top of page

Inspiring Across Generations (IAG) Conference 2019

Trailblazing

Jeny Ahn

Speaker Bios

Katytarika Bartel
Headshot Jenny Ahn.jpg
Jenny Ahn

Organization Transformation Leader 

Deloitte Consulting

Given the pace of change and market disruptions, it has never been more critical for leaders to set the vision and direction for their organizations. Jenny is an organization transformation advisor passionate about meeting leaders at the intersection of disruption and workforce solutions to prepare multinational organizations for large scale change. As a leader in Deloitte Consulting’s Human Capital Practice, she has led complex initiatives for healthcare organizations focusing on global business readiness, talent management and organizational solutions. As an expert facilitator, Jenny applies group dynamics and innovative approaches to enable leaders to unlock powerful insights that define workforce innovations and market break-throughs.

 

Jenny is a respected and sought after speaker on the topics of talent trends and inclusive leadership, at such events as the Flex Summit, Multicultural Women’s National Conference, Boston Non-Profit Summit and Deloitte’s Finance Leadership Forum. She is a graduate of Columbia Business School (MBA) and Tufts University (BA, Economics).

Headshot Katytarika Bartel.jpg
Katytarika Bartel
Co-founder
Angry Asian Girls

Katytarika Bartel (they/she) is an artist, educator, and organizer based in Lowell,

Massachusetts. Katytarika is a queer, mixed race Thai-American photographer and award-winning filmmaker interested in shining light on spaces of in-between. Katytarika is fiercely passionate about making photography more accessible, letting young people do things, and the color yellow.

 

Katytarika is an arts educator and youth worker, having taught at organizations such as Castle Square Tenants Organization, the Institute of Contemporary Art, and GrubStreet. They are also the co-founder and co-director of the Boston-based art collective, ANGRY ASIAN GIRLS, which works actively in the community to promote and uplift the narratives of APIA young folks.

 

Katytarika’s organizing and fine artwork has been present at institutions in the likes of the International Center of Photography (New York), Pao Arts Gallery (Boston), the Boston Asian American Film Festival, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and New York University.

Headshot Paul Bi.jpg
Paul Bi, CPCU

Director, New Product Innovation – Global Innovation & Insights

Global Risk Solutions, Liberty Mutual Insurance

Paul Bi is a product director, innovation strategist and diversity & inclusion (D&I) champion actively serving as a disruption agent for change. A highly motivated, D&I driven influencer, Paul seeks to create impactful cultural change by ardently challenging the status quo. As the Director of New Product Innovation for Liberty Mutual’s Global Innovation & Insights group, Paul leads global commercial new product & service innovation strategy focusing on emerging and disruptive trends. Recently, Paul also served as the National Co-Chair for Liberty’s Pan-Asian ERG – LEAAP@Liberty (Leading & Empowering Asian American Professionals + Allies employee resource group) leading an organization of 1,000+ members with chapters across the country including Boston, Seattle, Plano (TX), Portland, Chicago and NYC. Prior to joining Liberty Mutual, Paul started his career in an entirely different industry spending time at CBS Radio and interning at Radio Disney. He is a Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), holds a B.S in Business Administration from Bryant University and an M.B.A from Boston College.  

Headshot ANN GUO.jpg
Ann Guo
Founder and CEO
Passion Analytics

Ann is the founder and CEO of Passion Analytics, a Boston-based Edtech startup that has created the world's first automated career coach. Integrating her deep career design expertise with advanced analytics, Ann's mission is to make top-notch career guidance radically accessible to everyone. She received the MIT Great Dome Award for her outstanding contributions to undergraduate career development. Ann is a certified career and executive coach. She holds BS & MEng degrees in computer science from MIT and a PhD from UMass Amherst, focused on machine learning.

Headshot BJae.jpg
Bartholomew Jae
Director of Education and Development
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

Bartholomew Jae is the Director of Education and Development at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).  He leads NFPA’s efforts to help institutions and individuals learn to contribute to the Fire and Life Safety Ecosystem as skilled engineers, workers, first responders, and authorities with jurisdiction.

 

Bartholomew has over 25 years of experience helping companies develop their leaders, talent, and organization:

  • Learning & Development Leader, Strategy and Management Consultant, Diversity & Inclusion champion

  • Worked with global Fortune 500 companies across many industries including Financial Services, Health and Life Sciences, Energy, Retail and Products, and Public Sector. 

  • Previous employers include: Accenture Strategy, PwC, Acadient, Inc., and Scudder Kemper Investments

  • Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science degrees from Bentley University.

Headshot Irene Li.jpg
Irene Li
Founder
Mei Mei Restaurant Group

Irene operates Mei Mei Street Kitchen and Mei Mei Restaurant in Boston, where her work centers around ethical sourcing and fair employment practices. Her businesses merge modern techniques and multicultural cuisine with local foods and sustainable business practices.  Mei Meiʼs creative farm driven Chinese American food has been featured in Food & Wine, The New York Times,  People, Bon Appetit and more. Ireneʼs

life experiences range from organic farming to prison education and many things in

between, and while she never expected a life in the restaurant industry, her desire to

create change and care for those around her remains constant.

 

At Mei Mei Irene directs a groundbreaking open book management training program in conjunction with Rethink Restaurants. Sheʼs working to provide the entire team, from dishwashers to sous chefs, with valuable financial know-how and business management skills and an opportunity for profit-sharing.  She is an Eater Young Gun winner, Zagat and Forbes 30 Under 30 Honoree and a five time James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef semi-finalist.

Headshot Michel Maalouly.jpg
Michel Maalouly
CEO & Founder
Desora

Michel Maalouly is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Desora, a Harvard-founded cooking technology company, that is creating the next generation of cooking appliances. In under 3 years, Desora has heavily invested in and brought 5 cooking products to market, that are fundamentally reliant on hard-core Technology to make cooking objectively better. Desora’s quality line of products include: The Cinder Grill, The iKamand, The ProJoe, The Classic III, and The Big Joe III outdoor grills.

 

In November 2018, Michel led the acquisition and integration of Cinder Grill and its technologies, which were absorbed by Desora, marking Desora’s expansion into indoor cooking appliances. Cinder is the world’s only indoor precision grill, capable of sous-vide cooking without water or plastic bags. You simply place your food on Cinder, set the temperature you want your food to cook to, and walk away. Cinder takes care of the rest.

 

Michel graduated from Harvard College with an S.B. degree in Engineering Sciences, Magna Cum Laude with Highest Honors in Field.

Headshot AISLING JUANJUAN NISKA.jpg
Aisling Juanjuan Niska
Managing Director, Global Industry Analyst
Wellington Management Company

 

Aisling Juanjuan Niska was born to illiterate peasants in a tiny farming hamlet in China and was the first person from her village ever to attend college-level institution. After graduating with a teaching degree, the government assigned her to a remote and low-paying job that she was expected to hold for the rest of her life. But she wasn’t satisfied—and she bought her way out of her secure position and left in search of happiness and success in the business world.
 

Her life started fresh at Boston with barely anything. She learned to speak English, attended college, first Umass Boston then transfer to Wellesley College. She luckily got into the prestigious investment management firm as a junior equity analyst. In 2008, she published her memoir on her China experience, A Tiger’s Heart: The Story of A Modern Chinese Woman. Today, as managing director, she continues to analyze emerging markets utilities and telecom stocks and at the same time manages assets on behalf of the firm’s clients.

Paul Bi
Ann Gao
Irene Li
Michl Maalouly
Juanjuan Niska
BJae
bottom of page