COMMITTEES

Led by President, Zach Heng, our passionate board is comprised of 7 key areas:

MARKETING

As a critical function of the chapter supporting every committee across the organization, the Marketing committee ensures that members, potential members, and friends of Ascend are informed about all chapter programming and initiatives. The committee leads all strategic marketing and communication efforts, chapter branding, and external engagement, which include managing the email list, website, and social media accounts.

MEMBERSHIP

Like the soul of any nonprofit organization, our Membership committee is the heartbeat of the chapter. This committee’s two primary pillars are (1) membership recruitment and (2) membership engagement. These objectives are achieved through gathering member feedback, meaningful networking events, member recruitment drives, and continuing to drive the value of membership by ensuring the proper resources are available and accessible to all members.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS

The Community Relations committee works to drive deeper connection with our community by establishing new community partnerships, strengthening our established community partnerships, and coordinating various philanthropic initiatives on behalf of the chapter. The committee hosts many events throughout the year supporting various organizations like AALead, AASuccess, and Pratham USA.

STUDENT AFFAIRS

The Student Affairs committee provides guidance, resources, and partnership opportunities for the surrounding student chapters — University of Maryland (College Park), Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, American University, Virginia Tech, and George Mason University! This committee provides experiential learning opportunities for students to learn more about their field of interest in a fully engaged, hands-on environment. For example, the annual Case Competition is an opportunity for professionals to guide student teams during a week-long consulting project judged by a panel of business executives.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

At the core of Ascend’s national mission, the Professional Development committee serves as the fundamental cornerstone of our annual programming addressing topics like market disruptions, technology trends, lessons in leadership, and career-changing innovation then connecting our members with industry leaders who have effectively navigated all of those areas.

CORPORATE RELATIONS

The Corporate Relations committee is responsible for maintaining relationships with current corporate partners as well as building new relationships with potential corporate partners in the Greater Washington area (extending to Baltimore, MD and Richmond, VA). Through these partnerships, our members can learn about and build relationships with industry experts and executives in the public and private sectors, from start-ups to large corporations. It is with the support of our corporate partners that we can provide the meaningful programs and initiatives that reinforces our mission of continuing to be the premier Pan-Asian professional organization to enable its members and the AAPI community to achieve new professional heights.

CORPORATE EXECUTIVE INITIATIVE

The Corporate Executive Initiative (CEI) has 3 overarching objectives:

Increase the pipeline for Pan Asian Leaders by harnessing the passion and imagination of Pan-Asian senior executives to provide stewardship in developing the next generation of Pan-Asian leaders, both in ASCEND and in their own organizations
Promote thought leadership by engaging Pan-Asian senior executives in thoughtful and meaningful dialogue on subjects of relevance to their careers, passions, and aspirations, especially related to the Pan-Asian community
Build the Pan Asian executive network by providing a convenient, enjoyable, and engaging environment for Pan-Asian senior executives to exchange ideas, expand their networks, and develop personal and professional relationships with peers in the Pan-Asian professional community

Visit CEI at ascendcei.org