Going Against The Grain: Cynthia Yung – Against The Grain Productions

Cynthia Yung, Executive Director of The Boone Family Foundation

Cynthia Yung currently serves as Executive Director of The Boone Family Foundation, a resource for social change. In this role, she is responsible for identifying and recommending grants for nonprofit organizations that focus on supporting programs which advance equity for women and girls, improve quality of life for children and promote environmental stewardship.

Ms. Yung also serves on advisory boards for The Real Estate Council Community Fund and Texas Women Ventures, Austin College GO! Forum Advisory Council, Dallas ISD Literacy Campaign Committee and steering committees for the Zero to Five Funders Collaborative and Commit! Early Childhood Council. More than a decade of volunteer work on international mission trips and serving on nonprofit boards have paved the way for Ms. Yung’s transition from the corporate world to the nonprofit world.

A Telecom industry veteran, her previous corporate career includes roles in sales, strategic marketing, manufacturing operations and finance for Nortel Networks. Ms. Yung earned a Chartered Professional Accountant designation at Ernst & Young and a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Canada.

Check out news on Ms. Yung’s latest work:

11/15/2014 National Facing Race conference in Dallas ends on a joyous and inspiring note. http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20141115-new-ground-for-racial-equality.ece
11/13/2014 Editorial: A vein of optimism in Dallas attitudes on race. http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20141112-editorial-a-vein-of-optimism-in-dallas-attitudes-on-race.ece

Full Name: Cynthia Yung
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Current City: Dallas, Texas
Ethnicity: 34^th generation Chinese

What does it mean to you to “Go Against The Grain?”

Journey outside your “lines” be it gender, culture, tradition, stereotype, etc.

What made you decide to pursue your career path?

Desire to make the most of my time in the world and use my skills, knowledge and talents to make a difference.

What have been some of the challenges you faced/lessons you learned as an Asian American in this field?

I find myself as the only Asian female leader in the room during civic and philanthropic/non-profit events and I often ask, where are the other Asians? I know and meet brilliant Asians all the time and I wish more would engage in our local communities and speak up for Asian points of view in the important conversations as we build the kind of society we want with our fellow Americans. I have noticed that our cultural traditions teach us from a young age to be obedient children and can translate into silent invisible adults. Silence doesn’t make one immune to discrimination. We influence fair treatment and real understanding by our presence and participation. All of us personally or within our earlier family generations came to America as immigrants. We have a special responsibility to share our stories and voices for other immigrants and build an inclusive society.

What do you feel is your biggest accomplishment, and why?

Being part of the team effort that brought Facing Race national conference to Dallas in November 2014. This has been a two year journey to lift the local race conversation above the surface in Dallas to address root causes and move towards equity.

What’s up next?

Continuing the racial equity work in Dallas and including more people especially underrepresented groups like Asians.

Quote to live by: “A different world cannot be built by indifferent people.” Peter Marshall