# Ling Chai

> Ling Chai, also known as Chai Ling and Ling Chai Maginn, is a Chinese-American entrepreneur, author and activist based in Boston. A student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square movement, she escaped China in 1990, earned graduate degrees at Princeton and Harvard, and co-founded higher education software company Jenzabar in 1998. A former Jenzabar president and CEO, she is listed as a director in a 2026 court opinion and as founder and CEO of All Girls Allowed on the nonprofit’s website.

- **Role:** Founder and Chief Executive Officer at All Girls Allowed; co-founder and director at Jenzabar
- **Organizations:** Jenzabar, All Girls Allowed, The Jenzabar Foundation, Bain & Company, China Dialogue
- **From:** Rizhao, China
- **Nationality:** Chinese-American
- **Education:** Undergraduate degree in psychology, Peking University, Graduate studies in psychology; interrupted by exile, Beijing Normal University, Graduate degree in public affairs, Princeton University, MBA, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded Jenzabar in 1998., Earned graduate degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Business School after escaping China., Founded All Girls Allowed in 2010.

## Career timeline

- **1989** — Served as a student leader in the Tiananmen Square democracy movement and was placed on China’s list of 21 most-wanted student leaders.
- **1990** — Escaped China after ten months in hiding; reached France and subsequently the United States.
- **1993** — Completed graduate study at Princeton and began consulting at Bain & Company.
- **1996–1998** — Studied for an MBA at Harvard Business School.
- **1998** — Co-founded Jenzabar, providing software for higher education.
- **2007** — Created the Jenzabar Foundation to support student service and charitable work.
- **2010** — Founded All Girls Allowed on June 1.
- **2011** — Published A Heart for Freedom with Tyndale House Publishers.
- **2018** — Jenzabar announced her appointment as president and co-CEO on May 30.
- **2022** — Led Jenzabar during its Spark451 acquisition and Campus Movement launch.
- **2025** — Delaware Supreme Court affirmed rulings rejecting her challenged attempts to change Jenzabar’s board.
- **2026** — An April Delaware opinion described her as a former CEO and a Jenzabar board member.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Jenzabar in 1998.
- Earned graduate degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Business School after escaping China.
- Founded All Girls Allowed in 2010.
- Published the memoir A Heart for Freedom in 2011.
- Named a Glamour Woman of the Year in 1990, according to Jenzabar’s 2018 announcement.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — An April 13 Delaware Court of Chancery opinion described Chai and Robert Maginn as Jenzabar co-founders and directors, each of whom had served as CEO.
- **2025-05** — On May 14 the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed lower-court rulings that blocked her disputed efforts to change Jenzabar’s board.

## Links

- Website: https://about.me/chailing
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lingchai

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ling-chai
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23