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9th Annual CBA Conference

Thank you to all our guests, speakers, and volunteers for contributing to a successful conference!

Our culture has become such that we’re encouraged to choose a career based on its ability to provide security and financial stability, rather than alignment with our passions and dreams. But contemporary career goals are shifting from just making a living – to also making a difference.

You are no longer defined by your job or title. Financial stability alone doesn’t define success. Meaningful work results when you’re able to pursue your vocation and create a positive contribution that affects others. We’ve assembled five dynamic, successful speakers to explain their journey to a truly Meaningful Life.

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Keynote: Mike Inouye

Panelists: Lina Lydon, Gail Tanaka, Scape Martinez, Sandy Yu

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Mike Inouye is NBC Bay Area’s weekday morning traffic anchor. He first joined NBC Bay Area as an Internet Reporter. He then served as an IT Technician at the station before making the jump from behind the scenes to in front of the camera. Reporting on traffic for Bay Area commuters, he says he finally has a job that encompasses his passion for technology, communication, and live performance. As a performer, Mike has appeared at the Comedy Store© in Hollywood, ComedySportz© San José, and still performs as a professional improvisational comedian. His technology and performance skills have led to voice-over roles in games for Playstation 2, Xbox and other popular systems. Active in the local community, Mike is also frequently called upon to host live events, from local Japanese-American and Asian-American community events, to NBC Bay Area’s Peacock Pavilion at festivals all around the Bay Area

Linda Lydon is Recruiting Manager, Career Ventures, for Stanford University. Throughout her 15 years of experience in higher education, Linda has been dedicated to collaborating with, and connecting, students and employers. As the Recruiting Manager at BEAM, Stanford Career Education, she is responsible for building, managing, and sustaining strong relationships with all companies recruiting at Stanford. Linda provides connections and guidance to students and employers regarding recruiting policies, procedures, and trends. By initiating and empowering connections, she creates a culture of happenstance to help bridge students’ education, ambition, and meaningful work.

Gail Tanaka has more than 20 years of experience in global marketing. As Senior Marketing Manager at Adobe Systems, she manages global customer and prospect communications for Document Cloud and Creative Cloud. In 2016, she founded and co-leads the Asian Employee Network at Adobe. Prior to joining Adobe, she worked at top advertising agencies Digitas, Ogilvy, and Foote, Cone & Belding developing innovative marketing programs for global companies like HP, IBM, Cisco and Sony. Gail is the Founder and President of Cherry Blossom Alumnae (CBA), dedicated to giving back to the Japanese American community, and was the 1992 Northern California Cherry Blossom Queen. She has written 3 articles about the Japanese American community in Asian Week, Nichi Bei Weekly, Hokubei Mainichi and Pacific Citizen

Scape Martinez is a noted and renowned Urban Contemporary Artist, born in Newark, New Jersey. He currently lives and works as an Artist, Writer, and Educator in the San Francisco Bay Area. His large scale paintings combine elements of abstract expressionism and graffiti art. Over the past few decades, his passion for art has transcended beyond walls and canvas to include public art, murals, writing, and art education. Scape Martinez is an advocate for art education for young adults, especially marginalized and “at-risk” youth. He works with kids of all backgrounds to help them explore their own language through Graffiti Art. Scape executes workshops and speaking engagements to young adults and professionals alike, sharing his unique perspective on graffiti art and creativity. His published writings include three highly acclaimed Graffiti Art books, the first instructional Graffiti books of their kind.

Sandy Yu has been in the technology industry for over 20 years and her experience spans across functions including finance, sales, consulting and product. As the global leader for customer strategy for Oracle’s Social Cloud product development team, she inspires her team to collaborate, innovate and deliver a great product that simplifies the work of her customers. Prior to joining Oracle, she worked for industry giants Cisco and Pricewaterhousecoopers and start ups WebEx and iPass. Sandy is passionate about lifelong learning and women’s leadership. She is active in women leadership organizations at Cisco and Oracle and is a co-founder of a cross-company networking organization, Networking with a Purpose. Networking with a Purpose provides a forum where attendees connect and engage with fellow professionals who share an interest in specific topics, in small, facilitated roundtable discussions.