San Wong
Board Of Advisor
San Wong has spent most of her life as a first generation immigrant. Born in West Malaysia, San’s family migrated to Singapore right before she started elementary school and moved to the United States just before starting college at the University of Nebraska at Omaha where she earned a degree in Psychology and went on to graduate school at Kansas State University where she earned a Master’s degree in Industrial & organizational Psychology and an MBA.
She was an administrator at Des Moines Area Community College for 14 years prior to her appointment by Governor Terry Branstad as the Director of the Iowa Department of Human Rights. Through an alignment process in 2023, Human Rights is now a part of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. She served most as Iowa’s State Refugee Coordinator and the interim Chief of the Bureau of Refugee Services. San has served on a number of boards dedicated to creating access to help the most vulnerable thrive as well as those fostering an appreciation of art, culture and heritage of diverse populations. Currently, she is on the Des Moines Arts Festival, Horizon Science Academy and Immigrant Entrepreneurs Summit boards and remains on the leadership teams for CelebrAsian, IAA’s annual Asian heritage festival.