From volunteer to visionary leader: How ASU’s Nonprofit Executive Leadership Certificate equipped Donald Young to lead the Center for Asian American Media through crisis
Donald Young became the executive director of the San Francisco-based Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) this year after serving the organization for 30 years. As a documentary producer and champion of independent storytelling, Young has been instrumental in elevating CAAM into a leading national force in documentary and feature film production.
But his journey has not been without obstacles. Just weeks into his tenure as executive director, CAAM lost 40% of its funding, an existential crisis for any nonprofit.
“It was extremely hard,” he said. “It has been challenging, but it's been a good challenge where I feel ready for it. And, you know, I'd rather be able to make a difference than not.”
He felt ready, in part, because he had just joined a group of inspiring leaders in the 2025 Nonprofit Executive Leadership Certificate program from the ASU Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation’s Nonprofit Management Institute. Kicking off only five days after he became executive director, the program and his fellow participants would buoy him amidst the stormy funding seas.
From volunteer to executive director
But where does his story begin? In a moment of curiosity, community and mentorship that quietly set his career in motion.
Before joining CAAM as staff, Donald was working independently as a filmmaker, creating projects on his own, developing his voice, and learning the landscape of documentary production from the outside. His transition into CAAM was not accidental, but a result of his hard work.
In 1995, Donald was a volunteer at CAAM’s film festival. The organization’s work was wide-ranging: a renowned film festival, the production and funding of documentaries for PBS, and the national distribution of Asian American films to classrooms and universities. Donald kept showing up. He volunteered, helped everywhere he could and immersed himself in the stories being told.
One day, Janice Sakamoto, head of programs for the PBS content, approached him with an offer that would unknowingly shape the next three decades of his life. She asked if he would consider joining CAAM as an employee. Donald accepted.
“She really mentored me and gave me a lot of opportunity to learn about PBS and funding and producing and supporting Asian American filmmakers in the work that I do,” he said. “It was just very helpful in terms of me getting what I didn't know at the time would really be the vast majority of my career.”
Over the next 30 years, Donald grew into one of the most influential figures in Asian American media, a leader who has helped filmmakers across generations bring their stories to the world.
A storyteller shaped by family, identity and history
Donald is a fourth-generation Chinese American, born and raised in San Francisco. His family’s migration story reaches back to the 1860s, marked by exclusion, resilience and silence. His great-grandparents lived through the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act. His grandfathers came to the U.S. through Angel Island, where thousands of Chinese immigrants endured interrogations, discrimination and months of detainment.
The person he was closest to, his maternal grandfather, carried that trauma quietly. When Donald began researching his family history in college, hoping to learn more, his grandfather refused to talk.
“He didn't want to share his story,” he said. “He was like, ‘I don't want to talk about this.’ It was a very painful, difficult experience. And he passed a couple of years after that. And that always was powerful to me, it was too hard for him to share his story.”
That silence, and the generational wounds behind it, profoundly shaped Donald’s purpose.
“It has motivated so much of my work,” he said. “I hope our community gets to a place where our families feel safe enough to share their stories.”
In many ways, his entire career has been dedicated to ensuring that future generations of Asian Americans won’t have their histories lost or silenced.
“I love to hear what makes people who they are and what stories they want to tell and, you know, believe that stories can make the world a better place,” he said. “I try to not use stories to hurt people or diminish people. I believe that stories can bring people together.”
He approaches filmmaking and leadership with the same core values: care, curiosity, representation and the belief that storytelling can build a more connected world.
As he says, he is always learning. “I continuously learn as a leader. Filmmakers are incredibly talented, thoughtful, smart, but powerful community. Everybody’s different, but they have a vision and a dream that they want to accomplish. And it's my job, it´s my responsibility to try to support that.”
Finding clarity and structure through the Nonprofit Executive Leadership Certificate
When Donald learned he would become the next executive director this year, he immediately searched for executive leadership programs, not because anyone told him to, but because he knew he needed structure, frameworks and support.
“I wanted to make sure to start the position in a way where I felt like I had some kind of structure and model in place that was solely around like executive leadership support,” he said.
Late one night, he found the ASU Lodestar Center’s Nonprofit Executive Leadership Certificate.
“This seems perfect,” he thought. “The timing, it´s virtual, over a particular period of time. Exactly what I needed.”
He joined the program just five days after officially becoming director. The experience, he said, was transformative: It provided structure during organizational chaos, every topic aligned with a real challenge he was facing in real time. The cohort became a space of vulnerability, connection and problem-solving, and the capstone allowed him to revise CAAM’s strategic plan in response to the funding crisis.
“That was extremely valuable just to hear the different models of organizational structures, the different steps, points in which people were in their journeys and how,” he said. “People were very forthright about sharing personal perspectives and being vulnerable, but optimistic.”
“It was like therapy, but also like problem solving”, he added. “I couldn’t have started my role in a better way.”
Navigating uncertainty: Leadership during funding cuts and industry transformation
In July, CAAM lost a major portion of its funding. But Donald sees the road ahead with clear eyes and renewed vision. “The future may look different,” he acknowledged. “We may not have as many resources, but the stories and the storytellers will get more exciting.”
His leadership now focuses on designing a sustainable roadmap for CAAM, supporting filmmakers despite shrinking industry budgets, building partnerships with funders and public institutions, cultivating community-centered innovation, strengthening organizational clarity and resilience. All of this work continues to be supported by his experience and connections in the Nonprofit Executive Leadership Certificate program.
Looking ahead: Building a legacy for Asian American storytelling
Asked about the legacy he hopes to leave, Donald answered with humility and clarity: “I hope I'm a meaningful part of building a legacy for Asian American storytelling, that the community feels welcome and supported. It's pretty clear at this moment that my job is to make sure that the community can continue to thrive and tell its stories.”
Donald’s story, from a volunteer at a film festival to the executive director of CAAM, is one of devotion, community and the belief that storytelling can transform who we are and how we see one another. His journey is also a testament to the quiet, steady leaders who move culture forward, not through the spotlight, but through their commitment to elevating others.
For the Asian American community, for the filmmakers he has supported, and for the next generation of storytellers, Donald Young’s leadership marks a chapter of resilience and possibility.
Image: Donald Young at CAAMFest 2025
Expand you network and skills with the Nonprofit Executive Leadership Certificate
The Nonprofit Executive Leadership Certificate is designed to meet the professional needs of executive directors, senior-level managers and emerging executives of nonprofit and public organizations, offered in an online cohort format to promote skill-building and peer networking among seasoned leaders facing challenges just like yours.
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