Ascend Midwest Inspiring Across Generations
Shaping Tomorrow, Together
Speaker Bios
Breaking the Silence: Navigating mental health in the workplace
Presented by Huron
Andrew Chang, MD
Founder, CEO
Nunchi Health
Andrew is a Harvard-trained physician and a mental health entrepreneur. He founded Nunchi Health to advance mental health equity for immigrant and minority youth. To date, Nunchi Health has delivered 1000+ free mental health sessions and reached 16,000+ students from 30+ countries. Accompanying his entrepreneurial work, Andrew has published extensively, including in Pediatrics, Nature Mental Health, and The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. His contributions have been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, the Rockefeller Foundation, SAMHSA, the Schwarzman Scholarship, the Gates Millennium Scholarship, and the Obama Foundation. Through all his efforts, Andrew is committed to building care systems that honor the strengths and needs of underserved communities.
Sana Mohammad
National Director
Field Marketing, Dairy Queen
Sana is a true student of the business and consequently a successful cross-functional leader. She currently oversees the US Field Marketing Strategy for Dairy Queen's 4000+ restaurants and has previously worked at McDonald's Corporation in Field Marketing, Global Marketing, Global Digital and US Ops departments, giving the true marketer in her, a permanent ops lens. Sana graduated from an Executive MBA program at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management – and was selected to be the Best & Brightest MBAs of 2022 by Poets & Quants for Executives. Sana was born in the Middle East and primarily grew up in Toronto, Canada and married here, in Chicago. She has been married for 16 years and has two daughters, Sofia (11) and Sarah (8). What drives her every day is her ability to contribute to corporate transformations, while being open and humble enough for personal transformations.
Stop Using AI, Start Choosing AI
Arjun Kaarat
Title
Company
Bio
Nan Li
Founder
Nanalytics AI
Nan Li is an executive-turned-advisor, thought-leader, and speaker, advocating for human-centric AI leadership at the intersection of technology, leadership, and humanity. She brings over two decades of experience leading data, analytics, and AI initiatives in Fortune 500 companies, including Nationwide, Cardinal Health, and Bread Financial. She is the founder of Nanalytics AI, a boutique consultancy that helps organizations, leaders, and career professionals navigate AI transformation through a human-centric approach, unlocking meaningful, sustainable, and long-term value. Motivated by the profound impact of AI on careers across industries and fueled by her passion for community building, Nan co-founded the Columbus Career + AI Community. The group provides a welcoming space for AI entrepreneurs, career professionals, and business owners to find clarity, confidence, and connection as they reimagine their career journeys together.
Payal Thakur
Senior Director Enterprise Analytics and AI / CDO
JobsOhio
Payal Thakur is an accomplished strategic executive with over 20 years of diverse experience in leadership, innovation, data analytics, Business Intelligence (BI), data governance, technology architecture, and artificial intelligence (AI). Her expertise spans across private, non-profit, public and government organizations, complemented by her inspirational background in public speaking and executive management. She has her MBA, MCA, COFP, and studied Organizational Leadership at Harvard University. Currently serving as the Senior Director of Enterprise Analytics/CDO at JobsOhio, Payal plays a pivotal role in harnessing data analytics and AI to support Ohio's economic development. Her AI and data strategies focus on driving growth across all sectors in Ohio, aiming to enhance JobsOhio’s competitive intelligence.
Sophia Shen
Associate Vice President, Staff Administration
Nationwide
Sophia Shen is a seasoned executive with over two decades of experience spanning marketing, business development, digital strategy, sales, and human resources. She currently serves as Associate Vice President and Chief of Staff for Human Resources at Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, where she leads strategic initiatives and fosters collaboration across all levels of the organization. Sophia is also a committed advocate for inclusive culture and community engagement, serving on nonprofit boards including The Childhood League and Ascend Global Leaders – Midwest Chapter.
The Story of You: Crafting Your Personal Brand
Matthew Fong
Managing Director, Commercial Banking Payment Sales Executive
JPMorgan Chase
Matt is a Treasury and Payments Sales Executive supporting Commercial Banking Technology and Disruptive Commerce companies across the Northeast and is also responsible for leading the team’s national Emerging Fintech Payments practice. He and his team focus on providing guidance around treasury management, end to end payments infrastructure, and expansion planning with an emphasis on creating scalable processes to support their needs today and as they evolve and grow. Matt has over 12 years of experience in the financial services industry covering Small, Mid, and Large Cap clients, helping them define and solve for needs within cash management, payments, global trade and international banking.
Catherine Chung
Executive Director, International Banking
JPMorgan Chase
I have been with the International Banking & Payments team in the Commercial Bank for ten years. My career path has led me from an entry level analyst to now in a leadership role as a top sales and team leader. Today I hold several key roles within the organization with a focus on becoming a trusted advisor for companies seeking international banking solutions, developing and implementing a marketing strategy to showcase J.P. Morgan’s capabilities in the APAC region, and leading the national Associates team. Outside of banking I also have an interest for mentorship and leadership as I have been fortunate to have mentors along the way who have supported my personal and professional growth and I would like to pay it forward. I am also an avid traveler and try my best to go to 2 or 3 new countries every year!
Speaking Up, Standing Out: The Power of Self-Advocacy
CHICAGO:
Mia Rahn
Director
Accenture
Mia Rahn is an accomplished Business Architecture Transformation Associate Director at Accenture with over 20 years of experience leading successful IT and business transformations across diverse industries and technology landscapes. Currently, Mia leads critical initiatives within Accenture's Internal Global IT organization, focusing on modernizing Human Resources technology solutions. She excels in delivering complex projects with agility, leveraging Agile frameworks to ensure high-quality outcomes and maximize business impact. Beyond her professional achievements, Mia is a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. She serves as a US national co-lead for Accenture's Asian Pacific American Employee Resource Group and champions accessibility initiatives across her programs.
Marisa Mann
Founder & CEO
UpLift All, LLC
Marisa Mann is a transformational executive, founder, and community builder with over 30 years of experience leading technology, operations, and digital transformation at Accenture, JPMorgan, Kin+Carta, and Gartner. As CEO and Founder of UpLift All, she is building a mission-driven platform that empowers individuals and organizations to align purpose with performance through coaching, community, and AI-driven solutions. The proud daughter of Asian American immigrants and a first-generation leader, Marisa draws on her lived experience navigating spaces where belonging was not guaranteed. Her personal brand is built on authenticity, resilience, and a deep commitment to helping others bring their whole selves to work and life. Today, she partners with C-suite leaders, mid-sized growth companies, and diverse professionals to foster inclusion, unlock potential, and drive measurable impact. Her guiding mantra—UpLift All—captures her belief that when we rise together, we create lasting change.
Omar Refaqat
Consulting, Managing Director
Crowe
Omar is a Managing Director in Crowe’s financial services practice and focuses on assisting our clients assess and manage information technology risk in their organizations. With more than twenty years of technology and business experience, his areas of expertise include the NIST CSF, FFIEC guidance, Cloud platform security and SDLC. Over the last 8 years, Omar has been assisting financial services institutions of all sizes, including banks over $100 billion in asset size, conduct internal audits, comply with regulatory expectations, and build effective IT risk management programs. In his free time, Omar enjoys travel with his family, playing golf, camping, and volunteering as a Boy Scout leader.
Shelly Kalladanthyil
Managing Director
Protiviti
Shelly is the Managing Director in the Protiviti Chicago office leading the Business Process Improvement (“BPI”) solution. She has 20+ years of experience including a blend of public accounting consulting experience and in-house accountability of strategy and accounting teams. Shelly is adept at leading strategic initiatives and advising executive leadership using comprehensive thinking and data driven analysis. As a mother of three kids, she stays busy with various outdoor hobbies and spending time with family.
Columbus:
Hope Yin
Founder & Owner
Blueprint Coaching
Hope Yin is an award-winning Technology Executive who has transitioned into entrepreneurship. As a sought-after speaker, Hope has inspired over 10,000 individuals, including at several of the world's largest conferences. As an award-winning ICF PCC-certified Executive Coach, Founder & Owner of Blueprint Coaching, Hope works with tech leaders to overcome challenges, build powerful personal brands, and achieve strategic career success She partners with global companies and executives to elevate their leadership presence, foster team cultures, and drive business growth. Hope has a proven track record at two Fortune 200 companies. She led enterprise Cloud transformation, global talent development technology portfolio, ATM technology portfolio, Modern Tech Leadership Development program, and other global initiatives. She helped the company win multiple industry awards through her work. Hope's journey from an immigrant to an established tech executive has given her unique insights into supporting others. Hope holds three M.S. degrees in Engineering.