Meet Cheryl Hsu | 92130 Cares Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cheryl Hsu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cheryl, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that she wanted to be remembered as “someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has.” While I don’t have even an ounce of the talent of Supreme Court Justice Notorious RBG, I like this quote because it’s about using whatever talent you have to make things even just a little better in society. Suddenly, the bar for achievement isn’t making rulings from America’s highest court to end discrimination on the basis of sex, but scaled down to my own abilities! It forced me to think hard about what I’m good at and how this can be used to make things even a little bit better for others. Turns out, I’m really good at rallying and connecting people. I’m also pretty good at being annoyingly persistent. Also, sending persuasive emails. Turns out these talents come in pretty handy when starting a mutual aid community non-profit in the middle of a pandemic!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a corporate lawyer by day and a food rescuer/community builder/non-profit founder by night! While my legal career is my “real job”, in many ways, running a non-profit organization that connects neighbors, rescues food and feeds hundreds of people in my community is far more fulfilling. When I started out as a lawyer, I worked very long hours, sometimes reviewing 300 page prospectuses overnight in my sad office. I eventually moved to an in-house counsel role that allowed me to re-gain more of my life back. Three years ago, I decided to quit my job and become a legal consultant, taking on clients and work on my own terms. This move allowed me more freedom to pursue extracurricular activities that aligned with my ethics and values. My goal is to eventually align my “real job” as a corporate lawyer with things that I value. I’m slowly building my legal practice to support more women and minority-owned small businesses because I want to see historically marginalized business owners succeed.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Everyone who visits us in San Diego, gets dragged out to hike the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. It’s raw, undeveloped beach and the views are absolutely breathtaking. For those a bit more adventurous, we would go kayaking in La Jolla and visit the caves there. There’s a good chance we could be kayaking with dolphins and sea lions. And since we are 20 minutes from the Mexican border, we better be eating tacos! Tacos El Gordo in Chula Vista is completely unpretentious with a cafeteria style setting and you might be eating in their parking lot, but the tacos are unbelievably delicious. No visit to Chula Vista is complete without stopping in to have Japanese mochi made by a true master, 73 year old Masa Takeda, who has been making mochi for over 50 years, 38 years from his shop: Hogetsu Bakery.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
92130 Cares started when in October 2020 I put out a question on Nextdoor asking if there was an organization where I could sponsor a family for Thanksgiving. A woman in my neighborhood sent me a private message, sharing her family’s financial struggles in a heartfelt message, and asking if I would consider sponsoring her family for Thanksgiving dinner. I agreed and asked if there were others in our community who could use some support for their holiday meals and she said there were many. With her help, I connected 135 families with neighbors to sponsor their holiday meals. I dedicate my shoutout to Evelyn, who had the courage to reach out to a complete stranger and share her story and then to connect me to many in our community who needed some support.

Website: www.92130cares.org

Instagram: @92130cares

Facebook: 92130 Cares