Peter Young, Chair of the Initiative led a thought-provoking fireside chat with Jenny Yang, a highly respected Equity and Racial Justice Government Leader on Wednesday, October 2. During the conversation, Peter and Jenny discussed the federal government’s role in addressing career ceilings and racial equity gaps in federal government’s resources and gaps in awareness of individual rights, predictions on the issue of equity, diversity, and inclusion, and resources individuals as well as organizations could utilize to take action against discrimination and advance the cause.

Asian Americans have faced significant career obstacles and racial inequities. The U.S. government has an important role in formulating policies and laws, having a role in protecting the rights of individuals related to equity and racial injustice, and providing information and guidance to the public.

During this fireside chat, we covered a number of topics:

1. A discussion of Jenny Yang’s career and experiences
2. What role does the federal government play in addressing career ceilings and racial equity?
3. Where is the issue of equity, diversity and inclusion heading?
4. Where are the gaps in terms of government efforts at the Federal, State and Local levels?
5. Which of these gaps will realistically be filled and how?
6. What can the members of the audience do as individuals to advance the cause, including organizations that they can join and be part of?

Jenny R. Yang
Racial Justice and Equity Government Leader
Former White House, Domestic Policy Council as a Deputy Assistant to the President for Racial Justice and Equity
Former Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Jenny R. Yang served in the White House, Domestic Policy Council as a Deputy Assistant to the President for Racial Justice and Equity until March 2024. From the start of the Biden-Harris Administration until March 2023, she served as the Director of the Office of Federal Contracts Compliance Programs at the U.S. Department of Labor. Before that she served on the Biden-Harris Labor Transition Team. Ms. Yang served as Chair, Vice-Chair, and Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 2013 to 2018. Ms. Yang also served as a Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute and a consultant with Working Ideal from 2019-2020. She spent a decade representing workers in complex nationwide employment discrimination and wage and hour actions as a partner and Chair of the Diversity Committee at Cohen Milstein. Before that, she served as a Senior Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Employment Litigation Section.

She began her career at the National Employment Law Project protecting the rights of garment workers. Prior to that, she clerked for Judge Edmund Ludwig of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Ms. Yang served as co-chair of the first national board of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum. A graduate of Cornell University, she earned a B.A. in Government. She earned a J.D. from NYU School of Law where she was a Root-Tilden Public Interest scholar and served as Notes Editor of the Law Review.

Peter Young
CEO and President
Young & Partners  

Peter Young is CEO and President of Young & Partners, a boutique corporate strategy and investment banking firm focused on the life science and chemical industries. He manages the firm and is actively involved in client projects, transactions, and financings. Under his leadership, Young & Partners has established and maintained its position as a highly regarded firm serving the corporate strategy, M&A, restructuring, and financing needs of clients worldwide. He was previously head of industry groups at Salomon Brothers, Schroders, and Lehman Brothers, a senior private equity executive with J.H. Whitney & Co., and a senior member of Bain & Co., a corporate strategy firm.   

Mr. Young received a BA in Economics from Yale, an MS in Accounting from NYU, and an MBA from Harvard Business School where he graduated as a Baker Scholar. He is a CPA and a Chartered Global Management Accountant. He serves on several boards of directors, both corporate and non-profit; and is a board member of Société de Chimie Industrielle, a leading life science and chemical industry non-profit organization; and on the Editorial Advisory Board of Pharmaceutical Executive. He is also the New York Regional Chair for Committee of 100.