NAAAP Leaders will discuss how they build community partnerships with other minority organizations with NAAAP and outside NAAAP.

About this Event

Join NAAAP National for a great conversation on March 15th at 7:30 pm ET for our Inaugural Inclusive Leadership Series. Our first event focuses on Building Allyship.

With the rise of Black Lives Matter and Anti-Asian racism, building allyship and coalition among minority-led organizations is more important than ever. In addition, employers of all sizes are making deeper commitments to address inclusion, belonging, and systemic racism at work.

This panel will feature NAAAP Leaders discussing how they build community partnerships with other professional affinity groups of color. They will share best practices, significance and benefits of these partnerships. We hope to build the idea of “stronger together”.

Meet Our Panelists:

• Lauren Garces – President at NAAAP San Diego
• Samson Lee – Board Member at NAAAP Boston
• Junann Lopez – President at NAAAP Kansas-City
• Christie Sithiphone – Vice President of Professional Development at NAAAP Atlanta
• Moderator: Aurora Austriaco – Board Member at NAAAP National

Program Agenda

7:30-7:40 Networking/People Signing In
7:40 – Introductions
7:45 -8:30 Panel Discussion
8:30 – Q&A with the audience
8:50 – Closing

Zoom Link will be provided after attendee has registered.

Lauren Garces

A leader in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, Lauren Garces serves as President of the National Association of Asian American Professionals – San Diego and is a recipient of the Rising Star Award from the Asian Pacific American Coalition. Lauren is a creative city-wide Events Producer & Artist dedicated to empowering diverse communities. In San Diego, she builds as the Special Events Director for Convoy District and also leads the Marketing, Outreach, and Events for Asian Business Association San Diego Small Business Development Center. Most recently, she served as the Vice President/ Creative Director of Silk Road Productions; an award-winning event production company in Southern California. Currently, she has created an experiential event production company, Social Artistry, dedicated to creating sustainable economic and cultural impact with community leaders + organizations. Her passions and engagements are dedicated to providing platforms and connections for diverse communities and cultures to be highlighted, bridged, and empowered. A few of the signature projects she has worked on include: Filipino Sun Festival, Kinda Kamayan, Linda Vista Multi-Cultural Fair, Asian Cultural Festival, San Diego Night Market, San Diego Ramen Festival, Asian Pacific Islander Festival Day at the San Diego County Fair and San Diego Padres Filipino Heritage Night. Previously, she was the Director of Andres Bonifacio Samahan Community Outreach and Political Education (ABSCOPE), Chairperson of Andres Bonifacio Samahan, and the Marketing Director of the Three Treasures Youth Mentorship Program.

Junann Lopez

Junann retired from Hallmark Cards in 2020 after a 22 year career in Finance. She became actively involved with the Employee Resource Group: Asian American Resource Community at Hallmark, serving in different leadership roles, including Board Chair. Currently she is President of the National Association of Asian American Professionals – Kansas City. The National Association of Asian American Professionals is a non-profit organization that cultivates and empowers Asian & Pacific Islander leaders through leadership development, professional networking, and community service. She also serves as a volunteer to the Basehor-Linwood High School English/Drama department as a debate and forensics judge. She served on the ARTSKC Catalyst Project Grant Committee FY21.A graduate of Baptist Bible College, where she was part of the drama travelling troupe. She has 2 children, a daughter who is a therapist in Ann Arbor, Michigan and a son who is a Marine Reservist. She lives in Basehor with Jeff Rawlings and her cat, King.

Christie Sithiphone

Christie Sithiphone is a Manager on the Strategic Initiatives team with CNN Digital. In this role, she is responsible for leading the strategic integration of several initiatives within CNN Digital, including leadership development plans for all people leaders, driving employee engagement and collaboration, and evolving the culture across the organization.

Outside of work, Christie is passionate about community service. She serves as the Vice President of Professional Development for the Atlanta chapter of the National Association for Asian American Professionals (NAAAP). She is a member of the Urban League of Greater Atlanta Young Professionals (ULGA-YP) and also serves as a member of the Alliance Theatre’s Advisory Board.

When she’s not working or volunteering, Christie loves all things related to music, travel, and food. You can usually catch her singing her heart out at a concert, enjoying brunch at one of Atlanta’s many restaurants, or jet setting to another city or country to visit family and friends. As a self-proclaimed “Community Connector,” Christie enjoys making a positive impact in both business and social settings.

Christie is a proud first-generation daughter of Laotian refugees. She attended The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and received her Bachelor of Science in Communications. Her hometown is Nashville, TN.

Samson Lee

Samson Lee has been involved with NAAAP Boston since 1997. He became Co-Chair of the Professional Development Committee in 2000 and served in that capacity until 2005 In 2001, Samson was also the Co-Chair of the Speakers Committee of the Annual NAAAP National Convention held in Boston. In addition, Samson was responsible for securing two keynote speakers for the Convention. In 2007, he was elected President and CEO of NAAAP Boston. Over his five years of leadership, NAAAP Boston grew in membership and sponsorship, and continued to develop great leaders, many who are still serving the Boston chapter today. Samson led the development of innovative programming including The Professional Development Committee’s Career Success Conference Series and Networking Mixers with Career and Industry focus. He started an initiative to reach out and partner with community/affinity organizations such as GetKonnected, AARW, CAPAY and QARI, on various events to increase our marketing exposure and community outreach, as well as increasing collaboration with other professional organizations such as ALPFA Boston, NECINA, NetSAP and LPN on networking and professional events. Samson also revamped the Corporate Sponsorship strategy which led to a total of 10 Corporate sponsors and 7 In-Kind sponsors. In 2002, Samson joined the Board of Directors and served until 2010. He has seen a lot of change but also amazing growth in the organization throughout the years. Samson rejoined the Board in 2013, and strives to work towards making NAAAP Boston the premier Asian American Professional organization in the greater Boston area.

His other involvements include serving as an Advisory Board Member of Color Magazine, GetKonnected, the Commonwealth Compact, and the Massport Asian Task Force. Samson have also been a speaker a UMass Boston’s Multicultural Symposium and at Northeastern University.

Aurora Austriaco

Aurora Austriaco is co-founder of Valentine, Austriaco, Bueschel law firm. She concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial and real estate litigation, construction litigation, mechanic’s liens, defense of mortgage foreclosure, mortgage fraud – plaintiff, title insurance claims litigation, and other special chancery remedy cases. Her clients range from multinational corporations to small and startup companies to individuals. Aurora is currently serving as Commissioner for the Illinois Courts Commission and is in her 12th year as Chair of the Cook County State’s Attorney Asian Advisory Council. She served 9 years as Commissioner for the Park Ridge Planning and Zoning Commission, and has served 11 years as Commissioner for the Cook County Human Rights Commission. She is the immediate past president of the Chicago Bar Association, and was named a Super Lawyer-Real Estate, one of the Top 10 Women Consumer Attorneys by Leading Lawyers, and one of the Top 10 Women Lawyers in Real Estate. Aurora is also fluent in Tagalog.