Chad Nico Hiu
YMCA of San Francisco
Chad Nico Hiu [@chadnico] is Senior Vice President for Strategy, Equity and Impact for the YMCA of San Francisco, which operates 14 branches in the Bay Area. He is a Hawaii-born New Yorker and student of the world, having previously served with the YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) Diversity, Inclusion & Global (DIG) team since 2011, including as Senior Director of Diversity & Inclusion. In that role, Chad helped to build local, state-wide, national and global capacity to engage diverse, vulnerable, underserved and marginalized communities, co-led Y-USA’s DIG strategy and network, and led integration of diversity, equity and inclusion policies, practices and programs towards community bridge-building and social cohesion for all in the 10,000 communities the Y serves across the U.S.
Previously, Chad served as Director of International Operations & Youth Exchanges for the YMCA of Greater New York, where he was part of an era of dynamic growth in cultural exchanges, collaborations, and global education/inclusion programming. A strategic, effective and passionate NGO professional for more than 20 years, Chad holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services Administration & Youth Development and a Master’s degree in Organizational Management and Leadership from Springfield College in Massachusetts and a Global Studies Certificate from the University of Pittsburgh.
Chad serves on the Board of Directors for Howard Brown, one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ health care networks, the Board of Trustees for the Tyler Clementi Foundation, dedicated to ending bullying in all forms, the Chicago Fair Trade Board of Directors supporting workers rights and global social responsibility, has traveled to 40 countries on almost every continent of the world, participated in the globally recognized Semester at Sea study abroad program, volunteered with the CASA YMCA youth shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, represented Y-USA in global settings and the World YMCA at the United Nations, keynoted at numerous national events. He is known as an effective, inclusive and compassionate facilitator of ‘brave space’ conversations on topics of racial equity, LGBTQ+ inclusion, community-police relations and inclusive faith among others, lived in Hong Kong for two years, provided policy and voter engagement support to political campaigns, and served as Youth Director with the YMCA of Honolulu.
