Redefining Success to Kick-off the Lunar New Year

Event Details:
​
Date: Thursday, February 25, 2021
Time: 5:30pm - 6:30pm CST
Venue: Zoom Meeting
​
Agenda:
​
5:30 PM - 5:45 PM: Welcome, Ascend Update, and Introduction
5:45 PM - 6:15 PM: Panel Session
6:15 PM - 6:30PM: Q&A / Closing Remarks
​
Description:
​
Join Ascend Houston as we kick-off 2021 Lunar New Year (Year of the Ox) with a quality panel of diverse backgrounds and industries.
You'll hear amazing stories and experiences from our panelists that all went through some sort of change during the pandemic which caused them to redefine what success means to them.
​
Speakers
Speakers:
Diane Wu Feng
Co-owner, burger-chan
Diane Wu Feng is the co-owner of burger-chan, a critically-acclaimed burger restaurant in Houston, TX. The original location of burger-chan closed in August 2020--after four years of operation--due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The originally planned second location (burger-chan II) will now become their sole flagship storefront and is slated to open in early 2021.
Diane graduated from Rice University in 2007 with aspirations of becoming a Sociology professor. She attended the University of Washington in Seattle for a quarter before she quickly realized she preferred teaching to research. So she returned to Texas and got her middle school math teaching certificate from the UTeach program at UT-Austin. After a few years teaching in Houston, TX and winning "Teacher of the Year" at her alma mater, she and her husband moved to Shanghai, China--where Diane taught middle and high school math at an international school. After a couple years abroad, Diane and her husband returned to Houston, TX to start a family. Diane had plans to return to teaching a few months after their daughter was born, but her husband Willet soon realized he needed her help to run his new burger restaurant. Fast forward four years to the present, Diane has as much experience in a restaurant as in a classroom.
Speakers:
Thomas Nguyen
Co-founder, Peli Peli South African Kitchen,Brand advisor, CBRE Group, Inc.
Diane Wu Feng is the co-owner of burger-chan, a critically-acclaimed burger restaurant in Houston, TX. The original location of burger-chan closed in August 2020--after four years of operation--due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The originally planned second location (burger-chan II) will now become their sole flagship storefront and is slated to open in early 2021.
Diane graduated from Rice University in 2007 with aspirations of becoming a Sociology professor. She attended the University of Washington in Seattle for a quarter before she quickly realized she preferred teaching to research. So she returned to Texas and got her middle school math teaching certificate from the UTeach program at UT-Austin. After a few years teaching in Houston, TX and winning "Teacher of the Year" at her alma mater, she and her husband moved to Shanghai, China--where Diane taught middle and high school math at an international school. After a couple years abroad, Diane and her husband returned to Houston, TX to start a family. Diane had plans to return to teaching a few months after their daughter was born, but her husband Willet soon realized he needed her help to run his new burger restaurant. Fast forward four years to the present, Diane has as much experience in a restaurant as in a classroom.
Speakers:
Dr. Hillary Patuwo
OBGYN Physician, Sugar Land Women's Care
Dr. Hillary Patuwo, MD, MBA, is a Houston native and graduated valedictorian from Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Rice University and her MD degree from Baylor College of Medicine through the joint BA/MD dual-degree program. While in medical school, she obtained her MBA at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business and interned at Houston Methodist Hospital under the VP of Operations. She completed her residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology at Houston Methodist Hospital and St. Joseph’s Medical Center. During her residency, she served as the Administrative and Academic Chief Resident of Obstetrics & Gynecology, as well as the Chief Resident in Patient Safety & Quality for the Graduate Medical Education department. She joined Sugar Land Women’s Care in 2015. After only two years, she became a physician partner and expanded the clinic to include ancillary businesses, specifically an imaging center, lab, and med spa. Over the past 5.5 years, she has built a thriving practice that provides individualized care to women of all ages.
Speakers:
Aparna Shewakramani
Co-founder and owner, My Golden Balloon
Aparna Shewakramani From her polarizing portrayal on Netflix's hit TV show Indian Matchmaking, Aparna Shewakramani became an overnight ambassador for women demanding to be heard—in their love lives, workplaces, and in every space they occupy. While she did practice law full time for 10 years, Aparna is currently on sabbatical and working on her first book based on the show and her life experiences. Aparna was born in London, lived in Dubai as a child, and has called Texas her home for over 25 years. She is an avid traveler (over 43 countries and counting) and the co-founder and owner of the luxury travel company My Golden Balloon.