Who knew that a gathering of 17 AAPI women leaders in Vail, CO in April 1994, which I was trying to get myself “disinvited” from, would end up being one of the most consequential events of my life?
Martha Lee called in early 1994, inviting me to participate in a two-day gathering of AAPI women leaders in Vail, CO to discuss whether we should create the Asian Pacific American Women’s Leadership Institute (APAWLI)
I remember thinking that was the last thing I had time to do as I had just started my employee-owned, PR agency, PT&Co., after leading 12 colleagues in a management buyback from Chiat/Day Advertising. I didn’t have time to spend a weekend discussing AAPI women’s leadership or anything that wasn’t PT&Co.
Try as I might, I couldn’t get out of this gathering in Vail and, once there, I was stunned to learn from other AAPI women leaders who had a far different experience growing up in America than I did. I was born and raised in Hawaii where Asians are in a plurality. This gave me the luxury of never having to think about being Asian American or feeling like the “other” or being discriminated against.
Most of the women I met in Vail experienced feeling like the “other” every day of their life. They were often the “first” Asian American in their neighborhood, the “first” in their school, the “first” in their college, the “first” employee in their company or department, etc.
Hearing their stories was a huge revelation.
When none of us in Vail could think of “nationally known” Asian American women leaders except for Connie Chung, CBS Evening News co-anchor, we realized the need to establish APAWLI to help mid-career, mid-level AAPI women ascend to senior leadership positions in all sectors – public, private, non-profit.
When Martha called the question in Vail about whether we should start APAWLI, I was the first to raise my hand.
I am one of the proud Warrior Sisters of APAWLI and served on its Founding Board for 10 years from 1995-2005.
I’ve watched the organization evolve since I left the board. I’m impressed that Sue Ann has evolved CAPAW’s signature APAWLI Fellowship Program from a year-long, in-person, leadership development program, serving 10-12 women each year to a shorter, largely “virtual” program, serving many more emerging, AANHPI women leaders.
The most exciting development was when Sue Ann expanded the outreach of CAPAW in 2021 with a new program, Unleash the sHERO in You!, to serve emerging, multicultural, women leaders beyond AANHPIs to include Latinas and Black women. I absolutely LOVE that Sue Ann did this to underscore the importance of CAPAW and the AANHPI community reaching out to share resources to support women in other communities of color.
I re-engaged with CAPAW four years ago and am excited to work with both APAWLI and Unleash the sHERO in You! cohorts, helping participants discover their life and leadership purpose and be self-focused and self-driven to create the impact they seek to make in the world.
In fact, the fulfilling and joyful work I have been doing with CAPAW through my consultancy, Joyful Planet LLC, inspired me to start my Joyful Planet Foundation, a 501c3 to support non-profit leadership development programs like CAPAW, serving diverse, emerging leaders who are committed to creating a more equitable, inclusive, and joyful planet.
On January 20, 2025 – MLK, Jr. Day and Inauguration Day – I launched Joyful Planet Foundation and this work has been my primary focus since then.
Through my Joyful Planet Foundation, I am now able to provide pro bono support to CAPAW for the APAWLI, Unleash the sHERO in You!, and other programs.
I look forward to gathering with my Warrior Sisters in San Francisco, September 4-6, 2025, to celebrate CAPAW’s 30th Anniversary, recognize the visionary leadership of Founder Martha Lee, and support the continued evolution of our organization by our innovative CEO Sue Ann Hong and other established and emerging leaders.
