Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Jennie L. Ilustre
Chantale Wong has made history as the first out lesbian and first out LGBTQ appointed as U.S. director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Wong, who is Asian American, is also the first person of color to be appointed to the position.
The U.S. Senate voted 66-31 to confirm her on February 8 for the post, which has the rank of ambassador. President Joe Biden nominated her for the position on July 7 last year.
Asian American leaders welcomed the historic appointment. Remarked Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke, President and CEO of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS): “Ambassador Chantale Wong has a long distinguished career in public service, including service on the board of directors of the Asian Development Bank. She is exceptionally well-qualified to lead our nation’s work at the bank.”
She praised Ambassador Wong’s role as a mentor to future leaders in an email. “Notably, Ambassador Wong is a mentor in the Asian American community,” she added. “She has also helped build the next generation of leaders as the founding chair of the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL), an organization dedicated to encouraging careers in public service.”
Founded in 1994, APAICS is a national nonpartisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. According to its website, it is dedicated to promoting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) participation and representation at all levels of government. Its programs focus on “leadership development and building the political pipeline for AAPIs to pursue public office at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as other careers in public policy.”
Public Servant
“I am proud of the accomplishments and historic confirmation of Chantale Wong, Ward 3 resident and former member of our Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Community Development,” Ben de Guzman, Director of the Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, Washington, D.C., said in an email.
He added: “We wish her success as she takes on her position as the U.S. Director of the Asian Development Bank. As a friend and colleague for more than 20 years, Chantale has been a model of how to be a public servant and bring your whole self to the work. I join the chorus of voices from both AAPI and LGBTQ communities that are rightfully proud of her appointment.”
Experience
A White House news release noted Ambassador Wong brings to the role over 30 years of experience in finance, technology and the environment.
Her previous posts included Budget Director at the National Air and Space Agency (NASA), Acting Budget Director of the U.S. Treasury Department, and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
NBC News quoted Imani Rupert-Gordon, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, as saying that when President Biden took office, he pledged “to transform the Executive Branch by including appointments that reflected the full diversity of our great nation, including people of color and members of the LGBTQ community.”
When the President nominated Wong, former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO of LGBTQ Victory Institute, stressed the impact of the historic nomination but added, “this important moment is about more than making history.”
She said, “Chantale will represent the most powerful nation in the Asian Development Bank at a time when many of its member-states criminalize LGBTQ people and deny them the right to marry. Her presence and leadership can change perceptions of LGBTQ people among representatives from other nations–potentially inching countries toward more acceptance of LGBTQ citizens.”
Parker said that while Wong was nominated because of her exceptional qualifications and expertise, “Chantale will be a powerful symbol of the Biden administration’s commitment to equality and member-states will be forced to notice and respect it.”
Victory Institute’s Presidential Appointments Initiative works with the administration to recommend and advocate for qualified LGBTQ leaders ready to serve in the administration. It advocated for Wong’s nomination and supported her throughout the nomination process.
LGBTQ Victory Institute “works to achieve and sustain global equality through leadership development, training, and convening to increase the number, expand the diversity, and ensure the success of openly LGBTQ elected and appointed officials at all levels of government.”
