The 4th and finale conference of the Taking Charge of Your Career Success Conference Series was held on Saturday October 15. The informative and engaging day was attended by 65 career-minded professionals with Asian heritage. Produced by NAAAP Boston and Dreambridge Partners, the conference was held at the John Hancock Hotel & Conference Center in Boston, MA.
“Taking Charge of Your Career Success” is a comprehensive conference series uniquely designed to help Asian professionals develop critical strategies for career advancement and leadership.
The day was opened by Sien (Mel) Chen, NAAAP Boston’s Professional Development Co-Director, and a NAAAP Boston welcome by Samson Lee, NAAAP Boston President. The Conference was introduced by Ming Hui, NAAAP Boston Board Member and Executive Vice-President.
The keynote lecture, “Personal Leadership”, was presented by Judy Shen-Filerman, Principal and Founder of Dreambridge Partners LLC, and NAAAP Boston's Professional and Career Development Advisor. Judy’s remarks, which resonated with the predominately Asian audience, addressed key topics and advice including:
- Personal Leadership and the Themes of the Career Success Conference Series
- Personal Leadership: Career and Life Satisfaction
- Your Leadership Identity and its Effects
- Case Study – Personal Leadership in Action
Interviews with Guest Speakers were next on the agenda. Judy interviewed accomplished Asian leaders who gave personal insights and advice on Personal Leadership. Two Guest Speakers generously shared their time, wisdom and enthusiasm:
- Anne H. Chow, Senior Vice President of the Premier Client Group, AT&T Global Services. Ms. Chow shared her “8 P’s” priorities for success.
- Jim Fong, Professional Development Co-director, NAAAP Boston; and Director of Strategy & Worldwide Planning (retired), Hewlett-Packard Services
In the third segment of the conference participants attended smaller breakout sessions in which they worked with a Facilitator and fellow participants on crafting their own personal strategies. The breakout sessions were ably guided by talented Facilitators Wally Higgins, Organizational Development Consultant, Pauline Huie, Organizational Development and Learning Consultant, and Stephanie Kan of Dreambridge Partners.
The full group reconvened to share ideas from the breakout sessions and a general Q&A.
The conference concluded with a call to action by Judy Shen-Filerman for all the participants to actively practice what they learned, and to take advantage of the networking connections they gained at the Conference.
Judy Shen Filerman and Jim Fong awarded leadership certificates to those participants who completed all four of the Series’ conferences.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
- The 65 Conference participants, from NAAAP’s membership and those new to NAAAP. Thank you for your enthusiasm and active participation. Some participants attended with the support of their employers, whom we thank for their support.
- Lead Speaker, Conference Facilitator and Designer of the Career Success Conference Series, Judy Shen-Filerman of Dreambridge Partners, a cross-cultural talent management, leadership development and coaching firm focused on Asian-American and International professionals and executives.
- Key members of the Conference Series design team of Judy Shen-Filerman, Jim Fong, Ming Hui, Robin Ng, Yong-Hua He, and contributors Chien-Mei Chang, Donna Thach, Sien (Mel) Chen, Nigel Chan, and Patrick Lim Soo.
- The Conference implementation team
- NAAAP Boston’s team, including President Samson Lee, and the Professional Development, Corporate Relations, Technology (Tim Wong), and Marketing (Jenny S.W. Lee) committees.
- Nigel Chan who managed the day’s operations
- Sien (Mel) Chen who kept everything on time
- Patrick Lim Soo for event planning and marketing
- Special thanks to the day-of-the-event volunteers, including Donna Fong, William Lam, Calvin Lee, Petula Lee and Emily Chou
- Photography generously provided by T. Duy Le
