New Director Takes Helm at Richmond Village Beacon Center

by Lin Ishihara

The Richmond Village Beacon Center at George Washington High School has a new director, Christopher Chow, who is also an Emmy-Award-winning television news reporter-producer, communications consultant and community programs manager.

"Christopher brings a wealth of experience, leadership and insight to sustaining our work to create a center that offers opportunities and activities for the healthy development of youth, families and communities," said Pat Kaussen, executive director of the Richmond District Neighborhood Center (RDNC), which sponsors the Beacon site.

The Richmond Village Beacon Center (RVBC) is a youth and community center located at George Washington High School. Utilizing school space during after-school and weekend hours, RVBC provides a wide range of services for youth and adults as a project for RDNC. The beacon center is a part of a citywide initiative and is one of eight centers located in San Francisco.

The center currently offers more than 50 different programs, including computer classes, media arts, sports, tutoring, parenting groups, college and career services, self-defense, dance, and health and leadership activities.

The Richmond Village Beacon is a safe, comfortable place to learn skills, develop friendships and participate in the building of the Richmond District community. The center also has a satellite program at Presidio Middle School.

"Chris has the kind of background and commitment to community that can help us take the Richmond Village Beacon Center to a higher level of neighborhood involvement," said Lin Ishihara, deputy director at RDNC.

Chow is a native of Chinatown and long-time resident of the Richmond District. During his 10 years as deputy director at the Korean Community Service Center he helped launch the federally-recognized Asian Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Project and Asian American Communities Against AIDS Project. He also supervised the mayor's In School Jobs Program for the Richmond and Sunset districts. He was also chairman of the Angel Island Immigration Station Historical Advisory Committee that saved the facility from demolition.

"I am privileged to have had the opportunities to serve a growing, diverse and dynamic community like the Richmond District through the Beacon Center," Chow said.

"As a parent of a two-year-old child, I am very concerned about the kind of world our future generations will grow up in and inherit. We see the Richmond Village Beacon as helping to point the way to a brighter future for us all."

Currently, Chow is also a member of the United Nations Plaza Working Group for the City and County of San Francisco.

His media credits include KPIX-TV, KCET Los Angeles, "Fall of the I Hotel, Lest We Forget," and the Media Images Town Hall Meeting at the 14th National Convention of the Asian American Journalists Association last year.

Chow has a diploma from Galileo High School, a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a certificate of completion from the Summer Program for Minority Journalists at Columbia University.