Dr. Nga-Wing Anjela Wong honored with 2023 Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award

Dr. Nga-Wing Anjela Wong, professor of education for equity and justice at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, is among the recipients of the 2023 Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award from the Universities of Wisconsin.

Dr. Nga-Wing Anjela Wong

The UW recognized the achievements of 13 women who have advanced equity and inclusion for people of color within the university system and in communities across the state at an awards ceremony and reception on Nov. 9 in Madison.

This year is the 28th anniversary of the award through which more than 400 women of color have been recognized for their transformational work.

“The Universities of Wisconsin have a longstanding commitment to inclusion at our universities,” says UW President Jay Rothman. “We are proud to honor these women of color whose achievements in advocacy and scholarship are transforming our campuses and communities to be more equitable and inclusive."

Wong says they are “tremendously grateful and honored” to be the recipient of the award because equity, diversity and inclusion are central to the work they do.

“These values are even more pronounced in my teaching and the ways I engage with students on an everyday basis,” Wong says. “As a first-generation college student, much of my success has been facilitated by phenomenal mentorship. As someone who has benefited from exemplary mentorship, I value the importance of mentoring others and the joy that results from it.”

Wong’s pedagogy employs methodologies that encourage students to be active in the learning process. Wong has mentored more than 100 students, “the majority BIPOC students, first-generation college students and from minoritized identities.”

At UW-Eau Claire, Wong advances equity, diversity, inclusion (EDI) and justice initiatives through teaching, scholarship and service, including through the Critical Hmong Studies Initiative and as advisor for the Hmong Student Association and co-chair of the 2025 EDI Strategic Plan Committee. They also have been working with the College of Education and Human Sciences on EDI and justice initiatives.

Wong received the 2022 Office of Multicultural Affairs Excellence in Service Award, the 2021 Ron Satz Teacher/Scholar Award and the 2020 UW-Eau Claire Emerging Mentor in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Award. They were recently named the recipient of the Shirley Paulson-Lee Education University Fellow award at UW-Eau Claire.

In 2018, Wong founded the Southeast Asian American Educational Partnerships, an educational pipeline that creates partnerships and mentorship opportunities that work toward justice.

Wong’s research and teaching interests include educational policy studies, home-community-school partnerships and children of immigrant experiences.