CPC launched the “Our Community, Our Stories” campaign in May to share the personal stories of different community members directly impacted by CPC. Through these stories, we celebrate our collective impacts and our community's contributions and resilience.  

Our seventh community story features Karen Liu.

Interviewed by Andrew Chan, Member of the Leadership Council

“We are always the mentor and the model for the children, and for whoever we serve.” 

- Karen Liu

Karen Chang Liu, CPC’s former Assistant Executive Director and former Director of Childhood Development Services, grew up in a modest household in Hawaii.

“I was shy. I was a typical Asian because we were brought up with ‘you don't talk too much, but when you speak, you speak the truth and with a humble heart.’”

Karen explained that, as a girl, she had not experienced racial discrimination in Hawaii because, as she describes, Asians were the majority and a culture of acceptance and the spirit of Aloha were strong there. 

Karen learned firsthand about discrimination when she moved to New York for graduate school. She remembers her surprise at being one of the only Asian people in her classes at New York University.

She met and married her husband in New York and changed her plans to move back to Hawaii. She needed a job and knew she wanted to work in education like her grandfather had in China before he emigrated. A friend introduced Karen to CPC’s executive director. He hired her to open more school-based programs. Karen is still grateful for that opportunity.  

“I am appreciative of CPC because CPC believed in me.”

CPC gave Karen the freedom and flexibility to run programs for the children and their families in the way that supported them and met their needs and beyond.

“Working there was a real awakening for me. I found my identity, who I really was, something I knew but hadn’t fully embraced. I was Chinese American.”

While running programs at CPC, Karen began to better understand the struggles of working families, particularly their long work hours and their challenge to find high-quality child care.

“They were all working so hard, not able to speak the language, afraid of kids being home unsupervised and joining gangs, so that’s when we opened the after-school center.”

Karen helped open the Hester Street School Age Center at PS 42, which CPC still operates as the community-based provider. The program began with two classrooms, and after the first year, it was so successful that they were able to expand to serve 100 children in five classrooms.

Eventually, Karen oversaw all six of the afterschool enrichment centers for elementary-age students and four of the early childhood programs. By the time she retired after 37 years, she was the Director of Childhood Development Services.

“The beauty of working with CPC is that you have so many resources in this one agency. It is not only the child but the whole family that we serve and support, from infancy to senior services.

With visionary colleagues and a committed staff, we all work very closely as a CPC family."

Karen celebrates that CPC is a family that continues to give back in many ways. One special example is the Ong Family Foundation’s endowment fund to promote staff development. This is the altruistic gesture of a former staff member. The executive director and legal counsel of the foundation are also former CPC staff.

“I am truly blessed with these rich and rewarding relationships which began at CPC.”

Share Karen's story on social media using #cpcstories.

By sharing the stories of our community members, CPC hopes to inspire and empower all our communities and allies to use their voices to set forth the change they want to see as we rally together to #StopAsianHate.

ABOUT CPC

The Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) is a social services organization that creates positive social change. Founded in 1965, CPC is the nation's largest Asian American social services organization and aims to promote the social and economic empowerment of Chinese American, immigrant, and low-income communities of New York City. CPC is the trusted partner to individuals and families striving to achieve goals in their education, family, community, and career. 

關於華策會

華人策劃協會（簡稱“華策會”）是一個致力於創造正向社會變革的社會服務機構。華策會成立於1965年，是美國最大的亞裔美國人社會服務機構，旨在促進紐約市華裔美國人，移民，及低收入社區的社會權益和經濟賦權。華策會是為實現其教育，家庭 ，社區及職業目標而努力的個人和家庭可信賴的機構。