API Alumni Career Panel: Navigating the Job Search in Uncertain Times
Join the Stanford Alumni Association (SAA) and BEAM for a virtual API Alumni Career Panel! This panel will feature 3 API alumni to share career advice and their perspectives on current industry changes. Given these uncertain times, one of the many concerns students may have is how to navigate the job or internship search so we hope this event can be of help for you.
Panelists will discuss their experiences transitioning to life after Stanford and navigating their own career paths. They will also give insight into how to prepare for an unpredictable job market, whether you are thinking about internships or full-time roles now or in the future.
The first part of the event will be a moderated discussion and the second will be a Q&A from the audience.
When: Friday, May 29 4-5PM PST
Where: Zoom
RSVP at bit.ly/apicareerpanel by 10PM PST on Thursday, May 28.
This form also gives you the opportunity to ask questions that we will use to develop our moderated segment of the event so it is most useful to you. The Zoom link will be sent to registered attendees the day of the event.
Although this event is targeted toward the API community, all are welcome to attend no matter their background or identity!
[Flyer description: Text reads “The Stanford Alumni Association Presents: API Alumni Career Panel: Navigating the Job Search in Uncertain Times” on a white background displaying the panelists’ headshots, black squares, red circles, and the SAA and co-sponsor logos. All other text is included in the body of the email.]
Panelists:
- Mo-Yun Fong, ‘95, MA ‘96, Director of Google Technical Solutions for Google Assistant and Search
Mo has been at Google for 13+ years currently as the Sr. Director of gTech Velocity (go/gvelocity) leading our horizontal operations team supporting Google’s biggest bets such as Google Assistant and leads the team to onboard partners and scale Google Search.
From 2013-2017, Mo led Google's CS Education efforts as part of the Google Wide Social Impact initiative with a vision to "help every student access the quality education they deserve” focusing on inspiring and retaining under-represented students in computer science. Her first seven years at Google, she worked on Google Payments as a program manager and became the Director and global Chief Compliance Officer. Prior to Google, Mo worked at PayPal in risk management and was the Executive Director of the Stanford Educational Leadership Initiatives (https://seli.stanford.edu/).
She was also an administrator and high school teacher in the Bay Area at the Fremont Union High School District. Mo has a BS in Chemical Engineering and MA in Education from Stanford University and MBA from Harvard Business School.
Outside of work, Mo supports the Asian community through SAPAAC, TOPPA, Ascend, and ERGs. She also advises education start-ups such as LightUP.io and 100kin10. As a HBS career coach for current students and alumni, Mo helps others explore paths to define and achieve their full potential in life and work. During COVID, she is also homeschooling her two sons who are 9 and 11 years old.
- David J. Kim, MA ‘98, Founder & CEO of PineTech Ventures LLC, Former CEO of Intellus Learning & Course Hero
David Kim has delivered over two decades of executive and entrepreneurial leadership across industry-defining technology-based companies, responsible for: defining go-to-market strategy, raising venture capital, leading product development, designing scalable business models, and accelerating financial performance through organic growth, improved unit economics, and strategic partnerships.
David served as Founder, CEO and Chairman of Intellus Learning, an education platform-as-a-service company that supported enhanced learning with intelligent analytics to help teachers and institutions select the best content for each learner. Intellus enabled alignment of institutional investments with course-level learning objectives to improve transparency and drive affordability, as well as bring faculty insights and student preferences to the forefront of the institutional decision-making, creating an environment that prioritizes value. Intellus was acquired by Macmillan Learning.
Prior to Intellus, David has served as CEO, President, and/or General Manager for leading companies like Tumri (acquired by Collective Media), CourseHero, Efficient Frontier (acquired by Adobe) and Overture (IPO and subsequently acquired by Yahoo!). Mr. Kim began his career as an M&A investment banker with BancAmerica Robertson Stephens and a senior strategy consultant with Accenture.
Mr. Kim holds a Bachelor of Science in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, as well as a Masters degree in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjkim/
- Cyndy Yu-Robinson, ‘87, Interim Executive Director at National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP)
In NAAAP’s first paid full-time position, Cyndy Yu-Robinson oversees daily operations of the organization. She supports and coordinates the actions of NAAAP’s volunteer leaders in areas of business development, programs, communication, and administrative efficiency.
Cyndy Yu-Robinson has worked for 25 years in communication, public affairs, and public engagement. Her passions include environmental sustainability, community service and philanthropy, and sports and fitness. Cyndy worked as a Congressional liaison and public information officer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 18 years and served as the Asian Special Emphasis Program Manager for 9 of those years. She moved into private sector as Lenovo’s Corporate Social Responsibility Manager for one year, and served on numerous non-profit boards including that of Sustainable North Carolina for 3 years. Most recently, she did public outreach on roadway, transit, and water projects at AECOM, a global infrastructure and environmental services company.
Her service to the Asian community includes being a volunteer at the Asian Women’s Center in San Francisco, an officer of the Triangle Area Chinese American Society in North Carolina, President of the NC-Chinese Business Association, and project director for Census 2010 Outreach to Asians and Pacific Islanders in North Carolina.
Cyndy graduated from Stanford University in 1987 with a bachelor’s in human biology and from the University of California, San Diego, in 1991 with a master’s in international relations and Pacific Studies.
Cyndy and her husband Steve run a martial arts school in Raleigh and train athletes for national and international competition. As a direct result of leadership and networking skills fostered in NAAAP, Cyndy’s martial arts school and Greater Raleigh Sports Alliance hosted the AAU Karate national championships and 3000 competitors at the Raleigh Convention Center in 2015 and 2017.
Co-Sponsored by Asian American Activities Center (A3C), BEAM Career Education, Stanford Asian Pacific American Alumni Club (SAPAAC)
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the SAA API Community Ambassadors Becky Liang (bliang2@stanford.edu) or Phillip Tran (pt91755@stanford.edu).
