Hang named to Minnesota Health Care Reform Task Force

MayKao Hang (MA '94) was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton to the Minnesota Health Care Reform Task Force on October 31, 2011. This 17-member panel develops strategies to improve access to health care for all Minnesotans, to lower health care costs, and address health disparities across the state. Hang is the CEO and president of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, a nonprofit based in St. Paul that combines direct service programs, research, and community development to address the needs of the most vulnerable people in the east metro. Wilder programs serve low-income and disadvantaged children, families, and older adults in the areas of mental health, school success, and aging services. Says Hang, "It is an honor to participate on the task force. This effort aligns closely with Wilder's work in health care services and systemic integration of primary care with community based services."

Hang serves as the chair of the Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), is a trustee of the Saint Paul and Minnesota Community Foundations, and is on the advisory committee of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Hang is a member of the Minnesota Women's Economic Roundtable, was named as a 40 under 40 Award Winner by the Minneapolis -St. Paul Business Journal, is a recipient of the Ann Bancroft Dream Maker Award for her role in supporting women and girls with a nonprofit she helped cofound called Hnub Tshiab: Hmong Women Achieving Together. She also received the Naftalin Award for Public Service from the Humphrey School in 1995. Hang and her husband Lu have four children and live in Woodbury. Hang is completing her doctorate in public administration at Hamline University. She can be reached at maykao.hang@wilder.org.