Maria Odiamar Racho, MSOD

Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago builds power through collective advocacy and organizing to achieve racial equity.

https://odnchicago.org/

Partnered with a community advocate and lead with a vision for relief efforts for Asian American Small Business owners impacted by the racial tensions prior to then escalated at the start of the pandemic.

Mobilized a cross-sector task force of nonprofits, chambers of commerce, corporate, and government agencies at national, state and county levels, provided webinars, resources and services to over 500 people. This effort helped raise visibility regarding the challenges of Asian American… Show more

Partnered with a community advocate and lead with a vision for relief efforts for Asian American Small Business owners impacted by the racial tensions prior to then escalated at the start of the pandemic.

Mobilized a cross-sector task force of nonprofits, chambers of commerce, corporate, and government agencies at national, state and county levels, provided webinars, resources and services to over 500 people. This effort helped raise visibility regarding the challenges of Asian American small businesses. It also demonstrated the commitment and ability of the community to rally around Asian American small businesses.

A couple primary partners we collaborated with were the Small Business Administration and the Illinois Small Business Development Center. They saw the need and that the program as an effective advocacy model for the community. This resulted in an Illinois Small Business Development Center being created for the Asian American community, managed by one of our collaborating partners, the Chinese Mutual Aid Association (CMAA). The new Small Business Development Center at CMAA was able to quickly get up to speed using the operating model and plan I helped develop as a launching point.

As a direct result of our effort, we now have a sustainable and effective advocacy center for Asian American Small Businesses in Illinois. Show less

Works directly with Lane Tech H.S. incubator program throughout the school year to organize mentors for the student teams and to find business experts to serve as coaches to partner with the teacher in delivering the content. Participates as a judge/shark for the student MVP (minimum viable product) pitches. Works with my network to offer the students real-world exposure and insights

Served as active Board Member of OCA-Chicago. Facilitated and helped redesign Mentoring Asian American Professionals (MAAP) program. Developed and implemented board member voting process.

OCA is a national organization dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans.

To fulfill its mission, OCA has established the following goals:
to advocate for social justice, equal opportunity and fair treatment;
to promote civic… Show more

Served as active Board Member of OCA-Chicago. Facilitated and helped redesign Mentoring Asian American Professionals (MAAP) program. Developed and implemented board member voting process.

OCA is a national organization dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans.

To fulfill its mission, OCA has established the following goals:
to advocate for social justice, equal opportunity and fair treatment;
to promote civic participation, education, and leadership;
to advance coalitions and community building; and
to foster cultural heritage.

Founded in 1973 as the Organization of Chinese Americans, OCA aims to embrace the hopes and aspirations of Asian Pacific Americans in the United States. Show less

Rallied a cross-functional, cross-cultural founding team to start and formalize an employee resource group (ERG) giving voice and developing a pipeline of Asian American leaders. This ERG has grown to over 1000 members with business impact to marketing, operations, workforce engagement and leadership development.
• Published thought leader, researcher and public speaker in Asian American Leadership.

Providing consultation for CEO, HR Director, Board of Director Member and Task Force on the development and implementation of the UWLC Diversity & Inclusion strategy.

Built the Filipino emerging leader development program and network to engage young people in the civic efforts of BNAA and to create a pipeline of leadership talent as successors.