Mabel Menard, President Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) Greater Chicago

By: Ryan Tejero

 

OCA Greater Chicago is a chapter of OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates, a non-profit organization founded in 1973, the mission of which is to advance the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, DC. The goals are to advocate for social justice, equal opportunity and fair treatment; promote civic participation, education, and leadership; advance coalitions and community building; and, foster cultural heritage. The Greater Chicago Chapter focuses on professional and leadership development and is dedicated to promoting the economic, professional, and social well-being of AAPIs in the Greater Chicago area. In addition, OCA Greater Chicago is engaged in advocacy work, such as voter registration, complete census, education, immigration reform, social justice, and equal rights, both in support of OCA National and in collaboration with other AAPI organizations.

OCA Greater Chicago is a 501(c)3 organization and receives funding through donations to support our programs. We also receive donations for other leadership development programs, such as the JACL/OCA Leadership Summit and the annual OCA National Convention. The four-day annual JACL/OCA leadership summit program introduces community leaders from across the nation to the national policy-making arena and is structured to provide a broad overview of the decision- making process at the federal level, including meetings and briefings by public officials, key policymakers who serve in Congress, the White House, federal agencies, advocacy organizations, and the media. The OCA National Convention workshops include tracks such as empowerment, community organizing, women’s initiative, professional leadership development, and youth leadership development.

The following are the programs of OCA Greater Chicago:

MAAP (Mentoring Asian American Professionals), which aims to cultivate the next generation of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) professional leaders through mentoring, skills building, and networking by pairing Asian American and Pacific Islander professionals with experienced leaders in their field and helping participants create a personal strategic plan to allow them to identify ways to achieve their professional as well as personal goals.

APIA U Leadership, an interactive college leadership training program that assembles students from each region of the United States and focuses on self-awareness, team-building, and direct action organizing by having participants challenge themselves, share their experiences, and develop leadership tools in order to effectively serve as catalysts for change;

B3: Build, Breakthrough & Believe, a professional and leadership development program for aspiring Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) professionals interested in taking their personal and professional goals to the next level through leadership development and networking;

APA Y-Advocate, a halfday interactive training for Asian Pacific American high school youth to cultivate the next generation of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders. Attendees will engage in activities that will help them develop leadership skills, discuss the importance of advocacy, and investigate concepts surrounding AAPI identity;

AAPI Womxn’s Initiative, which began as part of OCA’s effort to be more aware and inclusive of issues and challenges that AAPI womxn face. We make space to bring together AAPI womxn from various backgrounds and sectors to discuss how they can uplift and support each other, as well as their collective civic power. We hope to create a framework in order to train and develop AAPI womxn leaders throughout the country and develop a strong social network for our self-empowerment.

Mabel Menard, who is the President of OCA Greater Chicago, was born in Hong Kong to a Hainanese father from Malaysia and a Cantonese mother from China. She considers herself Malaysian Chinese, as her father’s family had been in Malaysia for several generations. She came to the United States in 1981 and has lived in Chicago since then except for moving to Virginia for college and graduate school. In between, she also lived and worked in Nepal for three years.

Ms. Menard is the former Executive Director for the Chinese American Museum of Chicago and currently serves as its Board Secretary. As President of a local OCA Chapter, she also serves on the OCA National Board. She received her Bachelor of Arts cum laude in Social Science and Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from Radford University, Radford, Virginia. She holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from, and was a PsyD ABD at, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Chicago, Illinois. She also received her MBA in Human Resources Management from the University of Phoenix. Her lengthy career includes retail management, Human Resources, higher education, nonprofit boards, and social service administration. She currently works as the Executive Administrator for a social service agency that serve adults with severe and chronic mental illnesses. Her primary responsibility is day-to-day operations with an emphasis on billing and data analysis. She has presented at various conferences on topics related to Asian Americans and was a recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2016.

Please visit www.ocachicago. org if you want to know more about this organization.

MAAP is OCA Greater Chicago’s signature program. The mentoring program pairs young professionals with Asian American leaders to develop professional goals and career strategies.