Los Angeles —
Roundtable of Southern California Chinese American Organizations (RCAO) and Professors and Experts Federation (PEF) USA jointly held the leadership forum, which was open to the public. The forum was conducted in English and attracted many participants from different ethnic groups. The Zoom usage report shows that the leadership forum was well attended with 210 participants and 420 logins, including attendees from the East Coast and other countries.
On behalf of the RCAO, Chairwoman Ms. Phoebe Chen Huang expressed sincere appreciation to the three distinguished keynote speakers, thirty co-organizers, and all the participants for their support. She stated that the RCAO has hosted many significant events and made donations to the local communities. RCAO also organized multiple forums including the Diversity and Inclusion Forum and the International Forum on Anti-Racial Discrimination, which enhanced mutual understanding among different ethnicities. She also thanked the forum working team consisting of forum chief planner Professor Lianlian Lin, forum moderator Professor Lei Xu, and tech support Dr. Ling Ding. Stephanie Wang is a high school junior and served as assistant tech support for the forum.
In her forum opening remarks, Dr. Lianlian Lin indicated that three keynote speakers today are from different fields: one from a famous think tank, one from a top Wall Street firm, and one from academia. They will discuss leadership in governments, in the workplace, and in higher education, respectively. So the audience can learn and understand leadership behaviors under different settings.
Dr. Yawei Liu is the senior advisor for China at The Carter Center and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also the associate director of the China Research Center in Atlanta and an adjunct professor of Political Science at Emory University. He joined the Carter Center in 1998 and became the director of its China Program in 2005. His keynote speech is titled the Midterm Election and Its Impact and Trends. He analysed the election situation and characteristics and explored the reasons for the election’s preliminary results so far. He also examined the election’s potential impact on the country and on the US-China relations.
Mr. Sean Yu delivered a keynote speech about leadership in the workplace and shared his personal experience in career development. He is Managing Director for a big Wall Street firm and received a high ranking by Forbes in Wealth Management. He served on the University of Chicago Division of Social Science Council since 2017 and the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation/Philanthropic Foundation Board of Directors since 2016. He is a recipient of Asian Business Public Award of the Year by Los Angeles Business Journal and the Philanthropy Leadership Award by the Asian Pacific Community Fund. His successful story is very inspirational to younger generations.
Professor Steve Guo is the chair of Management and Human Resources Department at Cal Poly Pomona. His teaching and research specialty are human resource management, compensation and benefits, and training and development. He also worked as an HR manager at China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company. His keynote speech focused on developing leadership skills. As an educator, he addressed the challenges faced by college students such as lack of motivation and focus, mental stress, and insufficient engagement with extracurricular activities. He suggested that students should find mentors, build network, and practice stress management and time management.
In the panel discussion, Chinese community leaders and youth leaders shared their personal experiences and views about leadership, including Beiao, President of Beijing Friendship Association USA; Ben Zhang, Vice Chairman of the Arcadia Police Foundation; Jennifer Jiang, President of Northwest Chamber of Commerce USA; Connie Rossi, President of China Inner Mongolia General Chamber of Commerce; Charles Lu, President of US-China Peace & Friendship Promotion Committee; Charlie Yan, President of American Shaanxi Gourmet Culture Association; and Susan Xie, honorary chairwoman of Wenzhou Association of California USA. Some participants commented that the forum was very insightful and they have learned more about how to develop their leadership skills to become effective leaders.
Thirty Chinese organizations in Southern California joined the forum as co-organizers as listed below: RCAO US-Sino Roundtable Forum, US Sichuan Chongqing Chamber of Commerce, Beijing Friendship Association USA, American Chinese Culture Association, American Chinese Federation of Industry and Commerce, Northwest Chamber of Commerce, Boya Foundation, USA Chinese Scholars Association, Dr’s Voice Foundation, RCAO Youth Leaders Council, US Overseas Student Union, South Bay Chinese American Association of California U.S.A., China Inner Mongolia General Chamber of Commerce USA, USA-Shenyang Chamber of Commerce Youth Federation, American Chinese Experts Association, American Southwest Chamber of Commerce USA, Jiangxi Federation of USA, JinGuo Committee, Global Sunshine Women United Association, National Council of Chinese Americans, Xinjiang Chamber of Commerce USA, U.S. Jilin Commerce and Culture Association, Wenzhou Association of California USA, American Flying Tigers Communication Association, Fudan University Alumni Association in Southern California, US Qibaishi Research Association Committee, American Shaanxi Gourmet Culture Association, Southern California Chinese Swimming and Poker Association, Northeast Chamber of Commerce USA, and U.S. International Talent Association.
