Our Ascend Journey to Belonging & Celebration of Resilient Leadership
Musical Performance by Ascend Member & Volunteer & Ascend Impact Journey
Welcome Remarks by Ascend LA Metro & Orange County Chapters (Host Chapters)
Remarks by Ascend President
Celebration of Resilient Leadership
#AscendTogether Forum: Transformational Power of Belonging
Belonging is the feeling of security and support when there is a sense of acceptance, inclusion, and identity for a member of a certain group. When employees feel like they don’t belong at work, their performance and their personal lives suffer. The transformational power to create more inclusive workplace cultures and communities by harnessing diversity in all its forms has been long demonstrated through research and in practice. In this Forum, we will explore this powerful concept from intersectional and intergenerational workforce perspectives to understand what belonging means to us at different stages of our careers, how intersecting realities of race, ethnicity, gender and identity impact our sense of belonging, what barriers inhibit inclusivity in the workplace within and across generations, and how organizations can address the barriers.
Performer: Olivia Zhang
Hosts: Glen Hamakawa | David Oh
Speaker: Anna Mok
ERG Showcase: Asian Pacific American Council's (APAC) Journey to Belonging
Presented by Mars, Incorporated
Hear about how Mars Incorporated's APAC Associate Resource Group came to leverage the core theme of Belonging to create awareness of the issues impacting Asian American & Pacific Islander communities and how they are engaging Mars Associates to take purposeful and meaningful actions today to create a better and more inclusive world tomorrow.
As we conclude the program, the Host will share an excerpt from “Burn Bright” - Inspired by an unfortunate first-hand experience of Asian hate – a teenager’s essay (@elisevregalado) reflecting on why diversity is beautiful and why we all need to display our individuality, fearlessly. See the full essay here.
Welcome By: Robina Singh
Host/Moderator: Dan Regalado
Panelists: Chetan D. Kandhari | Margarita de Guzman | Damaris Perez
Presenter: Darius Chen