Ambassador Chantale Y.M. Wong is a distinguished economic development executive with a proven track record in budget and finance, risk management, environment and sustainability, information technology, and human rights. Recently, Ambassador Wong completed a highly impactful tenure as the U.S. Ambassador and Executive Director for the Asian Development Bank (ADB), where they advanced foreign policy, national security, human rights, and commercial priorities. During this time, Ambassador Wong led ADB to increase its lending capacity by an additional $100 billion over 10 years while retaining its AAA rating.
Prior to this, Ambassador Wong served as the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Administration at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), managing a $1 billion budget and regulatory compliance in financial management and reporting. Chantale's leadership at MCC was recognized for transforming organizations and building alliances across diverse peoples and cultures.
Ambassador Wong's extensive career also includes significant roles at Amida Technology Solutions, LLC, NASA, EPA, Interior, Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. At Amida Technology Solutions, Chantale developed business strategies that catalyzed growth and broadened target markets. At NASA, Chantale transformed the $18 billion budget formulation and execution process during a critical mission redirection. At the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Chantale implemented the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to distribute $700 billion and launched a pioneering program for electronic budget formulation and reporting.
Having spent the majority of her professional career in public service and in locations around the world representing the United States in key positions, she regrets at not having captured those moments of significance. When she retired the first time in 2014, she has begun a new journey as a photographer.
Her work has included photography in several continents. Several of her photos were selected for the “UnPresidented: Inauguration of Donald J. Trump and the People’s Response” photobook that documented the 3 days surrounding the first Trump Inauguration in 2016, with one of her images landing the cover of the photo book. She has also produced many landscape images that captures the essence of time and place. Her portrait work captures the souls of the subjects – chronicling urban blight in East Baltimore or photographing crew teams on the Anacostia early in the morning and at Hanover Bridge in Baltimore. Her travels to Cuba, India and Nepal, Southeast Asia and the epic trip on the Trans Siberia Railway have produced stunning images of cultures remote and afar. She has also chronicled the annual Congressional Civil Rights pilgrimages to Selma, Montgomery and Birmingham with Civil Right icon, the late Cong. John Lewis – with one of her photos being exhibited at Smithsonian’s American History Museum.
Her work in various communities are also exemplary. Chantale was the founding chair of the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL), an organization dedicated to encouraging careers in public service with providing opportunities for young AAPIs. In its 35th year of operation, CAPAL has provided internships and scholarships to young AAPIs across the country in the public sector. Chantale is also a member of the Advisory Board of Veterans for Global Leadership, providing leadership opportunities for veterans going into careers of diplomacy, security and development. In addition, she was also the Treasurer of the Board and a founding member of Focus on the Story, a non profit organization whose mission is to support and encourage visual storytellers of diverse backgrounds in bringing attention to critical issues, bridging cultural gaps and sparking social change.
Ambassador Wong holds a master in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, where she was a Littauer Fellow and a Women’s Leadership Fellow. She also earned as a masters in environmental engineering from the University of California, Berkeley with a focus on water and wastewater management. She earned her undergraduate degree in civil and structural engineering from the University of Hawaii. She calls Washington DC her home for over 30 years.