How listening to the community helped a footwear company grow and give back during the pandemic

How listening to the community helped a footwear company grow and give back during the pandemic

Vessi Footwear’s rising success over the last two years could simply be attributed to one thing — their willingness to listen. From two resounding Kickstarter campaign responses in 2018 — raising $1.25 million and $1.4 million…
A hard look in the mirror: addressing anti-Black racism as a Pan-Asian   

A hard look in the mirror: addressing anti-Black racism as a Pan-Asian   

By Sandeep Tatla From boardrooms to kitchen tables, conversations around race, and specifically anti-Black racism, are happening across the country. As Pan-Asians, many of us have felt the sting of racism. In recent months, we have seen a rise in anti-Asian…
Mike Hamilton Shares His Leadership Journey from the Battlefield to the Boardroom

Mike Hamilton Shares His Leadership Journey from the Battlefield to the Boardroom

From Captain of Armored Cavalry to Senior Vice President of Sales, Distribution, and Marketing at RBC Insurance, Mike Hamilton is a certified leader. To him, leadership has been the most relevant and transferable skill from…

Volunteer Video – Alexandra Gabura

Alexandra is a volunteer at Ascend. She shares with us the impact of Pan Asian Community on her and also talks about how Ten Thousand Coffees was introduced to Ascend.

Ep 6: The Birth of Ascend Canada

Ascend Canada is a 4000+ member organization today. But, have you ever wondered why and how it came to life? Tune in to hear Raj Krishnamoorthy, Deloitte Partner and one of the founding fathers of…

Ep 5: Leading Through a Crisis

Kelvin Tran, CFO (US) of TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank® and the founding President of Ascend Canada, has seen it all — from global financial crises to global pandemics — in his 20+ years…

Ep 4: Frontline & Essential: Serving Through The Crisis

During this pandemic, we’re lucky to have many superheroes on the frontlines to help essential services stay afloat. Would you like to find out the driving force behind Loblaw’s recent success in prioritizing their client…
Ensuring an Inclusive Recovery: We must do more than be good. We must overwhelm the bad.

Ensuring an Inclusive Recovery: We must do more than be good. We must overwhelm the bad.

The racial wounds at the centre of the coronavirus pandemic are real – and festering. There has been an uptick in the number of hate crimes against Asian Canadians since the onset of the virus…
Ascend Canada Joins #HealthNotHate Collective to Combat Anti-Asian Racism

Ascend Canada Joins #HealthNotHate Collective to Combat Anti-Asian Racism

TORONTO, June 15, 2020 — Ascend Canada, a non-profit organization with the mission to develop and advance pan-Asian professionals, is the latest organization to support the #HealthnotHate awareness campaign to combat misconceptions about the COVID-19…

Volunteer Video – Bhavna Duggal

Bhavna is a board member that has volunteered with Ascend for 5 years. She speaks to us about how Ascend is changing the diversity and inclusion dialogue across Corporate Canada and how Ascend helped elevate…