ABOUT JOYCE
Organizational Development & Equity Strategy Consultant, Facilitator, Speaker, and Writer
I am Joyce Chiao, an organizational and equity strategist who partners with organizations that are ready to move from equity commitments into action. I approach my work from the analysis that the gap between equity commitments and how we operate is often a conditions problem and that conditions can be redesigned.
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My work is anchored in moving us closer to a world of abundance, where every person has what they need to live and thrive. I believe that world is possible and that all of us can play a role in creating it.
MY BACKGROUND
I am the founder of Abundance, a consultancy where I build organizations where everyone can thrive, from the employees within it to the communities that the organization serves. My work connects personal experience, collective identity, and systemic forces to build concrete pathways for cultivating equitable organizations.
I am a second-generation Asian American woman, a daughter of immigrants from Taiwan. I call Los Angeles my home, specifically the San Gabriel Valley community that taught me early lessons in belonging, collective struggle, and collective care. I live (and thrive) with an invisible disability, and some of my earliest memories are of confusingly learning what inclusion and accessibility (or lack thereof) can look like through this lens, even if I did not understand it as such at the time. These and many other experiences shape a large part of how I engage with the world.
My work is also anchored in the varied disciplines that my career has encompassed: education; community-building; operations; financial planning and analysis; project and program management, strategy, organizational development; and diversity, equity, & inclusion. Embracing a multi-disciplinary approach is central to my work as I partner with leaders to build sustainable organizational direction that extends from the highest levels of strategy all the way to day-to-day implementation.
An educator by training grounded in a social sciences discipline, I hold a Bachelors of Science in Child & Adolescent Development from California State University, Fullerton. I also hold a Masters of Public Administration, Public & Nonprofit Management from NYU Wagner School of Public Service.
On the topic of how I engage with the world, some other important pieces about me: I will belt karaoke any chance I get, an experience that my friends have had to endure one too many times. My love language is sharing food in and with community; I rarely say no to an invitation for boba (and yes, I do call it “boba,” not bubble tea; while we are at it, I also call our beloved supermarket “99 Ranch” and not Ranch 99, true to my LA Chinese roots), hot pot, anything with noodles...the list is pretty extensive. Just as extensive is the list of books that I want to read (and re-read) and slowly make my way through. I love a good sitcom, but I also love a good adventure/drama movie and will usually cry at the parts that no one else does.
WHAT I BELIEVE
My work is built around a core analysis:
Lasting collective change requires people and organizations to develop four interconnected capacities.
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Consciousness
Developing the understanding and analytical tools to name systems of oppression, moving from awareness to analysis to action
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Connections
Building the relationships that make sustained, coordinated collective action possible within organizations and between communities
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Structures
Translating equity values into the policies, practices, and systems that govern how an organization operates and moving from intention to infrastructure
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Imagination
Expanding our understanding of what is possible so we can build lasting change rooted in a vision of the world we want and the creative pathways to get there
How I Approach My Work
My approach is informed by the social justice work of scholars and activists like Angela Davis, bell hooks, Barbara J. Love, Grace Lee Boggs, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Mia Mingus, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Yuri Kochiyama, and many others who have transformed our present day understanding of identity, justice, and liberation.
My work also draws upon a range of subject areas, including organizational development, strategy design and implementation, adult learning and facilitation, trauma-informed conflict mediation, and community development.
Context-Driven Design
I believe context matters when building strategic solutions, whether that context is your geography, industry, current needs, future goals, or countless other factors. There are no quick fixes or catch-alls, and you may often hear me respond to a “what should we…” question with “well, it depends…” While I rarely offer a single solution, I do approach my work and advise my partners with this nuance so we can wade through the complexity together.
Systems-Focused Perspective
I view the inequities we see as the result of systems — an interlocking set of internalized, interpersonal, and institutional forces. While the scope may vary by engagement, my work ultimately aims to support systems change. More often than not, this focus requires organizational transformation and leadership willingness to upend long-held norms as we explore “the way things have always been done,” from practices to policies and systems.
Community-Rooted Accountability
I believe that people and community are at the core of equity and liberation work. I also believe that the most marginalized in our communities hold the lived experiences to intimately understand their own needs and solutions. As a result, I am accountable to the marginalized communities that touch my partner organizations, and I seek to center them in my approach, from the way that I design my facilitation to the strategy creation process.
Long-Sustained Action
The DEI journey is a proactive, lifelong process. I view my work with partners as a piece of their journey, even if I do not travel the entire way with them. I aim to be responsive to where they are in this journey and — true to distance traveling — how to build their stamina to continue for the long-term. For this reason, I am constantly thinking about how to equip my partners with strong foundations that prepare them for and encourage sustained action.
Justice-Nurtured Criticality
I believe every organization has been built within our broader society and thus reflects elements of it — the good, bad, and ugly. Given this linkage, DEI is forever limited if we only view it as an isolated effort. If we want to create effective solutions, DEI work calls us to name the roots, like white supremacy and patriarchy, and be honest about the roles our organizations have played in upholding these forces — even and especially when doing so is difficult.
Collaboration-Based Partnership
I use the word “partnership” very intentionally. When I enter into an engagement with your organization, I am committing to working closely alongside you towards shared goals that are best achieved when we can each bring our strengths and perspectives. Together, we merge our collective experiences through a highly collaborative effort — my DEI and organizational development capabilities and your expert knowledge of your organization and industry.