Joy Chen
陈愉
From Shy Outsider to Global Leader: Joy Chen’s Journey
I know what it’s like to feel like an outsider. As a child of immigrants, I learned early how to read the room, build trust, and connect deeply across differences. Those skills shaped everything that came next—from leading economic and workforce development as Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles, to recruiting global CEOs, to helping others harness what makes them different and turn it into real leadership impact.
Joy's bio
Joy Chen is CEO of the Multicultural Leadership Institute and Executive Director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network, the nation’s largest survivor-led recovery hub, representing more than 10,000 Eaton, Palisades, and Malibu fire survivors and allies. She builds large-scale civic coalitions to unlock the billions already owed for recovery, grounded in a simple conviction: rebuilding should not be reserved for the wealthy. It should be possible for everyone.
A former Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles, Joy led economic and workforce development for one of the most diverse cities in the world. Her work focused on expanding access to opportunity in communities routinely excluded from capital, influence, and decision-making.
Following public service, Joy worked at the highest levels of global business and media. As a principal at Heidrick & Struggles, she recruited Fortune 500 CEOs and board directors across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and trained Asia-Pacific teams in global executive search. Through the Multicultural Leadership Institute, she has since trained thousands of professionals and senior leaders to navigate power, culture, and leadership in complex organizations.
Her leadership writing later went viral in China, reaching millions of readers and leading to the bestselling books Do Not Marry Before Age 30 《30岁前别结婚》 and How to Get Lucky in Your Career 《30岁趁势而为》 , which challenged conventional success narratives and enabled women to claim greater agency in their lives and careers.
Born the shy daughter of immigrants, Joy grew up navigating culture as an outsider. That lived experience shaped her leadership voice and her lifelong focus on making systems more inclusive, strategic, and effective, especially for people without inherited power.
Today, Joy is a leading national voice on disaster recovery, insurance accountability, and community-led rebuilding. Her work centers on turning broken systems into ones that get money and housing to people in time to protect their health and their future.
Joy’s leadership has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, and Vogue China. She holds an MBA and an M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA, a B.A. from Duke University, is a 2004 American Marshall Memorial Fellow, and is fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese.