution over those nineteen years, and as part of that evolution, as
the city has gotten better, the BID had been seeking ways of keeping ahead of the curve in terms of
change. For example, we’re transitioning and looking at what is the
role of the BID in providing clean and pleasing open-space opportunities. Every
major city has an emphasis on parks and open space. It’s a role that BIDs play
across this country.
What role is the BID playing in the renovation of
Chinatown?
The BID has been working with the city for four years to
renovate Chinatown and operate and maintain it in the long run. A lot of the
planning efforts have been jointly funded by the city and the Downtown BID.
We’re hoping that we can work with the city to provide the funding for the
actual renovation and that the BID will take responsibility for the operation
and programming.
What’s your biggest business success?
I’ve been successful at leading people. It’s what I do
best. I think every place that I’ve worked, whether the public or private
sectors, I’ve gotten people to share my
vision and work with me to achieve that vision.
What is your legacy?
When I came to DC and worked for the Downtown Business Improvement District cCommittee, we just weren’t a high-functioning committee. Nothing was getting done. The facilities were dreadful. When I left, we had revitalized Chinatown into a diverse community over a period of four years, a significant accomplishment. When I was the executive committee member of the Downtown Business Improvement District, we moved a number of really high-profile projects during some of the toughest economic times in our nation’s history. That includes the Gallery Square and the Gallery Court II located in Chinatown/Gallery Place.
What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self?
I actually still give this advice to my seventy-year-old
self, which is take risks. I’ve taken a lot of risks in my life, and for the
most part, they’ve paid off. There have been some failures on the private side—investments that went belly up. But take
risks.