Jane Chen

Chen was born to a Taiwanese American family. She earned a B.A in psychology and economics from Pomona College, a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) from Harvard University, and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Stanford University.^[8]

Prior to Embrace, Chen worked with nonprofit organizations on healthcare issues in developing countries. She spent several years as the program director of a startup HIV/AIDS nonprofit in China, and worked for the Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative in Tanzania.^[9] She also worked at Monitor Group as a management consultant.^{[citation needed]}

In 2013, Chen and the other co-founders of Embrace, Linus Liang, Nag Murty, and Rahul Panicker were awarded the Economist Innovation Award, under the category of Social and Economic Innovation.^[10] In the same year, Chen and her co-founder Rahul Panicker were also recognized as Schwab Social Entrepreneurs of the Year by the World Economic Forum.^[11] In 2014, Chen was invited to the White House's first ever Maker Faire, where she presented Embrace's work to President Obama.^[12] In the same year, Beyoncé made a $125,000 contribution through Chime for Change which allowed Embrace to distribute its infant warmers to nine countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.^[13]

Embrace

Main article: Embrace (incubator)

While doing her MBA at Stanford, Chen and a few other fellow graduate students were assigned a class project to create a low-cost infant incubator that could be used in rural areas.^[1][8][14] In 2008, they co-founded Embrace, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, to bring their project to life.^[15][16] In January 2012, Embrace moved into a hybrid structure.^[17] The non-profit entity, Embrace, donates infant warmers to the neediest areas through NGO partners, and provides educational programs on newborn health alongside the distribution of warmers. The for-profit social enterprise, Embrace Innovations, sells the warmers to paying entities, including governments and private clinics, all focusing on emerging markets.^[18] Embrace Innovations, the for-profit social enterprise, raised its Series A round of financing in 2012 from Vinod Khosla's Impact Fund and Capricorn Investment Group. The company raised a second round of investment capital from Marc Benioff in 2014.^[19]

In 2016, Embrace Innovations launched a line of consumer baby products called Little Lotus Baby (temperature regulating swaddles and sleeping bags), which have a buy-one give-one model.^[20]

Chen has been a TED speaker,^[21][22] and was selected as one of Forbes' Impact 30 in 2011.^[23] In 2019, Chen was featured in AOL/Verizon/Yahoo's "FUTURIST" Series, profiling industry leaders across all different disciplines who are advancing their fields with technology, innovation, and fearlessness.^[24] Chen has been recognized as the Inspirational Young Alumni of the Year by Pomona College,^[25] and selected as a "Woman of Distinction" by the American Association of University Women.^[26] Chen has spoken at numerous international conferences, including the Skoll World Forum, Bloomberg Design Conference, Forbes Women's Summit, and the World Economic Forum.^[27]

In 2012, Chen was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum,^[28] and was featured in Dove's "Real Role Models" campaign for women and girls.^[29] She was also profiled in AOL's Makers campaign.^[9] Chen is a TED Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, and Rainer Arnhold Fellow.

Chen's memoir, Like A Wave We Break, was published by Penguin Random House in October 2025.^[30][31] Like A Wave We Break has garnered praise from influential voices including Tony Robbins, Adam Grant, Bessel van der Kolk, Marc Benioff, Vicky Tsai, Vinod Khosla and many others.^[32] The book debuted as a USA Today National Bestseller.^[33]