Elevate Committee of 100's positioning through strategic storytelling.

The challenge

C100 had real assets — an established history with the Chinese American community, a stellar membership roster that includes names like I.M. Pei and Yo-Yo Ma, and an ongoing national research partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago, but its public voice wasn't doing that substance justice. There was no house style to keep copy consistent, research findings dense enough that only specialists could parse them, and member bios that read like résumés rather than the human stories that are the organization's real strength.

The approach

• Identified the three touchpoints where storytelling could do the most work (original research, member bios, and the mailing list), then built the infrastructure to strengthen all three: a house style guide, now enforced organization-wide, and staff training in a tighter, reader-first editorial approach.
• Rewrote member bios across the full arc of C100’s roster, from founding luminaries to its newest members, framing each leader’s achievements as personal journey rather than résumé. (Ongoing)
• Built C100’s public thought-leadership voice, writing LinkedIn articles and supporting communications around Janet Yang’s appointment as Board Chair.
• Co-wrote the first installment of the State of Chinese Americans Survey (2026), the program’s first time to expand beyond the Chinese American population and also survey the general U.S. public on U.S.-China relations.
• Proposed a full website overhaul to carry this strategic direction forward.

The results

A State of Chinese Americans Survey published at a moment when U.S.-China relations and the treatment of Chinese Americans are already part of the national conversation. A house style and newsletter format now in daily use. A bio program that gives founders and new members the narrative treatment that showcases their expertise and accomplishments.