Philanthropic Hero Biographies

ROLLAND C. LOWE, M.D.
San Francisco, California

Rolland Lowe is the chair of the Lawrence Choy Lowe Memorial Fund and the first ever Asian American President of the California Medical Association. Dr. Lowe's goal as president has been to get physicians more involved in their communities. He has said that to be good patient advocates, doctors need to understand their community. Committed to re-establishing personal relationships between doctors and patients he has worked to provide low-income immigrants with high quality health care and advocated for better health care within the Chinese American community.

In keeping with his charitable spirit, Dr. Lowe founded the Lawrence Choy Lowe Memorial Fund in 1987, a charitable and civic foundation in Chinatown Fund which makes gifts to nonprofit organizations for a wide variety of causes in the Chinese community. Among these causes has been ensuring Asian civil rights and the establishment of a capital campaign for the Chinese Historical Society's museum. Dr. Lowe has also served in many community organizations and foundations and worked to provide decent housing for the elderly in San Francisco through redevelopment of an old hotel for use as a senior housing and community center. Dr. Lowe and his family have committed more than $600,000 to the Lowe Memorial Fund while giving to other local causes as well.