Greetings to All. 

Corporate Asian American Employee Network (CAAEN) is a collaborative network of Asian American employee resource groups (ERGs) from the private, public, and educational sectors in the Greater Bay Area community

CAAEN is committed to promoting personal and professional development of Asian American employees through networking, sharing of best practices, community service, and celebrating diversity. We serve as a conduit to help build a supportive working network for Asian American employees by collaboration within our own companies and in the Bay Area communities. In 2009, CAAEN became an official 501c3 nonprofit organization.

In the first half of 2009, we delivered our third leadership training class in partnership with Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP), the Committee of 100 mentoring program, and the Corporate Executive Initiative (CEI). Our curriculum included leadership communication training by Professor Preston Ni. Our 2009 leadership training program recognized 42 graduates representing 14 CAAEN member companies. We also organized many webinars with executives and leaders from our CAAEN member companies who discussed leadership, career management, and professional development.

In September, Chevron hosted our sixth annual educational and networking event on the theme, “Leadership and Resilience: Meeting the Challenges of the Changing Economy.” Without question, the recent economic environment has had a dramatic impact on many companies and individual employees. However, our resilience and persistence in continuing to innovate and to maintain standards of excellence are critical elements for economic renewal and business success. After a networking reception, our main program featured an executive panel of speakers who shared their insights on this topic.

We continued our Asian Health Initiative to promote awareness of common Asian health issues, such as Hepatitis B, by partnering with Stanford University Asian Liver Center and Asian Week Foundation. Once again, our dragon boat team competed with other member company teams at the Paddle for Life event to benefit the American Cancer Society.

Over the past 6 years, CAAEN has grown in our membership, services, and activities. Last year, new employee resource group members included IBM, Intuit, and Safeway. Last November, we held our fourth CAAEN Leadership Summit, highlighting the exceptional work of our respective employee groups, conducting an ERG roundtable, and drafting our 2010 agenda.

This year our programs and initiatives include the following:

• Delivery of our signature events including our fourth leadership training program in first half of 2010, annual event in September, and leadership summit in November
• Stronger connections to our members and leadership training program alumni
• More efficient and effective CAAEN infrastructure and operations
• Promotion of our CAAEN brand and enhanced value for our members and our communities

 

With your continued support and active participation, we look forward to another year of serving our member organizations and in making a difference in our communities.

Mae Jean Go
CAAEN Chairwoman