Phyllis Huang on growing up Taiwanese American
As a child, Phyllis felt embarrassed by the food her mother packed in her lunchbox, and rebelled against the Chinese school she had to attend on Sundays. But now, she seeks these same experiences for her young son, striving to find the right balance between her parents’ culture, her husband’s culture and American culture.
Phyllis Huang is a Taiwanese-American born in Queens, New York but raised in Northern New Jersey. She is the Global Vice President of Change & Organizational Effectiveness for PVH Corp in New York City, as well as being a wife and a full-time mother to a young son. Phyllis consults business leaders on change and transformation to ensure that employees at all levels have healthy mental mindsets, behavior and skills to ensure success. Her position is often described as being a “corporate therapist”. Her experience has been with fashion/apparel and media industries. Past companies include: Gap, Levi Strauss & Co, and Viacom.
“There’s that piece of you, and then there’s the other piece of you.” (Phyllis, 35:49)
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Phyllis has a BA from New York University and an MA in Leadership and Organizational Psychology from the University of San Diego.
She currently lives in Jersey City, NJ with the Statue of Liberty as her backyard! Personally, Phyllis is super passionate about traveling and all aspects of food – learning, cooking and eating. She is happiest when she can travel and eat.
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Phyllis recommends:
The Dave Chang Show – theringer.com/the-dave-chang-show
The Moth Podcast – themoth.org/podcast
Onolicious Hawaii – onolicioushawaii.com
Jacqui Amezcua on growing up Mexican American
As a young girl growing up in LA, Jacqui took it for granted that she was Hispanic. Then came a questioning, a trying on of other labels like Chicana and Latina, and ultimately the feeling that identity is fluid in essence.
Jacqui Amezcua is an alum of Dickinson College, located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where she graduated Cum Laude and received her B.A. with Honors in Latin American, Latinx & Caribbean Studies. Her research has focused on political movements in Latin America and her published work is titled “Politics of Memory and the Escrache in Post Dictatorship Argentina.”
Jacqui’s most passion-driven work has been with The Trout Gallery, where she worked as a Foreign Language Coordinator to develop immersive curricula for Spanish and Portuguese language learners. She later went on to curate her own exhibit titled, “Agency, Tolerance and Imagination: Art and Civic Engagement,” where she honed her passion for making art accessible and using it as a tool for social change. Ultimately, she hopes to work towards revolutionizing the museum space into one rooted in equity and community empowerment.
Today, Jacqui works as Trainer at The Posse Foundation, a non- profit organization that provides 4-year full-tuition scholarships to leaders within the Los Angeles community.
“We gotta question why we use these labels.” (Jacqui, 29:48)
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Jacqui recommends:
forharriet.com
allmyrelationspodcast.com
locatoraradio.com
Bhavneet & Taranjit Athwal on growing up as Sikh Americans
A young Punjabi bride raises her daughters in Maryland under a cloud of fear. As the girls grow up, they embrace their independence while continuing to respect their parents’ traditions, including the prospect of arranged marriage.
Sisters Bhavneet and Taranjit Athwal are the co-hosts of the Drive With Us Podcast. (Check out Kate’s interview on S2 E9) They both work in the cancer therapeutics field and each has a 3-hour round trip daily commute! Born and raised in Maryland to immigrant parents from Punjab, India, they had to learn early on how to properly balance the two cultures. Although it can be difficult at times trying to help their friends understand why they do certain things the way they do, the sisters have not been deterred from owning who they are and taking pride in being Sikh Americans. That same determination has helped them to push cultural boundaries and step out of their comfort zone to pursue their passion of creating a podcast. They also hope to one day have a travel channel on YouTube.
“I had to figure it all out on my own.” (Taranjit, 13:15)
Check out their podcast, which is called Drive With Us
(and be sure to listen to Kate’s interview on S2E9!)
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Bhavneet & Taranjit recommend:
The Try Pod – tryguys.com
You Can Sit With Us – rambleofficial.com/youcansitwithus
I Know You – ikypodcast.com
Recruiting Hell – recruiting-hell.com