Oracle Professional Asian Leadership (OPAL) gathers for a Lunar New Year celebration in January 2020.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n In its young history, the\u00a0Oracle Professional Asian Leaders<\/a>\u00a0(OPAL) has already made a significant impact. Since 2015, the fast-growing employee resource group (ERG) has expanded to offer mentorship and networking opportunities, raise cultural awareness, and promote community engagement through various activities and events.<\/p>\n Each year, the group opens anywhere between three to seven new chapters. In just seven years, they\u2019ve expanded to serve employees in five different continents and 24 cities in the United States and counting.<\/p>\n \u201cSo many people tell me that had it not been for OPAL, they would have left Oracle,\u201d says Win Chang, founder and advisor of OPAL. \u201cAs an Asian, I often felt alone in my struggles. But this community was created so that you don\u2019t have to feel that way.\u201d<\/p>\n What started off as a desire for the Asian community to thrive at Oracle soon turned into a global network and family dedicated to uplifting all colleagues of Asian descent. While their growth and success has already been fortuitous, it is only the beginning of how far OPAL promises to go.<\/p>\n In 2015, OPAL was founded to support Oracle employees with an interest in Asian heritage and a drive to inspire action, accountability, and inclusiveness at Oracle. The idea for OPAL was first formed thanks to a fellow employee resource group at the company: the\u00a0Oracle Latinos Alliance<\/a>\u00a0(OLA).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chang\u2019s former manager at Oracle, also the founder of OLA, asked Chang to be a speaker for a conference that the group was hosting. \u201cI spoke at the conference, met a lot of heartwarming people, saw this community, and thought, \u2018Why don\u2019t we have one for the Asian community?\u2019\u201d says Chang. \u201cI had been at Oracle 20 years already. We have lots of Asian people, but we weren\u2019t progressing into higher ranks, so we needed a group that would advocate for us, bring our community together, and focus on professional development, cultural awareness, and networking.\u201d<\/p>\n Chang cofounded OPAL with Stephanie Tom, a former Oracle employee. At the time, Chang wondered if they could even get 50 people to join. But OPAL\u2019s first launch event proved that the interest was strong by gathering more than 100 people.<\/p>\n Since they first formed, the group has hosted more than 235 events, reached more than 15,000 employees through their programming, and even earned the 2018 Employee Resource Group Leadership Award from Ascend, the largest Pan-Asian business professional membership organization in North America.<\/p>\n Currently, OPAL consists of 4,000 members in 27 communities globally among the Americas, EMEA, and JAPAC regions.<\/p>\n For OPAL board chairperson Bo English-Wiczling, the most important objectives of the group include encouraging Asian colleagues to accelerate their professional careers and to show up as their true selves at work.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of those things are challenging when you\u2019re seen as the model minority who doesn\u2019t ask for anything,\u201d says English-Wiczling.<\/p>\n OPAL experienced the most growth during the COVID-19 pandemic when local chapter events held in-person were replaced with virtual events. This meant groups that don\u2019t typically cross paths finally got a chance to engage with one another, says English-Wiczling.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople were really looking for connection since we weren\u2019t in the office, and there were more people interested in congregating virtually,\u201d says English-Wiczling. \u201cRather than doing things at a local chapter level, we did them at a global level where there could be giant events to create an even bigger family.\u201d<\/p>\n These events included OPAL Ohana, which was held every Friday for Oracle peers to share good news happening in their communities and provide support to those who needed it.<\/p>\n Last year, OPAL even hosted a speaker event featuring Dr. Russell Jeung, an Asian American studies professor who cofounded the Stop AAPI Hate coalition during the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes since the start of the pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring lockdown, we all felt so hopeless,\u201d says Chang. \u201cSo we created spaces like these to give us more hope, connection, and a sense of unity.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the many notable successes OPAL has achieved, the one thing Chang and English-Wiczling want others to know about this community is simple\u2014it is open to all who are supportive and inquisitive about Asian culture.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not the \u2018Asian club.\u2019 It\u2019s the \u2018We\u2019re helping Asians\u2019 club,\u2019\u201d says English-Wiczling. \u201cIf you support OPAL and you want to advance our causes, then it\u2019s a community you should join.\u201d<\/p>\n OPAL\u2019s goal of promoting both professional development and cultural awareness is reflected through their\u00a0lineup of events<\/a>\u00a0for this year\u2019s Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.<\/p>\n For instance, OPAL Burlington will host an interactive Taekwondo learning session during the first week of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Led by fourth-degree black belt Jed Caluag, attendees will learn the basic blocks, kicks, and punches of the Korean martial art and will discuss the Asian influence on the sport.<\/p>\n Later on in the month, OPAL members can also enjoy events, such as a \u201cPower of Mentorship\u201d discussion presented by OPAL and Oracle Women\u2019s Leadership (OWL) and a session on the dos and don\u2019ts of personal branding, networking, and sponsorship to accelerate to the director, VP, SVP, and EVP level.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people in the OPAL community are an amazing group of folks,\u201d says English-Wiczling. \u201cThey just want to help and raise everybody up. For me, that\u2019s the reason I\u2019m involved.\u201d<\/p>\nFrom promising beginnings to massive growth<\/h3>\n
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\n \u201cAs an Asian, I often felt alone in my struggles. But this community was created so that you don\u2019t have to feel that way.\u201d<\/big><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \u2014Win Chang, Founder and Advisor to Oracle Professional Asian Leadership<\/cite><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Facing the hard times together<\/h3>\n
Celebrating heritage<\/h3>\n