NATIONAL RECOGNITIONS AND SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS HONORED AT ASCEND CONVENTION
Ascend pays tribute to Pan-Asian business and student leaders
New York;September 16, 2010. Ten business leaders and 12 students received special recognition at the third annual Ascend National Convention in New York City, August 2010.
Ascend is the premier professional leadership organization dedicated to leveraging the global business potential of Pan-Asians. The Ascend convention has become the foremost national event for Pan-Asians and other professionals to build relationships with mentors and business leaders and to pursue leadership development.
The individuals who received Deloitte’s Ascend Leadership Award and the Ascend "Inspiring Across Generations” recognitions were chosen by their fellow executives and colleagues on the basis of their leadership work, including mentoring and volunteering, for the benefit of Pan-Asian Americans in business. In addition, Lisa M. Ong, National Director of Diversity for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, was awarded the Ascend President’s "PhD” (Passion, High Energy, and Dedication) Award. Ong says that she appreciated how the Ascend convention program shared advice on staying true to the best of your culture, building a strong brand for yourself, having the courage to take calculated risks, and connecting with others. "I am gratified by Ascend’s efforts to reach the next generation of professionals. It’s never too late to get involved,” says Ong. In announcing the award, Ascend National President Jeff Chin stated, "Lisa has been there for Ascend since the beginning, making a tremendous contribution to Ascend’s growth, leadership, and professional development programs. Her passion, high energy and dedication to Ascend are exemplary, and she is a true role model.”
Paul Lee, who is in the graduate program in accounting at Northern Illinois University, received a scholarship from ING. Lee is co-founder of the Ascend chapter at Northern Illinois. Although his alma mater does a good job of preparing students for their careers, Paul observes that Ascend fills in some gaps. "There was an unmet need for something like this,” he says, "an organization to help navigate the business culture of America.” This year’s Ascend convention was Lee’s first. "It was a great experience for me,” he says. "I got to know Ascend on a much larger level, and it was a great way to build relationships and meet like-minded people from all over the country.”
Both the award recipients and the students were honored during the convention. A complete list of honorees follows:
ASCEND NATIONAL RECOGNITIONS 2010
Deloitte’s Ascend Leadership Award: Siddharth Kaul of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Ascend Inspirational Leaders: Kapila Anand of KPMG, Dennis Wu of WuHoover, and Alice Young of Kaye Scholer, LLP
Ascend High-Impact Leaders: Alice Matsuoka of The Boeing Company, Neeraj Mehta of GE Capital, and Kamesh Nagarajan of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Ascend Rising Stars: Patricia Park of Deloitte LLP and Helene Yan of Interpublic Group President’s PhD (Passion, High Energy, and Dedication) Award: Lisa Ong of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
ASCEND NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS 2010
Ernst & Young: Bosco Cheung (2012), Pace University; Billy Tan (2013), Fordham University; My Thanh (2013), Drexel University; and George Chang (2013), Binghamton University
Deloitte: Polly Yesol Choi (2011), Baruch College ING: Khyati Joshi (2011), Rutgers; and Paul Lee (2010), Northern Illinois University
Cargill: Jessica Eng (2012), Binghamton University; and Minnie Wong (2012), University of California, Berkeley
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP: Taniel Chan (2012), Binghamton University; Liang Jian Wu (2012), University of Connecticut; and Chelsea Lin (2011), Queens College
For more information about Ascend, the honors, and the Ascend Third Annual National Convention, see www.ascendleadership.org. About Ascend: Ascend is the premier professional organization dedicated to enabling its members, business partners and the community to leverage the leadership and global business potential of Pan-Asians. Many members are from fields with high concentrations of Asians, including business, finance, accounting, technology and industry. Coverage includes 11 professional chapters and 22 student chapters nationwide. Membership is open to all individuals who share the mission, regardless of ethnicity and professional background.
