Leadership Development Forum Bridges Mentors and Mentees at 21st Annual Conference

21^st Annual Conference Leadership Development Forum Mentors and Mentees.

As part of C100’s Leadership Development Program, C100 members and young professionals convened for a luncheon discussion on professional advancement in Pasadena on April 21. The twelve C100 member-mentors and 32 mentees were divided into five groups.

New York Region Vice Chair Lulu Wang welcomes mentees.

Southern California Regional Vice-Chair Stewart Kwoh and New York Regional Vice-Chair Lulu Wang welcomed attendees and described how their respective regions have carried out C100 leadership development and mentoring activities.

Kwoh spoke about the Southern California Region’s new emphasis on a six-month one-on-one mentoring program, while Wang highlighted the importance of building a pipeline of Asian American women leaders and announced the New York Region’s Third Women’s Leadership Roundtable scheduled for fall.

Steve Chen, Co-Founder of YouTube, and Michelle Kwan shared personal reflections on their leadership experience and passed on useful advice from their own mentors. Kwan told the audience that they should never underestimate what might happen when asking for greater leadership roles.

At a White House Dinner, Kwan had approached the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and boldly told her role model, “I don’t know what I can do, but if you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to contact me.” Shortly thereafter, in 2006, Kwan was appointed by Secretary Rice to become the first U.S. Public Diplomacy Envoy.

Two 45-minute small-group sessions with rotating teams of C100 mentors followed. The twelve mentors were Chen, Kwan, Kwoh, and Wang, as well as Anla Cheng, Wilson Chu, Nelson Dong, Robert Gee, Anna Mok, Edmond Pi, Frank Wu, Dali Yang, and Teddy Zee.