
Investing in Yourself

Event Details:
​
Date: Thursday November 19, 2020
Time: 5:00PM - 6:30PM ET
Venue: Zoom Webinar​
​
Admission
Free - Ascend Member
Free - Students
$15 - Non-members
​
​
Description:
​
Join us for an evening where we discuss the most important topic, YOU!
Investing in yourself is fundamental in establishing a strong foundation not only for your professional career, but your personal life as well. Tune in to this talk where we will discuss the role you play, the value of mentors and best practices of developing and maintaining these meaningful connections to support your growth.
​
​
Speaker:
Laura Flessner
New Venture Founder, GSK
“I believe in the creativity & passion of people to innovate with impact. Unfortunately, there are many barriers that prevent this innovative spirit from transpiring into sustainable business success - which I navigated firsthand as a founder of start-ups within a large corporation.
Barriers can originate from many different places, whether it’s how the innovation fits into your broader business & the market (strategy), structure or processes (agile innovation), or framing your innovation around a true unmet need (insights).
I identify these barriers & partner with you to Unlock the Innovative Power within your organization or project.”
Moderator:
Melinda Ng
People Partner, bluebird bio
Melinda Ng has been at bluebird bio since February 2018 and is the founder and co-lead of bUNITED (est. June 2018), an employee resource group for the Pan-Asian employees and friends at bluebird bio. bUNITED focuses on 5 pillars: Career, Commerce, Community, Cuisine, and Culture. In her day-to-day role, she supports the Clinical Development and Commercial team to support the experience, engagement, and development of every employee. Outside of bluebird bio, Melinda heads up the programming for Ascend New England, a non-profit Pan-Asian organization focused on providing professional development for Pan-Asian’s in the New England area.
​
In her spare time, she enjoys going on food adventures with her spouse and friends, hosting board game nights, and taking her blind shiba inu on hiking adventures.