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Mina Chang

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by ExCITEable (talk | contribs) at 03:52, 18 November 2019 (added another fake degree claimed in 2014. A profile is RS even if it is not in the Times, isn't it? This whole thing belongs in The Onion). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Mina Chang
Head shot of Chang in front of the U.S. flag. She is wearing a black suit jacket, white shirt with top button undone, with long brown-highlighted black hair flowing on her right-hand shoulder.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the
Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations
Incumbent
Assumed office
April 29, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Personal details
Born
Mina Trinity Chang

(1984-10-29) October 29, 1984 (age 40)

Mina Chang (born Sharon Mina Chang on October 29, 1984)[1][2] is an American political appointee, who since April 2019 has been the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, a bureau of the United States Department of State.

She received national attention in 2019 after it was revealed by NBC News that she had falsified her resume and that her non-profit had its status revoked.[3]

Early life

Chang, a Korean-American[4] claims to be the child of two Salvation Army officers, grew up in Atlanta.[5]

Education

In a May, 2014 interview, Chang claimed to hold a degree in international development from the University of Hawaii, concentrating on mission work and aid practices.[6]

Career

Prior to 2010, Chang performed as a pop singer, touring internationally and recording albums in English and Korean.[5] During this time she did volunteer work in relief efforts, which led her to joining the nonprofit Linking the World. She became the President and CEO of the nonprofit, consolidating and relocating the offices to Dallas.[5]

On April 29, 2019, Chang was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations,[7] and stepped down from her President and CEO positions at Linking the World.[8] In July 2019, Town & Country and The Philippine Star reported Chang may become the next United States Ambassador to the Philippines, although that prediction did not come to fruition.[9][10]

On January 16, 2019, the Trump administration nominated Chang to be the Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.[11] The nomination was withdrawn on September 9, 2019.[3][12][13]

Controversy

On November 12, 2019, NBC News reported that Chang had "embellished her résumé with misleading claims about her professional background" prior to joining the United States Department of State, claiming to be an alumna of Harvard Business School, a former chief of staff of an nonprofit (INGO), have a role on a UN panel, and appear on the front cover of Time magazine.[3][14][15] The NBC News report also states that she claimed to have spoken at both Democratic and Republican national conventions, and that her resume implies she had testified before Congress.[16][17]

Chang displayed a fake cover of Time magazine to a videotaped January 2017 interview with journalist Mary Sit produced by Houston Community College's show, Global Outlook.[18][19] In response to the interviewer's question: "Here you are on Time magazine, congratulations! Tell me about this cover and how this came to be?." Chang represented the cover as genuine and replied: "We started using drone technology in disaster response, and so that was when the whole talk of how is technology being used to save lives in disaster response scenarios... and I suppose I brought some attention to that"[20]

Chang's State Department biography, which remains unchanged following the NBC News report, includes claims that she is an "alumna" of the Harvard Business School and has undergraduate degrees from Southern Methodist University and the University of the Nations, an unaccredited Christian school with volunteer teachers. Chang also claims to be a graduate of the United States Army War College National Security Seminar, a Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government Senior Executive in National and International Security and a former International Security Fellow at New America.[7][21]

Chang spoke at the D Magazine 2017 Women's Leadership Symposium in Dallas and after the news of Chang falsifying her background was published, D Magazine wrote "She won't be invited back."[22]

Discography

Albums

Title Album details Ref.
Mina Chang: The Holiday Album [23][3]

References

  1. ^ Hoang, Viet (January 28, 2017). "An Intimate Dinner with Mina Chang". yellow magazine. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  2. ^ The month and date can be found on this Instagram picture published by Chang on her birthday: "Mina Chang on Instagram: "Spent my birthday at Stanford University giving remarks about the importance of resiliency and positive peace. Discussion with Assistant…"". Instagram. October 29, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019., and her birth year: Kika, Thomas (November 13, 2019). "Who Is Mina Chang? Meet The Trump Staffer Caught In A Web Of Resume Lies". International Business Times. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d De Luce, Dan; Strickler, Laura; Sen, Ari (November 12, 2019). "Senior Trump official embellished résumé, had face on fake Time cover". NBC News. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  4. ^ Arin, Kim (January 17, 2019). "Trump names Korean-American woman as USAID assistant administrator". The Korea Herald. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Smart, Lauren (June 26, 2014). "Singer-Turned-Activist Mina Chang Now Faces the Biggest Challenge of Her Life". Dallas Observer. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "Mom Next Door: Mina Chang". DFWChild. 2014-05-29. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  7. ^ a b "Mina Chang". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  8. ^ Branham, Dana (November 12, 2019). "Dallas' Mina Chang, a Trump official, used fake magazine cover to tout nonprofit work, NBC News finds". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  9. ^ Lazatin, Hannah (July 10, 2019). "Talk of the Town: Could this Harvard Graduate Be the Next U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines?". Town & Country. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  10. ^ Lee-Brago, Pia (July 10, 2019). "Chang eyed as next US envoy to Philippines". The Philippine Star. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  11. ^ "PN115 - Nomination of Mina Chang for United States Agency for International Development, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". www.congress.gov. 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  12. ^ "PN115 — Mina Chang — United States Agency for International Development". Congress.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  13. ^ "Seventeen Nominations and Two Withdrawals Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov. September 9, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  14. ^ Noor, Poppy (November 12, 2019). "Trump official inflated résumé, report reveals – and created fake Time cover". The Guardian. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  15. ^ Woodward, Alex (November 12, 2019). "Senior Trump official Mina Chang 'faked Time magazine cover and inflated claims in CV'". The Independent. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  16. ^ Read, Bridget (2019-11-12). "Unfortunately, I Love the State Department Scammer". The Cut. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  17. ^ "Legislative Search Results". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  18. ^ "How To Tell a Fake TIME Cover From a Real One". Time. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  19. ^ Global Outlook Interview with Mary Sit, January 2017, retrieved 2019-11-16
  20. ^ "Dallas' Mina Chang, a Trump official, used fake magazine cover to tout nonprofit work, NBC News finds". Dallas News. 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  21. ^ "Senior Trump official Mina Chang 'faked Time magazine cover and inflated claims in CV'". The Independent. 2019-11-12. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  22. ^ Rogers, Tim (November 12, 2019). "Mina Chang's Pants Are on Fire". D Magazine. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  23. ^ "‎The Holiday Album by Mina Chang". Apple Music. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
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