Board of Directors

Nancy Tom

founded the Center for Asian Arts and Media at Columbia College (1997) in Chicago in order to highlight the contributions of Asian Americans to this country's culture and history. She received her B.A. degree from DePaul University and studied fine arts at the University of Illinois/Urbana and at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is a trustee of Columbia College Chicago and a member of four Cultural Committees of the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs: Public Art, International Sister Cities, Multicultural Voices, and the International Program. In addition, she has served as a member of the Asian Advisory Council to former Governor George Ryan and on the advisory board of many not-for-profit organizations, including: the Chinese Fine Arts Society, the Xilin Foundation, the Dharma Foundation, the Council on Foreign Relations, Asia Society Committee, and the Art Institute of Chicago's Education Department. In the 1980s, Tom served as a director and advisory committee member of the U.S. Asia Institute and organized the first National Asian American Conference Gala in Washington D.C. In 1997, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Organization of Chinese Americans-Chicago. The OCA once again honored her in 2004 with the Woman Risk Taker and Enabler Award. In 1998, she was chosen by Today's Chicago Woman as one of the "100 Women Making a Difference." In 2003 she received a milestone award from the Asian American Institute. She was a grant recipient of the Chicago Artists International Program in 1999. After the death of her husband in the early 80s, she founded the Chan Tom Memorial Fund Foundation. In 2001, Tom established the Helen Fong Dare Scholarship, for Columbia College students, in honor of her mother. Her early passion for painting developed into an interest in collecting artwork, particularly "outsider" art. She is an independent curator and has handled special arts events for the City of Chicago and various Asian-American organizations.

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