For over three decades, the Zigen Fund has worked with partners in the United States and China to improve the living, social, and environmental conditions for rural communities in China. From providing educational opportunities for over 100,000 girls to promoting sustainable development in dozens of villages, Zigen has adapted to address the new challenges that China’s Play Video has brought to its rural communities.
Pat Yang, Zigen Fund president and co-founder, joined us on Feb 11, 2026 to shares the U.S.-China story behind Zigen’s creation and advice for how foreign NGOs should engage with local communities to best foster sustainable development and people-to-people exchange.
Pat Kwei-ping Yang
Pat Kwei-ping Yang, President and Co-founder of Zigen Fund, has been actively engaged in supporting education and village development in rural China and migrant worker communities in Chinese cities for over 30 years.
In 1996, she also founded the China Zigen Education and Development Association which was one of the very few registered independent national NGO in China at that time.
Yang’s advocacy encouraged the Chinese Ministry of Education to end the indiscriminate consolidation of rural schools. Her dedication and leadership has brought her numerous awards, listed as “Public Interest Watcher,” and was named one of “The Most Influential Chinese in 2012” by China Newsweek magazine.