President/CEO, Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ACE)
Chiling Tong has extensive domestic and international experience in economic and business development, with a focus on researching and enhancing the growth of minority-owned small businesses. Tong's career spans the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. She is the President and
CEO of the National Asian & Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship (National ACE). National ACE responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on AAPI small businesses by launching a business recovery & resiliency initiative with 70 affiliate AAPI Chambers and partners throughout the country. She established a technical assistance program with her team designed to assist AAPI millennial entrepreneurs in surviving the COVID-19 pandemic and operating safely.
Tong is the Founding President of the International Leadership Foundation (ILF), a nonprofit
organization promoting civic awareness and public services for AAPI college students and the
community with over twenty chapters. Previously, she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of International Trade Administration in the U.S. Department of Commerce and was also the Chief of Staff and Associate Director for Minority Business Development Agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce.
She was appointed as a member of the National Advisory Council on Minority Business
Enterprises at U.S. Department of Commerce under President Obama. She was also a member of the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for President Bush and President Trump. Currently, Tong is a Director of the Congressional Awards for young leaders and a member of Maryland Governor Hogan's Commission on AAPIs and the Anti-Asian Hate Task Force. She also serves on the Census Bureau National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic, and Other Populations.
Tong was an Ash Center Research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. Previously, Tong
worked to promote California's economic development, trade, and employment services. She was the Director of California's Office of Trade and Investment in Taipei, Taiwan, and served as Assistant Secretary for International Trade in the California Trade and Commerce Agency.
Tong has also worked for the California State Senate Minority Leaders Office as the Chief Asian American Affairs Advisor. Tong was awarded a Coro Public Affairs Fellowship and the
Chairperson of the Los Angeles County Community Action Board. Tong was also a television
anchor and reporter for China TV, a Los Angeles-based international television station. In 2017, Chiling Tong was named Advocate of the Year by the Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce due to her significant contribution to minority business development.