2023 Asian American Pacific Islander Leadership Summit
Sponsored By
Keynote Speaker
Grace Meng
United States House of Representatives
View Bio
Grace Meng
U.S. Congresswoman Grace Meng is serving her sixth term in the United States House of Representatives, where she represents New York's Sixth Congressional District. Grace's district is located entirely in the New York City borough of Queens, including west, central, and northeast Queens. Grace is the first and only Asian American Member of Congress from New York State,and the first female Congressmember from Queens since former Vice Presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro. In Congress, Grace serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, where she is New York's senior member and is the Vice Ranking Member. Grace sits on both the State and Foreign Operations subcommittee and the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies subcommittee. The House Appropriations Committee is responsible for funding the federal government's programs and activities. Grace serves as the First Vice-Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, a co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Taskforce for Combatting Antisemitism, and as a Vice-Chair of the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. Grace has proudly passed several pieces of her legislation into law. This includes legislation on several important issues affecting the lives of her constituents – from laws supporting religious freedom, making Queens historic sites part of the National Park Service, striking "Oriental" from federal law, protecting public housing residents from insufficient heat, championing improvements to broadband and internet access for students across the country to help close the homework gap, and establishing the first step in creating a national museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture. Also signed into law were her measures to assist veterans and members of the military, and provisions to improve consumer protections and safeguards for children. Additionally, in order to combat the rise in hate and violence that increased during the coronavirus pandemic, Grace passed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law. At every turn, Grace has fought to expand opportunities for communities of color, young people, families, small businesses, and women. Prior to being elected to Congress, Grace served in the New York State Assembly. Before entering public service, she worked as a public-interest lawyer. Born in Elmhurst, Queens, and raised in the Elmhurst, Bayside, and Flushing sections of the borough, Grace attended local schools and graduated from Stuyvesant High School. She also attended the University of Michigan (Go Blue) before earning her law degree from Yeshiva University's Benjamin Cardozo School of Law. Grace is raising her family in Queens, where she lives with her husband, Wayne, and their two sons.
Panelists
Shandee Bowman
Shandee Bowman
Shandee Bowman is the Vice President of Culture & Inclusion and Head Chair of Crowley’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity in Action (IDEA) Council. Aligned to Crowley’s purpose of bravely advancing what’s possible to elevate people and planet, she is committed to creating impactful moments, elevating the employee experience, and bringing Crowley’s culture to life. Shandee represents Crowley as Chair of the NDCs Florida Executive Leadership Council. She also serves on several minority serving institution boards. At Crowley, Shandee serves as a cultural architect focused on offering a fresh, thoughtful, and intentional approach to enhance the diverse and inclusive, people-driven culture. She has a proven track record in leading strategic people plans and programming, including global diversity, equity, and inclusion, corporate citizenship, and building organizational capability that gives the business a competitive advantage. Shandee is known for modeling authenticity and fearlessness by doing things she asks others to do. Before joining Crowley, Shandee had over 20 years of leadership and management experience influencing brands renowned for innovation and bringing culture to life, such as Target, Lululemon, and Carvana. She has worked in over 15 countries and successfully navigated through many unique cultures while training fighter pilots in the U.S. Air Force globally. Shandee is a certified Senior HR Professional and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Professional. She has received her Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and a Master of Arts in Human Resource Management through Wayland Baptist University. She has also completed Cornell University’s Strategic Human Resource Leadership program and Harvard Business School’s Leading with Finance Certification.
Mona Dine
Mona Dine
Mona Dine, Head of Talent Management & Corporate Human Resources & Chief Diversity Officer, United States Steel Corporation: Mona Dine is an accomplished Human Resources leader with over 20 years of experience. As a talent management leader across a variety of industries, her expertise is utilized to develop impactful leaders, create engaging and inclusive work environments and promote talent practices that drive performance and business results. Mona currently leads Talent Management, Corporate Human Resources and DE&I at US Steel. She has worked in senior level Human Resources roles at Kennametal, HarbisonWalker International, PNC, and Robert Morris University. Mona holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan and a Master’s degree specializing in Career Development from the Ohio State University. Mona holds certifications as a Professional Certified Coach (ICF); Senior Professional in Human Resources (HRCI); Senior Certified Professional (SHRM); Organizational Development Certified Professional (ODCP); and Fostering Inclusion & Diversity (Yale University). Mona serves as a Board Member and the Chair for the Diversity and Inclusion Forum for Vibrant Pittsburgh. She also functions as a Corporate Advisory Committee member and Mentor for PA Women Work. Mona also volunteers for the National Diversity Council and the March of Dimes.. She is a frequent speaker and panel member on topics addressing leadership development and enhancing diversity and inclusion within organizations.
Girish Ganesan
Girish Ganesan
Girish Ganesan is a strategic leader credited with driving change and building best in class teams. A creative thinker with passion for innovation in improving organizational performance, he has international experience across multiple HR disciplines including Organizational Change and Transformation. Girish has extensive global experience, having lived and worked internationally over his 19-year career. In his current role as Senior Vice President, People, he is a member of multiple executive committees and leads the global human resources function across 8,000 employees, 30+ countries and multiple divisions of S&P Global including Global Ratings, ESG/Sustainable 1, Digital Technology Services, Legal, Government Affairs & Security, and Global Risk Assurance. Prior to this role, Girish was the Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion and Head of U.S. Talent at TD Bank Group. He was responsible for the strategy and execution of practices and programs that positioned the bank and its 90,000 employees, globally, as an inclusive organization. Girish also led end-to-end talent strategy including talent acquisition, talent management, executive development, organizational effectiveness, learning & development. Prior to TD Bank Group, he was with Manulife where he held a variety of senior positions in total rewards, shared services, and HR business consulting. His last role at Manulife included leading a multifunctional HR shared services portfolio servicing 38,000+ employees across 15 countries. Girish was named one of 2019 Canada's Top 40 under 40 and has previously been recognized as the Top Future Leader by HR.com for three years in a row from 2016 to 2018 for outstanding work in corporate leadership. In addition, he was the recipient of Golden Globe Tiger Award for Excellence in HR Leadership in 2015 endorsed by World HRD Congress and Asian Confederation of Businesses and named HR Professional of the Year by Human Resources magazine in Singapore in 2013. Born in New Delhi and educated in U.S., Canada, and India, Girish has an honors degree in Political Science and Economics, and post-graduate education in Human Resources Management. He also holds the Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation. Girish serves as a Director on the Association of Talent Development (ATD) Board. Previously, he served as a Director on the HR Professional Associations' Board. He is passionate advocate for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and known leader among diverse communities, mentoring Pan-Asian newcomers, internationally trained professionals and LGBTQ2+ community members.
Emmett Schelling
Emmett Schelling
Emmett Schelling is a trans South Korean immigrant by way of foreign adoption and currently serves as executive director of Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT). While his primary focus of work is on trans issues, his are not impacted by single issues, but rather a myriad of issues that often manifest themselves in oppression and marginalization. Before entering into movement/nonprofit work he came from corporate management after studying Business Management and Marketing in college. He felt compelled to invest deeper into the ongoing work towards collective liberation of trans folks after taking on various levels of community organizing and engagement combined with a series of eye opening events that pulled him into the work he currently does. As well as currently serving as the Executive Director of Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT) Emmett serves on the Community Council for Transform Houston and as a board member of Deeds Not Words and House of Tulip, along with being a 2020 Trans Justice Funding Project (TJFP) Grantmaking Fellow, a member of Transgender Law Center’s (TLC) BIPOC Trans cohort, a strategic planning committee member for Transgender Legal Defense Education Fund (TLDEF), and is a Co-Director for the TransFORWARD, a statewide trans powered research collective in Texas with Texas Health Institute and Equality Texas. Emmett has had the honor of receiving a myriad of awards from local, state, and national organizations in recognition of his work including Equality Texas’s 2019 annual “Monica Roberts Trans Advocacy” award, 2020’s “Trans Advocate of the Year” from Transgender Legal Defense Education Fund (TLDEF), Texas Diversity Council’s annual “Trans Advocate of the Year” (2022), is this year’s Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality (GLMA’s) Achievement Awardee which recognizes outstanding contributions to the LGBTQ community for: (1) exemplary commitment to improving the quality of health services for LGBTQ people; (2) improving the environment for LGBTQ healthcare workers; and (3) contributing significantly to gains made by the LGBTQ civil rights movement, is currently The Mahogany Project’s “Man of the Year”. He also recently was named on “TIME’s 100 2022 list of Most Influential People in the World” and was recently the keynote speaker at Fenway Institute of Health’s annual 2022 Advancing Excellence in Transgender Health Conference, hosted by Fenway Health as a Harvard Medical School CME course. He happily resides in Houston with his wife, child, and two adopted pups who are essentially child 2 and 3. He enjoys spending time with his family, friends, traveling (FOR FUN ONLY!), and he and his family love to open their home every Sunday to queer and gender-expansive Texans every Sunday for Family Dinner.
Moderator
Keti Mehta
Keti Mehta
Keti Mehta currently serves as Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Growth Leader for Gallagher’s NY Metro office, where she manages the firm’s growth initiatives to expand and deepen client footprint across diverse industry segments. Mehta also serves as an Advisor to the inaugural Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee of the Risk & Insurance Management Society’s (RIMS) Advisory Board. For the past eight years, Keti has passionately served as a Board Member on the Tri-State Diversity Council (NY, NJ, and CT). Recognized for being an inspiring growth accelerator, strategic brand promoter, and influencer - Keti Mehta successfully develops high-performing teams and strategic partnerships to unleash organic growth potential. She stands out for being a transformational culture catalyst by building diverse communities of practice that promote inclusion and collaboration. Keti leads by example and is a highly skilled, certified sales activator, leadership development coach, talent enthusiast and evangelist of the Customer Experience. Mehta has also held senior executive leadership roles at Hub International, USI Insurance Services, Dell, and Morgan Stanley. Keti resides in White Plains, Westchester County with her husband of 24 years and their beloved daughter, Karina. Keti is a licensed NY Property & Casualty Insurance Broker. Mehta received a Master of Arts degree in Change Leadership/Business Transformation from Teacher’s College, Columbia University in New York City. Additionally, Keti holds an Executive Coaching Certification from the International Coach Federation.
Emcee
Wendy Urushima-Conn
Wendy Urushima-Conn
Wendy Urushima-Conn is the president and CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego County. Wendy has more than 25 years of experience in community outreach, fundraising and marketing. She previously served as president and CEO of the Asian Business Association and associate executive director of the Center for Community Solutions where she was the chief fundraising and marketing officer focusing on sexual assault/domestic violence intervention and prevention. Wendy also worked for more than a decade at KGTV/10News as community affairs manager, promotion manager and as a weather and traffic reporter. Her core belief is to improve our community. She serves as chair of the Southern California Diversity Council and chair of the Board of Library Commissioners. She was also appointed by the Mayor to serve on the Commission on the Status of Women and is serving as the Vice Chair. She is a former Trustee with the San Diego Public Library Foundation, and recently served on the Mayor’s Asian Pacific Islander Advisory Council. She is a current board member for San Diego Rotary and is the President Nominee. She is also the past board chair for the Asian Business Association as well as past board chair for Girls Incorporated. She is also a graduate of LEAD San Diego and the FBI Citizens Academy. She has served as a respite care provider for foster youth, and for more than a decade personally underwrote the Harvey Simmons Memorial Scholarship, named in honor of her late husband, to assist high school students heading to college. Her awards include: Women of Dedication, Salvation Army; California’s 20 Most Powerful and Influential Women, National Diversity Council; Women of the Year, State of California; YWCA Twin Award; San Diego Business Journal, Women Who Mean Business and SD500; San Diego Magazine, Women Who Move the City; Girl Scouts Cool Women. A graduate of UC San Diego, Wendy is married with two daughters, and enjoys running 100-mile ultra-marathons.