Priscilla Chan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Priscilla Chan
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Chan in 2018
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| Born | February 24, 1985 Braintree, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Harvard University (BS) University of California, San Francisco (MD) |
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| Children | 3 |
Priscilla Chan (born February 24, 1985) is an American philanthropist and a former pediatrician. She and her husband, Mark Zuckerberg, a co-founder and CEO of Meta Platforms, established the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in December 2015, with a pledge to transfer 99 percent of their Facebook shares, then valued at $45 billion. She attended Harvard University and received her medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco.
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Life and career
Chan was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, and grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts. Her parents were Chinese immigrants from Vietnam who fled the country in refugee boats. Chan grew up speaking Cantonese and interpreted for her grandparents. She has two younger sisters, Michelle and Elaine. Chan's father owned a restaurant in Massachusetts, which he later sold to run a wholesale fish company in 2006. Chan graduated valedictorian of her class from Quincy High School. She was involved with FIRST Robotics Competition team #69 HYPER. She was also the captain of the tennis team.
Chan first met Mark Zuckerberg during her freshman year at Harvard University in 2003. During her time at Harvard, she participated in the Franklin Afterschool Enrichment program. After graduating in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in biology, she taught 4th and 5th grade science at the private Harker School for a year before entering medical school at the University of California, San Francisco in 2008, where she finished her pediatrics residency in 2015. She is the first college graduate in her family and has said that "education is an incredibly personal issue" for her, noting that "[i]f you're the first generation to go to college...sometimes you don't realize your potential until others point it out." She credits her public school teachers with recognizing hers and for "getting me excited about learning." She was a pediatrician at San Francisco General Hospital.
In 2016, she co-founded "The Primary School", a nonprofit organization that would provide K–12 education as well as prenatal care, in East Palo Alto, California. She is the emeritus board chair of the school.
Personal life
Chan married Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on May 19, 2012, the day following Facebook's IPO. They have three daughters: Maxima (born December 2015), August (born August 2017), and Aurelia (born March 2023).
Philanthropy
Zuckerberg and Chan have pledged about $4.6 billion to charities, including a donation of $75 million to San Francisco General Hospital, where Chan worked. In 2013, they gave 18 million Facebook shares (valued at more than $970 million) to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. The Chronicle of Philanthropy placed the couple at the top of its list of 50 most generous American philanthropists for that year. They also pledged $120 million to public schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.
On December 1, 2015, Chan and Zuckerberg posted an open Facebook letter to their newborn daughter. They pledged to transfer 99 percent of their Facebook shares, then valued at $45 billion, to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which is their new limited liability company that focuses on health and education.
Chan handles the day-to-day operations at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Her charitable goals focus on education, healthcare, and science, which are closely tied to her personal background. She is considered to have had a strong influence on the philanthropy of her husband. She was one of six nominated for The San Francisco Chronicle's third annual Visionary of the Year award in March 2017. The award honors leaders who strive to make the world a better place and also drive change by employing new, innovative business practices.
See also
In Spanish: Priscilla Chan para niños
