Kaiser Permanente’s Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity department hosts a myriad of business resource groups that exist to foster a space of connection and belonging for employees across the organization. Kaiser is committed to providing high-quality, affordable healthcare services and improving the health of its members and the communities it serves.
To celebrate Filipino American History Month in October of 2022, business resource groups genKP and KPAPIA (Kaiser Permanente’s Asian Pacific Islander Association) sponsored a panel discussion observing the intersection of health and culture in Filipino America. Speakers included five Filipino/a/x Americans from both the hospital and business sides of the organization who came together for an intimate, interactive discussion about how cultural conditioning affects mental and physical health in the Filipino American community. They shared inspiring insights into the obstacles they have faced in their own families and crafted a collective narrative that models how to practice eliminating the stigma that exists around acknowledging and seeking help for mental health in marginalized communities.
Soon after she was hired on as a speaker, Nani accepted an updated role as the project’s designer and panel facilitator. This new measure of success would include interviewing each of the speakers, drawing parallels and structuring a casual conversation from what they shared, and organizing the content into a visual presentation.
Nani drew from her experience as an independent podcaster to successfully design and facilitate this presentation. Her interview style uses a personable, hospitable approach that disarms subjects and earns their trust as a safe outlet to explore sensitive topics. Nani credits her natural ability to foster community through conversations like these to her cultural identity as a mixed Filipina American and the interpersonal dynamics she has learned through her own family’s dynamics.
Seizing this opportunity to showcase her innate talents for Kaiser Permanente’s workforce was especially meaningful, as it allowed her to reach a new, live audience of over 220 attendees consisting of both Filipinos and non-Filipinos who shared alignment in her mission to evolve the psychological landscape and cultural narrative of Filipinos in America.
At the end of the presentation, Nani extended an invitation for the audience to come off of mute or participate via the chat box to offer thoughts and feedback, which received an overwhelmingly positive response. Participants shared how moved they were to see their personal experiences reflected in the panel’s content, the new realizations they made as a result of a refreshed perspective, and unanimous requests for a more frequent cadence of similar virtual events.
