Esther Ng, Financial Service: Wise Woman from the East
Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio

Billing herself as the "Wise Woman from the East," Hong Kong-born Wingsheung Esther Ng has earned distinction as the Congregation’s first lay person to be appointed to the position of General Treasurer.

"Until the time of the approval of our new Constitutions in 1985, the General Treasurer of the Congregation was part of the General Council. Consequently, this person was always a vowed CCVI. In the revision of our Constitution, the decision was made that both the General Secretary and the General Treasurer would be appointed by the General Superior with the consent of her Council. This decision implied that both positions could be filled by a member of the Congregation or a lay person," explained Sister Helena Monahan, CCVI, General Superior of the Congregation. She added that the decision also reflects a growing trend on the part of religious congregations to employ lay persons of talent to work side by side with them in the achievement of the mission.

As General Treasurer, she is responsible for providing first-line stewardship of the Congregation's many resources, including capital, investments, property, and more. Her background in finance includes a BS in Accounting, graduate work in accounting and personnel management, and positions as both an accountant and auditor for First City Bancorporation of Houston, Collier, Johnson and Woods, P.C., as well as the Chamber of Commerce in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Much has changed in the nine years since Esther become involved in administering the finances of the Congregation. "When I first started, we were still using written ledgers," she exclaimed. "I have helped in the transition to a computerized network, allowing the finance department to make use of the latest available technology," she said.