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Letter from Phuong Dinh, Administrative Fellow at Kaiser Permanente
Upon experiencing health inequities at an early age, I vowed to dedicate my career towards improving the healthcare industry. Challenges in healthcare are multifaceted, and the same is true for education and most other industries. The 2018 GlobalMindED Conference united over 1,000 bright and passionate thought leaders to create seeds of hope for all who are in pursuit of equity and opportunities for First Gen students and graduates like myself.
The GlobalMindED Conference welcomed leaders from diverse geographies and industries.
We began with a special reception and welcome for sponsors and partners on behalf of
Lt. Governor Donna Lynne
, the Colorado Commissioner of Higher Education and former United States diplomat,
Daniel Baer
and
Dr. Katy Anthes
, Commissioner of Education.
June 9th kicked off with nine various pre-conference sessions followed by the opening reception on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Dinner keynotes by Kevin Cassidy from the International Labour Organization and Shawnna Hoffman, International Blockchain expert from IBM, on how emerging technologies will level the playing field for populations who face economic challenges. Rocio Perez, Adrian Rosado and Dr. Melinda Cain provided the professional development for the 2018 class of the First-Gen student leaders.
On June 10 and 11th, over 250 national and international speakers were featured in various breakout sessions. Dr. Anita Sanchez opened the conference with the wisdom of the Sacred Hoop.
The first annual Tech Day of Industry was launched for students aged 16-20, exposing them to some of the most exciting emerging careers in tech and impacted by tech. Kate Morican from Deloitte Canada led a lively discussion on Creating a World Without Ceilings while her colleagues the next day explored Solving the Wicked Problems for Low Income Populations. University of California President Janet Napolitano was interviewed by John Diaz of the San Francisco Chronicle on her outstanding work with California R1 Institutions graduating First Gen students with low debt and with jobs that represent forward advancement.
The conference ended with a call to action from all attendees from Civil Rights activist, Clifton Taulbert, and a 55 company Career Fair featuring Careers with High School as well as College Degrees.
The seed of hope that I am cultivating is the formation of a new GlobalMindED Young Leaders Initiative. Co-chairing with Julie Wilmes, the initiative will provide our young generation a seat at the leadership table and recognize their contribution to the equity mission. As a first-generation-to-college student, developing leader in healthcare management and advisory board member of GlobalMindED, I am confident that soon we will see fruit grown from the seeds we are cultivating and we will see a more equitable world.
Save the date for June 4-6, 2019!
Join us and be the solution.
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