Partner Highlight: Czarina Boyce
Czarina Boyce was born and raised in the Philippines, then moved to Hong Kong when she was 21 years old. After living in Hong Kong for 12 years and giving birth to her son, she and her husband moved to Portland to raise their family and to be closer to their only living grandparents. She opted to be a stay-at-home mom so she could be present for her two small children. In 2011 she co-founded Hope Chinese Charter School, the first public Chinese immersion school in the Beaverton School District, which quickly grew to a K-12 school that has been ranked the #1 Charter School in the State of Oregon for the last 5 years. She helped the school as the head of fundraising, heading the fundraising Gala for five years, leading the Tiny Dragons Preschool Program, and serving on the Board for two years.
Q: How did you hear about SVP and why did you choose to become a Partner?
I heard about SVP while browsing the Multnomah County website and reading about the Preschool for All initiative. That led me to the Washington County website, and the SVP blog post about the newly formed Washington County Preschool for All effort. I live in Washington County and am interested in being a part of this positive change for my community. I contacted Director of Investor Partnerships, Matt Little, to learn more about how I could make an impact and I knew immediately that I wanted to be involved. I quickly decided to become a Partner--in fact, I am one of the fastest people to go from prospective Partner to Partner! Not only is SVP's mission in harmony with my own Foundation's mission, but I also love the idea of not just giving money, but being able to give time and my talent to benefit my community. For me it is a win-win situation: I get to help people and have a chance to collaborate with other SVP Partners, making a meaningful impact on society by serving the youngest members of the community.
Q: What is your expertise, and how do you want to contribute to SVP?
I am currently the Board Chair of Little Engineers Education Foundation (LEEF), a non-profit organization that provides students a strong foundation in technology, engineering, robotics, and the arts. I am a volunteer fundraising consultant for the Program for Intellectual Empowerment (PIE), which is a nonprofit organization serving youth with Autism and other developmental disabilities. I also served on the Board of National Association of Business Owner (NAWBO) Portland Chapter and Filipino American Friendship Club, and I am a Platinum Member of eWomen Network. I am involved in a lot of organizations because I love the challenge of new endeavors, especially when it supports children and their education. It takes a village to raise a child after all! I have always been passionate about helping and I am not afraid of commitment, so I know that my skills and passions can be leveraged at SVP to move our mission and goal forward.
Q: What is your engagement with SVP? What are you most looking forward to?
SVP was able to match my talent with Threads of Justice Collective (TOJC), an organization that supports young children in anti-bias education by facilitating conversations and efforts for collective action against oppression. So far, I have had meetings with several SVP Partners to see where my help would be needed. I am new, so I am still learning the nuts and bolts, but my experience with early childhood education and STEAM aligns with the mission and goals of TOJC. I am excited to be involved!