Reclaiming Us: Leadership Coaching Circle
Reclaiming Us is a coaching circle that aims to create a supportive community for women and femmes of the Asian diaspora who are in leadership roles. The program focuses on cultivating a collective space for reflection and witnessing. Together we will explore our personal histories, our inner lives, and deepen our connection to our nervous systems. This will create a foundation for greater self-awareness, self-compassion, and clarity of purpose.
Core Objectives
Foster community among women and femmes of the Asian diaspora in leadership roles (up to 12 participants)
Facilitate self-reflection and personal growth
Provide a confidential, communal space for witnessing and resonance
Gain greater clarity and confidence in your leadership and vision
The Fall Leadership Coaching Circle is now full. Click on the button below to be placed on the mailing list for announcements of upcoming dates.
Why this program?
After the 2021 mass shooting of six Asian women in Atlanta, I felt heartbroken, enraged, and isolated amid rising anti-Asian hate crimes and the COVID shutdown. I questioned the significance of my own experiences and worried for my safety. During this time, I received numerous requests for coaching from Asian American women leaders across the country, and their stories of isolation and longing for visibility deeply resonated with me.
Through these coaching relationships, we created a space for belonging and healing. After two years of coaching primarily Asian American women, I yearned for a communal space where we could collectively witness each other, explore our inner lives, and find clarity in our purpose. I am excited to see the possibilities that arise from harnessing the collective power and wisdom of this community.
Session Overview
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Establishing community and creating a safe space for learning. Creating intentions for how participants want to show up in the group and the changes they want to see in their own leadership.
Creating the container: Collectively work together to build a supportive space for participants to connect and share their experiences.
Setting the Foundation: Participants explore their hopes, needs, and concerns for being on the journey together. Learn about the program’s core values of emergence, somatic awareness, and heart-centeredness.
Leadership Goals: Creating intentions for how participants want to show up in the group and the changes they want to see in their own leadership.
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Using the body as a source of healing and wisdom, focusing on connecting with and regulating the nervous system.
Somatic practices: Body-based practices to help regulate the nervous system that create more space for choice and action.
Trauma awareness: Acknowledging the impact of historical and intergenerational trauma on the body.
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Reflecting on the impact of being bi-cultural and of often being seen as proximate to whiteness in our leadership.
Collective exploration: Participants collectively reflect and share experiences that are unique to being a leader in a female/femme asian body.
Witness & Resonance: Practice skills of resonance to deepen understanding and awareness of our wholeness and complexity.
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Delving into personal and family histories to understand intergenerational influences, transforming trauma into wisdom.
Historical excavation: Participants explore their family/cultural histories and begin to understand its intergenerational impacts.
Personal stories: Reflecting on our personal journeys and all that has influenced and shaped who we are.
Individual coaching: Participants will sign up for a 1-1 coaching session to be completed before the final session.
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Integrating and healing neglected parts of ourselves.
Self-awareness: Exploring different aspects of the self, especially the parts that may be challenging or hidden.
Integration: Creating spaciousness and compassion for all our parts, especially the parts we turn away from.
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Clarifying vision and commitments to those whom we love and serve.
Reflecting on the journey: Acknowledgement and gratitude for the growth of each individual and the group.
Setting commitments: Reflecting on what matters most and the commitments we want to embody.
Building ongoing support: Creating a plan for ongoing support through this group and beyond.
FAQs
Who is it for?
Women and femmes of the Asian diaspora in leadership roles*, who want to embody their authentic voice and lead with confidence and clarity. These are people who are seeking community through sharing of experiences and being vulnerable within a small group context (up to 12 participants). People who have questioned their own experience because it is often invisibilized in their organization's racial dynamics, and people who are curious to explore their inner lives.
*Leadership role - defined broadly as someone who is responsible for managing a team, organizational strategy, organizational culture, or your own practice.
What is involved?
Participants will have a 30 min introductory call, six 2-hour virtual sessions, and one 50 min individual coaching session.
What does it cost?
$750 for individuals paying out of pocket; $1300 for orgs up to $1M budget; $2000 for orgs with $1M+ budget.
What are the dates and times?
The fall program is full. Please contact us if you are interested in being put on the mailing list for Winter/Spring dates.
How do I sign up?
Fill out this form and Ja Young, the facilitator will follow up to schedule a 30 min call to discuss the program in more detail.
Our Facilitator
Ja Young Ahn-Williams (she/her) is one of the founding partners of Imagine Us, a multi-racial, multi-generational community of equity-based consultants. Ja Young brings over 20 years of experience working with leaders and organizations in the non-profit and education sectors. She works with individuals and organizations that are committed to healing and unlearning the ways that white supremacy distorts our sense of belonging - to ourselves and to each other.
Ja Young is a native New Yorker, a daughter of Korean immigrants, and the mother of a multiracial child. Her identities have gifted her with a capacity to hold multiple realities and a passion for interrupting the silence of marginalized voices. Both as a mother and a facilitator of change, she is in a daily practice of humility, vulnerability, and self-compassion. Her joy comes from laughing with her son, harvesting fruit and vegetables from her garden, and hiking in the redwoods.
Ja Young is a transformational coach and consultant, working with leaders and organizations through Imagine Us, LeaderSpring, Social Transformation Project, and the Coaching for Healing, Justice, and Liberation school. Ja Young was trained as a facilitator of Somatic Abolitionism, working alongside Resmaa Menakem. She is trained as a facilitator and lecturer of interpersonal and group dynamics at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, UC Berkeley Haas Business School, and The New School. She is a graduate of The New School where she received her MS in Organizational Change Management.
What people say about working with Ja Young…
“Nurtured. Centered. Ja Young is so soulful. Entering a space Ja Young is holding is always such a nurtured and centered feeling. A sense of community and belonging. The way she navigates a conversation, gently time keeping and tracking the course. Ja Young is intentional, authentic and fluid in a way that allows for maximum creativity and curiosity.”
— Erin Elliott
“Working with Ja Young was a really transformational experience for me - I never knew coaching could be like this! Ja Young helped me see how my past personal trauma was limiting the ways I show up for my team and myself and brought in healing and empathy into this growth space for me. It has changed the way I think about managing and supervising people and how connecting to our own healing makes us better at it.”
— Peggy Lee
“Working with Ja Young was such a transformational experience for me. Finding a coach who shared my identity enabled me to open up and be more receptive to change as I did not have to justify or battle my own instincts while also working through them. I am truly grateful for the insights and support shared with me and carry it with me closely as I journey through to the next phase of my career.”