Member Recognition

Introducing Dr. Dian Ratna Sawitri: A Champion for Career Development

APCDA warmly welcomes Dr. Dian Ratna Sawitri as the new Area Representative for
Indonesia. With over two decades of dedication to career guidance and education, Dr. Sawitri has touched the lives of many through her work as a researcher, educator, and mentor. Her efforts have shaped career development practices in Indonesia, blending cultural sensitivity with
evidence-based approaches to help young people make informed career decisions.

Dr. Sawitri currently serves as a Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Psychology at Universitas Diponegoro, where she has been a driving force in programs supporting career exploration and development. Her work often focuses on the relationship between adolescents and their parents when it comes to career choices—an area close to her heart, shaped by her own challenges navigating career decisions as a student. Her research has led to the development of tools like the Adolescent-Parent Career Congruence Scale, which helps identify and address gaps between parental expectations and young people’s career aspirations.

Dr. Sawitri has a strong foundation in education, she has done her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Universitas Diponegoro, followed by a master’s degree from Universitas Indonesia and a Ph.D. from Griffith University in Australia. Alongside her academic achievements, Dr. Sawitri has a rich background in community involvement, working with parents and educators to create supportive environments for youth to thrive.

Dr. Sawitri’s passion for empowering Indonesia’s youth is matched by her commitment to collaboration. As APCDA’s Area Representative for Indonesia, she aims to strengthen career development initiatives within the country while fostering connections across the Asia-Pacific region. By promoting dialogue and innovation tailored to Indonesia’s unique cultural and social
landscape, she seeks to inspire meaningful progress in the field of career guidance. Her approachable leadership style and unwavering dedication to supporting Indonesia’s future generations align seamlessly with APCDA’s mission.

We are excited to share her journey with you and look forward to the positive impact she will bring to APCDA and beyond.

By Arun Mittal

Introducing Thuy Tran: A Visionary Leader Shaping Career Development in Vietnam

APCDA is proud to welcome Thuy Tran as the new Area Representative for Vietnam. A distinguished educational leader with over 20 years of experience, Thuy has dedicated her career to transforming the lives of students, educators, and communities. Her innovative approach to career guidance and her passion for fostering educational equity have cemented her reputation as a trendsetter in Vietnam’s education and social services sectors.

As the Founder and CEO of SiF Career, Thuy has been at the forefront of career development in Vietnam. Her initiatives have made a significant impact, including partnerships with local NGOs and six public high schools in the Mekong Delta. Through these collaborations, she has introduced over 1,200 students and 150 teachers to essential career-planning skills. Additionally, her “Career Catalyst” workshops at a leading University has enhanced students’ employability by strengthening key professional skills. Recognizing the importance of family involvement, Thuy has also engaged parents in effective career guidance practices, ensuring a holistic approach to student development.

Prior to SiF Career, Thuy held various leadership roles at the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation, where she oversaw projects addressing scholarships, school infrastructure, microfinance, healthcare, and career guidance. As Director of Operations, she led large teams, ensuring the sustainable operation of diverse programs while navigating the challenges of the pandemic. Her ability to build strategic partnerships with government entities, businesses, and communities has been a hallmark of her success.

Thuy’s academic achievements further reinforce her expertise. She holds a Master’s degree in Educational Studies specializing in Guidance, Counselling, and Career Development from the University of Queensland, alongside degrees in International Business and Teaching English.

As APCDA’s Area Representative for Vietnam, Thuy aims to advance career development practices and strengthen connections among professionals in the region. Her leadership, vision, and relentless commitment to empowering individuals perfectly align with APCDA’s mission. We are excited to have her on board and look forward to the remarkable impact she will make in Vietnam and beyond.

By Arun Mittal

Dr. Ma. Leonila Vitug-Urrea: A Legacy of Dedication in Career Development and Resilience Counseling

As part of our ongoing initiative to highlight exceptional leaders, we are honored to feature Dr. Ma. Leonila Vitug-Urrea, a dedicated career development practitioner, guidance counselor, and resilience advocate. With over 36 years of experience, Dr. Vitug-Urrea has profoundly impacted the educational landscape through her work in counseling, teaching, and career services. Her expertise spans a unique blend of roles, embodying the essence of an educator, licensed teacher, psychometrician, and volunteer counselor, all of which have fueled her deep commitment to student well-being and empowerment. 

Throughout her extensive career, Dr. Vitug-Urrea has continually emphasized the importance of resilience, a theme central to her work and advocacy. Her publication, The Dance to Resilience: Understanding Children in a Disaster-Risk Community, underscores her belief in the transformative power of resilience theories. This work not only adds a scholarly contribution to the field but also reflects her hands-on experience as a psychosocial support volunteer for disaster survivors. Through volunteer initiatives, she provides mental health support to individuals navigating the challenges of adversity, cementing her role as a steadfast advocate for mental health and resilience.

In addition to her work in counseling, Dr. Ma. Leonila Vitug-Urrea has contributed significantly to the career development field. Her active involvement in career services, particularly in coaching and developing career modules, has been pivotal in shaping the future of students across various educational institutions. She frequently designs workshops and seminars that explore career planning, values education, leadership, and team building. As a co-organizer and panel speaker in international conferences, including the IAEVG International Conference and EduTech Philippines, she consistently seeks to inspire and educate practitioners and students alike.

Dr. Ma. Leonila Vitug-Urrea’s journey demonstrates an unwavering commitment to fostering resilience and career growth. Her dedication to well-being, combined with her ongoing training and involvement in career development, has positioned her as an invaluable resource for both students and career development professionals across the Asia Pacific. We are proud to recognize her outstanding contributions and look forward to the continued impact she will undoubtedly make in the field.

Sini Parampota, Champion of Career as a Transitional Object

Mrs. Effrosyni (Sini) Parampota, a distinguished career guidance practitioner, researcher, and consultant, has made significant strides in advancing career development within Qatar and internationally. With a career spanning over two decades, she has pioneered career counseling initiatives and supported ecosystem development at multiple levels. Currently serving as Secretary on the APCDA Board, Sini is actively involved in the Asia Pacific Career Development Association (APCDA) in multiple leadership roles. She also contributes to the National Career Development Association (NCDA) Global Connections and Ethics Committees, as well as the Academic Advisory Council of Educluster Finland.

In 2024, Sini was honored as NCDA’s International Practitioner of the Year in recognition of her transformative work in career development and counseling in Qatar.

Last year, Sini spearheaded a new initiative at APCDA to support career practitioners living in conflict zones. This groundbreaking project empowers practitioners in challenging environments by providing them with tools to better serve their communities. Her research on the outcomes of this initiative will be presented at the upcoming 2024 IAEVG conference.

Sini’s career includes more than a decade at Qatar Foundation, where she was instrumental in establishing the country’s first national career guidance framework. She contributed cutting-edge research and developed inclusive career guidance programs for individuals with disabilities. In her current role as an independent consultant, she partners with individual clients, organizations, and policymakers to integrate career development with psychosocial research. Her work addresses critical topics such as diversity, inclusion, and equity in career practices, aiming to foster individual and collective well-being within educational settings, labor market systems, and communities.

Fluent in English, Greek, and German, with basic proficiency in Arabic and Italian, Sini brings a multilingual, cross-cultural perspective to her work. In her ongoing doctoral studies at Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust, she explores the concept of career as a “transitional object” in leadership and organizational settings, an innovative approach she believes can create more inclusive and resilient workplaces.

An alumna of INSEAD and Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education, Sini’s international perspective provides fresh insights into the transformative power of career guidance to drive social change. Through her contributions, she remains a strong advocate for APCDA’s vision, fostering a global community committed to advancing career development and promoting social equity for all.

By Arun Mittal

Recognizing the Many Contributions of Dr. Serene Lin-Stephens

Dr. Serene Lin-Stephens is a dedicated career practitioner, educator, and researcher with extensive experience in designing and delivering career development programs. Over the past two decades, she has integrated career development into over 20 university courses across Australia and the Asia Pacific, including at the University of Sydney, Western Sydney University, Macquarie University, the University of Wollongong, RMIT University, and the University of Taipei, to name a few. Dr. Lin-Stephens taught in the Master of Rehabilitation Counselling at the University of Sydney from 2019 to 2022 before joining the School of Education at RMIT University to manage the postgraduate program in career education in 2023.

Dr. Lin-Stephens is passionate about practitioner research, leading projects that support evidence-based career practices in career information literacy, visual narrative intervention designs, and interview anxiety and performance. She is one of the rare career researchers with expertise in double-blind randomized control trials of career interventions. Her research findings have been published in high-ranking journals and presented at conferences. Her contributions have been recognised with several awards, including the APCDA President Award in 2019, the NAGCAS Excellence in Research Award in 2020, the NAGCAS Excellence in Collaboration Award in 2020, and various teaching and service awards from universities.

Dr. Lin-Stephens is a lifetime member of APCDA. She led the Glossary projects in Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Vietnamese, Japanese, and Korean (2017-2019), served as an Australian representative, and held the roles of President Elect (October 2022 – September 2023), President (October 2023 – September 2024), and Past President (October 2024 – September 2025), demonstrating her commitment to APCDA’s growth. Under her leadership focusing on social justice, diversity, and inclusion, APCDA launched projects promoting member engagement across regions and supporting practitioners in war/conflict zones.

We express our heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Lin-Stephens for her invaluable support and outstanding leadership at APCDA. Her contributions have left a lasting impact on the field, fostering a collaborative environment that values social justice and inclusion. Dr. Lin-Stephens’ work in career development, research, and service continues to shape and inspire the community, and we are grateful for her dedication and vision.

By Grace Koamesah

Introducing APCDA’s North India Representative: Ms. Malavika Kishore

Ms. Malavika Kishore’s career exemplifies academic excellence, library service, career counseling, and a deep commitment to educational growth. As a librarian at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya under Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, she modernized the library through automation and the use of e-Granthalaya software, streamlining access to resources.

Beyond her traditional role, Malavika actively engages in career counseling, seminars, and workshops to support students’ academic and personal growth. Her dedication to counseling is evident in her focus on mental health, emotional support, and career guidance, creating a nurturing environment where students thrive both academically and personally. Her passion for helping students navigate life’s challenges has had a lasting impact on their well-being and success.

Committed to continuous learning, Malavika’s expertise extends to career counseling and academic research. She has authored a book, Guidance and Counseling for School Students, and contributed to various publications. Additionally, she is an active member of professional organizations such as ILA, APCDA, and NCS, serving as the North India Representative of APCDA, where she shapes career development strategies.

Her accolades include the Global Teacher Award (2021) for her outstanding dedication, the Career Advisor of the Year Award (2022) from the National Career Counseling Network, and the Ek Naari Award (2023) for promoting gender equality. In 2024, she received the Innovative Reading Program Award and the Best Paper Award at MRIIS, Faridabad.

Malavika’s innovative approaches in library management, empathetic counseling, and contributions to academic research have profoundly influenced both students and the educational community. Her leadership, dedication, and passion make her a role model and continue to inspire educators and counselors alike.

By Emily Lizada

Introducing Baktiar Hasnan: Celebrating a Champion of Career Development

Baktiar Hasnan is a seasoned expert in education and career development, bringing over two decades of experience in talent curation, leadership coaching, and career advisory services. His career exemplifies a deep commitment to personal and professional growth, offering mentorship and guidance to individuals at various stages of their career journeys.

With a strong foundation in leadership development, Baktiar is a frequent speaker at Human Resources conferences and is passionate about motivating others to achieve their full potential. His work also extends to social services and NGOs, where he actively promotes youth leadership and empowerment.

As a certified HRDF trainer, Baktiar has been instrumental in career development initiatives, having completed key professional programs such as Talent Corp Malaysia’s NEXT 1.0 and the NCDA USA’s Facilitating Career Development (FCD). During the pandemic, he played a crucial role as a Career Coach for the #Kisah Siswa initiative by TalentCorp Malaysia and HRD Corp Placement Centre, providing career guidance to young Malaysians facing a turbulent job market.

Since 2019, Baktiar has also supported school counselors through the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) initiative, where his mentorship has made a significant impact. His current role at Multimedia University’s Centre for Alumni (CFA) focuses on engaging alumni and fostering a supportive network for graduates.

Baktiar’s leadership extends beyond national borders through his involvement with the Asia Pacific Career Development Association (APCDA). As an active board member and Area Council Representative for APCDA, Baktiar contributes to the mission of promoting best practices in career development across the Asia-Pacific region. APCDA is dedicated to supporting career professionals and advancing career development initiatives in diverse cultural contexts, creating a platform for collaboration and knowledge-sharing among career practitioners throughout Asia and the Pacific.

In addition to his work with APCDA, Baktiar has served as President of the National Career Development Centre Association (NACDA Malaysia) and is currently the Secretary of Persatuan Pendidikan Digital Komuniti (PENDIDIK). His wide-ranging contributions to career development make him a highly respected leader in the field.

Stay connected with Baktiar Hasnan: https://linktr.ee/baktiarhasnan

By Tuan Anh Le

Introducing Gaini Yessembekova, Career Counsellor and Leader in Kazakhstan

Gaini Yessembekova is a certified career counsellor dedicated to empowering individuals through strategic career guidance. She holds an MA in Educational Leadership Management from the University of Warwick, UK, and offers services in student counselling, career planning, graduate application advising, and alumni engagement. Beyond her career counselling work, Gaini has taken on various leadership roles throughout her professional journey.

Her leadership experience includes influential positions such as Head of the Department of Employment Practices and Higher, Postgraduate, and Vocational Education at Kazakh National University of Arts in Astana (2012–2013), where she oversaw key aspects of student employment and academic advancement. She later served as Head of the Department of International Cooperation and Analysis (2013–2014) and the Department of Organization and Selection Procedures (2014–2016) at the Center for International Programs under the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. From 2016 to 2022, Gaini was Senior Manager for Nazarbayev University Alumni Relations, where she initiated and executed activities connecting students and alumni.

Currently, as the Director of the Career and Advising Center (CAC) at Nazarbayev University, Gaini develops and oversees numerous career-related programs. She collaborates with faculty and staff to enhance student career development and coordinates skill development initiatives with other departments. In addition, she oversees career advising services and alumni relations, ensuring comprehensive support for students and graduates. She also serves as the co-chair of the NU Job Placement Committee, focusing on placing young specialists and PhDs into jobs in Kazakhstan.

In 2023, Gaini and her team at NU’s CAC hosted APCDA’s first hybrid conference in Astana, earning her the APCDA Conference Host Award. Following this success, she co-founded the Kazakhstan Career Development Association (KazCDA) to modernize career services in universities across Kazakhstan. Gaini also serves as co-chair for APCDA’s Public Relations and Area Representative committees. We are honored to have Gaini within our community and look forward to her continued contributions to APCDA.

By Grace Koamesah

Introducing Charlotte George: A Leader in Career Development and Organization Psychology

When it comes to career development, Charlotte George is a name that carries weight. Wearing many hats, she is APCDA’s Area Representative of Singapore, President of the People Career Development Association, and Lead Industry Practitioner at Kaplan International. Additionally, she serves as Co-Chairperson of the Kaplan Industry Advisory Board and Deputy Director of Employability & Student Affairs at Kaplan in Singapore. Additionally, she is a part-time lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).

With over 18 years of hands-on experience in Career Development, Counselling, and Facilitation, Charlotte has truly earned her stripes. Her passion for Career Planning and Organizational Development is clear as day. As a Master Trainer with the National Career Development Association, she’s the one behind the scenes, pulling the strings to design cutting-edge competency frameworks and train professionals. Her academic accolades, including a Master of Science in Industrial & Organizational Psychology and Management of Human Resources from the City University of New York, coupled with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, give her a firm foundation. Coupled with the ACTA certification under her belt, she’s no stranger to adult learning and professional growth.

  • Some of Charlotte’s significant achievements, include:
  • Minister for Manpower Award
  • Developing several competency-based skills frameworks and programs for corporate, community, and public sector organizations.
  • Handpicked as an External Assessor for the Bachelor of Counselling program at SUSS.
  • A Master Trainer in the Global Career Development Facilitator program
  • As the Founding Member of the People and Career Development Association (Singapore), she’s helped build the foundation of career guidance in Singapore.
Her leadership doesn’t stop there. Charlotte has her finger on the pulse of community service, working with counsellors, career consultants, and people with disabilities. Those who have worked with her describe her as a caring, consultative, and assertive leader. She has managed teams and organized events that have gained recognition. With a focus on improving workplace systems, she is dedicated to making a positive impact. In a nutshell, Charlotte George is a force to be reckoned with, shaping the future of Singapore’s Career Development landscape with her expertise, grit, and unwavering commitment.

By Arun Mittal

Introducing Felicity Brown
Australia Area Representative APCDA

Ms. Felicity Brown is an intercultural career and leadership coach for mid-career
professionals. She is a former Australian diplomat with postings to Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Egypt. After leaving government service, she completed a Master degree in Career Development at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia and started her career development work at Monash University Malaysia (2012 – 2013) and later, RMIT University Vietnam (2014-2016 & 2018–2021). She led mentoring programs, developed and delivered a leadership program, facilitated professional employability skills training and conducted one-to-one consultations to help students and alumni achieve their career goals.
As a career coach, Felicity specializes in facilitating self-awareness, reviews job applications, resumes and cover letters, delivers interview and networking skills training and debriefs career assessments. Felicity is currently accredited in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
personality assessment, the Strong Interest Inventory career assessment tool and the CareerIntelligence assessment tool.

Currently founder, career coach, and facilitator at Maia Careers and Training based in Canberra, Australia, Felicity helps mid-career professionals (including expats and migrants) facing career transition. In her wide range of experience working in 4 industries over 35 years, she has navigated many career transitions due to promotions, overseas postings, redundancy, migration and personal choice. All of these experiences contribute to
her insight and empathy in helping individuals who struggle with their own career transitions. Felicity also works passionately as an intercultural facilitator for Australians working internationally, as well as professionals moving back to Australia. She coaches new migrants to adapt to the Australian work culture and lifestyle and helps Australian expats
reduce the stress experienced caused by reverse culture shock.

Felicity is a professional member of the Career Development Association of Australia (CDAA) where she is the Membership Officer for ACT/NT Division and is an accredited coach and member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She is a lifetime member of APCDA who has made significant contributions to our association as a Program Committee
member and past co-chair and as the Career Journeys podcast co-host. As APCDA’s current Australia area representative, Felicity has written regular reports on career development in Australia (https://asiapacificcda.org/australia-information/). If you know of any career-related activities in Australia and want the world to know about it, please reach out to Ms. Felicity Brown at Australia@AsiaPacificCDA.org.

By Grace Koamesah

Introducing William Gunawan, Ph.D., CLC Indonesia Area Representative for APCDA

William Gunawan, Ph.D., CLC is the Dean and Assistant professor of the Faculty of Psychology in Universitas Kristen Krida Wacana, Indonesia. He is a senior lecturer, researcher, trainer and certified coach in the higher education industry with more than 15 years of experience. Dr. Gunawan is a highly skilled research professional with a Master’s degree focused in Educational Psychology from the University of Indonesia, as well as a Doctorate’s degree focused in Career Development from Griffith University, Australia.

Dr. Gunawan has made huge contributions to career development research in Indonesia. At WIKDA University. he established and directed the Centre for Career Development & Assessment (CCDA) and through that Centre, research, courses, and community service projects have been conducted. He introduced the “Perceived Future Employability” construct and developed a scale to measure young adult’s perceived employability in the Indonesian language. He also invented the Success After School project
to help high school students make future career decisions, and the Employability & Entrepreneurship Enhancement program to help university students prepare for their future.

He passionately mentors his psychology undergraduate students’ theses and shares the results via the annual APCDA conference, making career-related phenomenon and research in Indonesia known to other career professionals in the Asia Pacific region. Dr. Gunawan has also been writing reports on career development activities in Indonesia over the years for APCDA (https://asiapacificcda.org/indonesia-information/). If you know of any career-related events or activities in Indonesia that you want the world to know about, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Dr. Gunawan at Indonesia@AsiaPacificCDA.org.

By Grace Koamesah

Introducing Muhammad Basit Rana, Pakistan Representative


Muhammad Basit Rana, affectionately known as MBR HR WALAY, has recently agree to serve as the Pakistan Representative to APCDA.  He will be writing quarterly reports on events in Pakistan, so please let him know if there are activities you would like to tell the world about.

He is a seasoned Career Developer and Human Skills Expert with over 26 years of experience in various management roles within esteemed conglomerates in the UAE and Pakistan. As the Founder & Chief Architect at HR WALAY, an HR Family, and the Director at HR WALAY Institute (SMC-Pvt) Ltd, he has been dedicated to catalysing impactful learning initiatives, empowering individuals, and organizations to thrive.

The mission of HR WALAY is to revolutionize people management activities and offer cost-effective solutions that drive positive change in the businesses and sectors we serve. The HR Family is a trusted resource for fresh graduates and seasoned professionals alike, guiding them towards meaningful career paths and advancement within their respective fields. HR WALAY offers a Share-Read-Learn-Stay Connected ethos has become a dominant market force, inspiring and educating professionals globally.  Their motto is “Let’s build a brighter future together.“

Please welcome Muhammad Basit Rana to our leadership team and help him to stay informed about career-related activities in Pakistan by contacting him at Pakistan@AsiaPacificCDA.org

By Marilyn Maze

Dr. Marilyn Maze, NCDA Eminent Career Award Recipient

By Karol Taylor, GCDFI, CSP, CCMC, JCTC, CCC, CBBSC, COPNS, Federal Career Counselor

If Donald Super had included Dr. Marilyn Maze in his study, he might have had to add an extra life role to his rainbow. Leader, mentor, collaborator, technical and career expert, and friend are a few of the characteristics Super might have used to describe Marilyn’s role(s) in the Asia Pacific Career Development Association (APCDA).

This week (June 26) at the National Career Development Association’s (NCDA) 2022 annual conference, Marilyn received the most prestigious awards bestowed by NCDA, the Eminent Career Award. This Award is based on the nominee’s overall contributions to the field of career development. When evaluating a nominee’s contributions, her accomplishments are considered across a range of career development activities including contributions in the areas of theory, practice, leadership, and scholarship.

Marilyn is what one might call the progeny of career greatness. She was mentored by and worked in partnership with Dr. Joanne Harris Bowlsbey, who was mentored by Dr. Donald Super. In addition to Dr. Bowlsbey, Marilyn has close ties to former American Counseling Association and NCDA President, Dr. Lee Richmond, and was a coworker of Dr. John Holland. In the 1980s, Marilyn worked closely with Richard Knowdell to initiate the annual California Career Development Association state-wide conference.

In addition to her work in establishing APCDA and serving as Executive Director, Marilyn served as NCDA Treasurer, head of NCDA’s Credentialing Organizing Committee (the start-up group for the current Credentialing Commission), President of the Maryland Career Development Association (MCDA), and Treasurer for the Maryland Counseling Association. In addition to all her APCDA activities, Marilyn currently serves as the webmaster for MCDA, and makes herself available to do whatever she can to support the mission and goals of career professional organizations across the globe.

As a result of the pandemic, Marilyn quickly pivoted to provide online conferences for APCDA. Each APCDA member benefited from Marilyn’s willingness to embrace the change and to do what needed to be done to keep the organization “on track” and moving in the right direction.

It’s important to note that only a few of Marilyn’s accomplishments are presented here. As she shared in her acceptance speech, Marilyn had a full career at the American College of Testing (ACT), where she worked on the Discover software, which could be found in many high school and college career centers at that time. After retiring from ACT, Marilyn worked closely with Dr. Richmond to create reasonably priced contact hour offerings through their PsyCoun partnership.

Anyone would wonder how Marilyn fits all these activities into her contributions to the career field, and they would be right to do so. In addition to Marilyn’s professional contributions, she maintains a flower garden and fruit bushes, and preserves the fruit by canning it. Yes, she’s quite amazing.

Based on all of the above, it’s clear that Donald Super would be hard pressed to place Marilyn into his definition of life roles. However, the rest of us are grateful that Marilyn is always there to support us. Kudos, Marilyn, and congratulation on being a constant presence in our lives and in our profession.

Emily Lizada Receives 10-year Service Award

APCDA Administrator Emily Lizada traveled to Manila from her home near Ilo Ilo to receive the !0-Year Service Award from Ateneo de Manila University.  She was happy that the celebration on June 9, 2022 could be held in person after 2 years of online celebrations.

What Has APCDA Meant to You?

2013 – Seoul, Korea Opening the Doors in Asia – Sharing Career Development Practices

Please let us know how you have benefited from APCDA.  Send your testimonial to Info@AsiaPacificCDA.org.  We will post it on our Association News page.  If we don’t already have your photo, please include a photo in the email.

2021 – Virtual Walking on Uncharted Career Paths

Testimonials

Prof Dr Narender K Chadha

APCDA gives us great opportunity to know other practitioners in countries in the Asia Pacific region and get connected to learn and share different practice model of career development . It broaden  your thinking in the right perspective . We must celebrate our completion of TEN years with new commitment and dedication to help the society at large. We are family of career professionals and must take oath to further strengthen these bonds .

I wish each one of you good health and prosperity.

LÊ TUẤN ANH, Career Consultant & Educator

I got to know APCDA when I joined the Conference Organizing Committee in Vietnam in 2019. My first impression about everyone at APCDA is the professionalism and family feeling. Everyone in the conference makes me feel comfortable, shared and learned from each other.

At that time, career guidance was still very new in Vietnam. However, since knowing and participating in APCDA’s activities, I have had more confidence in the development of career professions in my country. I learned a lot from different career models, successes and failures in many countries like Singapore, China, the Philippines and many others.

In 2022, I joined the organizers of online conferences as a website editor and room manager. Through joining this year’s conference, I have had the opportunity to meet many experts from other countries such as the US, Australia and many other countries. Thanks to the support of technology, connecting with experts from many countries has never been easier.

I am very happy to see that every year, the number of Vietnamese people joining APCDA is increasing. I believe that career guidance in Vietnam and APCDA will continue to thrive in the coming years, creating a platform for all career professionals to find.

Tam Nguyen, Career Purpose Coach​

I joined career development not long ago – only 6 months back, but I’m grateful for knowing APCDA and being a member right at the beginning of my transition to this field. Since joining I have had a chance to constantly learn and be inspired by experts from so many different countries. I was worried at first that I won’t be able to feel belonged due to my lack of experience. However, everyone I have met here has been so kind and helpful, especially for a new member like me. I can deeply feel beautiful connections and a sense of community that APCDA has successfully developed.

I must be lucky to celebrate APCDA’s 10th anniversary in my very first year here. I would like to send a big thanks to everyone for the hard work and effort over the past 10 years to build such a nice sharing and learning community for CDPs not only in the Asia Pacific area but also all over the world.

I have no doubt that APCDA will continue to be a big support for every member on the individual and global journey of career development.

JENIKKO LARA QUINTO, Guidance Counselor/Career Advocate, University of Saint Louis

I am very indebted to APCDA that I became a Martha Russel Scholarship recipient last 2021. This paved the way for my professional development as a career practitioner. With the two conferences that I have attended, I felt belonged to the group. Race, and even geographical location and time zone may be diverse, these did not impede connections and genuine love to assist and be of help.

Over 11 years now, I am into helping junior high school students in their career decision making leading them to the best path they can have to assure a happy and satisfying future ahead. It makes me elated that I am steered by a community that upholds career development not only to young ones but throughout the life span. Being a member of APCDA brings me pride and even capacitates me to do even more especially with the challenges that life and circumstance may bring.

Salamat at Mabuhay APCDA!

Ha Nguyen, Program Coordinator – Sunshine Vietnam Education and Development

Warm greetings from Hanoi!

Thank you so much for the great time I have joined and worked with you and APCDA! I have had a chance to meet with interesting and professional people in the field of career development and learned from you.

I also hope I have a chance to keep in touch with APCDA for learning and development to support Vietnamese students and the ones in a small project supported by the U.S Embassy in the future.

Wishing APCDA and the team getting more achievements in the years ahead!

Elisabeth Sanders-Park

President, WorkNet Solutions — Author  |  Trainer  |  Speaker

I had the pleasure of participating in the APCDA Conference this year. APCDA staff worked tirelessly and masterfully to make the event an amazing benefit to all who participated. Your excellence and dedication is above and beyond. It does NOT go unnoticed… by me, so many around the globe, and by NCDA!!! Congrats!

Elisabeth P. Montgomery, Ph.D.

Senior Advisor on Internationalization; Shenzhen, China – Nanshan Public School District President, InterLangua LLC

My first encounter with APCDA was at the 2018 NCDA Conference in Phoenix, AZ, and after giving a speech on career education in Chinese public schools. Approached by several Chinese conference goers, I joined the roundtable discussion about career education focus in the Asia Pacific. Upon meeting local colleagues from Hong Kong, Macau, India, Thailand, and Australia, I felt an instant camaraderie with the personalities in the group because they each had unique and colorful country stories about career education.

 I met practitioners from countries I wanted to see, such as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. The group members expressed many challenges I encountered implementing career education in mainland China and shared many solutions!

Later, I joined the Country Council for South China as the representative for career education since my background reflected work in Chinese public schools K-12. I met Claire Ouyang from Macau and Candy Ho from Canada, who both added to my deepening respect for the organization. During COVID, I was in the USA, unable to return to mainland China. I joined groups with Danita and west coast colleagues where I could apply for my work on the SDGs. Then I joined the Programme Committee because of the lively personalities of Gerald and Tuna. Later I also became Chair of this committee with Sini Parampota as Co-Chair, another enriching social experience and one that is ever-expanding our network around Asia. 

Syeda Mohsina Hussain, Ph.D., Career Researcher and Advisor, Pakistan

I joined APCDA this year in the February through scholarship award. The scholarship entitled me for one year APCDA membership and full registration of the 2022 conference. As soon as I became a member, I was able to access all the content available in the website including recorded webinars, previous conferences’ presentations, journal articles and the permission to join the APCDA Member community. I felt extremely privileged as I was communicating with the eminent experts of the Career Development field whose work had inspired me and I had learned from it.

Attending the 2022 APCDA/IAEVG virtual conference was an excellent experience. The presentations were rich in content, presenters were experts in their fields and the conference website interface was user friendly, it helped the presenters and the audiences to have engaging sessions.

I tried to be present online as I could be present at an in-person event. I attended back to back sessions and tried to make the most of my scholarship award. Few days offered a great deal of learning and I had meaningful interaction with the eminent scholars and practitioners. The learning did not stop when the conference ended. The recorded webinars can be watched anytime and I already have a list of presentations that I will watch soon.

I would like to cordially thank each and every staff of the APCDA for making it possible for us with their dedication and sincerity. The positive effects of their efforts are not limited to those who are connected with this platform but far they reach to the many corners of the globe where this most diverse community of members come from. And for those like me who come from a place (Pakistan) where little to no professional development opportunities exist for career practitioners, APCDA is like an institution to me.

Dr. Candy Ho Selected Career Practitioner of the Year by BCCDA

The British Columbia Career Development Association selected Dr. Candy Ho at its Career Practitioner of the Year!  Quoting from their website (https://www.bccda-cdc.org/top-achievement-awards):

Candy has accomplished a remarkable amount in her relatively short time in the field. She is an instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University as well at Douglas College. She has utilized traditional career development strategies to develop essential transition courses that are customized for learners of all backgrounds and abilities. Candy’s Doctoral dissertation laid the groundwork for the concept of ‘career influencers’ that create a broad career support network including instructors, academic advisors, co-op employers and others rather than relying only on a career centre for that important guidance.

Candy is the Vice Chair of CERIC and in that role communicates the importance of career development in Canada with many media resources. She is in demand as a conference speaker across Canada and in Australia.

The foundational piece of Dr. Ho’s practice is that it is based in a focus on social justice and she stated “career guidance calls for people and societies to do and be better in addressing issues in equity, access and wellbeing”. Through this philosophy Candy has gained attention with her unique approach to leveraging the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework to help students consider their purpose and how it aligns with their career aspirations.

Far from the least of Candy’s accomplishments, she is a first generation Asian-Canadian woman who holds a doctoral degree and as such is an inspiration to those who may follow.

APCDA strongly supports their choice and is proud to have Dr. Ho presenting several sessions at our conference.  We are excited to have Dr. Ho join our keynote speaker, Riz Ibrahim, for the 3-hour Professional Development Institute on May 24.  We are also looking forward to her webinar entitled Sustaining Career Development: Using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on June 1/2.

Remember JoAnn Harris Bowlsbey

JoAnn Harris Bowlsbey passed away at age 88 on April 11, 2022 in her home in Finksburg, MD.  She is best known as creator of DISCOVER, a computerized career planning system, which was purchased by ACT,  Inc in 1982, and ACT continued development of it until 2015.  A prolific writer, she co-authored Career Interventions in the 21st Century, with Dr. David Reile and Dr. Barbara Suddarth and a popular textbook for career development students called Essential Elements of Career Counseling: Processes and Techniques co-authored with Spencer G. Niles and Norman E. Amundson, among many other books and manuals.  She was one of our keynote speakers at them 2014 APCDA Conference in Hawaii and had a close relationship with the Japan Career Development Association and Kuder.  She recorded a webinar for APCDA called “From Super to Savickas” which traces an important period in the history of our thinking about career development.  She was a Past President of NCDA and received its Eminent Career Award.

More about Dr. Bowlsbey:

https://www.ncda.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/202995/_PARENT/CC_layout_details/false

https://magazine.wheaton.edu/stories/autumn-2019-career-development-service-sacrificial-love-alumna-of-the-year-joann-harris-bowlsbey

If you would like to share remembrances of Dr. Bowlsbey, send your thoughts and your photo to Info@AsiaPacificCDA.org and we will post them here.

Remembering Richard (Dick) Knowdell

Dick Knowdell was a founding member of APCDA and his wisdom guides us today.  His influence on our association was profound and his contributions were many, earning him the status of Lifetime Legacy Partner.  Please see his bio on the Legacy Partner page.  He attended every in-person conference APCDA has held, representing his company Career Development Network.  His life was long, active, and full of important accomplishments.  He passed away in his sleep on December 13, 2021. 

Please send your memories of Dick Knowdell to Info@AsiaPacificCDA.org by Friday, Dec 24 and we will publish them in next week’s news blog and send them to the Dick Knowdell Memorial Book. Below is the remembrance written by Dr. Rich Feller.

Dick lived in Woodside, CA through high school and served as a US Air Force medic transporting the wounded during the Korean War. Relieved from active duty in 1964 he retired from the Air Force Reserves in 1984 as Chief Master Sergeant.

Dick was very proud of having worked in more than forty jobs during his lifetime (including plumber’s helper, cigarette salesman, post office worker, and HP employee). Attending San Jose Community College on the GI Bill, a counselor convinced him he was “college material.” He earned a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology at San Jose State University. His education and work experience provided a lens which championed all work as dignified and honoring of each trade and worker. He pioneered the idea of a Job and Career Transition Coach, and Job and Career Development Coach Certification in 1979. That training is available virtually across the world.

Employed in several Silicon Valley company employee assistance departments, Dick was very proud of his influence over several years at Lawrence Livermore Labs. He started a private counseling practice while there and transitioned to full-time private practice and consulting. He is acknowledged as one of the first full-time career development entrepreneurs, career coaches, and career conference developers. His International Career Conferences were some the largest in the world for many years. Appointed by President Clinton to the Board of Examiners for the US Foreign Service, he authored six books.

Dick Knowdell, International Career Leader, Card Sort and JCTC Coach Certificate Developer Passes December 13
By Rich Feller

Recipient of NCDA’s Centennial Award, APCDA’s and the California CDA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, author and trainer, Richard (Dick) Knowdell has passed. He impacted millions within the career development field as a career coaching innovator. Known for his Card Sorts (Motivated Skills, Career Values, Leisure/Retirement, Occupational Interests, and Career Development & Job Search Profile), the Career Planning Network, and JOURNAL of Career Planning and Adult Development he was recognized for creating easy to use products and practitioner training worldwide.

Born November 12, 1934 in San Francisco, CA he is survived by wife Barbara Knowdell, and nephew Chris Knowdell of Sacramento. A dedicated mentor, and generous international colleague he was a dear friend and training partner with Bobbi Floyd and Rich Feller. Tim Hsi and Amy Lew, Michael Robinson (recently purchased Dick’s Career Research and Testing Company), Amhed Mostafa, Ashraf Jamie, and Vera Chapman were a few of his 8000+ Job and Career Transition Certificated Career Coaches.

Dick died peacefully in his sleep at home. He always said he wanted to go to sleep and not wake up. He got his wish. There will be no service of any kind per his wish. He will be cremated and his ashes scattered at sea by the Neptune Society. His family asks that friends “do a kindness for someone in memory of Dick since he was always trying to help and support others.”

View an interview with Dick about his major contributions to career development here.

Remembrances

I am sad to hear about his passing away. Mr. Dick Knowdell and his cards of Career Motivation, Career Values have driven me into many meaningful activities. I would like to express my thankfulness to him.

Doris Nhung, Working Place: Industry Relations, Academic and Career Development, Van Lang University, Viet Nam

I remember vividly when I first met Dick in his JCTC course in Hong Kong. He was full of energy, doing what he was passionate about. At that moment, I thought “I wish I’d have the same rigor and passion when I’m at his age.” He was a pioneer and willing to help out the younger generation. He was approachable, witty, and fun to be with. I always looked forward to seeing his smiling faces whenever I attended APCDA conferences. I’ll miss him always.

Dr. Elvo Sou, Head of Student Counselling Section. Student Affairs Office, University of Macau, Macau

Dr. Ken Keis, President & CEO, Consulting Resource Group International, Inc., USA and Canada

I have personally known Richard for over 30 years and he was CRG’s longest standing Associate/Partner. He included CRG’s Personal Style Indicator (and others) assessment in his career develop certification for over 3 decades. We met in person and hung out at career development conferences – many times arranging our booths to be side by side so we could watch each other’s booth when on breaks. We would also attend each others presentations as moral support.

I loved Richard’s independent spirit and “tell it the way I see it” attitude. He was not a conformist and never let the popular or being politically correct sway his opinions – that is one of the reasons he was so respected in our profession.

Yet, at the same time Richard was generous and kind. I can’t even track the how many times he invited myself, my wife Brenda or the CRG Team member

to the executive level at his hotel for dinner or snacks. I fondly recall at the NCDA Conference in Orlando where we had our booths side by side – his endearment towards my 20 year old daughter Stephanie who was helping at our booth. He personally took her through his card decks and proceeded to coach her for her future career possibilities. Richard pulled me aside and only as Richard could –  said “Ken your daughter is much smart than you are!”

Richard generosity – lead him to introduce dozens of career development professionals to myself to consider CRG’s assessments and/or build relationships with his global network. This included but limited to Rich Feller, Bobbi Floyd, Tim Hsi, Amy Lew, Michael Robinson, Amhed Mostafa and many more.

Finally, a very special memory was from a few years ago while working with a client in California – Richard Knowdell arranged a dinner with he and Richard Bolles and his wife Marci – which ended up with drinks at Dick Bolles residence.

Richard, I appreciated your friendship and being your colleague. Thank you for all that you have done for others – you have left a legacy.

Dr. Marilyn E. Maze, Financial Administrator, Asia Pacific Career Development Association, USA

When I first met Dick Knowdell fifty years ago, he was working with scientists at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories to assist them in finding career satisfaction, and I was a high school counselor.  When I started working for EUREKA, the California Career Information System, I was responsible for organizing an annual member meeting for people in California who used our computerized career planning system. To make this meeting more valuable, I added sharing and training sessions on career development and called it a conference.  Dick Knowdell approached me to expand my conference to include his Career Development Network and the California Career Development Association.  That sounded like a winning combination – the best career development experts added to my little annual event – who could resist.  And he promised to take care of collecting the registration fees.  The International Career Conference was born. 

I learned that Dick Knowdell was a brilliant businessman, a reliable partner, and a source of excellent advice.  When Soonhoon Ahn and I started the Asia Pacific Career Development Association conferences, Dick joined us again and we continued where we had left off.  We all miss you, Dick.  We will always be grateful that you got us started on a good path.

Dr. Brian A. Schwartz, Founder, Suzhou Success Partners Management Consulting Company, Ltd., Suzhou, China

We first me in 1977 at a career development conference, likely delivered by one of his fellow giants, Richard Bolles. We bonded instantly and had a lively correspondence for a while across the USA, Dick on the West Coast and me on the East Coast. So many years later, we reunited at an early APCDA annual conference and every subsequent one, joining with another senior colleague in doing a kind of old geezers of career development presentation in either Taipei or Tokyo.

Goodbye my dear Dick Knowdell. You embodied the best of our profession.

Dick was bigger than life. His kind generosity and compassionate spirit bathed all around him and one of the greatest highlights of each APCDA annual conferences was spending time with him and his lovely wife, Bobbi. He was the perpetual wise old owl dispensing wisdom, delightful stories and good humor at every event and, to me, was the living example of the spirit of career development that I hoped to emulate. He was delightfully honest and direct and was a man any of us could and did trust. Dick knew well the inevitable foibles of what it is to be human but, in his powerful presence, one could feel accepted and appreciated for who each of us was. He will be sorely missed but I am so happy he passed peacefully into his sleep and feel well assured that his spirit will live on in the best of all those many whose lives he has touched.

Ahmed Mostafa, International Career Development Advisor, GROWAT Cofounder – KSA, Kingdom of Saudi Arabian

It was shocking to hear this very sad news; I kept reading the e-mail several time hoping that I miss something, and what I understood is wrong, but the reality is he is gone. Richard Knowdell gone with his buddy what he will remain in our mind and heart.

I knew Dick early 2009 when I attended his JCTC/JCDC workshop in San Jose, and I remember that part of my career plan I came-up with out of this program is to work with him. 2010 we had the chance to have him in Egypt, 2011 I developed the Arabic version of his Card Sort, 2012 I became his assistant and did the first workshop with him in April, since that time he was my Boss, Mentor, and my great supporter.

I still can digest the idea that I’m not going to work with him again, or not going to travel with him again. It is hard for me to accept this reality, but all what I can do is to keep what I have learned from him and to extend his mission t everywhere I go. I owe him a lot, and it is the time to pay him back all the good things he did for me.

Please see the attached pictures, it is the wonderful moments we had in Egypt and also the lats picture I had with him June 2019 ”the last Face-to-face NCDA conference.”

Phoenix Ho, Founder, Sông An Career Development Social Enterprise, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam

I first knew about Dick while attended the Master of Counseling program at Santa Clara University. Back then, our class was introduced to Dick’s Motivated Skills Cards in our Career Development Emphasis course.

A couple of years later, while consulting a career development project with the two provinces in Vietnam, I sent Dick an email asking for his support. He instantly and generously gave me his advice and the permission to use his tools for free with the teachers in the two provinces. We continued to use his tools for free until it was officially produced and sold by Phi&P – HR & Leadership Training Company.

Contacting Dick via email for a long time, I finally got to meet him in person at the first Asia Pacific Career Conference in Seoul, Korea, in the summer of 2013. To me, Dick was the bridge between me and APCDA, where I no longer felt isolated in my career development practice. In 2019, during one visit to Vietnam, we sat down for dinner and Dick shared with me his career journey story, which was colorful and meaningful. I still vividly remembered that dinner, the table we sat at, the meals we ordered, and the call we made to Bobby who couldn’t make it due to her last-minute cold. We promised to see each other in person at Dick’s home during my next vacation, which did not happen due to COVID-19.

My teacher has ended his mission on earth. And I missed him dearly. Dick’s greatest lessons to me included generosity towards people and dedication to the career development profession.

Eunmee Hwang, Founder and President of Career Consultant Forum, Founder and Representative of EM Consulting, Korea

First of all, I would like to extend my sincere condolences to his family and beloved friends.

I first met Dick in 2011 at the NCDA conference in San Jose and had communicated since then at the NCDA and APCDA conferences.  I’ve known him as a businessman at first, but got to know his generosity and passion towards people and career development profession through non-profit organization.

Dick is a very special person who loved working.  In 2012, I invited him to Korea to offer Job & Career Coach, Job and Career Development Coach Certificate program.  Even though I wish him to experience Korean culture by visiting selective places, however, he wanted to work only.

When we co-sponsored the first APCDA conference in Korea in 2013, I came to know that Dick sponsored a lot to invite Dick Bolles as a keynote speaker. 

He was pure and modest professional.  And he was trying to help and support others.  I was especially grateful to learn from him about the American career legend in career development history after the World War II.

Thanking him for his great contribution to all the people concerned with career,

I wish him to stay peaceful in another world.

Wendy Berg, M.S., Moorpark College, General and International Student Counselor, Academic Counselor/Career Counselor/Professor, USA

When I think of Dick Knowdell, the first word that comes to mind is “generosity.” In my first interaction with Dick, I asked him for permission to cite his Career Values Card Sort in my graduate project. Dick said, “absolutely” and then added, “can I send you some free card sorts to get you started with this workshop?” I was blown away! He was already a “great” in the field and truth be told, I was nervous to even ask for permission to cite his resource. When he responded not only graciously but with such generosity, I was startled in the best possible way. From then on, I recognized him as the professional I would like to strive to be. He will be sincerely missed for all the good he’s done for our profession. But it may be the little conversations like this that burn brightest in the minds of the individuals he so positively impacted. A huge loss to the field of Career Development to be sure!

My husband, Alrien Berg, who completed his Job and Career Transition Coach Certification program, had this to say:

I attended Dick Knowdell’s Job and Career Transition Coach Certification program some years ago. It was a smaller group with maybe a dozen of us in attendance. He was incredibly professional and I knew he was a pioneer in his field. But what I didn’t expect, is how personable, friendly and willing to share any/all knowledge he had with us. He was so approachable! I never felt I was bothering him. In fact, he always encouraged us to approach him and made himself available for meals outside of the training so that he could help in a more personal way. He was constantly other-focused including providing free materials if needed to get us started. He inspired me to put others first in my work and life. 

Paula Brand, Founder of Brand Career Management | Global Career Coach | Speaker, Trainer & LinkedIn Expert

I was saddened to hear of Dick’s passing but happy to hear it happened as he had wanted.  Though he lived a very full life, it’s hard to accept that he is gone.  Thankfully, his legacy will live on in the many lives he touched because his impact was so far and wide.  He was constantly visiting places around the world so it’s no surprise that he was a global minded person.  It’s appropriate that the resources he created are known world-wide.

Like many others, my first introduction to Dick was in a workshop about his Motivated Skills Cards at a National Career Development Conference (NCDA).  I remember the room was so full that many of us had to spread our cards on the floor. His card sorts alone changed many lives but there was so much more to his work.  From authoring books, to training, to a wealth of useful resources like conferences a newsletter and a journal, his impact on our field is immeasurable.  His body of work offered a point of entry for new career professionals along with useful resources for seasoned practitioners. 

Above is a picture of a group of attendees with Dick after the 2018 Maryland Career Development Conference in Columbia, MD.  It’s the last time I saw him in person.

Dick, thank you for all that you contributed to our field.  We will miss you very much!

As many others have said, Dick was very generous in his actions, and he loved to share advice with others.  He was full of energy and the training room was like a stage to him.  Dick was truly passionate about giving career advice to clients and colleagues and he was dedicated to providing career development opportunities for employees and students. 

I had the pleasure of knowing Dick through many professional endeavors.  After attending his job coach training in Alexandria in 2012, we stayed in touch and later in 2013, I attended the fourth day of training for entrepreneurs.  During his annual fall trek to the east coast to deliver training, we would try to meet up somewhere in the Washington/Baltimore area.  I enjoyed our meetings and always walked away with a new idea or resource that he had shared.  He asked me to write a column for his Career Development and Adult Planning Network international newsletter.  In response, I contributed the LinkedInsider column for three years.  I was always appreciative that he introduced me to Dick Bolles and regretful that I entered the field too late to attend one of his California conferences.

Lifetime Member Interview with Dr. Linda Pardy

By Lisa Raufman

Dr. Linda Pardy recently became a lifetime member of APCDA because she wants to provide better career development support for the growing number of international students studying at the University of Fraser (UFV).  Dr. Pardy holds a BA in Adult Education from UFV, as well as a Master of Education in Community and Workplace Learning and a Doctor of Education in Higher Education Leadership from the University of Calgary. Over her career she has supported 1000s of students in becoming workplace ready.

She is the Associate Dean of Students, in the College of Arts, as well as an Associate Professor, Communications at UFV where she encourages and supports faculty and students to recognize the embedded work/life career development that is fostered by a Humanities and Social Science education. Her research agenda is committed to ensuring Liberal Arts grads know they are equipped to tackle today’s challenges and numerous career opportunities.

Prior to coming to UFV, she held a variety of leadership positions in student affairs, career, and community and corporate education with Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and the British Columbia (BC) Council on Admissions and Transfer. She is one of two original creators of the BC Council on Admissions and Transfer’s (BCCAT) premier planning resource, EducationPlannerBC.ca (EPBC), and has provided research, systems development, consulting services and project management to the Ministry of Advanced Education and BCCAT over the past 20 years.

Her most recent project is the creation of a new student Career Mapping resource. Career Mapping will be officially launched this summer and is an education/career planning tool built on a mindset of expansion. It is designed to help students navigate the multiple education and/or employment transitions of their careers. 

Her entire career has been focused on building student capacity towards life beyond university. As a UFV Teaching Excellence Award winner, her integrated approach to student success is recognized for improving inclusion, knowledge transfer, and experiential learning so that all students are prepared to meet their future work/life challenges. Her research and publications focus on transformative learning, workplace learning and career development, student development, Indigenization, internationalization, and teaching and learning practices that enable multiple student populations to experience success and flourish.

Contact Information

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/linda-pardy
Twitter: @linda_pardy

Awards:

  • University of Fraser Valley Teaching Excellence Award 2013

Related Publications and Presentations

  • Pardy, L., & Ho, C. (2021). Sustainable Work-integrated Learning for Liberals Arts & Indigenous Students. BC ACE-WIL Symposium. Virtual.
  • Pardy, L., & Ellingham, S. (2021). Where are voices from the field? Advising research: Underrepresented in Canadian Higher Education. United Kingdom Advising & Tutoring (UKAT) Virtual Conference.
  • Browne, J., Ho, C., Pardy, B., & Karim, A. (2021). Taking the career development ninja challenge 2.0. Cannexus, Live Session, Virtual.
  • Pardy, L., & Pardy, B. (2020). Decolonizing non-Indigenous faculty and students: Beyond comfortable diversity. In. S. Cote-Meek & T. Moeke-Pickering (Ed). Decolonizing the academy. Canada Scholars’   Press.
  • Pardy, L., Ho, C., Browne, J., & Karim, A. (2020). Taking the career development ninja challenge. Cannexus Mega-session panelist. Ottawa, ON.
  • Pardy, L., Ho, C., Williams, J., Wiggers, R., Dashur, F., & Carey, T. (2019). Developing innovation-enabled graduates in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education. Vancouver, BC.
  • Pardy, L. Doan, MA., Atake, R., (2019). Internationalized: Planning Beyond Recruitment. BC Council International Education Conference. Whistler BC.
  • Pardy, L. (2018). Student wellness through experiential learning & career mapping. Festival of Learning 2018. Vancouver, BC.
  • Pardy, L. (2017). White Racial Literacy, Adult Education, and Student Development: Indigenous Learner Success and Faculty Renewal. Society for the Study of Teaching and Learning. Halifax, NS.
  • Pardy, L., Carey, T., Arnold, C., Wiggers, R., & Penny-Light, T. (2017). Challenges in Practitioner Research on Developing Graduate Capability for Emerging Knowledge Practices. Canadian Association for the Study of  Adult Education. Toronto. ON.
  • Pardy, L. (2016).  Academic advising in British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer.

Influencers and their important publications

  • Mentor/Influencer    Dr. Janet Groen, University of Calgary.
  • Margaret Wheatley – author of:
    • Who Do We Choose to Be?
    • Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time
    • A Simpler Way
  • Richard Keeling & Richard Hersh: authors of –  We’re Losing our Minds: Rethinking American Higher Education
  • Kevin Gannon:  author of Radical Hope: a Teaching Manifesto
  • Sarah Ahmed:  author of On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life

And still two long-time favorites:

  • Norman Amundson – Active Engagement: Enhancing the Career Counselling Process
  • Nel Noddings: – Happiness and Education

Lifetime Member Interview with Elvis Sio, Education and Career Counselling Manager, Ministry of Education, Singapore

by Dr. Lisa Raufman
What made you decide to become a lifetime APCDA member?

As the first class in Singapore to be trained as Education and Career Guidance Counsellor by MOE, I was exposed to various career development associations globally such as APCDA, NCDA, CDAA and CICA as part of my professional development in career counselling.

APCDA was closest to my heart as it was the first association that I was exposed to and have attended many of their webinars, conferences and seminars all of which helped in my professional growth.

As APCDA fosters inclusion with multicultural diversity, I have benefitted and learnt a lot from my fellow practitioners throughout the Asia Pacific region.

It’s a natural choice that follows to become a lifetime APCDA member.

Education/Certifications

Education:

  • MSc in Professional Counselling with Advanced Training in Systemic Family Counselling from Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
  • BSc, Honors in Computing from University of Portsmouth, UK
  • Specialist Diploma in Career Counselling from Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

Certifications:

  • Certified Career Counsellor, NCDA, USA
  • Certified School Career Development Advisor, NCDA, USA
  • Facilitating Career Development Instructor, NCDA, USA
  • Global Career Development Facilitator, CCE, USA
  • Certified Career Practitioner, Workforce Singapore

Professional Influences

Dr. Ricky Tang – A Senior Lecturer at Republic Polytechnic, Singapore. Dr Tang heads the Specialist Diploma in Career Counseling program and facilitates its career counseling practicum. He was also my trainer when I was pursuing my Specialist Diploma in Career Counselling. Dr. Tang has been a great mentor in my career development journey.

Dr. Constance J. Pritchard – Well known for her work in leadership, business consulting and career development, Dr Pritchard was my trainer for NCDA FCD instructor course. During my training, Dr Pritchard brought the knowledge of my career development to the next level. I credit her patience and encouragement towards me as booster for my completion of the FCD instructor course.

Work Experience

I obtained my Master in Professional Counselling with Advanced Training in Systemic Family Therapy at Swinburne University of Technology. I am  currently an Education and Career Guidance (ECG) Counselling Manager with the Ministry of Education, Singapore. By participating in the first class of ECG Counsellor training, I accumulated vast working experience in helping K12 and tertiary students with their education and career planning.

I am currently in-charge of a group of ECG counsellors and mentor them as part of their professional development. I have also been appointed as Section Head and a Lead ECG Counsellor in a polytechnic Career Centre. Additionally, during my time with the National Trade Union Congress, I was a Principal Employability Coach and a Specialist who dealt with workforce and industry development. My work experiences include organizational development, programme management and workforce training, job re-design and re-creation. Furthermore, I have rendered service in an employee assistance programme to help displaced workers as well as underemployed workers. I am also a trained engineer and special needs educator. During my off days, I volunteer my expertise to help disadvantaged individuals and family.

Specializations

Business & Workforce Development, Career Guidance for K-12, At-Risk Students and Higher Education

Awards

  • May Day Model Partnership Award, Institutional Group (2012 – 2014), NTUC
  • MOE Service Excellence Award, Silver (2020), MOE
  • MOE Innovation Award (2020), MOE
  • Other Professional Associations
  • National Career Development Association (NCDA)
  • Career Development Association of Singapore (CDAS)
  • Singapore Association of Counselling (SAC)

Lifetime Member interview with Dr. Jon Woodend, PhD, Lecturer at James Cook University, Australia

by Dr. Lisa Raufman
What made you decide to become a lifetime APCDA member?

I was involved with the APCDA as a student member when I was completing my doctoral degree and I served as the Canada Country Representative during that time. Through my experience in that role, I appreciated the diverse perspectives from the representatives from the different member countries, particularly learning about key developments and challenges faced by career development practitioners in the Asia Pacific region.  After relocating from Canada to Australia for a lecturer role in career development, I thought that a lifetime membership would be an important step in maintaining my connection to this community of practice. I look forward to continuing my involvement with APCDA, including presenting with Professor Nancy Arthur at the 2021 conference.

Education -degrees, certificates, and where you studied

  • PhD in Counselling Psychology from the University of Calgary, Werklund School of Education
  • MSc in Counselling Psychology from the University of Calgary, Werklund School of Education
  • BSc. Honours in Psychology from Mount Allison University with a double minor in Japanese and Hispanic Studies

Professional influences-where you have worked; professors and writers who have influenced you

I am currently a lecturer in the College of Arts, Society and Education at James Cook University in North Queensland, Australia. I coordinate the Career Industry Council of Australia (CICA) endorsed Graduate Certificate of Career Development as well as teach in the Master of Guidance and Counselling program, working with students across Australia to prepare them to provide contemporary career counselling across sectors. My research program focuses on the international career transitions of newcomers (i.e. immigrant workers, international students and their accompanying partners) in order to understand the barriers they face in securing employment, as well as the innovative solutions they use to overcome those barriers. I also investigate how to support graduate students in the publication process and overcome barriers to their research dissemination efforts.

Prior to joining JCU, I was a sessional instructor for Athabasca University, the University of Calgary, and Ambrose University and was a predoctoral intern in the University of British Columbia Counselling Services CPA accredited counselling psychology program where I worked with students on personal, academic and career concerns. My interest in counselling, and in particular career development, came from my early career work at a Japanese high school, where I had the opportunity to support students in preparing for their post-study employment.

The main influence to my approach and understanding of career development has been through my training as a master’s, then doctoral, student in the research lab of Professor Nancy Arthur (currently Dean, Research for Business at the University of South Australia and formerly Associate Dean – Research at the University of Calgary). Professor Arthur co-founded the Culture-Infused (Career) Counselling model and is an expert in international career transitions of newcomers. Professor Arthur and I continue to collaborate and are currently exploring the post-study experiences of international students.     

Mary McMahon and Wendy Patton’s Systems Theory Framework has also influenced my work because it supports a complex and living appreciation of clients’ career development journeys. This is particularly important in my work with newcomers, who have different professional and personal contexts influencing their career and work decisions. It also fits personally as it helps me make sense of my career in a non-linear way and contextualizes how certain influences that were salient at a particular time brought me to where I am today.

Your specialties, publications, contributions, awards

  • 2020: JCU Inclusive Teaching Award
  • 2015 – 2018: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canadian Graduate Scholarship
  • 2015: Canadian Psychology Association (CPA) Outstanding Thesis Award

Upcoming and recent presentations:

Woodend, J., & Arthur, N. (2021). Looking down the track: International student graduates and employment experiences [Conference presentation]. 2021 Asia Pacific Career Development Association (APCDA) Conference. Online.

Woodend, J. (2020). Making sense of career transitions through the theory of work adjustment [Webinar]. CERIC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h7MIpZw02E

Woodend, J., & Arthur, N. (2019). Understanding international students’ acculturation experience through university-to-work transitions in Canada [Conference presentation]. Canadian Psychology Association (CPA) 2019 Annual Conference, Halifax, Canada.

Recent publications:

Syeda, M. M., Woodend, J., Liu, J., & Roy, S. (2020). Ready to leave the nest? Education Graduate Students’ Voice on Publishing. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 32(1). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1259528.pdf

Woodend, J. (2019). The theory of work adjustment: Seeking and maintaining satisfaction and satisfactoriness. In N. Arthur, R. Neault, & M. McMahon (Eds.), Career theories and models at work: Ideas for practice (pp. 453-462). CERIC.

Woodend, J. (2018). Context and practices of university student services for international students’ workforce integration: Research-in-brief. Canadian Journal of Career Development, 17(2), 113-116. http://cjcdonline.ca/download/context-practices-university-student-services-international-students-workforce-integration-research-brief/

Professional Associations

  • APCDA – Life-time Member
  • Canadian Psychology Association – Early Career Member
  • College of Alberta Psychologists – Registered Provisional Psychologist

Gerald Tan Lifetime Member Interview

By Lisa Raufman

Gerald Tan:  Senior Partner – Hatch Consulting Asia and Projects Director | Lead Career Developer – Avodah People Solutions

“What made you decide to become an APCDA lifetime member?” 

I started being involved with APCDA in 2015 by contributing to the association newsletter before attending the annual conferences in Beijing and Vietnam and now supporting the Program Committee. The people in APCDA never cease to amaze me – from the hardworking and passionate committee members who selflessly volunteer their time, to the APCDA members who share interesting and impactful studies, projects and research.

Throughout these experiences and encounters in APCDA, I realized the importance of affiliation with the APCDA community and gleaning learnings from journals, conferences and meet ups. It made me realize the importance of a professional community in supporting my own professional identity and practice. Hence I decided to invest in a lifetime membership as a commitment to my practice and to remember to contribute back to the community in whatever ways possible.

Experiences

  • Spent a decade in Singapore public service in the area of workforce development, public employment service policy and operations, public engagement and advocacy.
  • Setup and operate a private Career Service provider – AVODAH People Solutions to provide career services to mid-career, school to work and golden career individuals and organizations.
  • Partner with a regional talent solutions firm – HATCH Asia Consulting to build and provide career transition services for organizations and their human resources.

Other Professional Associations

  • Career Development Association of Singapore (CDAS)
  • People and Career Development Association Singapore (PCDA)

Professional influences

As I look back at the development of my professional identity, I am thankful to have been influenced and inspired by professionals in the field of Career Development. There were so many! If I had to pick a few, I would point to these people.

Ms. Wong Sing Chee – a pioneer in Singapore who brought the knowledge of career development into Singapore and also my trainer who equipped me with my basic knowledge of career development.

Moving into APCDA allowed me to meet and be inspired by Dr. Roberta Borgen (Neault) and Dr. Norm Amundson through their innovative and client centric models, methods and research, reminding me to be brave and be creative in my practice.

Last but not least, I have been very amazed by the Career Construction Theory by Prof. Mark Savickas and I have been blessed so much by Prof. Kevin Glavin – someone who impressed me professionally and personally, being generous and focused on imparting his knowledge of narrative career techniques.

Education/Certifications

  • NCDA Certified Career Service Provider, Master of Career Services
  • CCPC Certified Solutions Focused Coach
  • Bachelors of Science in Information Systems Management

Specializations

  • Career Service Policy Design and Development
    Career service policy design and development involves a good understanding of clients, designing effective interventions and services so as to meet business goals while balancing manpower and financial resources. I had done this at a national level and now from a private sector perspective, studying different segments of the unemployed workforce, designing help policies and translating policies into operational resources, services for our clients.
  • Career Guidance and Coaching
    I work with organizations, groups and individuals undergoing mid-career, school to work and golden year transitions by helping them develop a transition narrative and skills to move them in the direction of purpose and meaning in their work.

Joseph Chan, Hong Kong Country Director, Lifetime Member Interview

by Lisa Raufman

Why I am a Life Member of APCDA:

I was born into a rural family that migrated to Hong Kong and experienced the mutual help of living in a crowded little flat with seven families sharing one small communal toilet and kitchen. “To give and to serve” have ever since been my natural inclination as a personal life goal at a very young age.  At the same time two questions have influenced my life purpose related to helping people around me:   1.) help people on what and 2.) how to do it best.

Early Career:

I started my career through social service in a rehabilitation home, an orphanage, serving in student associations in both high school and university all of which influenced me to choose social work as my post-graduate studies. My first job was a social worker in a residential vocational training centre for the physically and mentally handicapped students; job placement in the world of work was the ultimate goal. That was my initiation to career development as a profession. Helping people to find a job that matches their aptitude, personality and vision, thus leading to a satisfying life is indeed a very meaningful vocation. Subsequently, I continued with this mission in the commercial sector as a human resource manager (HRM) and then in the tertiary education sector as a career counsellor and student development educator. Career development as a speciality and profession has helped me to find the meaning of my life, I  share this with aspiring young career practitioners in this part of the world; I have been fortunate to help people to find meaning in life through the world of work.

Educational Background:

Happily retired, in my seventies now, I am still actively engaged in professional career development work. I had the good fortune of joining the first discussion on the formation of APCDA in a National Career Development Association’s (NCDA) Annual Conference in San Francisco and have witnessed its encouraging growth. The liberal education which I have had the privilege to enjoy in post-war years both in high school and university has shaped my outlook on life and subsequently my approach to career development as a profession.

 I did my history and social work at the University of Hong Kong, MEd at Chinese University of Hong Kong, and MBA at University of Strathclyde, UK.   I firmly believe in Whole Person/Life Development and have fervently applied this in my three career domains, rehabilitation, commerce, and education. I studied four subjects in the university. History as my first degree gave me a perspective on how world has become what it is today.  Social Work in graduate school prepared me for my career in vocational rehabilitation. As I moved to HRM function in business sector, I completed an MBA and another MEd majoring in counselling and guidance.

Then I joined the higher education sector where I have tried to introduce the whole-person-development approach to traditional student services through collaboration with student associations and academic colleagues. I have promoted career counselling training in the secondary and tertiary in Hong Kong and China since the 1990s, in well over sixty universities in major cities all over China.

Finally, I would like to appeal to more career practitioners to become Life Members to join hands to advance the contribution of APCDA to the well-being of our region.

My Career Development Philosophy:

“Whole-person-development” as an education and life-style philosophy has four key success factors.

  1. Firstly, the key components that constitute the “self-concept, “ from spiritual, intellectual, social, emotional, vocational, aesthetic, to physical development, with related concept, skills and support services.
  2. Secondly the concept is promoted comprehensively in all traditional student services in a comprehensive university, from sports team to student leadership training. The ideas of lifelong career development and relation between career success and personal maturity are naturally built-in, making these ideas part of the campus culture.
  3. Thirdly, the emphasis is on the meaning of life, work and learning and their life-long relevance to a university student. Career is conceived as life-long and life-wide project covering the whole life.
  4. The final pedagogical component of this whole-person/life-development approach to career is “expansive education”, embracing a multi-disciplinary approach to literally all career interventions. Self-understanding as foundation of career development involves personal growth activities normally found in psychological counselling activities. Internship training involves business administration concepts plus leadership and life skills. This multi-disciplinary, wholistic integrative approach is extremely inspiring and interesting to both students and staff.

I am now working on a Three Minutes Brief CareerChat Approach to make all brief personal encounters between any staff and their students a further step towards career maturity, as my retirement project!

My Intellectual/Spiritual Foundation

Poems:

  • If by Rudyard Kipling
  • All the World’s a Stage.

World View:

  • Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu
  • Analects, Great Learning, and Doctrine of the Mean by Confucius

Management and Leadership:

  • John Adair’s Effective Leadership
  • Peter Drucker’s The Effective Executive 
  • Ohmae Kenichi’s The Mind of the Strategist

Education: 

  • A.N.Whitehead’s The Aims of Education 
  • Parker J. Palmer’s To Know as We Are Known
  • Little Boxes, by folk singer Peter Seeger

Humanities

  • Erich Fromm’s The Art of Loving
  • Mortimer Adler’s How to Think about Great Ideas.

Career

  • Mark Savickas’ post-modern approach 

Psychological/Higher Education Philosophy

  • Erickson’s Eight Stages of Man
  • Maslow’s Self-actualisation
  • Chickering’s Seven Vectors of Student Development 
  • John Gardner’s First Year Experience
  • William Perry’s Ethical and Intellectual Development theory. 

Lifetime Member: Dr. Candy Ho

Assistant Professor, Integrative Career & Capstone Learning, University of the Fraser Valley
By Dr. Lisa Raufman

What made you decide to become a lifetime APCDA member?

The short answer: The people in APCDA are my people! While I’m proud to call Canada my home, Asia and Hong Kong – where I was born – remains a special place for me. This was reinforced when I attended my first APCDA conference in Vietnam when I learned all about the extraordinary career development initiatives in Hong Kong, and connected with the friendliest colleagues across the globe (I’ve got a great happenstance story about meeting three amazing colleagues from Australia at the back of the conference bus!) By the end of the conference I knew I needed to stay engaged with APCDA long-term, hence registering to become a lifetime member.

Education – degrees, certificates and where you studied

Degrees

  • EdD, Educational Leadership in Post-Secondary Contexts, Simon Fraser University (SFU)
  • MEd, Educational Leadership, Student Affairs and Services, SFU
  • Associate Certificate (Honours), Leadership Studies, British Columbia Institute of Technology      
  • Bachelor, Arts and Social Sciences (Co-operative Education), SFU

Certificates

  • Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator, Centre for Appreciative Inquiry
  • StrengthsFinder Certified Coach, Gallup
  • Instructional Skills Workshop Facilitator, Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) Network
  • Fierce Conversations® Workshop Facilitator, Fierce Inc.
  • Career Development Practitioner Certificate, SFU

Professional influences – where you have worked

Prior to becoming a faculty member, I have worked extensively in university student affairs in areas such as first year experience and student transition, campus and residence life, career and volunteer services, co-operative education, academic advising, and university advancement. These collective professional experiences to date have culminated in my EdD dissertation investigating the conceptions of post-secondary career influencers in student career success, and I readily share my expertise locally, nationally, and globally. Finally, I am currently proudly serving as the Vice Chair of CERIC, a Canadian charitable organization that advances education and research in career counselling and career development, in order to increase the economic and social well-being of Canadians.

Professors of Influence:

Dr. Krumboltz would definitely be one at the top of my list.  English is my additional language and the first time I read Krumboltz I was inspired, elated, and relieved at not only his theoretical components, but also how clear and matter of fact his writing was. In my work with post-secondary students, I have also found that the planned happenstance theory, the notions of luck, chance, and learning from failure put students at ease; they don’t have to have everything figured out…nobody does! I was extremely fortunate to have shook his hand and tell him in person how much he’s changed my life and the lives of people I work with at NCDA 2018 because as we know, he left us too soon the following summer.

Another key individual would definitely be my doctoral supervisor and “academic parent”, Kris Magnusson. I embarrassed him in my SFU Education alumni profile:

Associations

  • Vice Chair, Board of Directors, CERIC (Canada’s national career development association)
  • Member, Asia-Pacific Career Development Association Western Region Committee
  • Member, EducationPlannerBC Parents as Education and Career Coaches Advisory Committee

Who is a faculty member you have enjoyed working with and why? 

Without the brilliant guidance and support of Dr. Kris Magnusson, I wouldn’t be answering these questions as an alumna! A seasoned, relationship-focused academic supervisor, he worked with me to explore the curiosities I had for my research; there were many and he effectively helped me channelled them into my final dissertation on post-secondary professionals as career influencers. Kris provided timely support and insights, while positively challenging me every step of the way. Finally, Kris is widely recognized and respected as an international expert and scholar in career counselling and education, and I feel extremely fortunate to have been his doctoral student and now a lifelong protégé. 

What do you miss most about your graduate studies in the Faculty of Education? 

The regular meetings with my committee members, Drs. Kris Magnusson and Cindy Xin. Committee meetings with these two amazing mentors are a combination of inspiring keynotes and uplifting pep talks; I always leave our conversations feeling motivated to keep going.

Full link in case of interest: https://www.sfu.ca/education/gs/profiles/ed-leader/ed-leadership-edd/candy-ho.html

Your current job, your specialties, publications, contributions/awards

Current roles

  • Assistant Professor, Integrative Career & Capstone Learning, University of the Fraser Valley
  • Faculty, Career Development Practitioner Program, Douglas College
  • Faculty, Educational Studies, Faculty of Arts, Kwantlen Polytechnic University

Specialties

Career Development, Career Education, Work-Integrated Learning, Teaching and Learning, Instructional and Facilitation Skills, Student Success, Student Services and Student Affairs, Post-Secondary Educational Professionals, and Career Influencers

Publications

  • Ho, C., & Aisake, T. (2020). The KPU Diploma in General Studies student experience project (Evaluative report prepared for KPU Office of the Vice President, Academic and Dean, Faculty of Arts). Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey, BC.
  • Ho, C. (2019). Professionals in post-secondary education: Conceptions of career influence. (Doctoral dissertation, Simon Fraser University, Surrey, Canada). Retrieved from http://summit.sfu.ca/item/18827
  • Ho, C. (2017). Professionals in post-secondary education: Conceptions of career influence. Canadian Journal of Career Development, 16(2), 58-62.
  • Ho, C. (2016). Understanding the FCAT graduate student experience. (Evaluative report prepared for SFU Office of the Dean, Faculty of Communication, Art, and Technology). Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC.
  • Ho, C. (2013). Engaging students to engage the campus community: A student ambassador programme. In R. Clark, J. Andrews, L. Thomas, & R. Aggarwal. (Eds.), Compendium of effective practice in higher education: Volume 2 (pp. 143-146). United Kingdom: Higher Education Academy. Retrieved from https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/compendium-effective-practice-higher-education-volume-2
  • Ho, C. (2012). To be or not to be: Mandatory orientation at SFU? (Unpublished master’s thesis). Simon Fraser University, Surrey, Canada.

Contributions/Awards

  • KPU United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Open Pedagogy Fellowship
  • Co-operative Education Research Grant, Canadian Association for Co-operative Education
  • Graduate Student Engagement Award, CERIC
  • Staff Achievement Award – Humanitarian Category, SFU

Maximizing Career: Guidance & Development

by Raza Abbas

Is a new global initiative that Mr. Raza Abbas — Global Career practitioner & Lifetime APCDA member has taken for the career’s profession. The objective is to provide valuable perspectives on careers from leading careers influencers around the globe to raise awareness on the significance of career guidance and career development especially in the times of Covid-19 pandemic. The 1st Conversation is with Dr. Seth Hayden-President NCDA an eminent career development association and Associate Professor at Wake Forest University-USA.

As Anthony Mann from the OECD says ‘Never before in human history has career guidance been so important’.

These inspirational words provide us with real hope and remind us that as professionals we have a collective responsibility to serve and inspire the diverse communities that we live in. Don’t forget to share Dr. Seth’s interview in your professional communities, associations. Kindly subscribe to my Youtube channel to remain engaged: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFvujWp7C78&t=7s

A description of the work of Mr. Abbas was just published on the Career Guidance for Social Justice website:

https://careerguidancesocialjustice.wordpress.com/2020/10/16/igniting-humanity-with-hope-based-career-development-in-vuca-times/

Maximizing Career: Guidance & Development is an ongoing digital initiative that career professionals from other countries can emulate. Collective advocacy is key for our profession. Let’s keep the career conversations flowing .

Lifetime Member: Felicity Brown Career Coach and Facilitator, Vietnam

By Lisa Raufman

Why I Became a Lifetime Member:

Phoenix Ho, now Vietnam Country Director, told me about APCDA in 2016.  When I first moved into the career development field back in 2011 and based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, I had become a member of CDAA (Career Development Association of Australia) thinking it was the nearest professional association.  I really had no idea that APCDA existed and regularly travelled to Australia for conferences to network and learn from others in the field.  So to hear that APCDA existed was a revelation!  I soon joined up and attended my first APCDA conference in Manila in 2017.  I didn’t know a soul (except for Marilyn Maze via email) when I went to the Manila conference and it didn’t take long til I realised I’d found my people.  I’ll never forget the warm greeting that I received when I met Marilyn again 6 months later at the NAGCAS conference in Sydney in late 2017 – in her race to embrace me (it was pre-COVID days after all) she dropped her drinking glass!  

Professional Background:

I originally joined APCDA as an Organization Member for a couple of years before deciding to invest in this wonderful association as a Lifetime member.  In addition to working at an international university in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I run my own Career Coaching and Facilitation business, Maia Careers & Training.

 I started this business in KL in 2014 which specializes in professional women in career transition – whether they be changing careers due to expatriation, migration, redundancy or choice.  I came to Careers work in my mid-forties after a long career in the Australian Government and prior to that in HR in banking.  Truthfully, I have been interested in Careers since my high school days and had considered Career Counsellor as a career choice each time I found myself in between careers.  

Career Development Training:

Finally, the timing was right and by 2011 there were Masters programs in Career Development offered in Australia for individuals who weren’t teachers.  From 2011-2014, I completed a Masters of Career Development at Edith Cowan University (in Perth Western Australia) while living in Kuala Lumpur.  It had been 30 years since I left school and 25 years since I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Politics!  In February 2018, I achieved my ACC (Associate Certified Coach) level with the International Coaching Federation.  Very recently, I have become an Instructor for NCDA’s Facilitating Career Development training course.  From what I can determine, I am the first FCD instructor in Vietnam and I am excited by the opportunity to train the next generation of career development practitioners here.

APCDA Contributions:

In 2019, I became Co-Chair of the APCDA Program Committee and this is one of the ways that I can give back to this great organization.  I’ve delivered a presentation at every APCDA conference that I’ve attended (Manila 2017, Beijing 2018 and Ho Chi Minh City 2019) and I was a proud host/organizer of the conference in 2019.  I look forward to many more years as a Career Coach and Facilitator and staying part of APCDA even when I return to live in Australia in 2022.  

APCDA Lifetime Member: Dr. Xiaolu Hu

Professor, Department of Counselor Education, San Jose State University, CA, USA
By Dr. Lisa Raufman

Why I am a Lifetime APCDA Member?

I am currently a Professor at the Department of Counselor Education, College of Education, San Jose State University in San Jose California. I joined APCDA as a lifetime member as an adjunct for teaching graduate career counseling classes over the past thirty years with a desire to bring the concepts of career counseling to Chinese Higher Education. I have a strong interest in the development of career counseling in Asia including the Pacific Rim. Due to administrative and grant duties and responsibilities, I have had little opportunity to participate in conferences and participate in international activities. Now semi-retired, I hope to be more active in the career field.

Early Years and Career Development Training

I was born and raised in Beijing. I worked as a teacher in elementary and middle school prior to receiving my graduate degrees in China. I received an MA in Comparative Education from Beijing Normal University in 1982, and thereafter became faculty at the university. In 1985, I came to US as an visiting professor and received an MA in School Counseling (1986) and a Ph.D in Counseling and Human Development from Kent State University (1990) in Kent, Ohio. Being a student learning career counseling from the esteemed Dr. Mark Savickas, my career journey in this field motivated me to bring career counseling theories and services to China at a time when there was no counseling in China! 

I joined and presented at APCDA conference in China in 2018. I hope to contribute and participate in more APCDA events in future.

Career Achievements

I coordinated the first career counseling training workshop in China with Professor Richang Zheng of Beijing Normal University, systematically introducing career counseling to China with Dr. Sunny Hansen, Professor, University of Minnesota and Dr. John Krumboltz, Professor, Stanford University.

During my 30 years at SJSU, I was promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor to Professor. I served as division and department Chair for thirteen years. I received a Fulbright Hays Grant in 1998 bringing 20 teachers and counselors from Silicon Valley to China to learn about Chinese Culture. In 1999, I was awarded a US Department of Education grant – GEAR UP ($4.3 million for six years) supporting students from low socioeconomic schools to go to college. In 2008, I co-directed another GEAR UP grant working with Dr. Andrew Hughey – a $14 million six-year grant. That grant provided us the opportunity to train Counselor Education students with career counseling and educational planning developing strategies and systematic support for achievement of underrepresented students.

During the past decade I took students three times to China for study abroad (Two study abroad classes and one at the behest of the San Francisco Chinese Consulate’s Education Office) and a delegation of interdisciplinary students from all colleges of SJSU.

I have presented often at colleges throughout China, met with national education ministers in China, and have hosted numerous delegations of Chinese education professionals visiting the United States. Following the Sichuan Earthquake of 2008, I was invited to China to provide training on crisis counseling also providing crisis counseling to affected education administrators in the region.

APCDA Lifetime Member Bory You

Interview by Lisa Raufman

Bory You, APCDA Cambodia Country Representative
President of Talent Excellence Development Partner Co, LTD which provides Human Resources Consulting, Career and Performance Coaching services and supports SME (Subject Matter Expert) in Human Resources restructuring. She is a Certified Behavioral and Career Consultant, Instructor of Job Career Transition Coach and Certified Trainer for Women Entrepreneur Program by ILO.  Ms. You has held leadership positions in JCI Cambodia, Young Entrepreneur Association of Cambodia and Cambodia Women Entrepreneur Association.

What made you decide to become a lifetime APCDA member?

In 2018, she attended her first APCDA Conference in Manila, Philippines. The senior APCDA members were friendly, warm, and sharing, which inspired her to become involved. She found the senior APCDA members all expressing to her that they share the same value:  They like to share their knowledge and experience with all career practitioners.

She thought that the APCDA Conference provided her with many career tools, tips, and ideas. She continues to build an international network with career professionals by serving on the APCDA Board.  She loves her profession as Career Coach because she helps others in achieving their career goals.   

As a Lifetime member, she feels that she can look forward to sharing with more career professionals and that she will ultimately be able to provide more support to APCDA members.

Youth programs founded by Ms. You:

Young Leader Program (YLP) for JCI Phnom Penh-Cambodia: started in 2015, this program has become a flagship program.  So far it has inspired around 500 young volunteers to become involved in leadership positions and in the SME sector.

Junior Entrepreneur Program (JEP) for Young Entrepreneur Association of Cambodia. This new program empowers young people to be involved in new creative initiatives and dare to take the lead in building more networks which will create opportunities for trainees to start their Entrepreneurship Journey.

Career Development Influences:

Mr. Richard L. Knowdell, MS, NCC, NCCC, GCDFI, who has been the President of Career Research & Testing, Inc., author of six books, many training materials and who trained her in Job Career Transition Coaching (JCTC) and Dr. Timothy Hsi, Founder of Abundanz Consulting and Master Trainer of the Singapore Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) program

Work Experience:

She has over 16 years’ experience in the banking industry, working in human resource and talent management for Canadia Bank PLC. Her best achievement in the Banking industry was successfully creating a performance management program on the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) in 2010. Currently, she is the President of the Talent Excellence Development Partner Co, LTD.

Education and Training:

  • Master’s degree in Financial Management and bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the National University of Management, Phnom Penh
  • Certified Behavioral and Career Consultant, Advance Behavioral Consultant by Lifeskills/PeopleKey
  • Certified Job Career Development Coach by Career Network
  • Certified Trainer for Women Entrepreneur Leadership Program by ILO.
  • Certified KPI Professional by The KPI Institute

Specialties:

  • Key Performance Indicator (KPI) and Performance Management Specialist
  • Career Development Coach
  • Human Resources Strategist

Volunteer Positions

  • Board Member, Federation of Education Services in Cambodia 2020-22 Board Member, Cambodia Women Entrepreneur Association for 2018-20
  • Vice President, Young Entrepreneur Association of Cambodia 2018-2021
  • Chapter President of JCI Phnom Penh-Cambodia in 2015
  • APCDA Cambodia Representative, 2017 – present

Andrew Remington — Lifetime Member Interview

Interview by Lisa Raufman

I became involved with APCDA when it was being formed through attendance at the National Career Development Association (NCDA) Conferences in the US and later by attending APCDA Conferences.  As a member of the Executive of the Career Development Association of Australia (CDAA) from 2010 to 2017, I hosting Rich Feller, Marilyn Maze, Cheri Butler and Dick Knowdell in Australia and met many other key APCDA members at APCDA and NCDA conferences and while serving as Treasurer of APCDA for several years.

I have admired the contributions of APCDA leadership to establish and ensure that this crucially important initiative in the region was vibrant, ongoing and sustainable. In renewing my APCDA membership this year I was able to join as a Legacy Lifetime member and in a small way contribute to the ongoing legacy established with those of vision, care and concern for professionals working within the field of career development and for those they serve in the Asia Pacific region.

Education -degrees, and certificates

  • ADVANCED DIPLOMA OF MANAGEMENT – Swinburne University
  • CERTIFICATE IV WORKPLACE TRAINING AND ASSESSMENT – Victoria University
  • TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (INTRODUCTION) – Total Quality Management Institute
  • MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID CERTIFICATE
  • Job and Career Transition Coach | Job and Career Development Coach – Career Planning and Adult Network, USA
  • QUALIFIED ISO 9000 AUDITOR, ISO 9000 Lead Assessor Certificate – IQA International Register of Certificated Auditors (P.E. Batalas)
  • Assessor Training, Quality Management, Quality Assurance Services
  • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator | Strong Interest Inventory (Australian Psychological Press, Melbourne)
  • Team Management Systems
  • Australian Interest Measure, Short Form
  • Perform Vocational Assessment and Outplacement for WorkCover & TAC Clients – Transport Accident Commission ACER Tests (Non-Psych Registered)

Professional influences

My early career in Commonwealth Employment Service (CES), beginning in the early 1970’s, afforded me the opportunity to work in employment advice, guidance and counselling. At that time there was an influx of refugees from Vietnam and the Middle East and the government introduced wage subsidies and training programs.  We developed specialist counselling services for people with disabilities, indigenous, ex-prisoners, youth, and the long-term unemployed.  We also did school visits to discuss career options.  My work in rehabilitation counselling in the prison system and various psychiatric hospitals afforded me a rare insight into those most vulnerable in society as they endeavoured to transition into mainstream society.

I have always been conscious of those facing significant difficulty in their lives and in particular have been passionate about Australia’s youth as they also transition into mainstream employment. I had the great fortune as a Regional Manager to implement and introduce the Australian Traineeship system to complement the Trade training system in Australian from mid-1980’s until 1990 when I moved into Executive Management. I joined the Victorian Chamber of Commerce in 2003, which enabled me to contribute nationally through the Australian Chamber of Commerce and was actively involved in contributing in writing and developing proposals that went to the Australian Government. This resulted in the funding and implementation of initiatives such as the Career Advice Australia network, the Employer Broker Scheme.

Your specialties, publications, contributions, awards (selected)

  • Certified Career Coach and Contract Service Provider Coach with extensive experience in the Employment Services and Vocational Education and Training sectors.
  • Accredited in behavioural psycho-metric personality instruments, and experienced, accredited rehabilitation counsellor for Workers Compensation and TAC – internationally
  • Recognised for professionalism and expertise in the career development space.
  • Contributions acknowledged through: ‘State Service Improvement Award’, Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs, and ‘Work For Australia’ Outstanding Achievement Certificate.
  • Recognised for career development policy and professional contribution in the Asia-Pacific region through the National Career Development Association (NCDA-USA) International Practitioner Award for 2017.
  • Institute of Managers & Leaders, Fellow, Bendigo regional Committee member
  • Career Development Association of Australia, Life Member, Incumbent Immediate Past National President and Ethics Committee Chair

Current Activities

I retired from the Chamber in 2015.   When I stepped down as National President of CDAA in 2017, I was awarded a Certificate in recognition of Outstanding Service and have since Chaired the Ethics Committee. I was awarded Life Membership of CDAA in 2019 in recognition of my contribution at State and National level over a 20-year period. I received Life Memberships at CDAA last September.

I am currently semi-retired and moved back to a rural location in Central Victoria at Bendigo where we raised our family of 4 children through the 1980’s & 1990’s. I have since moved into consulting across the VET, Higher Education and Career Transition space. I stay active in our field through sub-contracts with Outplacement Australia and also Randstad RiseSmart. I have enjoyed my journey and I hope it continues for some time yet.

Dr. Brian Hutchison — Lifetime Member Interview

Interview by Lisa Raufman

Growing up, books were my only contact with the world outside of the rural Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania. My working-class family had lived in my area for more than 220 years all as laborers, farm hands, and tradespersons before me. Much of my search for meaning as an adult has been to understand how I am the first Hutchison to go to college, build a white-collar career, and enter the upper middle class.

APCDA represents the fulfillment of two lifelong dreams. It represents my expanding scope of practice as a global career services professional and scholar. It also represents my interest and commitment to global citizenship. This is why I became a lifetime member of APCDA. It represents the best life I could have ever imagined for myself as a young person and so much more.

Educational Credentials

My bachelor’s degree is in social science education with a focus on middle and high school aged students. At the age of 35, I earned my Master’s in College Counseling with an emphasis in career and a certification in school counseling. At 38 I earned a Ph.D. in Counselor Education & Supervision with an emphasis in career and a research agenda focused on poverty and education/ career development.

Today, I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (mental health), Certified Career Counselor Educator (NCDA), and creator of the Advanced Career Facilitation for the 21st Century (ACF21) certification program. ACF21 training is recognized by the American Counseling Association, National Career Development Association, and International Coach Federation for Continuing Education Units.

Professional Experience

Currently, I am a Core Faculty in the Clinical Mental Health Program at Walden University after recently leaving my position of Department Chair at New Jersey City University. Prior to that, I held an academic appointment at University of Missouri – St. Louis.

I have been in private practice for 11 years. My focus has always been career counseling and coaching, although I did also see mental health clients during my first 3 years. Additionally, I have worked as a university career, community-based, and school counselor.

We all stand on the shoulders of others when we reflect on our career journey. More than anyone my grandmother, Rebecca “Grace” Gillam showed me the value of education and work. In fact, she graduated from high school the same year that I graduated from college which stands as a testament to lifelong career development in the truest sense of the word.  My earliest memory of work was going with her as she cleaned other people’s homes when I was only 4 or 5 years old.

In the Career Development field, Dr. Spencer “Skip” Niles is the one who saw something in me that I never saw in myself. Unasked, he nominated me for a prestigious fellowship award that allowed (some might say forced) me to study under him at Penn State University for my Ph.D. It is amazing to me that he went to such great lengths to help me know that a doctorate was something I deserved to pursue.

There are countless other influences that I don’t have space to name. I do believe that the aggregate of the 10,000+ clients and students I have worked with through the years deserve more credit for the professional I am than any individual person. If any of them read this, thank you.

Specialties, Awards, and Contributions

My scholarship focuses on career development as it impacts mental health, wellness, and school engagement. My practice is to influence the quality of career interventions that impact these three important factors with as many practitioners in as many places as I possibly can. I do this through teaching as a professor, training through the ACF21, keynote speeches, webinars, podcasts, and anything else that helps me positively impact career service professionals.

I am writing my second book and preparing a proposal for a third. My scholarly contributions include more than 30 journal articles and textbook chapters as well as dozens of columns, blogs, and professional articles. I also facilitate scholarship as Founding Editor of the Asia Pacific Career Development Journal which is published twice per year.

I have served as President of APCDA and MoCDA (Missouri), Treasurer of NCDA, and on various boards around the world. My work has been recognized with the Association of Humanistic Counseling Social Justice and Advocacy Award in 2015 and NCDA’s Merit Award this year (2020).

My desire is to strengthen the career development professional community so that we support, care for, and encourage one another to grow in our practice and service to clients. APCDA is the most exciting place for this to happen and for that I am eternally (or at least for this lifetime 😉 grateful.

Lifetime Member Mrs. Gyulnur Ismayil, CMF, GCDF

By Lisa Raufman

In your own words, what made you decide to become a lifetime APCDA member:

Joining APCDA as a regular member has impacted my life so greatly. I have spent more than 10 years in the field of career development and held memberships with many leading associations around the globe. Until 2015 nothing has affected me as much as my membership with the APCDA. It is a tremendously rich, vibrant and dynamic learning platform that creates an irreplaceable opportunity of meeting people from around the world. Different cultures, work perspectives, patterns of communication and cooperation can be found within APCDA, which leads to a better insight as well as provides an opportunity to understand global trends in career guidance, career education & research.

Actually experiencing APCDA’s vision of sharing career development ideas and practices in the Asia Pacific region and engaging the world about these insights helped me to initially decide to represent my native country on the Board at first, and later to consider Lifetime membership. Now, as a successor fto our association’s Executive Director role, I think the decision was indeed timely; both commitment- and responsibility-wise.

Joining APCDA is a great experience of internationalization, broadening your outlook, deepening your knowledge in the field, extending horizons of your network and having an opportunity to impact on a greater scale.

Education:

  • BA/MA in International and Area Studies from the Volgograd State University, Russian Federation
  • MA in Diplomacy and International Affairs from the University on Nottingham, United Kingdom
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Career and Talent Management from the Middlesex University & CIPD, United Kingdom

Professional certifications & qualifications:

  • Career Management Fellow, Institute of Career Certification International (ICCI), October 2018
  • Certified Global Career Development Facilitator (first qualified facilitator in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE), USA, April 2015
  • Global Career Development Facilitator, Certified Training Participant (120 CEU), National Career Development Association, USA, November 2014
  • Certified MBTI Administrator, American Management Association, USA, July 2011

Professional influences and career philosophy:

Gyulnur Ismayil was a founding Director of Career Services with one of the leading universities in Azerbaijan, where she remained for the last 9 years with her duties evolving to include training of career professionals, career education and guidance for the students/alumni of the University.

Her position also provided Gyulnur with the opportunity to work with a number of international experts and consultants in the field that helped her grow professionally in the role, as well as increased added value for the University.

Since 2009, she has designed a number of career development programs to meet the needs of BA and MA students of ADA, created career counseling strategies and established well-tailored employer relations strategies to penetrate local and international labor markets. Several of those programs have been academically incorporated to meet University requirements. Additionally, Gyulnur trained a team of Career Advisors to teach a skills course on Career Development Skills & Strategies followed by a credit–bearing internship for each undergraduate student of the University. Working with her team, she established professional seminars and PD Labs based on major curriculum courses. Recently, Gyulnur and her Career Services team received a record number of alumni placements.  Her current role consolidates the full scope of  support services for students including career planning, student life, alumni affairs, global outreach and partnerships.

Furthermore, Gyulnur has been continuously engaged with other local universities to assist them in their efforts to establish successful career services with effective career guidance and counseling programs. Through the collaborative activities of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ministry of Education and the British Council, she delivered conference speeches and took part in discussion forums on graduate employability. Gyulnur also consulted with more than 200 students of partner universities to help them in their career choice and decision-making.

Lastly, through a number of government initiatives, Gyulnur engaged in civil servant trainings on soft and people skill areas. Within the last 4 years she personally trained more than 20 civil servants, up to 50 private sector specialists, and nearly 100 youth from other Universities and High Schools.

Memberships & Publications:

  • Asia Pacific Career Development Association member since 2015, Board Member since 2018, Lifetime member since 2019
  • Board of Governors of the Institute of Career Certification International member since 2018
  • National Association of Colleges and Employers, USA, member since 2009
  • National Career Development Association, USA, member since 2009
  • ‘ADA University: Model University – Employer Cooperation’ (private-public partnership), Career Convergence Web-Magazine, NCDA, March 2015
  • Young Researchers Union at the Volgograd State University member (prepared conferences, practitioner seminars, participated in various research-based events, prepared and conducted number of presentations to student and staff audience as part of my responsibility to my course)
  • Russian Canadian Studies Community in Russia member, February 2004 – 3rd class Diploma in ‘Young Professionals and Students Research Works in Social Sciences’ competition
  • ‘Canadian Counter-Terrorism Measures after 9/11’, Canadian Letters: collection of young writers’ articles; Vol.1; Volgograd scientific publishing: March 2005
  • ‘The concept of “Smart Borders” and meantime US-Canada cross border security cooperation’, “Old” and “New” borders in Eurasia and the Northern America: security and cooperation problems; International conference papers; Vol.1; Volgograd scientific publishing: February 2004

RAZA ABBAS - Globally Acclaimed Career Practitioner, Advisor & Speaker

Why did I decide to become a Lifetime APCDA Member?

As an enthusiastic and positive global career development professional, I wanted to learn and keep myself updated about best career development practices in the Asia Pacific region. I decided to become a Lifetime Member of our Asia Pacific Career Development Association because I am a passionate learner. APCDA is a growing and progressive organization; although its focus is regional its membership is global; our Officers, Board of Directors, Committee Council, Country/Area Council, Staff, and especially our members are warm and welcoming, approachable and encouraging. Co-learning and sharing of career wisdom happens not only in person during our conferences, but also during our myriad of virtual meetings, through our newsletter issues, and wonderfully through email, LinkedIn, Facebook and other social media platforms. Because of photos available through our newsletter, Member Directory, social media accounts and recent video, I feel I know so many of our members.

I highly encourage all members and prospective members to become APCDA Lifetime Members, it will be the best nominal career investment you have ever made. It’s worth repeating what our new President, Woongtae Kim, shared earlier in this newsletter issue in his Message, “I invite you to get to know me better by reviewing my APCDA Member Profile in the Members section of our website. I also ask you to review and update your profile and/or complete it so all of us can virtually build our APCDA connections. You can build your connections through our Member Directory by initiating and scheduling career conversations with like-minded progressive professionals who, like me, are here to learn, un-learn and re-learn

My journey at APCDA has been inspirational and full of learning. I highly recommend that newer members think about getting involved the way I have . . .

  • Became a member in 2015 and have thoroughly enjoyed diverse meaningful experiences.
  • Met with wonderful, humble, career visionaries at our APCDA annual conferences.
  • Presented at APCDA conferences both in-person and virtually.
  • Delivered an APCDA webinar.
  • Actively participated in our association’s Membership Committee and recently joined the Newsletter Committee and newly-created Standards Taskforce.
  • Served on the APCDA board for 4 years as the 1st Country/Area Representative of Pakistan.
  • Volunteered to review APCDA conference proposals for our annual conferences (proved to be an excellent learning experience, which I have repeated and highly recommend).
  • Selected to represent APCDA at the ICCDPP Symposium in South Korea.
  • Recognized with APCDA’s Outstanding Career Practitioner Award.

Volunteering for an eminent career development association demonstrates values in action. I enjoy serving with many of you now and look forward to working with more of you soon.

Education – Degrees, Certificates

  • The University of Arizona, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Tucson, AZ, USA
    Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication-Distinction in Speech Communication
  • The University of Arizona, Eller College of Management, Tucson, AZ, USA
    Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration
  • The University of Arizona, Arizona Collegiate Institute for Leadership, Tucson, AZ, USA
    Certification in Organizational Development
  • The University of Arizona, Arizona Blue Chip Program, Tucson, AZ, USA
    Graduate of only 4 years Personal Leadership Development Program in the United States

Professional Influences:

I am fortunate to have personally met several distinguished career professionals and career luminaries from across the globe in my career. Each one of them has encouraged me to inspire inclusive humanity with sustained impact. My father also stands out as a great professional influence on my career. He believed in my social entrepreneurship abilities to start a pioneering career counseling, guidance and education initiative in Pakistan when it was only a dream. Now it is a reality. His wisdom when I was starting my social entrepreneurship career: “Raza I am not aware of career counseling but I can see from your passion that you really want to do this as a career. If you can take it to a level that people across the globe will acknowledge you for career counseling reforms, then do it.” I replied, “thank you for the trust, I promise I will do it. In a span of a decade.” I am humbled to have been able to advocate for career education in 6 continents especially in alien regions where career counseling was previously unknown. I give credit to my father’s positive influence and motivation, which helped especially during times of adversity. He is an excellent example of positive role-modeling of Parental Career Guidance in Asia — a definite game-changer for children’s career counseling.

Specialities

As a social entrepreneur, I initiated career education as a new professional concept in Pakistan which had not been institutionalized in 72 years as a country.

I work with the following:

  • Teachers of grades 8-12, training them to provide career guidance to lower and higher secondary schools and colleges.
  • Students of grades 8-12 in individual and group career counseling/coaching sessions
  • University students (locally and globally), focusing on employability, job creation, personal branding both in person and virtually.
  • Corporate trainings with employees in the corporate sector on management development. Initiate meaningful career conversations and dialogues in an on-going basis.
  • Parents of children in grades 8-12 as well as in a university to help find suitable university programs. I facilitate meaningful parental guidance dialogues on an on-going basis in person and virtually.
  • Dr. Anthony Scioli, an authority on hope, to instill positivity in students, teachers, and employees.

Having established career infrastructures from the ground up to execution in Pakistan, I am humbled to have inspired more than 100,000 lives. I am now scaling to new countries in Asia to spread the message of hope and career development towards an inclusive society. I am looking forward to continuing to present transformational keynotes and presentations on career reforms, motivation, management development and well-being.

Publications

  • (2015) The World Book of Hope, contributing author
  • (2011) Designing and Career Counseling, contributing author

Associations

  • APCDA: Lifetime Member
  • Asian Regional Association for Career Development, Director Pakistan
  • International Association for Educational & Vocational Guidance, Editorial Board member
  • National Career Development Association, participant in three committees: Global Connections, Government Relations and Information Technology

Career Awards/Acknowledgements

  • NCDA International Career Practitioner Award, June, 2019
  • APCDA Outstanding Career Practitioner Award, May, 2017
  • UNESCO’s flagship entrepreneurship education meetings, thrice selected to attend, 2019, 2018, 2017