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.
The Program
The purpose of our Emerging Leaders Program is to identify and develop leaders who are the lifeblood of many organizations. This is especially true in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities. Over the years, numerous AANHPI community organizations have expressed concerns regarding the lack of culturally sensitive leadership programs available to train AANHPI youth and young adults.
The AANHPI Leadership Program was designed to develop next level leadership skills of AANHPI who are entering into their career, by providing leadership training, support, and opportunities. The purpose of this program is to build bridges from one AANHPI generation to another to help these emerging leaders become successful in their personal and professional lives and to strengthen their communities through service, engagement, and education.
This unique leadership program combines cutting-edge practices in emotional intelligence, conversational intelligence, personal branding, and neuroscience with AANHPI cultural nuances that are interwoven throughout.
2024 Program Dates
*Please note that you MUST commit to all 3 all-day to be accepted for the program.
Saturday, October 12th
Saturday, November 16th
Saturday, January 18th
Graduation, TBD Spring 2025
The location for workshops will be in Denver.
Please plan for each workshop to take place all day:
9AM - 5PM
Drinks, Lunch, & Snacks will be provided
Giving Back through Community Projects
At the end of the program, each ELPer (leader) will develop and execute a community project (leaders are encouraged to give back to the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival by taking on a key operations team member position). The purpose of this community project is to give back to our AANHPI community to showcase their support and dedication to the community. Each ELPer will present on their community project at graduation.
The graduation date will be voted on by the cohort to ensure there is enough time for each project
Bridging Generations through Mentorship
Each participant will be matched with a mentor within the community to guide them as they plan and carry out the community project, learn from the training sessions and create their personal development plan.
BECOME A
SPONSOR
Colorado Dragon Boat, the 501(c)3 non-profit behind the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, the Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival, the Riverdale Regional Park Dragon Boat Regatta is proud to present the 6th installation of the AANHPI 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 young 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.
Thank you for considering a partnership with our community and Emerging Leaders Program. In the following Sponsorship Guide, you will find different opportunities to support our young leaders in becoming effective and responsible leaders!
Erin Yoshimura
Rooted & Rising AANHPI Leadership Program Founder & Trainer
Erin Yoshimura (she/her/hers) is the Principal of Empowerful Changes, LLC, and has empowered clients through executive leadership coaching and cultural intelligence training and consulting for over 25 years.
Her clients include 9News, Raytheon, IBM, Comcast-NBC Universal, Toyota Motor Corporation, Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), University of Colorado Denver, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities, The Art Students League of Denver, Metro Caring, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and Iliff School of Theology.
Erin is certified in emotional intelligence and personal branding and is trained and certifiedin multiple coaching models including CoachDiversity Institute and Red Team Coaching, an applied critical thinking methodology. She is accredited through the International Coaches Federation as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC), and has earned certificates in NeuroLeadership through the NeuroLeadership Institute and in Neuroscience for Coaches from Neurozone ® .
As a life-long learner of equity and belonging, she received a certificate in Mindful Facilitation through Stirfry Seminars and Founder Lee Mun Wah (Color of Fear). Erin also earned certificates in Diversity & Inclusion and Conflict Resolution from Cornell University. She is also certified in two assessment instruments: Core Strengths/SDI 2.0 and the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).
Before becoming a trainer and coach, Erin led teams in both corporate and non-profit organizations and her career spans technology and change management to arts and culture. Erin served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, a non-profit organization celebrating pan-Asian culture, that is the largest dragon boat festival across the U.S. During her tenure, she designed and continues to lead the organization’s Emerging Leaders Program for Asian American professionals.
She helps her clients find their personal sweet spot of empowerment so they live by choice,not circumstance.