Coming Back

It was the first question a kindergarten teacher asked me, after my first morning as a literacy volunteer.

"Of course," I said.

She smiled. "Many volunteers don't."

I kept thinking about that conversation over the following months. I still do. It's part of why I'm running for the San Francisco Board of Education.

I grew up in SFUSD — Argonne Elementary, Presidio Middle School, Lowell High School — the son of an undocumented Chinese immigrant. Our public schools became a second home. I struggled with a childhood speech impediment, and with challenges I'd later understand as part of my neurodivergence. My teachers saw strengths in me I hadn't found in myself yet.

In eighth grade, one of those teachers, Ms. Rueda, believed I could compete in MATHCOUNTS, the nation's premier middle school math competition. I placed first in San Francisco and among the top four students in California, earning a spot on the state's four-student team. Ms. Rueda took time off work and drove us to Sacramento herself. We finished second in the nation.

Four years later, my chemistry teacher, Mr. Becker, spent countless hours outside of class mentoring me. In 1988, I was one of four students selected to represent the United States at the International Chemistry Olympiad in Helsinki, Finland, where I earned a Silver Medal.

I wasn't a child with extraordinary advantages. I was a kid from an immigrant family who had two teachers willing to invest their own time in me. That changed the course of my life — Harvard, then a career trying to cure cancer as a biotech researcher, work recognized with a Merck research award, and later a shift into construction, working on residential real estate projects across the Bay Area and other states as a licensed general contractor.

I never really left our schools behind. I volunteered with students through college, supported classroom projects through DonorsChoose, helped raise funds for another elementary school, served on the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury, and became Vice Chair of SFUSD's Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee, helping oversee more than $1 billion in school construction investments.

Earlier this year, I realized there was still one perspective I was missing. I understood budgets, bond oversight, and curriculum. But if I wanted to help lead SFUSD, I wanted to understand what those decisions looked like from inside a classroom.

Through the SF Education Fund, I began volunteering each week with a small literacy group in a kindergarten classroom.

One student had entered school months after the year began and was still learning her letters. We practiced together every week. On the last day of school, she handed me a handwritten thank-you note with a picture she'd drawn. A few months earlier, I'd been helping her write the letter Y.

Another student was frequently absent because she and her sister spent hours commuting across the city each morning. I couldn't change that. But I tried to make sure she knew I was genuinely happy every time she walked in. By the end of the year, she always wanted to show me her newest stickers before we got to work.

I found myself watching the teacher as closely as the students. She adjusted lessons constantly. She expected a great deal from her students because she believed they were capable of more. When I offered to help buy classroom supplies, she told me many families were working multiple jobs just to get by — the school didn't even have a PTA. Watching her work each week gave me a deeper appreciation for what great teachers ask of themselves.

The more time I spent in that classroom, the more I thought about my own teachers — Ms. Rueda, Mr. Becker, and so many others who saw something in me before I could see it myself. Sitting beside those kindergartners, I understood their work in a way I never could have as a student.

Those months changed how I think about the role of a school board. My professional background taught me how organizations improve through evidence, planning, and accountability. That classroom reminded me that every budget, every policy, and every decision eventually reaches a child. Schools aren't all at the same point in their journey — some need stronger literacy support, some need help improving attendance, others are ready to expand opportunities for advanced learners. Good governance means understanding those differences and helping every school keep moving forward.

A Life in San Francisco Public Schools

Born and raised in San Francisco, the son of an undocumented Chinese immigrant.

Attends Argonne Elementary, Presidio Middle School, and Lowell High School; places 1st in San Francisco and top 4 in California at MATHCOUNTS (1984); represents the United States at the International Chemistry Olympiad in Helsinki, Finland, earning a Silver Medal (1988).

Graduates Harvard; works as a biotech researcher trying to cure cancer, recognized with a Merck research award.

Licensed general contractor, working on residential real estate projects across the Bay Area and other states.

Serves on the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury; becomes Vice Chair of SFUSD's Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee, overseeing $1B+ in school construction; volunteers weekly in a kindergarten classroom through the SF Education Fund; runs for San Francisco Board of Education.