Cindy Wu, Executive Director
Cindy brings 15 years of community leadership, affordable housing knowledge, and public policy experience to LISC Bay Area. Prior to joining the LISC team, Cindy was the deputy director for Chinatown Community Development Center, a place-based nonprofit developer in San Francisco’s Chinatown. In this role she oversaw affordable housing development, property management, human resources, and internal administration and operations. She guided the organization through rapid growth from 1,700 to 3,000 units of housing over five years. Prior to this, Cindy led Chinatown Community Development Center’s Community Planning Team from 2007-2015, empowering residents to advocate for their neighborhood and attracting more than $45 million in neighborhood capital improvements.
Cindy is equal parts grassroots activist and pragmatic problem-solver. The common thread through all her years of work has been a deep commitment to community engagement and decision-making by Chinatown’s residents to determine the fate of their own neighborhood.
Cindy has also been a vital member of the San Francisco Planning Commission, including serving for a term as its president. During this time, she worked to develop strategies to protect neighborhood businesses and streamline affordable housing construction. She holds a master’s degree in city planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from UC Berkeley. Outside of work, Cindy enjoys exploring Oakland with her husband and young child.