3 minute read
Renée Ying
A responsibility, an honor and a privilege.
Renée Ying has long been fond of Huntington Hospital. When she first came to our campus years ago to visit a friend who was a patient here, she was impressed — so much so that she and her late husband, Jeffrey, decided to move from Glendora to Pasadena. She is happy they did. “I’m glad that Huntington Hospital is so close by,” she says.
“I don’t want to get sick, but if I do, that’s where I would want to go.
It really is a first-class institution.” Since that time, Renée’s involvement with the hospital has grown. She and Jeffrey began contributing to our work in 2009 at the suggestion of close friend and hospital board member
Robert Yu. “When a friend comes to you and says an organization needs support,” Renée says, “why not contribute, if you have the means to do so.” The Yings continued to do just that, becoming regular philanthropic supporters of our work. Renée also spent time as a volunteer here in errand and escort, before stepping away from volunteer service when Jeffrey passed away in 2017.
Renée recently made a significant contribution toward our general operations, as well as toward creation of a more sustainable campus. In addition to helping us provide high-quality care across all areas of the hospital, this gift is helping us strengthen our systems and infrastructure — ensuring that we can continue to deliver outstanding medical care, no matter what tomorrow may bring.
Designing the future.
Indeed, Renée knows the value of investing in advanced, future-ready systems. She and Jeffrey built their careers around it. In 1985, the Yings founded their first company, an engineering design house specializing in product development and design services for the aerospace industry. Then, in 1991, the pair started I/O Controls Corporation, which provides the “brain systems” for more than 70 percent of all transit buses in the United States. Today, Renée is the company’s chairwoman.
Although she is now a high-powered business leader, Renée’s journey began more modestly. She was born and raised in Taiwan (where she and Jeffrey met), moving here when she enrolled in California State University, Los Angeles, to study business. “When we came here, we didn’t have much,” she recalls. After the couple was settled, they married and had two children: Victoria and Jonathan.
Giving globally and locally.
Renée and Jeffrey never forgot their roots. They created the Ying Family Charitable Foundation and the 12K Foundation because, as Renée says, “we wanted to help people like us, who were born less fortunate.” These foundations benefit worthy causes across the globe — including, for example, a scholarship program at Jeffrey’s alma mater in Taiwan. Victoria and Jonathan, now adults, have also become involved in the foundations, and provide valuable input on how to direct funds.
Some of these funds are directed back to the local community, including Huntington Hospital. Renée notes that the compassionate care we provide is a particular point of inspiration for her.
When Renée learned that we were looking for community members to join our board of directors, she jumped at the chance to do even more to support our mission. She sits on our Quality, Philanthropy, and Audit and Compliance committees — and recently joined our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
Renée believes that everyone should give, at whatever level they can, and regularly encourages friends and colleagues to donate to our work. Supporting the hospital is, as she says, “a responsibility, an honor and a privilege.”
Gifts from friends like Renée Ying help to sustain and enhance care for patients here.
