The University of California, Davis, and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) launched the second cohort of the Asia-Pacific Women in Leadership (APWiL) Mentoring Program, kicking off with 87 participants, nearly three times the number during its pilot year. The program is focused on providing mentoring to aspiring leaders from 25 institutions in the APRU network.

Now in its second year, the APRU APWiL Mentoring Program offers leaders—both women and men—at APRU universities an opportunity to grow the pipeline of aspiring women leaders, increase awareness of challenges that aspiring women leaders face within the region, and introduce global and intercultural dimensions to leaders across the APRU network and beyond. The pilot program in 2020-21 served 30 participants from 10 universities.

The program is led by co-chairs Sabrina Lin, senior advisor to the president at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), and Joanna Regulska, vice provost and dean of Global Affairs and a professor of gender, sexuality, and women’s studies at UC Davis. Along with Global Affairs at UC Davis and HKUST, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at UC Davis is a co-leader of the initiative. This collaboration is also supported by Jackie Wong, director of network and student programs, and Anya Wong, program officer, from the APRU International Secretariat.

"The first APWiL Mentoring Program cohort was filled with wonderful connections between mentors and mentees. Now, with almost triple the number of enthusiastic participants in our 2021-22 cohort, we have a tremendous opportunity to continue forming a lasting collaborative network of women global leaders in academia. It is critical for the empowerment of women across the world to engage in intercultural conversations and recognize the commonality of challenges, but also of great opportunities as showcased by the participants. This program aims to create both formal and informal spaces where meaningful dialogues can take place," said Regulska.  

A Framework For Success

Jessica Bissett Perea, one of the mentees from the first cohort in 2020-21, chose to participate in the APWiL program to explore opportunities for leadership that could help her in her future pursuits. Her meaningful connections have helped further her understanding of the various leadership structures and practices throughout organizations. “I was extremely fortunate to be paired with an experienced and dynamic mentor, Dr. Yvonne Lim Ai Lian (Health Sciences), Director of International Relations and Professor of Parasitology. Her thoughtful and supportive mentorship and guidance helped me to better appreciate the densities of university leadership styles and how these styles do (or do not) align with Indigenous leadership styles. I am very pleased to report that I have significantly expanded my network of women leaders,” said Perea.

Building on the success of the inaugural program, APWiL has the potential this year to influence even more participants like Perea. Organizers look to increased programming to give them ample opportunity to encourage networking and dialogue between mentees and mentors.

"The pilot program this past year was well received by the mentors and mentees. I am thrilled to see the tremendous growth in the number of universities supporting the program, and a three-times increase in the number of mentor and mentee participants,” said Lin. “With continued efforts in our matching process and in adding more webinars and networking activities, I look forward to a rewarding experience again this year.”

The increased growth within the second cohort led organizers to return to some of the infrastructure used in the planning of the first cohort. The individual matching process used this year to pair mentors and mentees is the same method as last year. They brought back a template for a mentoring agreement, allowing mentees to outline goals to help mentors focus on areas of interest and development. Organizers also took significant learnings from their year of hosting remote workshops. Building on this framework, the APWiL team is already seeing connections form across the globe.

“We’re off to a great start,” said Chelsey Hawes, study abroad enrollment and operations officer in Global Affairs and program manager of the APWiL Mentoring Program. “Mentors and mentees have met at least once so far and joined us for our orientation program and first seminar, Women’s Representation in Higher Education in the Pacific Rim, in partnership with the American Council on Education and the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College. During this seminar, we heard from scholars from Australia, Hong Kong, and Malaysia on the commonalities and differences in barriers to women’s advancement in leadership and how each country is addressing or not addressing these barriers."

These partnerships between universities, mentors, mentees, scholars and others are the heart of APWiL. For this program, success is greater than the number of participants and events; success is rooted in connections and the positive impact of forming networks.

"It has been a pleasure to work with the APWiL program and to be affiliated with other universities in the U.S. and around the world. I believe in the power of collaborative networks, working together for common goals, and connecting across boundaries for mutual advancement. We have so many commonalities across the globe that can unite us. This program provides women with opportunities to be in community with other scholars from other schools, to be encouraged, and to be equipped with additional tips for success that will contribute to their ability to be change agents within their spaces. When we are engaged in work as an international community, we have a chance to see the world differently, to enhance our understanding, and to be more comprehensive in our own jobs, as we apply the new, and broader world perspectives that programs like APWiL provide," said Renetta Garrison Tull, vice chancellor of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at UC Davis.

To further support the second cohort, APWiL leadership has grown too. Kimberly Bellows, intercultural programs coordinator in Global Affairs, joined the team as the program coordinator for the APWiL Mentoring Program.

"I’m very excited to be supporting the APWiL Mentoring Program as it begins its second year,” she said. “From attending the pilot program’s graduation ceremony, I know how impactful the program was on that first cohort, and I’m looking forward to supporting the second cohort’s journey. We’ve heard from current mentors and mentees that their first meetings have gone well, and it’s truly inspiring to see their goals and plans for the coming year."

Carrying The Momentum Forward

The success of APWiL continues to spread as its influence extends beyond its participants. Fulfilling its promise of inspiring leadership, the program’s mentors and mentees are having an effect on other connections and communities.

“The impact that the program has had on both mentees and mentors is beyond what I could have imagined,” said Hawes. “Following the first cohort, there were mentors and mentees who started women in leadership groups on their own campuses modeled after APWiL, mentees who held networking events and workshops on DEI as it pertains to women’s gender equity at their institution, and a mentor and mentee who formalized the relationship between their two institutions through an agreement where they held a monthly seminar series for folks at both institutions during the fall term.” 

Time will tell what the 2021-22 cohort will be inspired to develop next. Nearly 90 participants from 25 institutions include six UC Davis faculty and administrators:

• Cynthia Carter CHING, University of California, Davis (mentor)
• Jennifer CURTIS, University of California, Davis (mentor)
• Lisa TELL, University of California, Davis (mentor)
• Norkamari Shakira BANDOLIN, University of California, Davis (mentee)
• Christine MCBETH, University of California, Davis (mentee)
• Cecilia TSU, University of California, Davis (mentee)

• APWiL Mentoring Program Mentors 2021-2022
• Sunaina ASSAND, University of British Columbia
  Kum-Kum BHAVNANI, University of California, Santa Barbara
  Nina CADIZ, University of the Philippines
  Cynthia Carter CHING, University of California, Davis
  Ximena CORDOVA, Universidad San Francisco de Quito
  Jennifer CURTIS, University of California, Davis
  Mark EDELE, The University of Melbourne
  Cheryl ERNST, University of Oregon
  Stuart GIETEL-BASTEN, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
  Christine GOH, Nanyang Technological University
  Caroline GURVICH, Monash University
  Surinderpal KAUR CHANAN SINGH, Universiti Malaya
  Samia KHAN, University of British Columbia
  Denise KONAN, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
  Mariam LAM, University of California, Riverside
  Maria LASSO, Universidad San Francisco de Quito
  Kei May LAU, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
  Hikyoung LEE, Korea University
  Adrian LITTLE, The University of Melbourne
  Laura LYONS, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
  Janina MONTERO, University of California, Los Angeles
  Cassandra MOSELEY, University of Oregon
  Rebecca MURRAY, The University of Sydney
  Akiyo OKUDA, Keio University
  Noriko OSUMI, Tohoku University
  Marko PRINCEVAC, University of California, Riverside
  Gabriela Maria RUIZ SOTO, Tecnológico de Monterrey
  Maria Ileana RUIZ-CANTISANI, Tecnológico de Monterrey
  Michelle RYAN, The Australian National University
  Nancy SEGURA-AZUARA, Tecnológico de Monterrey
  Rita SHACKEL, The University of Sydney
  Cindy SIT, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  Junah SONG, Korea University
  Victoria SORK, University of California, Los Angeles
  Jo-Ann SUCHARD, UNSW Sydney
  Gladys TANG, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  Chihiro TANIKAWA, Osaka University
  Lisa TELL, University of California, Davis
  Piyush TIWARI, The University of Melbourne
  Adrienne TORDA, UNSW Sydney
  Eleanor WONG, National University of Singapore
  Janet WOODRUFF-BORDEN, University of Oregon
  Jiue-in YANG, National Taiwan University
  Yong ZUBAIRI, Universiti Malaya
• APWiL Mentoring Program Mentees 2021-2022
• Ainee ADAM, Universiti Malaya
  Kerryn BAKER, The Australian National University
  Norkamari Shakira BANDOLIN, University of California, Davis
  Roslin BOTLERO, Monash University
  Rhonda DI BIASE, The University of Melbourne
  Yanhong DONG, National University of Singapore
  Sanetta DU TOIT, The University of Sydney
  Maria Fernanda ESCALLON, University of Oregon
  Mona ESKANDARI, University of California, Riverside
  Kate FISCHER DOHERTY, The University of Melbourne
  Jennifer Noelani GOODYEAR-KAOPUA, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
  Yuanyuan GUO, Tohoku University
  Ji Yeon HONG, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
  Yung-Fen HUANG, National Taiwan University
  Yuen HUO, University of California, Los Angeles
  Ayaka ICHIKAWA, Osaka University
  Sisi JIAN, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
  Sung Eun KIM, Korea University
  Sin Yee KOH, Monash University
  Sze Yin Agnes LEUNG, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  Sierin LIM, Nanyang Technological University
  Sijeong LIM, Korea University
  Marian MAHAT, The University of Melbourne
  Luz María MARTINEZ, Tecnológico de Monterrey
  Dyana MASON, University of Oregon
  Christine MCBETH, University of California, Davis
  Margaret MCGRATH, The University of Sydney
  Samantha Erika MENDEZ, University of the Philippines
  Michelle MIAO, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  Silvia Lorena MONTES-FONSECA, Tecnológico de Monterrey
  Margaret PETERS, University of California, Los Angeles
  April Nozomi QUINN, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
  Emi SASAGAWA, The University of British Columbia
  Kaori SATO, Kyushu University
  Kristen SEAMAN, University of Oregon
  Tomoko SHIMIZU, Keio University
  Samantha SHUNE, University of Oregon
  Elena SITNIKOVA, UNSW Sydney
  Cecilia TSU, University of California, Davis
  Alexandra VELASCO, Universidad San Francisco de Quito
  Wan Nurazreena WAN HASSAN, Universiti Malaya
  Rosaleigh WILSON, The University of Sydney
  Ying ZHU, The University of British Columbia
• 2020-21 APWiL Mentoring Program 

• Learn more about the 2020-21 APWiL Mentoring Program

About Global Affairs at UC Davis

Global Affairs brings the world to UC Davis, welcoming more than 10,000 international students, scholars and leaders, and hosting programs that inspire global curiosity, understanding and engagement. Compelled by the valuable outcomes of thinking globally, we make transformative opportunities a reality by supporting the thousands of students and faculty learning and researching globally—and by facilitating collaborations that tackle the world’s most pressing challenges through more than 150 global partnerships.

Putting our vision of a UC Davis community that engages, thrives, and leads in this interconnected world into action, Global Affairs is in pursuit of an ambitious goal: Global Education for All.