Chinese Progressive Association - CPA Boston

Help Us Find Our Next Executive Director!

Our next Executive Director will provide direction and support to CPA’s overall work, supervise the Lead Organizer, Office, Finance and Operations Manager and relevant staff members, provide overall management of the office, and serve as liaison to the Steering Committee. Find the full job posting below.

CPA is dedicated to building a team that is reflective of the communities we serve and strengthened by the backgrounds and experiences of team members. We encourage candidates to apply, even if their experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description.

Job posting: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kMn__OOOVfUqfGQGO7pXdvK5cpir5muAMYJMvSvJoAA/edit?usp=sharing

Executive Director Job Posting | Chinese Progressive Association Organizational Mission and History The Chinese Progressive Association (CPA) is a grassroots community organization that works for the full equality and empowerment of the Chinese community in Greater Boston and beyond. Our mission is to improve living and working standards and to involve ordinary p...

These past two months were all about building collective power, deepening our political education, and growing together as a community 💬💥

🌭 8/2 – Workers’ Rights Picnic at the Grove
We gathered under the trees for food, fun, and powerful conversations about unions, workers' rights, and how those struggles connect to our civic engagement work.

🎉 9/1 – Labor Day Parade
We showed up strong and proud to celebrate the labor movement 💪🏽✨ The energy was high, and our presence made an impact! One highlight? A newly arrived immigrant joined us, asked thoughtful questions about organizing, and left inspired to get involved.

🚌 9/15 – Tenants Field Trip to Boston Common
Residents explored and reflect on the history of U.S. independence on its 250th anniversary.

🗳️ Voter Education Workshops
Throughout the month, we continued to ground ourselves in political education. Members emphasized how important these workshops are to feel empowered.

If you’d like to get involved with the civic engagement work we do this month, please reach out to us!

We're hiring our next executive director! The priority deadline to apply is October 6, 2025.

Find the full job posting and how to apply at the link below. Help us in sharing widely with your networks and encouraging prospective applicants to apply.

Job posting: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kMn__OOOVfUqfGQGO7pXdvK5cpir5muAMYJMvSvJoAA/edit?usp=sharing

On September 1, CPA joined thousands of workers and community allies at the Labor Day Parade. ✊🏽🎉 Together, we marched from the State House to City Hall, celebrating worker power over billionaires. Standing side by side with so many organizations and unions was a powerful reminder that solidarity is power.💪🏽

Dear friends and partners,

We write today to share the bittersweet news that Karen Chen will transition from her role as the Chinese Progressive Association’s Executive Director on November 30, 2025. She will be spending more time in Texas to provide support to aging family members.

We know that many of CPA’s supporters will empathize with Karen’s decision, and that some might even be facing similar crossroads in life. The CPA board wholeheartedly supports Karen and we are grateful that she is assisting a thoughtful transition process, which we share more about below.

First, a few words about Karen. She came to CPA as a youth program participant in 1997, was elected to the Steering Committee, and has served on staff as Workers Center Coordinator, Lead Organizer, Co-Director, and now Executive Director since 2017. Over the past three decades, Karen has become one of the Boston region’s most ardent and effective champions for the empowerment of working people. Her contributions to justice and equality have been central to many of the major struggles for immigrant worker rights and affordable housing, and have lifted the political voice of our communities to new heights.

As Karen often reminds us, this work is done collectively. Thanks to strong, ongoing collaboration with our partners, CPA approaches our 50th anniversary moving full steam ahead on key priorities:

- Continuing our organizing efforts with rideshare drivers—recognizing that the right to unionize was hard-won. We will also expand our outreach to other gig workers.
- Organizing home care workers to improve their working conditions, wages, and benefits—as immigrant rights are under attack and potential significant cuts to Medicare threaten to reshape the industry.
- Building out our year-round integrated voter engagement program, working to further increase civic participation among Chinese voters.

Our next executive director will join an engaged CPA board and staff on moving forward these and other initiatives.

To design the right process and ensure a thoughtful transition, we have formed a hiring committee with support from Boston-based organizational development consultant Harry Smith. We hope you will circulate this job posting among your networks and encourage prospective applicants to apply, as we will conduct interviews this fall.

We know that many of you would like the opportunity to send your best wishes to Karen before her transition. We will keep you informed about an event we are planning for later this fall to celebrate Karen’s contributions to CPA and beyond.

Sincerely,

Suzanne Lee, President Emeritus
Wayne Yeh, CPA Co-Chair

Full announcement text: https://conta.cc/4p6FJbQ
Job posting: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kMn__OOOVfUqfGQGO7pXdvK5cpir5muAMYJMvSvJoAA/view

Proud to stand with Mayor Wu and our incredible elected and civic leaders as we affirm loud and clear: immigrants are welcome here. Boston is—and always will be—a home for all.

The portraits of CPA’s President Emeritus, Suzanne Lee, alongside 90 other women, are now displayed in the Massachusetts State House as part of HERstory Volume III: Honoring Trailblazers and Disruptors. The exhibit, unveiled by Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka, seeks to honor the many women who influenced the history of Massachusetts and showcase their inspiring stories. 💪💪💪Congratulations to Suzanne and all the powerful trailblazers and disruptors who were recognized! 💐💐💐

Counting down to the 2025 Boston AAPI 5K! Join us on May 17, 2025 to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month and support beloved AAPI organizations like CPA! Registration closes on May 11 🏃🏻🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻🏃🏻‍♀️RUN to register NOW, and don’t forget to select CPA when you register 🫵🫵🫵

The previously scheduled public meetings for March 18 and March 23 regarding Chinatown Rezoning have also been postponed.
之前波士顿规划部定于 3 月 18 日和 3 月 23 日举行，关于唐人街重新规划的公开会议也被延期。

A heartfelt thank you to everyone for supporting CPA! 🌟 Our banquet was a huge success because of each and every one of you!

Today, as we celebrate and honor the amazing achievements of women around the world, we also reflect on CPA’s ongoing struggle for equality, justice, and democracy. We are deeply grateful for the incredible women of CPA, whose strength, passion, and dedication inspire us all every day.

Happy International Women’s Day! Let’s continue to uplift and empower one another!

If you'd like to make a donation to support CPA’s mission and further empower women in our community, please visit: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/cpa

Every contribution helps make a lasting impact.