MayKao Hang
President and CEO of the Amherst Wilder Foundation
MayKao Hang is President and CEO of the Amherst Wilder Foundation—a century-old nonprofit that delivers social services to vulnerable families in the eastern portion of the Twin Cities metro area. She is the first woman and first person of color to head this prestigious St. Paul institution.
Hang, whose family emigrated from Laos when she was four, is committed to achieving an equitable society where everyone can prosper. Having overcome adversity in her own childhood, MayKao believes in the power of changing one life at a time and strengthening the social and civic infrastructure of our communities in order to transform the world. She holds a BA in Psychology from Brown University, an MA in Social Policy and Distributive Justice from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and a Doctorate in Public Administration from Hamline University.
MayKao was named one of Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s 40 under 40 in 2011. She has been recognized for several other awards, including the Ann Bancroft Award, the Humphrey Public Leadership Award, and the the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans’ Leadership Award. MayKao serves as Trustee of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners, Deputy Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (9th district), a board member for the Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and an advisory committee member for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
The Bartling Scholarship 