Po-Ling Ng

Po-Ling Ng’s story reinforces to us all that anything is possible, regardless of your background. As Assistant Executive Director of the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), the Director of Project Open Door, and a prior President as well as Vice President of Manhattan’s Community School Board #2, Ms. Ng’s many achievements to date have brought her a long way from her humble beginning.

Ms. Ng was born and raised in a poor family of eight in China. After migrating with her parents to Hong Kong in 1949, her childhood was marked by extreme poverty. Ms. Ng persevered and received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Chu Hoi College (1963), as well as a Teacher’s Diploma in Education from the Sir Robert Black Teachers College (1967). She was widowed in 1975, left to raise four children as a single mother. With the support of her mother-in-law, Ms. Ng worked hard to provide for the needs and education of her children – all while working to earn a Master of Science in Bilingual
Education from Long Island University (1975) and a Master of Social Work from Fordham University (1983).

Over the past 47 years, Ms. Ng has been the first and only director of Open Door, CPC’s model senior center. This pioneering center is the largest of its kind, serving more than 800 Asian-Americans daily. Under Ms. Ng’s direction, the exemplary center established the first Meals-On-Wheels program, as well as other trailblazing programs in New York City.

Through Ms. Ng’s advocacy and effectiveness in building relationships, Open Door secured over 20,000 square feet of additional space for impactful activities for her seniors. In recognition of the meaningful impact she has had on the lives of many generations – from children to seniors – Ms. Ng has received over one hundred awards in the United States and in China. What fuels her passion and commitment, though, are the tearful expressions of gratitude with which she is regularly greeted.