Executive Director, Chinese Heritage Foundation
Ms. Pearl Bergad is the Executive Director of Minneapolis’ Chinese Heritage Foundation where she directs programs in grant making and activities designed to promote and preserve Chinese culture, history, and heritage. These activities include the recently premiered opera, Dream of the Red Chamber, by San Francisco Opera, and the annual outreach festival, A Passage to China, at Mall of America. Prior to taking on the role, she spent 28 years as a research molecular biologist at the University of Minnesota where she earned recognitions such as the University of Minnesota’s Outstanding Achievement Award. Her work in promoting Chinese culture and history have earned her a Council of Asian Pacific Minnesotans' Lifetime Achievement award. Pearl has also received recognition from President George W. Bush for her service promoting the USA Freedom Corps Initiative for her role in the creation and management of the concert, Hun Qiao [Bridge of Souls], A Concert of Remembrance and Reconciliation, to commemorate WWII in East Asia.