Meet Six Women Changing the World

How these fabulous Chicago women are making a difference.

Bernie Wong
Co-founder, Chinese American Service League


Bernie Wong knows what it’s like to arrive in the U.S. poor and alone. As an 18-year-old from Hong Kong attending college in the Midwest, she learned firsthand about the culture shock and loneliness that accompany a move from Asia to America. But she gutted it out and remained stateside after graduation – a lucky break for residents of Chinatown. There, she and group of colleagues founded the Chinese American Service League (CASL), now the largest and most comprehensive social service agency for Chinese Americans in the Midwest.

And as CASL’s president, Bernie ensures that newly-arrived immigrants get the education, social services, language and job training they need, and that the Chinese American community is an engaged, productive and vital part of the Chicago cityscape.

All On Her Own

When Bernie arrived at Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa, all she had was $80, a typewriter and a trunk full of clothes handmade by her mother. “I was totally on my own,” she recalls. “It was pretty scary.” Decades later, she still remembers the homesickness. “I was writing letters home almost every day and just had enough money to buy the stamps.”

But she persevered, earning a B.A. in sociology, then a master’s degree in social work from George Warren Brown School of Social Work in St. Louis, where she met her future husband. The couple moved to Chicago and Bernie signed on as director of social services for East Chicago Heights.

Bernie’s husband, a graduate student at the University of Chicago, introduced her to his colleagues and the group began meeting regularly for potluck dinners. “Every time the same topic would come up,” she says. “What services are there for the limited-English Chinese in Chicago?”

Tea & Taxes

A few group members taught English as a Second Language (ESL) in Chinatown and found themselves answering students’ questions, not about language, but about issues like finding affordable daycare or applying for Medicare. Bernie pitched in, offering consultations and making calls from her office, but it began interfering with her job. “So we decided to try to bring the services to Chinatown.”

The group faced instant opposition. “The leadership was closed-minded about letting outside people in,” Bernie remembers. But Ping Tom, a well-known businessman and civic leader, helped grease the skids. “He was a board member at the community center. He understood what we were trying to do.”

Ping arranged for the group to borrow space at the community center, and every Sunday they’d show up bearing donuts and Thermoses filled with tea. “We knew we had to take our time,” Bernie explains. “So we sipped tea and talked to the establishment for a good eight to nine months before we did anything substantial.”

Finally, the group made headway with a tax rebate program for seniors. “You’d fill out a form and a few weeks later you’d start getting checks in the mail,” Bernie chuckles. “The word went out that we weren’t so bad after all.”

Unifying Chicago

Afterward, CASL came to life. It became a partner agency of the United Way, while Bernie became the first Asian to sit on the United Way’s board of directors. And it sprouted an array of programs, including child education and development, employment services, counseling and social services, health and elderly services.

CASL educated clients about utilizing the social services. “Most of them did not know there are services out there,” Bernie recalls. They incorporated ESL into every program they offered. “We need to give them the tools so they can become self-sufficient, and in order to become self-sufficient, knowing the culture and language is most important.” And over the years they enhanced and refined their offerings, including a partnership with other organizations called the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community, which registered over 1,600 new voters last year.

In 32 years, CASL has grown into a multi-million dollar agency, but its goal has remained the same – to ensure that all members of Chicago’s diverse population can become independent, productive members of society. And it’s on point, thanks to a cohesive collection of programs and services. Bernie sums it up in a simple sentence: “We try to make sure the residents have the knowledge and are empowered to make changes in their own lives, as well as in the system.”

Next: Janet Deatherage

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