San Marino resident Jennifer Chuang was recently named Gamma Phi Beta Intercity Woman of the Year at a Founders Day assembly held recently in Garden Grove. The Intercity region includes alumnae, collegians and international officers from Santa Barbara to San Diego.
The award honors a sister who has given faithful and devoted service to the sorority benefitting collegians and alumnae in Southern California and was originated in 1957. In 1988, Founders Day was changed to a biennial celebration, so Jennifer is actually woman of two years.
Chuang was initiated into Gamma Phi Beta in 1991 at the University of California, Berkeley and graduated in 1995 with a B.A. in Comparative Ethnic Studies. She later earned a master’s in education from California State University, Los Angeles with an emphasis in early childhood education. She frequently lectures on the design and administration of early childhood centers.
“I am a graduate of our Eta chapter, which was founded at UC Berkeley in 1894,” Chuang told The Tribune. “’Building Strong Girls’ is our philanthropic mission, so we support activities and organizations that promote leadership development and build resiliency in young girls like our national partner, Girls on the Run International.”
Chuang was nominated by the Pasadena Alumnae chapter who submitted “a big laundry list” of positions she has held and activities she supported in the areas of Service to Alumnae Chapters, Service to Collegiate Chapters and Service to the Sorority. She is a regular presenter and facilitator at regional leadership conferences and has served on many national task forces and local committees.
Chuang has served for the past five years on the board of trustees for the Gamma Phi Beta Foundation. She currently chairs the foundation’s finance committee, overseeing the management of a $9 million endowment.
“As a trustee, I serve on a national board of eight volunteers and four officers that work to support and inspire the lifelong development of women,” she said. “I regularly utilize my experience on my sorority’s foundation to inform ideas, practice and policy in my work as a San Marino Schools Foundation trustee.”
Chuang operates a private early childhood education center in Montebello and lectures at California State University, Los Angeles in the master’s program in early childhood. She has served in various roles in the local PTA, including her current service as vice president of the board of trustees for the San Marino Schools Foundation and president of the Carver and Huntington Middle School PTAs. She is also active in the National Charity League and previously served as a Troop Leader for the Girl Scouts of America.
Jennifer and her husband, Alan, have two children. Ella is a freshman and ASB member at San Marino High School and Alex is a 7th grader at Huntington Middle School. They have lived in San Marino for ten years.
