Sylvia Yee

Sylvia Yee, vice president of programs at the Haas, Jr. Fund, oversees the Fund’s grantmaking and development of program strategy. Her work at the Fund is driven by a long-standing commitment to social justice and to serving children, families, and communities, and it is deeply linked to her many community and nonprofit leadership roles.

In the course of her work at the Fund, Sylvia has helped spark several major local initiatives. For example, she played a lead role in establishing the San Francisco Beacon Initiative, a public-private collaboration to turn schools into community centers for youth development. A founding board member of the Oakland-based Team-Up for Youth, she led the early development of this organization that aims to level the playing field in sports opportunities for girls and low-income youth in California.

Sylvia has also served as board chair—and, in many cases, co-founder—of numerous national, state, and local organizations, including Asian Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, the Foundation Consortium, Family Support America, and the Bernal Heights Community Foundation.

Before joining the Fund, Sylvia was a program executive in education and health at the San Francisco Foundation. Having begun her career as a high school teacher, she taught and administered programs for more than a decade at the elementary, secondary, and university levels, both in the U.S. and in the People’s Republic of China. She also directed a community-based nonprofit agency providing educational services to immigrant and low-income youth in San Francisco's Mission District.

Sylvia earned her Ph.D. in Educational Administration and Policy from Stanford University, her Masters in Teaching at Reed College and a B.A. in History at Stanford University. Her publications include “Careers in the Classroom,” published by Teachers College Press, and “Got Me a Story to Tell: Five Children Tell About Their Lives,” which she co-authored.

Sylvia has received numerous awards for her civil rights work and community leadership.