Biography:Jane Chen

From HandWiki
Jane Chen
Chen in 2012
Born
Jane Marie Chen
NationalityTaiwanese American
EducationPomona College (BA)
Harvard University (MPA)
Stanford University (MBA)
OccupationCo-founder and former CEO, Embrace, and Co-founder and CEO, Embrace Innovations
Known forCo-founder at Embrace (non-profit)

Jane Marie Chen is an American businesswoman. She is the co-founder of Embrace, a social enterprise that invented and distributes a low-cost infant warmer,[1] that gives premature and low-birth-weight infants a better chance at survival.[2][3][4][5][6] Chen served as the first CEO of Embrace, the non-profit arm of the organization, before becoming the chief executive officer (CEO) of Embrace Innovations, the for-profit social enterprise that was spun off in 2012.[7]

Early life and education

Chen was born to a Taiwanese American family. She earned a B.A in psychology and economics from Pomona College, a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) from Harvard University, and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Stanford University.[8]

Career

Prior to Embrace, Chen worked with nonprofit organizations on healthcare issues in developing countries. She spent several years as the program director of a startup HIV/AIDS nonprofit in China, and worked for the Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative in Tanzania.[9] She also worked at Monitor Group as a management consultant. In 2013, Chen and the other co-founders of Embrace, Linus Liang, Nag Murty, and Rahul Panicker were awarded the Economist Innovation Award, under the category of Social and Economic Innovation.[10] In the same year, Chen and her co-founder Rahul Panicker were also recognized as Schwab Social Entrepreneurs of the Year by the World Economic Forum.[11] In 2014, Chen was invited to the White House's first ever Maker Faire, where she presented Embrace's work to President Obama.[12] In the same year, Beyoncé made a $125,000 contribution through Chime for Change which allowed Embrace to distribute its infant warmers to nine countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.[13]

Embrace

While doing her MBA at Stanford, Chen and a few other fellow graduate students were assigned a class project to create a low-cost infant incubator that could be used in rural areas.[1][8][14] In 2008, they co-founded Embrace, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, to bring their project to life.[15][16] In January 2012, Embrace moved into a hybrid structure.[17] The non-profit entity, Embrace, donates infant warmers to the neediest areas through NGO partners, and provides educational programs on newborn health alongside the distribution of warmers. The for-profit social enterprise, Embrace Innovations, sells the warmers to paying entities, including governments and private clinics, all focusing on emerging markets.[18] Embrace Innovations, the for-profit social enterprise, raised its Series A round of financing in 2012 from Vinod Khosla's Impact Fund and Capricorn Investment Group. The company raised a second round of investment capital from Marc Benioff in 2014.[19]

In 2016, Embrace Innovations launched a line of consumer baby products called Little Lotus Baby (temperature regulating swaddles and sleeping bags), which have a buy-one give-one model.[20]

Awards and recognition

Chen has been a TED speaker,[21][22] and was selected as one of Forbes' Impact 30 in 2011.[23] In 2019, Chen was featured in AOL/Verizon/Yahoo's "FUTURIST" Series, profiling industry leaders across all different disciplines who are advancing their fields with technology, innovation, and fearlessness.[24] Chen has been recognized as the Inspirational Young Alumni of the Year by Pomona College,[25] and selected as a "Woman of Distinction" by the American Association of University Women.[26] Chen has spoken at numerous international conferences, including the Skoll World Forum, Bloomberg Design Conference, Forbes Women's Summit, and the World Economic Forum.[27]

In 2012, Chen was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum,[28] and was featured in Dove's "Real Role Models" campaign for women and girls.[29] She was also profiled in AOL's Makers campaign.[9] Chen is a TED Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, and Rainer Arnhold Fellow.

Chen's memoir, Like A Wave We Break, was published by Penguin Random House in October 2025.[30][31] Like A Wave We Break has garnered praise from influential voices including Tony Robbins, Adam Grant, Bessel van der Kolk, Marc Benioff, Vicky Tsai, Vinod Khosla and many others.[32] The book debuted as a USA Today National Bestseller.[33]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Abrar, Peerzada (July 20, 2012). "Lessons from 50 startups: Stanford grads' Embrace Innovations build low-cost warmer to save young Indian lives". The Economic Times. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-20/news/32764583_1_low-cost-infant-infant-warmers-babies. 
  2. ↑ "Embrace Innovations". https://www.embraceinnovations.com/. 
  3. ↑ "Embrace Nest Baby Warmer, Buy Low Cost Portable Warmer, Infant Warmer Manufacturers". https://www.phoenixmedicalsystems.com/infant-care/warming-systems/embrace-warmer/. 
  4. ↑ "Embrace – Design for Extreme Affordability". https://extreme.stanford.edu/projects/embrace/. 
  5. ↑ Tellapragada, Chaitanya; Eshwara, Vandana Kalwaje; Bhat, Parvati; Acharya, Shashidhar; Kamath, Asha; Bhat, Shashikala; Rao, Chythra; Nayak, Sathisha et al. (May 2016). "Risk Factors for Preterm Birth and Low Birth Weight Among Pregnant Indian Women: A Hospital-based Prospective Study". Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health 49 (3): 165–175. doi:10.3961/jpmph.16.022. ISSN 1975-8375. PMID 27255075. 
  6. ↑ Yakowicz, Will (2016-04-27). "This Space-Age Blanket Startup Has Helped Save 200,000 Babies (and Counting)". https://www.inc.com/magazine/201605/will-yakowicz/embrace-premature-baby-blanket.html. 
  7. ↑ "Embrace:Deciding on a Hybrid Structure". http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Embrace.pdf. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lee, Ellen (November 12, 2010). "Embrace may keep babies warm and alive". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Embrace-may-keep-babies-warm-and-alive-3166256.php. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Jane Chen: Women in Healthcare". AOL. February 2, 2012. http://on.aol.com/video/jane-chen--non-profit-healthcare-advocate-517261914. 
  10. ↑ "Innovation awards: And the winners are…". The Economist. November 30, 2013. https://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21590752-innovation-awards-our-annual-prizes-recognise-successful-innovators-eight. 
  11. ↑ "Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Announces Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2013 | World Economic Forum - Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship Announces Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2013". Weforum.org. February 15, 2013. http://www.weforum.org/news/schwab-foundation-social-entrepreneurship-announces-social-entrepreneurs-year-2013. 
  12. ↑ Lelon, Elise (2014-07-10). "The Baby Saving Revolution: Obama and Beyonce Embrace Founder, Jane Chen (You Will Too)". https://www.huffingtonpost.com/elise-lelon/the-baby-saving-revolution-nonprofit_b_5570683.html. 
  13. ↑ Weil, Elizabeth (2015-11-20). "Caring for Premature Babies, With a Little Help From Beyoncé". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/fashion/embrace-jane-chen.html. 
  14. ↑ Sibley, Lisa (April 17, 2008). "Stanford startup's $25 'sleeping bag' could save newborns". Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal. http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2008/04/21/story10. 
  15. ↑ Dooley, Sean (December 17, 2010). "Embrace Infant Warmer Could Save Thousands". ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/embrace-infant-warmer-save-thousands/story?id=12366774. 
  16. ↑ "Saving Babies" (Flash). CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2011/11/02/sidner-india-saving-babies.cnn. 
  17. ↑ Chen, Jane (February 2013). "Should Your Business Be Nonprofit or For-Profit?". Harvard Business Review. http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/02/should_your_business_be_nonpro.html. Retrieved February 1, 2013. 
  18. ↑ Abudheen, Sainul K (2013-08-26). "Infant warmers maker Embrace raises funding from Khosla Impact, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, others". VCCircle. http://www.vccircle.com/news/medical-devices/2013/08/26/infant-warmers-maker-embrace-raises-funding-khosla-impact-kiran. 
  19. ↑ Chen, Jane. "How I Surfed The Wave That Nearly Drowned My Startup" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/janechen/2016/07/07/how-i-surfed-the-wave-that-nearly-drowned-my-startup/. 
  20. ↑ "A Simple, Effective Way to Reduce Infant Mortality". Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-design/a/jane-chen/. 
  21. ↑ "Jane Chen: A warm embrace that saves lives". TED Conference. TED. https://www.ted.com/embed/jane_chen_a_warm_embrace_that_saves_lives?language=en. 
  22. ↑ Chen, Jane Marie. What losing everything taught me about resilience – via www.ted.com.
  23. ↑ "Forbes impact 30, 2012". Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/impact-30/jane-chen.html. 
  24. ↑ "Futurists | AOL.com". https://www.aol.com/video/show/futurists/SHW283/5db091dcd21f1a39b8b2bf2c/. 
  25. ↑ Hua, Vanessa. "Jane Chen '00 Wins Inspirational Young Alumna Award for Innovative Incubator Invention". http://www.pomona.edu/news/2011/04/26-jane-chen-inspirational-alumna.aspx. 
  26. ↑ "Women of Distinction 2019 Spotlight: Jane Marie Chen" (in en-US). https://www.nccwsl.org/2019/01/16/women-of-distinction-2019-spotlight-jane-marie-chen/. 
  27. ↑ Chen, Jane. "Speaker at Skoll World Forum". http://skollworldforum.org/speaker/jane-chen/. 
  28. ↑ "World Economic Forum, Young Global Leaders". WEF, Young Global Leaders, 2012. World Economic Forum. http://www.weforum.org/young-global-leaders/jane-marie-chen/index.html?link=no. 
  29. ↑ Series, Dove. "Dove Real Role Models". Dove. http://www.dove.us/Tips-Topics-And-Tools/Videos/Jane-Real-Role-Model.aspx. 
  30. ↑ Deahl |, Rachel. "Book Deals: Week of December 19, 2022" (in en). https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-deals/article/91156-book-deals-week-of-december-19-2022.html. 
  31. ↑ "Like a Wave We Break by Jane Marie Chen: 9780593582343 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books" (in en-US). https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/736801/like-a-wave-we-break-by-jane-marie-chen/. 
  32. ↑ (in en-US) Like a Wave We Break: A Memoir of Falling Apart and Finding Myself. 2025-10-14. ISBN 978-0-593-58234-3. https://bookshop.org/p/books/like-a-wave-we-break-a-memoir-of-falling-apart-and-finding-myself-jane-chen/6c92a873ce1cd4fa?ean=9780593582343&next=t. 
  33. ↑ "Best-selling Booklist" (in en-US). https://www.usatoday.com/booklist/booklist. 
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