Helen Wong

Helen has dedicated her career to advancing human rights and social justice around the world with an emphasis on centering those most impacted by injustice. A Chinese American daughter of immigrants, Helen desires to honor the labor and sacrifice of those who came before her—now using her own privilege to advance opportunities for others. As VP of Programs at Borealis, Helen supports communities through strategic, trust-based grantmaking. As an avid proponent of reparative philanthropy, she is excited to continue spurring values-aligned actions among funders.

Helen comes to Borealis via various philanthropic, government, and nonprofit grantmaking roles—overseeing portfolios from $45M-$100M. Prior to Borealis, she was Director of Grantmaking/Learning and Grant Operations at Meyer Memorial Trust, a private foundation in Portland, Oregon. At Meyer, Helen oversaw a team implementing $45M in annual grantmaking and supported a strategic shift focused on BIPOC-led and
-serving organizations. During her tenure, 89 percent of Meyer’s grants served BIPOC communities, including 45 first-time grantees primarily serving Black and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander communities.

Before Meyer, Helen was COO at the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, a $100M intermediary focused on addressing labor and sex trafficking around the world. As a founding member of the Fund and Senior Director of Grant Programs for much of her tenure, Helen constantly saw how racism, socioeconomic inequity and patriarchal structures resulted in terrible forms of exploitation. At the same time, she also witnessed the transformative power of well-designed movements—built on the wisdom of community leaders and implemented in partnership with local experts.

Helen graduated magna cum laude with from the College of William and Mary with dual BAs in International Relations and Chinese Studies. She also holds a Masters in Human Rights Law from the University of Hong Kong. Helen is a Fulbright Fellow, Gates Millennium Scholar, PEAK Grantmaking AANHPI Co-Chair, and AAPIP Seattle Chapter Co-Chair.

Outside of work, Helen enjoys adventures with her family, traveling, outdoor adventures, puzzles, and reading.