May Xiong

May Xiong serves as the vice president of employment readiness and is a core member of PPL’s executive team. May provides overall strategic direction to PPL’s Employment Training and Education services focusing on adult and youth. Employment Training and Education serves over 4,000 individuals per year in these two lines of services. In each of these areas, she works in partnership and in collaboration across sectors with private and public employers, educational institutions and adult education, county and state systems, and intermediary organizations. May works closely with partners to develop and implement key career pathways and initiatives that help elevate individuals into livable wage positions. She believes wholeheartedly that communities with shared strength will thrive.

In addition to her vice president role, May also provides strategic direction in PPL’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work. She co-chairs PPL’s DEI committee informing how PPL does work that is equitable and inclusive in the community. This is done through demonstrating a commitment to diversity and equity in how PPL works and being mindful of racial disparities and the barriers to inclusion that participants face and that are pervasive in the Twin Cities region.

Prior to joining PPL, May served the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank in community development, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota in financial services, and Neighborhood House in refugee resettlement. She is a current member of the Minnesota Employment Services Consortium and is on the steering committee for EquityWorks—part of the Future Services Institute based out of the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs. May is a past board member of Nexus Community Partners and Neighborhood Development Center and is a 2014 Marano Fellow with the Aspen Institute.

In addition to more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector working in financial, education, and employment asset building programs, she also holds dual masters’ in nonprofit management and public administration from Hamline University and a Bachelor of Science degree in management from Metropolitan State University.