​Dragon 5280, the 501(c)(3) non-profit behind the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival and the Colorado Dragon Film Festival, is proud to present the 4th installation of the Emerging Leaders Program!

We believe the hidden strength of our community lies within our generations to come. To tap this potential, we offer a FREE executive leadership program for young professionals with fewer than 10-15 years of professional experience. Through three full-day workshops, we empower our leaders with the tools and skills to advance our community.  Each of our young professionals is paired with a mentor from our community who will help them navigate the early stages of their careers.

Emerging Leaders Program Coach
Erin Yoshimura

​Erin Yoshimura designs and presents the workshops for the Emerging Leaders Program. She is the Founder and Chief Empowerment Officer of Empowerful Changes, LLC, and empowers clients through leadership and diversity training, and executive coaching. She’s created training programs for clients including KUSA-9News, Raytheon, IBM, Comcast-NBC Universal, Toyota, Charles Schwab, SCFD (Scientific & Cultural Facilities District), Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Erin trains and coaches executives for Los Angeles-based LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc). She is a certified emotional intelligence trainer and certified professional coach and earned a certificate in Foundations of Neuro-Leadership through the NeuroLeadership Institute. She also received a certificate in Mindful Facilitation through Stirfry Seminars and Founder Lee Mun Wah (Color of Fear), a nationally-recognized master in diversity and communications training. Erin recently earned certificates in Diversity & Inclusion and Conflict Resolution from Cornell University. Her career before becoming a trainer and coach was in high tech, where she was an East Asian product manager, IT project manager, and IT change manager. Erin served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival for seven festivals after serving as a volunteer since the inaugural year. She combines her corporate and non-profit experience and her passion for equity and inclusion with training and coaching to teach empowerful leadership and cultural agility skills.

October 19, 2019
Program Kickoff at SOL Mexican Cocina

October 19, 2019
First Workshop with Guest Speaker Kenzo Kawanabe, JD

November 2, 2019
Pop Up at Little Beast Street Food

November 16, 2019
Second Workshop