Blog Post: AAAYA AANHPI Heritage Month Webinar with Ann Miura-Ko: “Journey to Yale Trustee”

On Tuesday, May 27th, the Association of Asian American Yale Alumni (AAAYA) concluded its AANHPI Heritage Month webinar series with a powerful and deeply personal conversation featuring Ann Miura-Ko. A co-founding partner at Floodgate, a leading seed-stage venture capital firm with early investments in companies like Lyft, Twitter, Twitch, and Okta, Ann is also one of Yale’s preeminent trustees. Her talk, aptly titled “Journey to Yale Trustee,” took us on a dynamic and candid walk through her path from Yale student to VC leader, and now, to one of the most influential alumni voices in the university’s governance.

Set in a lively, informal format, the webinar opened with Ann’s reflections on her undergraduate experience at Yale—how it shaped her, and how it continues to anchor her in her current role. Ann spoke of her background and cultural impact she carried with her as an Asian American woman entering traditionally male-dominated spheres of venture capital and leadership.

A highlight of the session was the robust Q&A, where Ann fielded questions on a wide range of pressing issues. Attendees asked about the most critical challenges facing Yale and higher education more broadly, particularly under the current administration. Ann offered a trustee’s perspective on the shifting dynamics of campus life, academic freedom, and student well-being, emphasizing how trustees are engaging more directly with alumni, students, and faculty to understand the lived realities of the Yale community.

Crucially, Ann spoke to the urgent need for greater alumni engagement—especially from the AAPI community. As universities like Yale navigate questions of belonging, representation, and academic purpose in a polarized climate, voices from historically underrepresented communities are more important than ever. The conversation also turned to the broader landscape of leadership in the AAPI community. Ann shared hard truths about the underrepresentation of Asian Americans in senior leadership roles across academia, government, and industry, and discussed how we can begin to shift that narrative through mentorship, advocacy, and structural change.

Despite the gravity of the topics, there was space for deeply personal stories—of parenting, of juggling work and family, and of defining success on one’s own terms. Ann spoke candidly about how she manages (or doesn’t) the ever-elusive concept of “balance,” offering refreshing honesty along the way.

As the final event of AAAYA’s AANHPI Heritage Month series, this conversation with Ann Miura-Ko was a fitting close to a month of reflection, celebration, and community-building. In Ann’s story, we saw both the arc of an exceptional journey and a call to action: to stay involved, to lift each other up, and to keep pushing for a future where all of our voices are heard.

We are deeply grateful to Ann Miura-Ko for her time, her candor, and her leadership—and we look forward to continuing these vital conversations in the months ahead.

Full recording below: