Learn more about Our Partners, Sponsors & Speakers
And that's a wrap on the virtual Diversity Reboot Summit 2021! Thank you to everyone who attended! Missing the summit already? Watch this quick recap.
Whether you were able to join us live and engage with our amazing lineup of leaders on such important topics as ageism, trans rights, wellness, supporting formerly incarcerated people, building the Black tech pipeline, the future of the gig economy, and Latinx identity, or you will be watching the recordings of our conversations at a later date, we sincerely thank you for your interest in supporting diversity, inclusion, and belonging in all of its forms. We hope that you were able to walk away feeling empowered with new information, new connections, and new opportunities. Only together can we take the actionable steps towards creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
Scroll down to check out our amazing speakers' bios, projects, websites, books, and more—including a free download of the acclaimed book Roots and Wings: Ten Lessons of Motherhood That Helped Me Create and Run a Company by APCO Worldwide Founder & Chairman Margery Kraus.
You can also read more about the summit's amazing sponsors such as Amazon, Guru Technologies, and Facebook, without whom this event would not have been possible.
In case you didn't have time to tune into our Diversity & Inclusion Awards Show, we've also included the list of this year's honorees, all true champions of D&I that don't just talk the talk, but truly walk the walk.
Please take a moment to support these leaders, whether by buying their books, donating to their organizations, or just visiting their sites to learn more about how to get involved with them in the future.
Finally, don't forget to visit our Merch Store and grab yourself some PowerToFly apparel. 100% of the proceeds from our sales will be going to TransTech Social, supporting transgender people in tech.
Our Sponsors
VIP Sponsors
Amazon
"Amazon is a company of builders who bring varying backgrounds, ideas, and points of view to inventing on behalf of all customers. Our diverse perspectives are enriched by many dimensions, including race, ethnicity, gender, age, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, culture, language, and education, as well as professional and life experience. We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and leveraging our unique perspectives to scale our impact and grow."
Guru Technologies
"Guru is a dynamic, fast growing start-up based in Philadelphia and San Francisco. Our mission is to reinvent the way people connect with meaningful information at work. Guru's knowledge management solution provides customer-facing teams access to expert-verified information where they work and when they need it most."
Platinum Sponsor
"Founded in 2004, Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Over 2 billion people use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Messenger every month to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what's going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them."
Gold Sponsors
MINDBODY
"Mindbody is a health, wellness and fitness company that helps promote healthier and happier lives. Many women already have a strong connection to Mindbody as a result of their use of the app in their daily lives. Working for a wellness company like Mindbody is more than just having a job; it is a way for women to relate to something they are passionate about and can now incorporate into their careers."
Smartsheet
"To thrive amid the pressures of a dynamic environment, companies must simplify and streamline how work is managed. They believe that the most effective way to do that is with technology everyone can use. So they built a platform designed for dynamic work that breaks down barriers, empowering people across the enterprise to work dynamically and achieve more."
VTS
"VTS is commercial real estate's leading leasing and asset management platform, bringing together landlords, brokers, and tenants to make deals happen. VTS software enables office, retail, and industrial landlords and brokers to transform their leasing process and convert leads to leases 41% more efficiently. MarketView™, the industry's first market benchmarking product gives landlords real-time information to inform deal negotiations and leasing strategies."
Pluralsight
"Founded in 2004 and trusted by Fortune 500 companies, Pluralsight is the technology skills platform organizations and individuals in 150+ countries count on to innovate faster and create progress for the world."
Our Partners
Transtech Social Enterprises
TransTech is an incubator for LGBTQ Talent with a focus on economically empowering the T, transgender people, in our community. TransTech is a co-working, co-learning community dedicated to empowering trans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer people and allies with practical, career-ready skills.
Products By Women
Products by Women is on a mission to help women find gaps in the skills and connect them with mentors, professional development and job opportunities to accelerate their careers. Their platform offers a global community for women in technology to develop personally and professionally.
Aviatra Accelerators
Aviatra Accelerators is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2010. Our multi state organization enables women to start and sustain businesses by giving them the resources they need to be successful. Through our expertise in business basics, guidance from mentors and coaches, and access to capital, they continuously encourage our members to move forward, and they embrace them when they return, helping to refuel and reignite their passions.
Female Techpreneur
Female Techpreneur is for female-led tech businesses, founders, Leaders, business owners to connect them to mentors, thought leaders, grants, investors, education, business support and so much more! FeTech has been designed to help tech businesses learn how to launch, scale-up and exit effectively.
Globalx Innovations
GlobalX is an emerging tech leader with a vision is to drive a more diverse, inclusive and competitive digital economy with a focus on emerging technologies, that opens up equal opportunities for all.
Women Techmakers
Google's Women Techmakers program provides visibility, community, and resources for women in technology.
Africa Women in Technology
African Women in Technology event series, a product of IBOM LLC, was born out of a desire to connect, educate and empower women who are determined to advance their tech careers. They are dedicated to providing opportunities and a safe space for women to grow and lead in the tech space.
Skai Blue Media
Skai Blue Media is a full-service public relations agency based in Philadelphia and New York City. They bring together experience from high profile PR firms in New York and Los Angeles in addition to maintaining close relationships with media outlets, business networks, writers, influencers and decision-makers.
Carolina Women in Tech
Their mission is to empower, engage, and educate women in tech. They have a unique opportunity to unite and support each other. They encourage any woman that celebrates technology to join our effort.
Flexable
Flexable is a Pittsburgh based company that offers flexible childcare solutions and virtual babysitting nationwide. The company was started by two moms on a mission to make work and life fit better for professional parents.
Her Product Lab
Her Product Lab was founded by two women, Lina Bedi and Monica Rozenfeld, with the goal to elevate women in their product careers. By building a global community of women in product, their members can form meaningful relationships with those who support them and their goals. Their community provides resources to launch products from concept to market through their learning series, full-day summits, and an intensive 7-week virtual incubator.
tech:NYC
Tech:NYC is an engaged network of tech leaders working to foster a dynamic, diverse, and creative New York. We bring together New Yorkers to support a successful technology ecosystem, attract and retain top-tier talent, and celebrate New York and the companies that call it home. Tech:NYC mobilizes the expertise and resources of the tech sector to work with city and state government on policies that ensure New York's innovation economy thrives.
Women in Tech NJ & NY
Meetup is a platform for finding and building local communities. People use Meetup to meet new people, learn new things, find support, get out of their comfort zones, and pursue their passions, together.
At Your Service
Founded by award-winning journalist and producer Noor Tagouri, At Your Service (AYS) is a production company and consultancy focused on telling stories through a lens of service.
Women In Big Data
Cultivate tangible opportunities for women; unlock latent potential through accessible training, act as a catalyst for advancement with thought leadership promotion, and empower equity allies of any gender with inclusive mentorship programing.
Our Media Sponsors
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is an award-winning news leader whose mission is to connect, inform, and enlighten local, national and global readers with trustworthy reporting, in-depth analysis and engaging opinions. The Post is as much a tech company as it is a media company, combining world-class journalism with the latest technology and tools so readers can interact with The Post anytime, anywhere. Their approach is always the same– shape ideas, redefine speed, take ownership and lead. Every employee, every project, every day.
MMCA
Who owns the story controls who wins and loses. As such, they see a media diversity crisis with serious economic, social and political implications. The Multicultural Media & Correspondents Association (MMCA) is a growing group of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) media stakeholders, advocates and allies resolved to get more content, more ownership, more impact and more control of their story and of where, when and how it's told. The key pillars of their effort are (1) coalition building, (2) awareness and advocacy, (3) constructive engagement, (4) stakeholder assistance, and (5) honoring BIPOC media excellence.
STARZ
Starz (www.starz.com), a Lionsgate company (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B), is a leading global media and entertainment company that produces and distributes premium streaming content to worldwide audiences across subscription television platforms. Starz is home to the flagship domestic STARZ® brand, STARZ ENCORE, 17 premium pay TV channels and the associated on-demand and online services, including the highly rated STARZ app. With the launch of the STARZPLAY international premium streaming platform and STARZ PLAY Arabia, Starz is expanding its global footprint in a growing number of territories. Sold through multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, telecommunications companies, and other online and digital platforms, Starz offers subscribers more than 7,500 distinct premium television episodes and feature films, including STARZ Original series, first-run movies and other popular programming.
2021 Diversity & Inclusion Award Winners
Startup Partner of the Year: Joe Gomez
Joe is a Talent Acquisition Manager at Guru Technologies. At Guru, they believe the knowledge you need to do your job should find you. Guru unifies your internal knowledge, verifies its accuracy, and empowers your revenue teams. Using AI, Guru can even suggest relevant knowledge to you in real-time without you having to search for it.
What his colleagues say about him: "What makes Joe a stand out employee is his dedication and work ethic. He takes his job seriously and is highly results driven, without comprising quality."
Thank you for being an amazing partner Joe!
Community/ ERG Advocate of the Year: Calicia Johnson
While Calicia is a successful strategy and development manager at Chevron, her commitment to diversity and inclusion is unparalleled. She is the founder of the non-profit Student Career Studio, and also supplies scholarships to support underrepresented students in their pursuit of STEM careers.
What her colleagues say about her: "Calicia exhibits everything a D&I Champion stands for. She continues to pave the way for underrepresented employees to be successful by leading by example, providing mentorship and being resourceful."
Thank you, Calicia, for all your hard work!
Mid-Market Partner of the Year: Morgan Puravet
Morgan is a talent acquisition program manager at Smartsheet. In 2005, Smartsheet was founded on the idea that teams and millions of people worldwide deserve a better way to deliver their very best work. Today, the company delivers a leading cloud-based platform for work execution, empowering organizations to plan, capture, track, automate, and report on work at scale, resulting in more efficient processes and better business outcomes.
Thank you Morgan for being committed to a progressive DEI strategy and understanding why fostering inclusion and belonging is important when building a thriving business.
Engineering Champion of the Year: Jossie Haines
Jossie is the Sr Director of Platform & Web Engineering and Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) at Tile. Beyond her myriad accomplishments in tech, she was also nominated as Best Tech Manager in the Bay Area for the Timmy Awards, and Best Speaker for the WomenTech Network.
What her colleagues say about her: "Jossie is a leader with a diverse background. She consistently solves problems and prevents issues before the arise by analyzing and working with all levels of the company. She mentors and leads diversity and inclusion teams, and runs events to improve morale."
Jossie, thank you for all you do for the engineering and women in STEM community!
Enterprise Partner of the Year: Anto Megerdichian
Anto is a recruitment partner at American Express and a longtime partner of the PowerToFly. As a global company, Anto and American Express understand that it is vital to their success that their employees are as diverse as the customers and communities they serve. American Express has built a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace— a culture they are committed to continuing.
What her colleagues say about him: "Anto is simply put, one of the most talented, passionate, skilledand tenacious staffing and consulting professionals I've ever worked with."
Anto, thank you for always going above and beyond!
Women Leadership Advocate of the Year: Dr. Anjali Nigam, CEO & Founder Director/WhiteSwan Consulting Group
Dr. Anjali Nigam is a Ph.D in Management, UGC N.E.T in Economics and holds a Business Enterprise Management (B.E.M.) from Manchester, U.K. She has conducted more than 35,000 mandays of behavioral & organizational effectiveness training, in India, UK Europe & Japan. She was honored with Certificate of Merit at IFTDO Global HRD Award 2013 for "Improving Quality of Working Life" by the President of India- Shri Pranab Mukherjee, from amongst 25 countries.
What her colleagues say about her: "I admire the dedication and vision that Dr. Anjali Nigam brings to creating a value revolution that aims to ensures we deliver great service to ourselves, both personally & professionally, so we can enhance our contribution to society on a national and global scale."
Dr. Nigam - we applaud you for your tireless efforts and passion in the DEI field.
Speaker Spotlight: DEI Book Club Picks!
Roots and Wings: Ten Lessons of Motherhood That Helped Me Create and Run a Company
by Margery Kraus
DOWNLOAD A FREE PDF OF "ROOTS AND WINGS"!
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Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward
By Valerie Jarrett
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The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America
By Ai-jen Poo
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Strategize to Win: The New Way to Start Out, Step Up, or Start Over in Your Career
By Carla Harris
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by Joanne Wilson
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Ok Boomer, Let's Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind
By Jill Filipovic
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Say It Louder! Black Voters, White Narratives, and Saving Our Democracy
By Tiffany D. Cross
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Fit Nation: How America Embraced Exercise as the Government Abandoned It
By Dr. Natalia Mehlman Petrzela
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Black Quotidian: Everyday History in African-American Newspapers
By Dr. Matthew F. Delmont
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The Educator's Guide to LGBT+ Inclusion
By Kryss Shane
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Perspective: It's Time To Get Serious About Saving Diverse and Local Media
By David Morgan
Speaker Spotlight: Amazing Initiatives
Help MMCA Save Diverse and Local Media
Global Workplace Equality Campaign
Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement
Speakers
- Valerie Jarett: President, Obama Foundation
- Ai-jen Poo: Co-Founder & Executive Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance
- Carla Harris: Vice Chairman of Wealth Management and Senior Client Advisor, Morgan Stanley
- Angelica Ross: Founder & CEO, TransTech & Actress, "Pose"
- Rep. Val Demings: United States Representative, State of Florida
- Geraldine Laybourne: Co-Founder of Katapult and Oxygen Media
- Margery Kraus: Founder and Executive Chairman, APCO Worldwide
- Joanne Wilson: Angel Investor, Blogger, Co-Founder of Gotham Gal Ventures
- Aida Rodriguez: Comedian, Actress, Writer & Advocate
- Charles F. Coleman Jr: Diversity Consultant, Civil Rights Attorney, Legal Analyst & Podcast Host
- Noor Tagouri: Journalist, Producer, & Podcaster
- Licy Do Canto: Managing Director, Washington D.C., APCO Worldwide
- Dr. Naomi Wolf: Author & CEO, DailyClout.io
- Jill Filipovic: Columnist for The New York Times, The Guardian, Cosmopolitan and CNN
- Dr. Esther Choo: Co-Founder, Equity Quotient
- Dr. Jane Van Dis M.D.: CEO, Equity Quotient
- David Morgan: Managing Partner, D. Morgan & Partners and Co-Founder & President, MMCA
- Sue Marcus: Regional President, Randstad Sourceright
- Avra Siegel: Former Advisor to President Obama
- Heather Long: Economics Correspondent, The Washington Post
- Tracy Jan: Race and Economy Reporter, The Washington Post
- Jacqueline Alemany : Author, "Power Up", The Washington Post
- Ruth Umoh, Editor-The-Chief, The Filament
- Frida Polli : CEO & Co-Founder, pymetrics
- Erin L. Thomas, Ph.D.: Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging and Talent Acquisition at Upwork
- Jeff Wald : Founder, WorkMarket, an ADP company
- DeShuna Spencer: Founder & CEO of kweliTV.
- Milagros Chirinos: Associate Director, Global Workplace Equality Program, Human Rights Campaign
- Juan Señor: President, INNOVATION Media Consulting Group
- Steven Waldman: President and Co-Founder of Report for America
- Tracie Powell: Program Officer, Racial Equality in Journalism Fund at Borealis Philanthropy
- David Chavern: President & CEO, News Media Alliance
- Carrie Fox: Founder & CEO, Mission Partners
- Tirrell D. Whittley: CEO of Liquid Soul and Member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
- Claudia Romo Edelman :Founder & CEO, We Are All Human Foundation
- Regina Wallace-Jones : Senior Vice President, MINDBODY
- Claire Wasserman: Founder, Ladies Get Paid
- Sian Morson : CEO, Kollective Mobile
- Korin Reid:CEO, Ellison Laboratories
- Candace Mitchell Harris: Co-Founder & CEO, MYAVANA
- Kate Zernike :National Correspondent, The New York Times
- Shirley Carswell:Executive Director, Dow Jones News Fund
- DeAnna Hoskins: President & CEO, JustLeadershipUSA
- Patricia Moto: CEO, Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement
- Jenny Freshwater: Vice President Forecasting, Amazon
- Brianne Lovette: Director of Product Management, Amazon Fulfillment Technologies
- Dovie Majors: General Manager, WHS World Wide Retail, Amazon
- Kristen Pucheck: Diversity Equity and Inclusion Director, Amazon Worldwide Consumer
- Julie Mitchell: Solutions Design and Innovation Manager, Amazon Robotics
- Kelly Riedel: Director of Supply Chain and Operations for Amazon Robotics
- Jovonia (Jo) Thibert: Director – Robotics Strategy, Amazon
- Julia Soffa: Senior Manager, Revenue Empowerment, Guru Technologies
- Stephanie Cwynar: Global Learning & Enablement Team Lead, Facebook
- Kristen Murdock: Global Head of the Community Risk Assessment, Facebook
- Arlene Pierret: Product Design Recruiting Manager, Facebook
- Giuliana McCracken Garcia: Program Manager, Facebook
- Pariss Athena: Founder & CEO, Black Tech Pipeline
- Jacqueline E. Kalk: Shareholder, Littler
- Serena Marshall: Journalist & Podcast Host
- Nekpen Osuan Wilson: CEO & Co-Founder, WomenWerk
- Gil Allouche: CEO, Metadata.io
- Sabina Rajasundaram: Founder, Codefy
- Kyra Reed: Founder, Women Empowered in Cannabis
- Whitney Beatty : CEO - Apothecarry Brands, Inc. and Josephine & Billie's
- Urvashi Tyagi: Chief Technology Officer, ADP
- Jonah Paquette: Psy.D - Author, Psychologist, and Clinical Training Director, Kaiser Permanente
- Devi B. Dillard-Wright: PhD - Author & Professor
- Naimeesha Murthy : Founder, Products by Women
- Jessica Popp: VP of Engineering, Twilio
- Yael Gutman :Senior Director, Digital Products, ASCAP
- Maira Iqbal: Lead Product Manager, VTS
- Wes Novack:Director of Platform Engineering, Pluralsight
- Lauren Guilbeaux: Head of Growth, ThinkHuman
- Sam Guilbeaux, Client Advocate, ThinkHuman
- Candelario Cervantez: MBA - National Senior Managing Director, Latinx Alliances, Teach for America
- Dr. Natalia Mehlman Petrzela: Historian, Author, Podcaster, Associate Professor of History at The New School
- Dr. Matthew Delmont: Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of History, Dartmouth College
- Dionna Smith: Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Thumbtack
- Ronit Bohrer Hillel: Sr. Director of Engineering at Smartsheet.
- Tracey Trewin: General Manager, Microsoft
- Sara Spalding: Principal Engineering Manager, Microsoft
- Meera Raikundalia: Co-founder & Head of Partnerships, BYP Network
- Janna Meyrowitz Turner: Founder & President, Style House
- Liza Wisner: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Talent Development Expert
- Emily Hoang: VP of Engineering, Metadata.io
- Patrice Peck: Journalist & Founder, Coronavirus News for Black Folks
- Marie Roker-Jones: Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Essteem
- Rekha Venkatakrishnan: Senior Manager, Group Product Management, Walmart Labs
- Lisa S. Jones: Chief EyeMail Officer (CEO) & Founder of EyeMail Inc.
- Leang Chung: Founder & CEO, Pelora Stack
- Kay Miles: Co-Founder, Mindful Use of Technology
- Yi-Hsaian Godfrey: Co-Founder and CEO of Apiari
- Jana Lee: Director of Product, Kinship Labs
- Landy Simpson: Software Engineer, Quantum Mob
- DoctorJonPaul Higgins, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Specialist, Writer & Speaker
- Ada Westfall: Writer, Composer, Performer
- Kaley Young: Female Diversity Program Manager, Raytheon Technologies
- Helen Sanchez: Founder, Tanagui Career Consultants
- Joan Smith : HR Consultant
- Desiree Booker: Principal Consultant & Career Strategist, ColorVizion Lab
- Dr. Mandeep K. Virk-Baker PhD, MPH, MSc, RD, FAND: Founder & CEO, National Origin Alliance
- Chris Bostic: Senior Advisor, National Origin Alliance
- Kristina Anguelakieva: Founder & CEO, trueblu
- Amelia Roberts: Founder, Solutions by Amelia
- Audrey Genevieve Daniels: Founder, Amplify LLC
- Kryss Shane: Author, Teacher & Speaker
- Mira Stern: Equity + Impact Consultant & Antiracism Educator, Mira Stern Consulting
- Chriss Nelson: President, Trans Minor Rights
- Angelina Nordstrom: Lyricist, Poet and Advocate
- Kelly Kugler: Founder & President - Allora Collective
- Hillary Black: AIR | Allies in Recruiting Member, WPP | VP, Global Talent & Leadership Dev, Career Happy | Coach
- Janice S. Lintz: CEO, Hearing Access & Innovations
- Marti Allen-Cummings: Drag Artist, Television Personality, NYC Council Candidate
Thank you again for supporting Diversity Reboot 2021 and PowerToFly!
How These Companies Are Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
As we reflect on recent events and how they fit into a much larger history of discrimination, we're also taking time to celebrate and acknowledge the many achievements of the AAPI community.
We asked several of our partner companies what they're doing to honor AAPI Heritage Month at work, and we were inspired by the range of responses, covering everything from campaigns to #StopAsianHate to educational events on AAPI history.
Here's what they're doing, in their own words:
Empowering authenticity - LogMeIn
"Our theme this year is AIM to Be Real. We are embracing our new company values and celebrating those who bring their authentic selves to work, who help create space to celebrate diversity of thought, and who give back to the API community. Our Asian ERG, Asians in Motion (AIM), is hosting several events: a discussion about bringing your authentic self to work with Jerry Won (Dear Asian Americans podcast); a refugee-led virtual cooking class; ERG Movie Club discussions featuring Bollywood films, and a virtual volunteer event where we will offer career development mentoring for young women across Asia."
Learn more about LogMeIn here.
Educating on current events — Raytheon Technologies
"Raytheon Technologies is honoring Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with an enterprise-wide global town hall event – Real Talk: Building CommUNITY Together. Organized by the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) employee resource groups across the company, employees will share their personal experiences and discuss ways to support Asian American Pacific Islander communities. The event will also feature prominent leading advocates from renowned civil rights organizations to provide insight into the national context surrounding recent events. We will also feature AAPI employees internally and on our social media channels."
Learn more about Raytheon Technologies here.
Encouraging awareness, growth, and learning — Moody's
"Moody's is encouraging awareness, growth, and learning during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with the following activities, led by our Multicultural Business Resource Group and DE&I team:
- Weekly newsletters featuring AAPI employee profiles and cultural resources
- Video screening and small-group discussions supporting #StopAsianHate
- Cultural panel discussion featuring employee stories
- Professional development activities
- External speakers speaking about Asian leadership"
Supporting professional development — Freddie Mac
"Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month at Freddie Mac – Together, We Are Stronger
Freddie Mac supports the professional development of Asian and Pacific Islander employees while promoting an increased awareness of the value they bring to the organization and our local communities. Our InspirASIAN Business Resource Group is hosting various activities throughout the month such as:
- Personal development session on empowerment led by a coach from our Employee Assistance Program.
- "Stop Asian Hate" lunch and learn geared toward discussing the hurdles facing the AAPI community.
- Fireside chat about racial injustice with leaders from our InspirASIAN and ARISE (employees of the African diaspora) BRGs."
Fostering inclusion, learning, and belonging – Nestlé USA
"At Nestlé USA, the Pan Asian Network (PAN), one of our many employee resource groups that support our Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion initiatives, will host a variety of events to honor and acknowledge Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. These activities will foster greater inclusion, enhanced learning, and belonging for the AAPI community. PAN will highlight women's development in Asian cultures, Asian leadership and what their culture means to them, culinary innovation of Asian cuisine, intersectionality of LGBTQ+ and Pan Asian community, as well as an enhanced learning watch party of the PBS movie 'Asian American.'"
Learn more about Nestlé USA here.
Promoting cultural literacy – Relativity
The Community Resource Group at Relativity
"For Relativity, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is an opportune time to not only celebrate the rich AAPI cultures represented within our company, but to also foster awareness and allyship amidst the current rise of AAPI hate. RelAsians, our internal community resource group, has organized a few activities for May: a book club focused on AAPI heritage—because we feel it's never too early to gain cultural literacy, a weekly spotlight on AAPI Relativians, and a virtual event that takes attendees on a tour through an Asian grocery store, introducing native vegetables and staple ingredients for traditional home-cooked Asian recipes."
- Contribution from Neha Pant, Sr. Performance Engineer & Angie Ocasek, Sr. Specialist, Partner Enablement – Co-Chairs of the RelAsians Community Resource Group at Relativity
Learn more about Relativity here.
Creating transformative experiences – Facebook
"At Facebook, our APIs employee resource group's mission is to create transformative experiences for all APIs at Facebook, Inc through key cultural awareness and engagement highlighting the API community. To kick off APIHM, we will host a series of events and conversations for the community and its allies designed to support the API community around the theme, The SUM of Us, including:
- Letting Others In: a mindful discussion series that privileges intersectional voices, storytelling, feedback, and vulnerability as tools for building empathy and inclusion amongst organizations.
- Racial Healing Learning Session: specific to the API Experience focused on naming of experiences and emotional responses, understanding the body's responses to racial trauma, what the audience can do in the moment for self-care, and long-term strategies to overcome the effect of the traumatic experience.
- Bystander Training/self Defense Workshop"
Learn more about Facebook here.
Extensive and exciting programming — 2U
"At 2U, Inc. we'll be honoring Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with extensive and exciting programming coordinated by our employee-led Asian Pacific Islander Network (APIN). In a year marred by exceptional challenges APIN has centered activities around the ameliorating themes of joy, culture and wellness. Be it delighting in a ukulele mini concert, reading an interview highlighting an API coworker, winding down after too much screen time with a somatic healing session or engaging in a panel discussion with API tattoo artists, we have a packed month ahead with opportunities to support oneself and the API culture! Follow along @Lifeat2U on Instagram for more!"
Learn more about 2U here.
Amplifying voices and educating others – Smartsheet
"During APAHM, the API at Smartsheet community will be hosting several events and activities to educate others, amplify AAPI voices, and celebrate the AAPI community! We plan to kick off the month with a documentary viewing and discussion to learn about AAPI history, and hope to share personal stories from our AAPI employees throughout the month. We'll end with an opportunity for the community to celebrate itself by gathering together for fun and games, while eating food from local Asian-owned restaurants."
Learn more about Smartsheet here.
Rising together in sports and culture – NBA
"For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, APEX is proud to present a multitude of celebratory activities, headlined by an NBA Family Virtual Town Hall and, with the NFL and MLB, an Asians in Sports & Culture Symposium themed "Together We Rise" featuring prominent Asian personalities from the sports world. We are also launching a PSA with an NBA star, honoring Eid-al-Fitr at the end of Ramadan, offering a bystander intervention training led by AAJC, and – because the celebration wouldn't be complete without food – hosting a sushi making class for our members."
Learn more about the NBA here.
Creating courageous conversations – Commvault
"This May, we are celebrating all our Asian/Pacific Islander employees, not just Asian Americans. We will spend the month learning about and celebrating the diverse cultures of Asia through weekly events and activities led by our Multi-Culture ERG. Vaulters and external guests will teach us the history of practices such as yoga, origami, and Asian cuisines. We will also discuss topics like the rise of hate crimes against Asian people and the recent spike in COVID-19 in India. These activities and courageous conversations will engage our workforce and create support for our Asian and Pacific Islander communities around the world."
Learn more about Commvault here.
Honoring history through virtual events – Collins Aerospace
"Collins Aerospace supports our AAPI colleagues not only in May, but all year. Our parent company Raytheon Technologies hosted a virtual Town Hall last month to provide a safe space for open dialogue about recent events targeting Asian Americans in the U.S. In addition to this entity-wide event, our Asia Pacific ERG at Collins is hosting events that educate and honor the importance of Asian Pacific American history such as virtual Lunch & Tours spotlighting South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and India; and Thoughts & Support sessions. Site-specific events include virtual cooking class, and viewing PBS docuseries Asian Americans."
Learn more about Collins Aerospace here.
Highlighting new perspectives – MongoDB
"MongoDB will share daily historical facts, highlights of Asian American pioneers, and perspectives from our AAPI employees in a dedicated Slack channel. We will also be providing access to an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month webinar, organizing a trivia night, and holding Processing Together sessions for our internal AAPI community due to recent hate crimes happening across the globe. These sessions are a safe space for employees to share their stories and sentiments of what it is like as an Asian American in America today. (Read MongoDB employee Monica Lu's story about being an Asian American woman in tech here.)"
Learn more about MongoDB here.
Spotlighting diverse communities – Bumble
"At Bumble, moments like heritage month celebrations are often our anchor to ensure we are spotlighting diverse communities. In alignment with AAPI Heritage Month in May, Bumble is rolling out a series of thoughtful programming to encourage internal education and around how to support the Stop Asian Hate movement and better serve the Asian community globally. The lineup of initiatives include:
- BuzzWord DEI Discussion Series with featured guest speakers: This conversation will focus on the Asian community within the context of larger cultural issues such as dating app experiences, fetishization, masculinity, and representation.
- Bumble will be inviting employees to join a virtual Vietnamese coffee-making class. Created in partnership with Phin Bar, an urban brew-bar that offers Vietnamese-style steeped coffee combined with house-made ingredients, Bumble hopes to facilitate a deeper cultural learning and community bonding experience for the team.
- Bumble will also be activating channels across social media and our product to educate our community about bystander intervention and raise awareness around the importance of supporting the Stop Asian Hate movement."
Engaging in daring conversations – Procore
"In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month in May, Procore recently organized an internal event to recognize and support the AAPI community. The event was hosted as part of our ongoing internal speaker series, 'Daring Conversations & Allyship,' to create space for an open dialogue around diversity, inclusion, and belonging. All employees were invited to tune in as employees from our AAPI communities shared their unique experiences, addressed anti-Asian hate, and discussed actionable ways to support our AAPI community."
Learn more about Procore here.
Taking action to foster change – SeatGeek
"This month the POC ERG will be meeting and hosting different activities to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This includes creating a safe space to discuss current events, and what actions our communities can take to foster change, sending out a newsletter which will highlight the Asian community in every aspect, and lastly, we will be hosting a guest speaker.
We hope with these planned activities and meetings, we can highlight, and uplift the Asian/Pacific American community, as well as bring awareness to the horrible ongoing attacks they are facing."
Learn more about SeatGeek here.
Uplifting and inspiring the community – Okta
"Okta's People of Color (POC@Okta) ERG is planning to commemorate AAPI Month with a series of fireside chats and iconographical facts posted internally in the #poc and #all diversity Slack channels! These chats will feature Dion Lim of ABC7 News and Comedian/Actor, Ronny Chieng. We will conclude the series with a partnership with Pride@Okta featuring supermodel, TED speaker, and transgender advocate Geena Rocero. The goal of this series is to educate, uplift, support, and inspire! The Okta leadership supports its AAPI employees, customers, and community."
Learn more about Okta here.
Empowering cultural diversity and leadership – Quip
"Salesforce will be celebrating through multiple virtual events, such as a leadership panel on the power of cultural diversity, a tea tasting, a tai chi class, a haka workshop, and more! Members of the Quip team have also compiled an extensive list of resources to support AAPI communities, including ways to donate, take action, and learn more."
Learn more about Quip here.
Focusing on lived experiences – Mindbody
"The Mindbody United ERG focuses on a different heritage or history each month, with May devoted to Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This ERG seeks to provide a platform to both celebrate and learn together. This will manifest in two ways: As a newsletter and a Zoom meeting. The newsletter will feature contributions directly from team members, while the meeting will feature Assembly member Evan Low as our speaker. It is our goal to focus on the lived experiences of the AAPI community, address discrimination, and how to chase after the part of the world we can make better."
Learn more about Mindbody here.
Promoting harmony and unity – T. Rowe Price
"T. Rowe Price is aware and appalled at the recent spike in hate crimes against the Asian community. In response, the firm will center Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month efforts around harmony and unity, in alignment with the Hawaiian value, Lōkahi – Forward as One. To share best practices, successes and areas of opportunities, T. Rowe Price will co-host a Leadership Panel on Asian Leadership Challenges with Baltimore Asian Connect, a consortium of Asian business resource group leaders at local corporations. The firm will also host a book club and restorative listening circles for Asian American associates and their allies."
Learn more about T. Rowe Price here.
Celebrating Asians globally
"May is Asian Pacific American (APA) Heritage Month. Although traditionally a US celebration, at Autodesk we are celebrating Asians globally. The Autodesk Asian Network is hosting Innovative Leaders, including Lori Mukoyama and Jonathan Zee. Lori Mukoyama is redefining experience-driven design globally at Gensler. Jonathan Zee has an extensive portfolio of buildings that are helping to shape cities around the world at Goettsch Partners. Lori and her husband Jonathan combine design, architecture and engineering in their work while simultaneously manage a family together during this pandemic. This event is hosted by AAN, as part of a monthlong series of APA Heritage Month events."
Learn more about AutoDesk here.
