InnovASIAN Shares Tradition, Promotes Inclusion

With this year’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in full swing, it’s also time to celebrate the impact that the InnovASIAN Employee Network Group is making every day for Asian and Pacific Island employees at Palo Alto Networks.

The group’s mission to encourage collaboration, awareness and education of Asian cultures and enable members to connect and grow is resonating even more in 2022, so we wanted to find out how InnovASIAN helps its members grow the sense of inclusion and  community at Palo Alto Networks.

Here are what some of your colleagues had to say:

“Being a lead for InnovASIAN has helped me reconnect with my roots and appreciate my culture more. Growing up in a rural area of Texas, I was always one of a handful of Asian kids. I never spoke with other people like me outside of my family. InnovAsian has helped me not only connect with my own culture but learn about and appreciate so many other Asian cultures.” - Melody Vo, Global Go to Market Campaign Manager

“I like that InnovASIAN actively practices and embodies diversity and is respectful and inclusive of ALL Asian cultures and heritage. It also encourages Asians to get to know about other Asian cultures and also other cultures.” - Chitra Tatachar, Senior Software Engineer

“It always is a feeling of warmth to know that Palo Alto Networks embraces me and my culture outside of just being an employee. InnovASIAN gives me a space to celebrate my identity and my heritage in every aspect of my life as well as celebrate with me at the corporate events that they create.” - Dhwani Khatter, Systems Engineer

“It helps me remember all the holidays I celebrate with my family since they're not close by, so I can pass that on to my children. I also love learning about new holidays and traditions that other Asian countries celebrate.” - Ning Tsai, Technical Program Manager

“Growing up in a predominantly white school district, and going to a college that had little racial diversity, I never really felt excluded or different, but also never had the chance to connect with people who shared an Asian heritage until InnovASIAN! -Jack Gleason, Incident Response Consultant

“I love reading the updates on Slack and seeing other uploads regarding different cultures. It’s a great learning experience.”- Zaw Naw, Staff Supplier Quality Engineer

“I feel we are well connected and share our values.”- Rajesh Raja, IT Staff Engineer

“I work in a diverse culture and they happen to be nice people. Silicon Valley is FULL of smart people. Smart and nice and collaborative and inclusive is why Palo Alto Networks is different from any other company in my career.” - Rich Szeto, Senior UX Designer

“InnovASIAN provides a safe environment where I can find people who have commonalities with me and my upbringing and values.”- Wai Woolsey, Senior Manager, InfoSec Governance Risk and Compliance

My brother-in-law was born in Hong Kong and I appreciate the awareness InnovASIAN provides so I can better connect with my nieces around their Asian heritage. - Alison Wellsfry, Engineering Escalation Manager

“I love how inclusive it is at Palo Alto Networks. I feel I can connect with others of the same background to celebrate and understand my culture and traditions.” -Bianca Wong, Manager, Places ANZ

“I enjoy the coffee chats and the leadership reaching out to collaborate and help support all InnovASIAN members.” - Jesse Villarreal, Order Fulfillment Specialist