Simone Tseng is currently the Strategic Advisor in the strategic planning group of Rush University Medical Center; she previously served twelve years as Associate Vice President for Strategic Planning and Program Development. Prior to joining Rush, she worked in strategic and program planning at University of Chicago Medical Center. She received a B.A. In Biological Sciences from Brown University and a Master’s in Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan. In addition to serving on the Young Center’s Board of Directors, Simone has volunteered as Child Advocate with Young Center-Chicago.

How did you get involved with the Young Center initially?
Going back many years, I was a donor when my good friend Deb Hass, the first Board Chair, was raising funds for the Young Center. My husband and I attended a house party organized by a Child Advocate to introduce supporters to Young Center Founder Maria Woltjen and the organization’s work. I was so inspired by her remarks and by a video they showed about the traumatic journeys of many unaccompanied children. As a daughter of immigrants, I wanted to get more involved, so I decided to apply to become a Child Advocate.

I went through the training session in late 2014 and then served briefly as a Child Advocate for two teenagers, under the very insightful supervision of Jajah Wu and Marisa Chumil at the Young Center’s Chicago office. The first child I worked with was a teenage boy who had fled violence and threats due to religious persecution in his home country. Subsequently, I worked with a teenage boy from Haiti who was very quickly released to his grandparents in Maryland. I kept in touch with him and it was gratifying to hear about his great progress in high school through periodic phone calls. Maria Woltjen then invited me to join the Board, beginning in January of 2017. It has been so rewarding to work in a governance role with Maria, Young Center staff, and my fellow board members. And I truly look forward to supporting Gladis Molina Alt in her new role as the Executive Director of the Young Center.

Why is fighting for the rights of children important to you? Should it be important to everyone? 
It is difficult for most of us to comprehend the trauma that many of these children have experienced even before leaving their home countries, and then on their long journeys to the United States. A parent must feel so much desperation and fear in order to send their child on a long dangerous trip to the border. One of the things I most appreciate about the Young Center is the organization’s work to help make children’s and families’ stories understandable to others—to put those experiences into context for immigration judges, deportation officials, but also supporters and the general public.

What is one thing you’d like everyone to know about the Young Center’s work?
I’d like them to know that in addition to the Young Center’s critical role as advocates for the best interests of unaccompanied children and separated families, they have been leaders, working with many partner organizations and advocates, in envisioning an immigration justice system designed for children and protective of children’s rights.

What’s your dream for immigrant children? 
My hope for the future is for immigrant children to be treated as children, with kindness and compassion and with special consideration of their best interests. I’m so proud to be associated with the Young Center as they work tirelessly to achieve their goals.