8 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine ADVERTISING, MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Ivy Chang did not speak, read or write English when she arrived in the United States in 1955. She was born in Beijing into a political family in the Nationalist party. Her father was accepted to study at the University of Minnesota for his master’s and PhD degrees in biochemistry and left Beijing in 1948. In 1949, her family had to flee from communism which took over China. Ms. Chang and her family followed Chiang Kai-shek to Formosa (now called Taiwan), an island that belonged to Japan at the time. Ms. Chang and her mother lived with the Chang family until 1955, when they were approved by the U.S. Congress to enter Minnesota to join her father. Ms. Chang was placed in a grade school where she had to learn English by herself, listening to lessons and explanations. After she graduated from high school, she enrolled at the University of Minnesota and earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism in 1970. Her first job was at Burlington Northern, Inc., as an editorial assistant, followed by 3M Company as an editor and senior writer, International Multifoods Corp. as manager of employee communications and St. Paul Public Schools as a communications specialist. In 1992, Ms. Chang founded PR International, a small public relations business, to serve small businesses, particularly minority businesses. PR International joined the PR Collective, which serves as a consortium of small boutique agencies in the U.S. to work with each other and emphasize the importance of small businesses. In 2006, Reed Business Information, Atlanta, offered Ms. Chang a position as the managing editor of Construction Bulletin, a weekly magazine that covered commercial construction projects in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. After some discussions, Ms. Chang accepted the job and downsized PR International. Her most memorable assignment was the weekly online update of the I-35W Bridge from the day it collapsed until the new bridge was constructed. The Construction Writers Association presented an honorable mention award to Construction Bulletin. Ms. Chang served as a board member for several nonprofit organizations during her work years and is now retired. IVY CHANG FOUNDER (RETIRED) PR International Minnetonka, MN
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