As cliche as it is, the one word I would use to describe the first day is “inspiring”.
It is special to be part of a cohort all driven by the common mission of public service. I have found that in every conference or program I attended, it was always the relationships that were the highlight and biggest takeaway. The theme of the program brings people together; the relationships catalyze the inspiration and action. CAUSE is no different and I was blown away by the people I met and their life stories.
Orientation began as expected - we trickled into the CAUSE building starting at 8am, took our COVID tests and settled into our conference room. Reading the list of attendees, I recognized no one minus a few names I had come across in the pre-orientation activities. But by that evening, I would know most of the life stories of my colleagues.
Easily the best exercise of the day was constructing our life maps. We were given too little time to create a journey of our life on a Google Jamboard slide and then given 10 minutes each to break out into our pods.
I came in expecting that my nonprofit experience would be similar to the majority of my class –-- rather I was the only one coming from a philanthropy background. From our life map exercise, I learned that my peers were:
A former teacher turned doctor driven to utilize medicine for social justice
A nonprofit executive director and business professional dedicated to the Asian-American community and causes in the South
A campaign manager who started a nonprofit for housing justice in the Bay Area
And this was not even a third of our class.
The life maps were a powerful exercise because we could follow the thread of purpose moving from one life transition to the next. Our bigger “why” could be seen for the decisions we made in life. Our cohort was experienced enough to provide a background story – but young enough that our life maps had much more to be completed.
Between every exercise and over lunch, our cohort squeezed and shared as much information as we could. We discussed housing policy, California politics, rank-choice voting, city government mechanics, running for office…with so many conversations, one of us shared:
“What’s shared here, stays here. But what’s learned here, leaves here.”
This placed the onus of responsibility on each of us to take what’s learned these next 6 months and bring our own respective worlds.
The CAUSE Board joined us in the evening over dinner and conversation. I could sense their eagerness and enthusiasm. One of the board members asked right away, “Do you want to run for office?” I could only smile and knew this was going to be the start of something great.
All in all, my expectations were blown away. I feel fortunate that I am able to participate in this year’s program with 3 in-person sessions. The real-time exchange of conversations and relationship-building could not be replicated on Zoom. Kudos to the CAUSE staff for selecting a great class, including flying in a third of us from out of town, which brought in a genuine diversity of experiences.
Summary of our day:
Onboarding - for the year.
Wonderful lunch provided by Cafe Dulce (the restaurant being a story of its own).
Again, life maps are the best exercise to start a program.
Boba run! (picture below) Low point was the rain…
A great evening dinner and conversation with the CAUSE Board and cohort.
Hanging out afterwards for some real talk, home by 11pm for the early birds.
Grateful to be part of this cohort. I know great conversations and inspiration are ahead.
Boba run during lunch. Unfortunate for the out-of-towners who faced rain in LA…
CAUSE Leadership Institute, Class of 2023. Onwards!
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the views or positions of CAUSE or the CAUSE network.
Written by Peter Kim, Leadership Institute 2023 Fellow
The CAUSE Leadership Institute (CLI) for professionals is a 6-month-long certificate program that prepares and equips mid-career professionals with the tools, skills, and network to lead and advocate for the Asian Pacific Islander community.