Nonprofit Director Sharpens Social Justice Leadership With Online Master

Priscilla Hung has been a vital force for positive social change for nearly 25 years — and counting. Her leadership in the nonprofit sector includes co-directing the Move to End Violence (MEV), a 10-year initiative committed to fostering a safer world for girls and women. MEV, which is now sunsetting, offered resources, coaching and other support for cohorts of leaders.

“We provided a space for people to move beyond their organizations and silos to figure out bigger and more creative solutions to the challenge of violence against women and girls — both cis and trans as well as those who are gender nonconforming — instead of just treating the symptoms,” Hung said, who is now helping oversee the evaluation of the project’s activities to inform future work throughout the nonprofit sector.

Enhancing Her Career with Price’s MPA Online Degree

Amid this crucial work, Priscilla is also completing a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree online at USC. Because of her demanding job duties, which include a lot of travel, it was important for Hung to pursue an online program that offered flexibility and convenience.

“Having worked in the nonprofit sector for so long, I’m in a little bit of a bubble,” Hung explained. “So being able to dialogue with students from so many backgrounds and with so many ideas really opens up different ways of solving many of the challenges society faces, including poverty, racism and violence.”

Even after years of success in all aspects of nonprofits — including board leadership — Hung knew there were more approaches to learn and new ways to professionally excel. She originally considered pursuing a master’s degree after a college reached out to her about teaching graduate courses.

As MEV comes to a close, Hung is excited about future possibilities, especially with the addition of the MPA to her impressive resume.  “I love what I do. For me, the MPA is really about offering more ways to do it. And that doesn’t necessarily mean being the executive director of a nonprofit, which I have done, but rather having so many vantage points from which I can make a difference,” she concluded.

To learn more about Priscilla and her experience in the USC Price MPA program online, read the full USC Online article.