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LEAP: Leadership Experience and Celebration: Currents of Change (in Los Angeles)
Currents of Change is a two-day immersive leadership experience that brings together Asian and Pacific Islander (API) leaders and community members across sectors to convene and navigate the evolution of leadership. Building on a legacy of resilience, this series invites participants to explore how today’s leaders are shaping the future with purpose, adaptability, and vision. Through connection and action, Currents of Change empowers individuals to embrace transformation toward a more inclusive, forward looking, and dynamic tomorrow.
This year’s LEC theme, Currents of Change, invites us to ask what it means to lead through uncertainty – not just by reacting to change, but by shaping what comes next. Across two days, attendees will engage in workshops and experiences designed to strengthen how we lead ourselves, our teams, and our communities, including:
WORKSHOPS:
BREAKING FREE | LEADING BEYOND THE SPELL
JULY 15 | 11:10AM-12:20PM | LOCATION TBD
FACILITATED BY | DR. FATIMA BUSTOS-CHOY
INTENDED FOR | ALL PROFESSIONALS
This workshop explores the hidden beliefs, inherited narratives, and systemic influences that shape leadership beneath the surface. Using the “spell” as a powerful metaphor, this workshop invites participants to examine the “root of the root” of how fear, self-doubt, over-accommodation, and disconnection from identity can affect how they lead. Guided by the Five SoulSteps™ —Awareness, Acceptance, Awakening, Arising, and Actualizing—participants will begin moving from hidden conditioning toward more grounded, authentic, courageous, and conscious leadership.
DEVELOPING MORAL COURAGE | SPEAKING UP EFFECTIVELY IN MOMENTS OF BIAS, POWER IMBALANCE, AND INEQUITY
JULY 15 | 11:10AM-12:20PM | LOCATION TBD
FACILITATED BY | HAYDEN LEE
INTENDED FOR | MID-SENIOR LEVEL AND EXECUTIVE PROFESSIONALS
Leaders often face moments where bias, privilege, and power dynamics emerge in real time. This interactive session equips participants with practical tools and strategies to recognize these moments, act with integrity, and speak up effectively. Through reflective exercises and scenario-based practice, leaders will build confidence, strengthen their moral courage, and develop skills to navigate high-stakes interactions while fostering inclusive, accountable, and high-performing teams.
STRATEGIC FRAMING FOR INFLUENCE AND LEADERSHIP IMPACT
JULY 15 | 11:10AM-12:20PM | LOCATION TBD
FACILITATED BY | CHINGCHA VANG
INTENDED FOR | NEW TO MID-LEVEL PROFESSIONALS
This interactive workshop introduces framing as a way to clarify intention, audience, and impact while also developing greater awareness of organizational power, informal influence, and decision-making pathways. Participants will learn how to apply framing not only to communicate more effectively, but to navigate complex environments with greater strategic awareness and intention.
NAVIGATING CROSSCURRENTS | BRAIN EDUCATION-BASED SELF-LEADERSHIP FOR CLARITY, EQUITY, AND ADAPTIVITY
JULY 16 | 12:00PM-1:10PM | LOCATION TBD
FACILITATED BY | HOPE IHM
INTENDED FOR | ALL PROFESSIONALS
Designed for leaders at all levels, this session provides accessible, practical tools that can be immediately applied in professional and community contexts. By strengthening internal competencies such as self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-motivation, participants will be better equipped to navigate complexity, build trust, and lead with authenticity and effectiveness in times of change.
POWER, GATEKEEPING, AND ACCOUNTABILITY
JULY 16 | 12:00PM-1:10PM | LOCATION TBD
FACILITATED BY | FARAH BALA
This is a crucial topic to explore and measure our relationship to power and build equitability and inclusive system. All leaders use power in different ways as they become gatekeepers of their teams, divisions or organizations. It covers the key concepts of decision making that creates either an inclusive or oppressive organizational culture. A conscious use of Power can be used as a force for good, deepening inclusion and psychological safety for all.
INTENDED FOR | EXECUTIVE PROFESSIONALS
CURRENTS OF CHANGE | ARE YOU LEADING THE CHANGE OR JUST SURVIVING THE DAY?
JULY 16 | 12:00PM-1:10PM | LOCATION TBD
FACILITATED BY | STEVE TERUSAKI
INTENDED FOR | ALL PROFESSIONALS
In an era of relentless disruption, leaders often mistake activity for progress. This high-impact, 50-minute “sprint” workshop empowers participants to move beyond reactive firefighting and reclaim their strategic edge. Utilizing the Importance x Urgency Matrix, leaders will audit their current decision-making habits and engage in a high-pressure simulation to master the “Strategic No.” By connecting internal prioritization with external horizon scanning, participants will build the cognitive capacity required to navigate uncertainty, ensuring they lead the change rather than simply surviving the day.
