2018-19 NACA LDP Preparation
On Feb. 6, 2018 NACA board meeting, team decided to restart the mentoring program after held since 2016. This year, the BOD recommended Jenny Tang as the 2018 mentoring program chair, with Henry Yu, Jung Mar still as the mentoring advisory.
NACA has been running mentoring program since 2003 by starting the program targeting college students from Emory, GA State, GA Tech, GA University. Over the past 15 years, it helped and trained hundreds of young Asian-American students, and it also once opened a group to high school students. In the past 3 years, the mentoring program expanded to young professionals led by Li Zheng.
Jenny Tang, who joined NACA 3 years ago, has been working for the last 2 years on mentoring program. After the last program, team made a survey to all the mentees and mentors that the key feedback was that all wished the program could last longer to allow much time to interact. Therefore, we extended the program into 2 years. Besides, considering the fast changing world does not only need young professions to develop core skills but to develop leadership skills, envisioning skills, knowing why to reward community, we changed the mentoring theme and name into Leadership Development program. With this change, the working team furthur designed the group session and 1 on 1 coaching frequency with additional open forums, small in-depth groups in order to forcify intensive dicussion and networking opportunites.
In order to make better identification among all other mentoring programs in Atlanta, we introduced LDP distinctive logo, brochures, as well created LDP facebook aiming to attract people who are enthusiasm on menotoring, career growth exchange and love to contribute. Considering the LDP attendance need a exclusive space to exchange, discuss and share, we created a LinkedIn NACA LDP group. We hope over the time, all batches of mentors/mentees, speakers can form a exchange and highly influential group.
This program is supported by NACA board, Coca-Cola foundation. Hereby we’d also take this chance to thank Lani, Henry Yu helping recruit the mentor/mentees together with Jenny. Within 1.5 months hard screening work by going through the material, conduct 1 on 1 discussion, matching mentor/mentee profile. With all these work we selected 8 outstanding mentee candidates and 8 highly recognized mentors, a 5 groups’ speakers portfolio who are NACA old friends or passionate on passing their career experience to young professions.
Over the 2 years program, we plan run 5 group sessions, 6 1-on-1 coaching, with other combined open forum or small group discussion leading by different LDP working committee.
Running a mentoring program is not an easy thing, esp. everybody is busy running daily business and all working committee and mentors, speakers, and volunteers are taking their personal time to help. Therefore, for the first time, we set the mentoring governance with the hope that everybody can show respect, commitment and support.
Let’s wish a great start of LDP and hope we can continuously build LDP a signature event in NACA and in the end, to benefit Asian-American community on great metro Atlanta.
–By Jenny Tang