Women's History Month Q&A with Sophath Mey

Paying It Forward by Supporting Cambodian American Women and Girls  

March 8, 2025 marks the celebration of International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” Central to this vision is empowering the next generation as catalysts for lasting change. In honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, SitusAMC asked employees how they help empower girls and women in their communities and the workplace. Sophath Mey is an AVP, Product Support, IT Client Success. 

You’re part of a group of women who collaboratively donate to organizations that support Cambodian women and girls. How did you get involved? 
 
My parents were refugees from Cambodia. People helped us find the resources to get on our feet in the U.S. and I wanted to pay that forward. In 2010, a friend invited me to a potluck to discuss how we could fundraise in the Cambodian American community. When you think about philanthropy, you typically think of business leaders and wealthy people writing big checks. But we realized that we could create a giving circle of people who look like us, including people just starting their careers, and we could be philanthropists too. We talked about the power of $2 or $5 from individuals within a large group, rather than $10,000 from one donor. Some years we can give more than others, but we’ve never missed a year. Fifteen years later, we have donated $150,000 to 501C3 non-profits through our own funds and corporate matches. 

What are the criteria for donations?  
 
There is a tiny population of non-profit organizations that serve Cambodian American women and girls. We find them through word of mouth, community members, our women's group and through others who work on the ground in philanthropy. It must be a project, an initiative, or a group in the U.S., but the giving is unrestricted. They can use the funds as they see fit. We try to be very open-minded about the areas we support, because we've already narrowed ourselves to this niche of Cambodian American women.  

Describe some of the organizations you have helped fund. 

We’ve supported a local arts academy that teaches girls traditional Cambodian dances; a legal nonprofit that assists women who must become the breadwinner and care for their children after their husbands have been deported; and an organization that helps women and girls escape and avoid sexual trafficking. 

One of my favorite giving stories was a grant we provided to a local organization about a decade ago. They used it to take a group of refugee women on a camping trip. Some of the attendees had never been outside of Oakland, CA. They sat around a campfire and shared their stories of survivorship – where they came from and how families are thriving today in the U.S. They had an amazing time in the middle of the woods, dancing, singing and cooking together. Being able to bring women together to talk about healing so they can move forward is so fulfilling. These are stories that I live for.  

Tell us about your family’s history.  

My parents were separated from their families during the war as teenagers and forced to work in labor camps. They escaped to a United Nations refugee camp on the border of Thailand. They met and married there, and I was born in the camp. My parents registered to come to the U.S. as refugees. They went to the Philippines to be interviewed, and go through a health screening, and then settled in Oakland.  

My parents had lived in the countryside and were taken away from their families at a very young age, so they never had opportunity to go to school to even learn to read or write their own language. So they did odd jobs—dishwasher at a restaurant, janitorial services. As a result, education was a very big value in our family of seven children. I received my undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley and completed my MBA at St. Mary's College of California. Part of my philanthropic work is about keeping stories alive about the strength of these survivors, so I can pass on my history to my kids, and the next generation.