JA Alumni Leaders Academy Expands to JA Asia Pacific

July 21, 2023

Last week, JA Asia Pacific and JA Worldwide kicked off the second JA Alumni Leaders Academy in Malaysia. JA alumni from ten countries in the Asia Pacific region gathered in Kuala Lumpur for a three-day boot camp to prepare them to lead the JA alumni networks in their respective countries. A collective effort of JA Asia Pacific, JA Malaysia, and JA Worldwide in collaboration with the Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF), the JA alumni participated in sessions devoted to leadership, project management, pitching, and more. The alumni leaders developed a year-long strategy for their networks that included marketing, engagement, and funding plans. 

 Meet the JA Alumni Asia Pacific Leaders

  • Azerbaijan: Aytan Pashayeva, Tahmina Cafarova (Vice President)

  • China: Elaine (Xiaojie) Wu 

  • Guam: Angel Payumo

  • Hong Kong SAR–China: Matthew Hui

  • Indonesia: Stevia Putri

  • Japan: Mone Hamada

  • Korea: Matthew (Kang Seok) Oh

  • Malaysia: Shie Xian Poi, Kaeyshia L Kesh (Vice President) 

  • Philippines: Raine Nakpil

While the Alumni Leaders Academy officially began July 14, JA Malaysia arranged for a school visit to SMK (P) Sri Aman School on July 12 for those who were able to arrive early, including JA Worldwide staff members Sarah Rapp, JA Director of Alumni & People Engagement; Raheel AlAbbasi, Alumni Community Manager; Howard Leong, Global Alumni Ambassador; and Emmalyn Green, Learning Design Developer. JA staff observed and helped facilitate the JA Be Entrepreneurial program for students, shared their personal entrepreneurial journeys, and encouraged students to join JA alumni in their local area. Next, the JA Worldwide team paid a visit to the JA Malaysia office and met local staff.  

 On July 13, alumni leaders and JA staff took a tour of the Batu Caves, which included consisted of a traditional Malaysian breakfast, followed by traversing 272 stairs to reach the inside of the cave. That evening, the entire team gathered for introductions and icebreaker activities. 

Day 1 – July 14

Day 1 kicked off with a heartwarming video message from Kirk Kenny, JA Asia Pacific’s Chief Development Officer. 

Emmalyn Greene led the first session, Being a Leader, which included a discussion of essential leadership traits, how someone can personalize their own set of leadership skills, and the opportunity to share personal experiences with leadership. JA alumni from all over the world sent in video messages to inspire the new JA alumni leaders and help them better understand their new role as presidents of their local JA alumni networks. Sarah and Raheel also outlined key performance indicators (KPIs) that they will need to achieve by the end of their first year to set a good foundation for their networks. The day wrapped up with tips and tricks from Raheel about pitching.

The day ended with a JA alumni celebration hosted by JA Malaysia. JA Malaysia and JA Asia Pacific staff and more than 40 JA Malaysia alumni of all different ages joined the alumni leaders to experience Malaysian culture and hear from Dato' Kenny Goh, a JA Malaysia alumnus who started his company Macrokiosk in 2000.

Day 2 – July 15

PMI Malaysia kicked off Day 2 with a session led by Henry Lee and Nehru Nagappan. Alumni leaders learned how they can view different events in their lives as projects and how they can address them through a project management lens. Howard then led a session about how social impact can be quantified, citing examples from different fields and exploring potentially relevant areas. After the two sessions, alumni leaders spent time finalizing their pitches for their strategic plans for their local networks, and then officially pitched their ideas to the JA Worldwide team, JA Asia Pacific staff, and their fellow JA alumni leaders.  

The final day wrapped up with a city tour took. Alumni leaders explored local streets and attractions, including the central market, and ended the day with an authentic Malaysian dinner.

Congratulations to all of our Asia Pacific JA alumni leaders!

We can’t wait to see what you do this year.

2023July, Featured, AlumniJA Worldwide