Declarations Part 2: Birthing a future.

Declarations Part 2: Birthing a future.

May 22, 2017 | Business, positively powerful woman, ppwa 2017

On June 25, 2016, sixty-nine women and men attendees of the 9th Annual Positively Powerful Woman Awards bet that there was. Each one of them took advantage of the opportunity to write a letter to their future selves, a letter that would be mailed back to them on June 1, 2017 – 9 days before the 10th Annual Awards – and nearly one year later. The letters were blessed by the Pastor Rev. Sheriolyn Curry Lasley of Greater Bethel AME Church. What did they write? Only they know. Perhaps we will find out but that is not the important part. What was important was that they declared.

Fatimah Halim is another person who declared what she wished would happen some day. Fatimah wanted to take the Blueprint for Womanhood participants to a STEAM & Global Citizenship Trip to Ghana. Well, she is the president/CEO of Life Paradigms, Inc. and now in partnership with Strong TIES Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, Mathematics (STEAM) Program her wish is going to be reality on July 3-18, 2017

A declaration is a formal public statement about a goal that once spoken changes reality.

The 10th Annual Positively Powerful Woman Awards will be honoring Life Paradigms Blueprint for Womanhood as the 2017 nonprofit organization of the year. We will also be raising funds to support their STEAM trip to Ghana as part of our program. Join us.

Is there an unforeseen power in declaring for a future? In the words of Russell Redenbaugh, “Declarations precede leaps.” Russell Redenbaugh did this as a young boy. Learn more from this extraordinary man who became blind at 16 and overcame adversities in his TEDxBend video “Post-Traumatic Gifted: Moving from Scarcity to Abundance.” 

 
The remarkable journey and lessons of Lisa Loo, ASU General Counsel

The remarkable journey and lessons of Lisa Loo, ASU General Counsel

May 16, 2017 | Business, global, positively powerful woman, ppwa 2017, transformation, Women

The remarkable journey and lessons of Lisa Loo, ASU General Counsel

Arizona State University is a public institution that has a total undergrad enrollment of 41,828, exists in the urban setting of Tempe, Arizona on a campus of 661 acres. U.S. News & World Report named ASU the #1 university for innovation in the country, ahead of both MIT and Stanford. Arizona State University is ranked #507 in ethnic diversity nationwide with a student body composition that is above the national average. (Source). Lisa Loo is its Vice President of Legal Affairs and Deputy General Counsel. On June 10, she will receive the Social Justice Award at the Positively Powerful Woman Awards.

Given the size, diversity, business interests and complexity of Arizona State University, the legal responsibilities that Lisa Loo must manage as Vice President of Legal Affairs and Deputy General Counsel would be daunting if she had not already faced significant trials and tribulations in her journey to the corporate offices of this great American university.

Public institutions of higher education manifest legal and operational characteristics that make them different from private institutions….Given the size and complexity of the typical college and the litigious environment in which they operate, virtually every college in the United States regularly uses the services of a lawyer.  (Source).

Persisting despite adversity, Lisa immigrated to the United States with her family as a young child where they lived in New York City. She faced the educational trauma of being told not to speak Chinese in school and overcame this to advance from the remedial to the advanced level in grade school. When her father died, she helped her widowed mother raise her fellow siblings. After putting herself through college, she attended law school and became a leader in a profession where women and people of color are woefully underrepresented. On the way, she acquired a NYC journalism background which was to shape her commitment to social justice and commitment to social causes. 

az bar

President Lisa Loo, center, and the other State Bar of Arizona officers, 2016-17. L to R: President-Elect Alex Vakula, Second Vice President Steve Hirsch, President Lisa Loo, First Vice President Jeff Willis, and Secretary-Treasurer Brian Furuya.

She served as Vice President of Victory Together, the coalition that primarily and successfully advocated for the Arizona statewide MLK Jr./Civil Rights Day.  She also served on the board of Harmony, Inc., a coalition of business, civic, and political leaders working to remove barriers to advancement in businesses and governmental institutions, and on the State Advisory Council to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.  She has also served on numerous advisory councils to various Arizona governors and attorney generals and on numerous governmental and law-related committees. She has been recognized by the State Bar of Arizona for advancing equal opportunity in the legal profession and also as the 1993 Outstanding Young Lawyer. In 2016, Lisa was elected the President of the Bar Association that regulates Arizona’s more than 24,000 attorneys.  She is a founding board member of the Arizona Asian American Bar Association and a founding planning member of the Arizona Minority Bar Conference. 

Lisa Loo is a mentor to others and a support to the students of Arizona State University. She is a proud mother and has received her black belt in tae kwon do. 

Lessons from Lisa Loo:

  • What is social justice?  Everyone has a right to justice. Everyone should have the right to full opportunity. A person can make an impact when they are part of the conversation when laws and policies were made.
  • Things aren’t challenges, things are what you have in front of you.
  • Coming to America meant hope and opportunity. Some opportunities are easy to accomplish, some are harder. When you have an opportunity, say “yes” and the decide what to do with that choice.
  • You must be disciplined and that takes energy

Powerful Woman Awards (PPWA) to be held at the Desert Botanical Garden beginning with the reception at 5 p.m., followed by the 2017 awards presentations. The mission of the Awards is to “celebrate the accomplishments of women in ways that empower all people to live their dreams”. Register now and prepare to be informed and inspired.

dr joel martin

Dr. Joel P. Martin

The Positively Powerful Awards and Programs are hosted by Founder and Executive Producer, Dr. Joel P. Martin, President of Triad West, Inc. which provides corporations with specialist support in executive coaching, leadership development, diversity, inclusion and cultural competency.

2017 Positively Powerful Woman Awards Sponsors

Register to attend the Positively Powerful Woman Awards by June 1st and you could win two roundtrips on Southwest Airlines.

Register to attend the Positively Powerful Woman Awards by June 1st and you could win two roundtrips on Southwest Airlines.

May 23, 2016 | Business, Events, ppwa 2016, Women

Register before June 1, 2016,

Register for the 9th Annual Positively Powerful Woman Awards before June 1, 2016, and be entered into a drawing for 2 roundtrips to any published, scheduled, domestic destination that Southwest Airlines serves. The prize will be drawn during the 9th Annual Awards. You must be present to win. Southwest Airlines is the Official Airline of the Positively Powerful Woman Awards.  [maxbutton id=”13″]

Soutwest_cmykJoin us as we bring together women and men from our community, corporations, educational organizations, and nonprofits from Phoenix and the U.S. for our brand of joyful, inclusive celebration, personal and professional development, empowerment and motivation, connections, collaboration and upbeat fun! Let’s celebrate the accomplishments of women in ways that empower all people to live their dreams.

9th Annual Positively Powerful Woman Awards.
Saturday, June 25, 2016, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM (MST) Halle Heart Children’s Museum – 2929 South 48th Street, Tempe, AZ 85282 

Is equity for women a fantasy? Does gender equality mean win-lose?

Nov 4, 2015 | Business, collaboration, Diversity & Inclusion, transformation, Women

ScaleWill 2016 be the beginning of the next monumental transformation for women’s equality? Will equity for women finally be available? It is expected that more women will take on senior corporate leadership positions at major U.S. corporations and foundations. It is expected that the pendulum is swinging in the direction of equity balance due to an increasing focus on wealth disparity and pay equality, especially for women. However, if the forces unite and we think that they will, this transformation may not be painless. The pain will be because of an archaic notion that pay equity, means that someone will have to lose. 

Win-Win is not a fantasy

Data suggests that in every society where women are able to participate equally the economy grows. When women serve on corporate boards, those companies tend to be more prosperous. Research in the U.S. and Europe suggests that companies with female directors have better valuations than companies with no female directors (Source). Another way of thinking of this is that when a woman is invited to sit at the dinner table, miraculously there is more food to be served.

Transformation: Equal access and opportunity for women. Equity in the preparation, education and support of women in the face of privilege and exclusion and making sure that women of all cultures and races have what they need to take advantage of equality. Here are five promises that every and any women can make to empower the transformation:

  1. Communicate, collaborate, advocate and educate. Share your brilliance and your vision (what you see). Mentor and accept reverse mentoring. Think well of women. Be the source of equity.
  2. Collaborate. Think win-win. Be inclusive. Be the source of equality.
  3. Be an activist for the causes that matter to you. Own your power including voting and encouraging all women (and all people) to vote. Be a source of leverage.
  4. When you have equal access, leverage and learn the skills through equity. Takes RISKS. Learn negotiation. Think big. Share the access. Be the source of leadership.
  5. Stand and speak out for the equality of all women. Be the source of inclusion.

According to a new Pew Research Center survey on women and leadership, most Americans find women indistinguishable from men on key leadership traits such as intelligence and capacity for innovation, with many saying they’re stronger than men in terms of being compassionate and organized leaders

 

Diversity, is about the ingredients

Diversity, is about the ingredients

Oct 19, 2015 | Business, Diversity & Inclusion, leadership

diversity bikers

Members of B.A.C.A (Bikers Against Child Abuse) and Dr Joel Martin.

Beyond the surface lies a quality of human connectedness of intention, vision, and commitment available when we see beyond what is apparent. What connects me to these bikers (BACA) that I met at the 2015 eWomen International Conference is that we share a passionate commitment for making a difference that is “bigger than us”.

Diversity is about people

Diversity, as we are using here is ultimately about people and not demographics. It is about what we can learn and teach each other that may result in our solving together, issues that we all face.