By Selina Pichardo
JPMorgan Chase
Rocky Fong
When it comes to celebrating AAPI month, Rocky Fong says efforts don’t end at work— they continue off the clock as well.
“Not only am I and other JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) employees working to advocate and highlight our fellow AAPI colleagues internally, we also partner with local nonprofits by volunteering our time to uplift diverse communities and empower them throughout the entire year.”
Rocky believes making sure that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is at the center of companies is a win-win for everyone.
“Not only are we cultivating talent inside JPMC, but community engagement can also help make companies become even more successful.”
As the Vice President of Community and Business Development – Community Manager for the Seattle market at JPMC, Rocky is responsible for implementing a national playbook to engage the public in a meaningful way and lead a wide range of financial health initiatives. With 20 years’ of banking experience, Rocky is still determined as ever to initiate changes in his local community.
“I have always been in touch with my community and worked to pass on information to others to help them succeed. As an immigrant, I worked hard to provide for my family. In college, I joined multiple organizations to help my fellow students. And now with my current position, seeing people start a business for the first time or buying their first home is what gives me motivation.”
A local ambassador for Chase, Rocky’s job is to build and nurture relationships with key community leaders, nonprofit partners, and small businesses at the neighborhood level. Rocky hosts financial health workshops, facilitates nonprofit partnerships, and offers community programming. He is helping to advance racial equity by supporting Black and Latinx communities with tools and resources to help them improve their financial wellbeing.
Rocky wants everyone to know that it will take a village to close the financial literacy gap and, along with discussing financial literacy, Rocky is striving to tackle another major local issue—housing.
“Housing continues to be a major issue for our community from an availability and affordability standpoint. So I’m working with Chase’s local home lending team, along with partnering local organizations, so we can come together to provide support to our community members. Support ranges anywhere from providing workshops to help prepare community members to purchase a home, along with providing financial resources, such as programs to support down payments.”
With racial equity always at the forefront of his mind, Rocky understands the importance of investing in local communities and providing additional resources to the underserved. Rocky believes it is important for companies to always be thinking about DEI initiatives, and that celebrating different communities shouldn’t be restricted to awareness months—such as AAPI Heritage Month in May.
“For starters, working at JPMC, I’m proud to work for a company that offers different internal platforms for employees to come together, to feel seen, and to be recognized. And company resources are being contributed to these internal groups so workshops, events, and discussions can be promoted at large for all employees to come together and learn.”
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