Yi-Chin Chen Celebrated as WBUR Community Honoree

WBUR has chosen five local leaders including our Executive Director Yi-Chin Chen, to receive its first Community Honors Awards. These individuals represent a powerful narrative of community service in Greater Boston — past, present and future.

For the past ten years, Yi-Chin has led Friends of the Children–Boston with purpose, passion, and an unwavering belief in every child's potential.

Her own lived experience has shaped her deep understanding of what it means to show up for youth facing systemic barriers and how powerful it is when a caring adult chooses to show up, no matter what.

Yi-Chin’s leadership is rooted in the same values that define Friends-Boston: consistency, trust, and long-term commitment. Through her vision and the work of our incredible team, hundreds of Achievers have been empowered to imagine new possibilities for their futures.

In her recent interview with WBUR, Yi-Chin reflected on her journey and how it connects to the work we do today:

“What we do, if you can imagine it, is that if a child’s hope is in the right hand and their challenges are in the left hand, we’re trying to support the right hand so that hope can still be there, while at the same time lessening the load in the left hand. And we are consistent. We just keep showing up.”

That commitment to showing up, day after day, year after year, is the foundation of our work. We are so honored to have Yi-Chin’s leadership guide our work daily, and we are grateful for the platform WBUR has provided to share her story and the stories of our incredible Achievers with a broader audience.

We also congratulate this year’s fellow honorees: Hubie Jones, Kate Gilbert, Connor Schoen, and Eneida Roman for their remarkable work and dedication. It’s an honor to celebrate alongside such inspiring individuals.

Yi-Chin spoke alongside, Hubie, Kate, Connor, and Eneida on WBUR's Morning Edition about the social problem they're focused on solving and where, they feel, the urgency lies in this moment.

🎧 Listen to the full interview: WBUR Interview with Yi-Chin Chen

📖 Read the article: WBUR 2025 Community Honor Winners