Originally appointed by Governor George Pataki in June 2000 as a trustee of the Board of The City University of New York, Mr. Chen was reappointed by the Governor in June 2005. Mr. Chen was born in Taiwan, and lived in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Brazil before arriving in New York over 30 years ago as an adolescent. He is conversant in several languages, including Chinese (Amoy, Cantonese, Mandarin), and Brazilian-Portuguese. Mr. Chen is the Executive Director of the Chinatown Partnership Development Corporation, and in this capacity he will lead the Chinatown Partnership in implementing major initiatives in tourism, marketing and public space improvements in a comprehensive effort to improve business conditions. Mr. Chen was a Commissioner of the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals which reviews zoning variances, special permits, and other land use appeals.