Ann Mei Chang is a world-renowned social innovation expert with decades of experience in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. In her book, Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good, she discusses the best practices she learned while working in Silicon Valley to benefit social causes. As a strong advocate for LGBTQIA+ in tech, she talks about her experiences as a lesbian in a male-dominated field of technology in Silicon Valley.
Candid, a knowledge-driven nonprofit with one of the largest teams of data scientists and programmers in the social sector, has recently appointed her as Chief Executive Officer. Candid provides people with the information they need to address society’s most pressing issues. Her commitment to developing products that combine both technology and social impact will be a driving force throughout her career.
She received her Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Stanford University and spent the next 20 years as a technology executive in Silicon Valley. She has worked for companies like Apple, Intuit, and a few startups. She was a Senior Engineering Director at Google for eight years, where she also led the product development team for Emerging Markets.
Her appointment as Mercy Corps’ Chief Innovation Officer in 2013 marked her transition from the private to the social and public sectors. She was the Senior Advisor for Women and Technology in the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues at the US Department of State at the time. She was a member of the committee that created and launched the Alliance for Affordable Internet, which aims to increase Internet access in developing countries.
Ann Mei Chang’s desire to use technology to create innovative solutions remained her driving force when she was appointed Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Director of the United States Global Development Lab at USAID. In 2019, she served as Chief Innovation Officer for the Pete for America organisation, which is spearheading Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential campaign as the first openly gay presidential candidate.
She has been named to Newsweek’s “Women in the World: 125 Women of Impact” list in 2013, Business Insider’s “23 Most Powerful LGBTQ+ People in Tech” list in 2019, and Global Shakers’ “20 Top LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs, Executives, and Thought Leaders” list in 2019. She has spoken at TEDx MidAtlantic, SxSW, Social Good Summit, SOCAP, Lesbians Who Tech, and Lean Startup Week, as well as for a variety of nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies.
Ann Mei Chang is an impactful social innovation strategist, problem solver, and collaborator. In her own words, “we need a radical overhaul of the underlying operating model for our institutions that includes three basic elements: audacious goals, organisational agility, and progress markers. After all, the greatest enemy of innovation is ourselves!”
Written by Simon Sundaraj Kühn
