Name: How a 14-Year-Old Turned Heartbreak Into a $650,000 Nonprofit
Uploaded: 2026-06-04T21:08:09.000Z
Description: In this episode of Bay Area Innovators, host Steve Ispas sits down with Olivia Zhang, founder and CEO of Cancer Kids First, a nonprofit she launched at just 14 years old following the loss of two of the most important people in her life to cancer. The organization seeks to normalize the hospital experience for child cancer patients.

Steve is an investigative reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Steve Ispas

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“Bay Area Innovators” tackles the compelling, life-changing, fearless, and compassionate stories from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, providing a platform for discussion and discovery. We bring to our program the legends, the innovators, and the hardworking people who are shaping the future of the Bay Area in a positive way by finding solutions and improving people’s lives.

Steve Ispas is an investigative journalist with The Epoch Times and the host of Epoch TV’s “Bay Area Innovators” program. Steve grew up in Eastern Europe, and lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for 35 years. He worked in the tech industry for 15 years at LSI Logic and Rambus, and has been with The Epoch Times in various positions since 2003. His recent coverage includes an in-depth exclusive investigation of the secret Chinese biolab discovered in Reedley, Calif., in 2022.

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In this episode of Bay Area Innovators, host Steve Ispas sits down with Olivia Zhang, founder and CEO of Cancer Kids First, a nonprofit she launched at just 14 years old following the loss of two of the most important people in her life to cancer. The organization seeks to normalize the hospital experience for child cancer patients.

Now a Harvard student and one of the youngest Forbes 30 Under 30 honorees in history, Olivia shares the full story behind Cancer Kids First—how it started at 3 a.m. with 87 research articles, how her founding team nearly gave up after 70 rejection emails, and how she learned to pitch her mission by leading with vulnerability rather than credentials.

The conversation covers what it means to build a youth-led organization from the ground up, the real barriers young founders face when opening a bank account or approaching investors, and how Olivia balanced a 4.6 GPA, competitive swimming, and running a nonprofit simultaneously in high school.

Olivia also reflects on earning the Princess Diana Legacy Award, being named a 2025 L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth honoree, and what comes next—including her decision to step down as CEO before graduating Harvard to keep Cancer Kids First truly youth-led.

Watch the full episode for an inspiring conversation about resilience, leadership, and why age should never be a limit on purpose.

<em>Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views of NTD.</em>

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