Cheng Imm Tan

Office of New Bostonians

Rev. Cheng Imm Tan is one of Chinatown's multi-tasking crusaders. Blending spirituality with her experiences as an immigrant and Asian woman, she has built her career by encouraging others to realize their inner strengths and potential. Tan is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, yet she speaks from a much larger pulpit. It was Tans tireless work in Boston's Asian community which led to her appointment the as Director of the Mayor's Office of New Bostonians. For the past seven years, the Malaysian-born Tan has assisted immigrants in becoming full participants of the Boston community by providing a variety of resources and information. Tan began her career working in a battered women's shelter. She realized many Asian women were reluctant to leave abusive relationships because language barriers prevented them from getting the necessary help. In 1987, she founded ATASK. The Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence remains New England's only multilingual emergency shelter and center for Asian victims of domestic abuse.