Cynthia Woo (she/her)

Cynthia Woo has been the inaugural Director of Pao Arts Center at BCNC since January 2017. With over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit arts and arts education sector, she has led the center’s efforts to promote cultural and creative expression to foster wellbeing and belonging in Boston’s Chinatown and the greater AAPI community. As a second-generation Chinese American, Cynthia is deeply committed to advocating for the intersection of arts and social services.

Prior to joining BCNC, Cynthia held leadership roles at the Boston Center for the Arts and LynnArts Inc., where she developed public and creative programs connecting arts and culture to community members. She also served as an Adjunct Museum Educator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Cynthia holds a BA in the History of Art from the University of California, Berkeley, and a MA in Art History and Museum Studies from Tufts University. She co-authored “Arts, Culture, and Creativity as a Strategy for Countering the Negative Social Impacts of Immigration Stress and Gentrification” and “Untold Stories, Unsung Heroes: Using Visual Narratives to Resist Historical Exclusion, Exoticization, and Gentrification in Boston Chinatown.” She is a member of the Boston Cultural Leaders Coalition and on the steering committee for the AAPI Arts & Culture Collaborative at the Asian Community Fund.