Priscilla Chan

Priscilla Chan (born February 24, 1985)[2] is an American pediatrician and philanthropist. She and her husband Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and CEO of Facebook, Inc., established the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in December 2015, with a pledge to transfer 99 percent of their Facebook shares, then valued at $45 billion. She attended Harvard University and received her medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

This article is about the American philanthropist. For the Hong Kong singer, see Priscilla Chan (singer). For the Singaporean actress, see Priscelia Chan.

Priscilla Chan
Priscilla Chan, in 2018
Born (1985-02-24) February 24, 1985
Braintree, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationHarvard University (AB)
University of California, San Francisco (MD)
Occupation
  • Pediatrician
  • philanthropist
Title
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2012)​
Children2

Early life

On February 24, 1985, Chan was born in Braintree, Massachusetts,[3] and grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. Her parents were Chinese in Vietnam who fled the country in refugee boats.[4][5] She grew up speaking Cantonese and served as an interpreter for her grandparents. She has two younger sisters.[6] In 2003, she graduated as class valedictorian from Quincy High School and was voted "class genius" by her classmates.[6]

Education

Chan entered Harvard University in 2003, where she met and began dating Mark Zuckerberg. She graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) in biology and also studied Spanish. She is fluent in Cantonese, English, and Spanish. She is the first college graduate in her family.[6] 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 pediatrics residency in the summer of 2015.[6]

Personal life
Chan with her husband Mark Zuckerberg in Prague, Czech Republic, 2013.

Chan married Zuckerberg on May 19, 2012, the day after Facebook's stock market launch.[6] Chan and Zuckerberg announced the birth of their daughter Maxima Chan Zuckerberg[upper-alpha 1][7] on December 1, 2015.[8][9][10] On August 28, 2017, Chan gave birth to their second daughter, whom they named August.[11]

According to a Facebook post by Zuckerberg, Chan is a Buddhist.[12]

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Main article: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Zuckerberg and Chan have pledged about $4.6 billion to charities,[13] including a donation of $75 million to San Francisco General Hospital, where Chan worked.[6] 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.[5]

On December 1, 2015, Chan and Zuckerberg posted an open Facebook letter to their newborn daughter. They pledged to transfer 99 percent of their Facebook shares, then valued at $45 billion, to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which is their new limited liability company that focuses on health and education.[5][13]

Chan's charitable goals focus on education, healthcare, and science, which are closely tied to her personal background.[6] She is considered to have had a strong influence on the philanthropy of her husband.[5] She planned to launch The Primary School in 2016, a nonprofit organization that would provide K–12 education as well as prenatal care, in East Palo Alto, California.[6] 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]

Notes
  1. "Max", Cantonese Yale: Chàhn Mìhngyúh, Mandarin pinyin: Chén Míngyǔ, written 陳明宇.

References
  1. "Our Leadership". Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  2. "Facebook's Royal Wedding". New York Times. May 25, 2012.
  3. Shanahan, Mark (July 30, 2010). "Mark Zuckerberg's lady friend is local". The Boston Globe.
  4. Womack, Brantly (2006). China and Vietnam: Politics of Asymmetry. Cambridge University Press. pp. 26–28. ISBN 0-521-85320-6.
  5. Christina Cauterucci (December 1, 2015). "Priscilla Chan's Formidable Influence on Mark Zuckerberg's Philanthropy". Slate.
  6. Hope King (December 1, 2015). "Who is Priscilla Chan?". CNN.
  7. Kell, John (February 8, 2016). "Mark Zuckerberg Reveals Daughter's Chinese Name". Fortune. Retrieved February 29, 2016. In a pretty adorable video shared by the tech executive over the weekend, Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan said their daughter Max's Chinese name is Chen Mingyu.
  8. Lamagna, Maria (December 3, 2015). "How Kim Kardashian and Priscilla Chan differ when it comes to 'push presents'". Market Watch. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  9. Chandler, Adam (December 1, 2015). "A $45 Billion Birth Announcement". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  10. "Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan to give away 99 percent of their Facebook stock, worth $45 billion". Washington Post. December 4, 2015.
  11. "Mark Zuckerberg and family welcome new baby". CBC. August 29, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  12. Sam Littlefair (October 27, 2015). "Mark Zuckerberg says "Buddhism is an amazing religion"". Lion's Roar.
  13. "Mark Zuckerberg Vows to Donate 99% of His Facebook Shares for Charity". The New York Times. December 1, 2015.
  14. "Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg biggest giver in 2013". USA Today. February 10, 2014.
  15. "Philanthropy earns Priscilla Chan Visionary of the Year nomination". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
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