Profile: Mei-Mei Chan

MEI-MEI CHAN Management Training Center, Class of 1992

Mei-Mei Chan, former executive editor of The Post Register in Idaho Falls, Idaho, is currently the vice president of circulation for The Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

INTRODUCTION

MAYNARD INSTITUTE @ 25
• Our Vision: Seeing Ourselves Whole
• Our History: The First 25 Years
• Profile: Dorothy Gilliam
• Profile: Carmen Rios
• Profile: Mei-Mei Chan
• Our Legacy: The Next 25 Years

ROBERT C. MAYNARD: LIFE & LEGACY
• Maynard: A Tribute (video)
• Maynard's Legacy of Inclusion
• Shining Light of a Poet and Pioneer
• Maynard Image Gallery (flash)

At pivotal points in my career, my Maynard Institute training and contacts have helped me move to the next level. Through MIJE I've gained the confidence to believe that I could take the necessary risks to succeed.

For me, the management training program has been particularly important. I was exposed to all facets of the newspaper business, including opportunities outside the newsroom. The power and politics seminars knocked me off my seat. What I learned changed my understanding of the business and how I approach my work and responsibilities.

As minorities we have been taught to "work hard and keep our heads down." But I realized that hard work is not all it takes for us to be successful and to have an impact. We have to be willing to ask ourselves, "Where do I fit?" "What can I contribute?" "How am I perceived?" I learned that you don't have to play the game all the time. But you have to know that there is a game being played and what the rules are, and then decide whether you want to play.

The Maynard Institute helped me understand what it is to be a good manager, and I'm a lifelong student of the process.