Eddy Zheng

Eddy Zheng is the Founder & President of New Breath Foundation. He works to mobilize resources to support Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) harmed by violence and the unjust immigration and criminal justice systems.

A 2019-21 Rosenberg Foundation Leading Edge Fellow and a 2015-17 Open Society Foundation Soros Justice Fellow, he served as Co-Director of the Asian Prisoner Support Committee and co-founded the first-ever ethnic studies program in San Quentin State Prison - ROOTS.

Fluent in three languages and skilled in motivational speaking, cross-cultural healing, workshop facilitation, and conflict mediation, Eddy is the co-editor of Other: An Asian and Pacific Islander Prisoners’ Anthology and serves on the board of Chinese for Affirmative Action. Eddy’s commitment to service has been frequently recognized, most recently with the 2019 Frederick Douglass 200 Award, 2019 Ellison S. Onizuka Memorial Award from the National Education Association, and 2017 Bridging the Gap Award from the University of Pennsylvania.

Eddy is the subject of the award-winning documentary “Breathin’: The Eddy Zheng Story.” He is eager to collaborate with new partners in empowering marginalized communities and abolishing the prison industrial complex.