Qingjian (Q.J.) Shi named as first director of Asian Business Empowerment Council

Boston – The Asian Community Fund at the Boston Foundation today announced that Qingjian (Q.J.) Shi has been hired as the Director of the Asian Business Empowerment Council (ABEC), a new venture designed to coordinate and unify a vibrant community of business owners, entrepreneurs, service providers, and advocates to build a strong collective voice for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) business community in Massachusetts. Her first day will be June 1.

Ms. Shi joins ABEC from the nonprofit Tech Goes Home, where she served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Program Officer, and led an organizational growth strategy that propelled Tech Goes Home to expand outside of Greater Boston. Founded in 2000, Tech Goes Home is dedicated to bridging the digital divide that posed a significant barrier to opportunity and success for thousands of students, workers, and families.

“We are excited to welcome Q.J. as the first-ever director of this initiative,” said Danielle Kim, Director of the Asian Community Fund at the Boston Foundation, which is seeding and incubating the ABEC initiative, with additional support from the Eastern Bank Foundation. “Q.J. has a track record of working to establish and expand the reach of organizations, advance economic opportunity throughout the region, and amplify critical community voices. She is the right person to lead this effort as we work with partners across Massachusetts to establish this long-needed organizing force and central hub for AAPI entrepreneurs, business owners, advocates, and service providers.”

Before her time at TGH, Ms. Shi was Executive Director at English At Large, an organization providing free and accessible English language instruction to immigrants and refugees in Middlesex County. She also served as the Director of Education and Outreach at the Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence, where she conceptualized and implemented a youth initiative called the Youth Empowerment Project – a program engaging Asian American adolescents to become leaders in their communities and voices of anti-violence.

“The events of the past two years have only further underscored the need for an organization that advocates for and builds community within the many dimensions of the AAPI community,” said Paul W. Lee, Boston Foundation board member and co-founder and chair of the Asian Community Fund. “Under Q.J.’s leadership, ABEC and its partners can fill these roles, while building connections between the AAPI community and other communities of color in a shared pursuit of greater equity and economic wellbeing.”

To learn more about ABEC and its work, visit https://tbf.org/ABEC.