Henry Der
Civil Rights Activist, Former Executive Director, Chinese for Affirmative Action
San Francisco, CA
For more than 20 years, Henry Der has advocated for equal opportunities in education, employment, voting rights and access to services for Asian Americans and other racial minorities and immigrants. As a senior program officer for the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, a private family foundation, Mr. Der leads the Fund's efforts in supporting nonprofit groups that advocate for immigrant rights and reform. He also pursues the Fund's exploratory work on racial equity and is working to close the education achievement gap among minority students.
Mr. Der has served as state administrator for the Emery Unified School District and deputy superintendent of public instruction for the California Department of Education. His commitment to seeking equality for minorities at all levels has been demonstrated through his service with many organizations, including Chinese for Affirmative Action, for which he served as the executive director from 1974 to 1996; the National Coalition for an Accurate Count of Asian and Pacific Americans, which he co-founded in 1986 to advocate a more accurate count by the Census Bureau of Asian and Pacific Islander groups; California Postsecondary Education Commission, which he chaired; and the Greenlining Coalition and Greenlining Institute to improve the quality of life for low-income and minority communities.
Henry is the recipient of the 1984 San Francisco Foundation Robert C. Kirkwood Award for exemplary community service, the 1988 Edison Uno JACL Civil Rights Leadership Award and the 1991 National Education Association's Ellison Onizuka Memorial Award for human and civil rights leadership.
highlights
african american
chinese astrology
local heroes
about KQED
