Innovation Dialog with Ann Hsu (Candidate for San Francisco Board of Education)
For the latest edition on Innovation Dialog, Diana Ding interviewed Ann Hsu, the Candidate for San Francisco Board of Education. Ann outlined the three key issues she plans to focus on if she wins the election. Likewise, she addressed the recent controversy pertaining marginalized students. She apologized to the members of the community affected for using insensitive words and met with them to learn more about the challenges they face. Diana asked Ann what are the biggest challenges San Francisco faces and what are her planned solutions. Also, Diana wanted to know how Ann plans to exercise respect and trust among the diverse community of San Francisco. Ann also answered a question on how politics benefited or hurt the public education.
Ann Hsu came to the United States when she was 11. Her family fled China as her father was forced into a reeducation camp during the Cultural Revolution, and Ann and her brother were banned from ever getting a college education. They settled in Erie, Pennsylvania where Ann was one of only 40 Chinese people in the city of 250,000 and the only Chinese person in her graduating high school class of 600 students. Ann went onto gain her BS in electrical engineering from Penn State University, then MS in electrical engineering and MBA from UC Berkeley.
She became an entrepreneur, founding and running her own high tech company for 13 years.
When her father and husband passed during the pandemic, Ann re-focused her energy towards the school system where her twin sons were attending and became the PTSA President at Galileo High School. In addition, she responded to the call for parents to join SFUSD’s Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC) and stepped up to become its Chair. As the PTSA President, she also saw that the pandemic impacted not only students but families with 2 income earners — parents who were not able to work or stay home to oversee their children.This motivated Ann to join the Recall School Board movement, especially giving voice to Chinese parents who did not speak English but who were frustrated with the lack of support and leadership from SFUSD. During this period of time, Ann was learning first hand from the Chinese immigrant community the challenges they too were facing to navigate SFUSD. Using her language and leadership skills, she helped to organize and lead the Chinese/API Voter Outreach Taskforce that registered 560 voters in just 6 weeks.