Catherine Chen has spent nearly 25 years building innovative social justice programs and pushing for systems change on behalf of marginalized communities. Most recently she served as CEO of Polaris, a 2017 Skoll winner. At Polaris, she launched the Resilience Fund to provide 18 months of direct cash assistance to trafficking survivors. Earlier in her career, she spearheaded a global campaign for Humanity United that raised the plight of migrant workers in Qatar ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, leading to the first nation in the Persian Gulf to enact a national minimum wage. She also created the Partnership for Freedom, a series of national competitions to spur new technology, new data, and new city strategies in anti-trafficking efforts, launched by President Barack Obama.
She is a Board member of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF). She holds a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a Master of Public Health degree from Columbia University.
