Assunta Ng

Assunta Ng is Chinese American community organizer and the publisher of Northwest Asian Weekly and Seattle Chinese Post, based in Seattle's Chinatown/International District.

Biography

Ng was born in China and raised in Hong Kong.[1] Ng got her first name, which means ascension, from an Italian priest when she was baptized.[2]

In 1971 at age 19, she immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong to attend the University of Washington (UW).[3] Ng wanted to relocate to the U.S. because her parents had low expectations for daughters and Ng did not want to become a housewife, which was what was modeled to her as she was growing up. At that time, she had the perception that only in America could a woman be free. After the first year, Ng supported herself for the rest of her college education. Her first job was as a dishwasher in a school cafeteria, and it paid $2.50 an hour. Ng also baby-sat and worked in restaurants to keep afloat.[2][4] She wrote for the Daily newspaper while at the UW, and she earned a bachelor's degree in international studies and education from the UW in 1974, a teaching certificate in 1976, and a master's degree in communications in 1979.

Post-college, Ng taught social studies to children of immigrant families at Mercer Junior High School. She observed that many were lost in a strange new system. It was during this time that she became aware of the lack of information available to the local Chinese community. In 1982, Ng started with $25,000 of her own seed money and founded the Seattle Chinese Post. A year later in 1983, Ng founded the Northwest Asian Weekly, a Pan-Asian English-language weekly.[5][4]

In 1986, Ng was one of 15 women who joined the Seattle chapter of Rotary International, before the parent organization allowed women to join.[5]

In 1996, Ng founded Women of Color Empowered, a tri-annual networking luncheon series that honors women of color who have made an impact in their local communities.[6][5] Through her nonprofit, the Northwest Asian Weekly Foundation, Ng has organized programs and scholarships to help disadvantaged youth and women, and she has raised more than $3 million for various charities and scholarships for foster children, University of Washington, Washington State University, Seattle University, and Seattle Community Colleges.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Assunta Ng, Board Member | Ethnic Business Coalition". ethnicbusinesscoalition.org. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
  2. Liu, Wen. "Wen's Interviews - Assunta Ng". www.wenspages.us. Archived from the original on 2016-08-19. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
  3. "Living | Making headlines: Assunta Ng goes after what she wants | Seattle Times Newspaper". community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
  4. "Business | Assunta Ng -- Series Of Unusual Challenges Helped News Editor Thrive | Seattle Times Newspaper". community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
  5. "Assunta Ng Named 2011 Charles E. Odegaard Award Recipient | Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity". www.washington.edu. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
  6. "Women of Color Empowered honors 'Rising Stars'". Northwest Asian Weekly. 2014-04-24. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
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