Suzanne Wittman believes that building relationships is the foundation for building a community. As the executive director of the Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce, covering Shawano and Menominee counties in eastern Wisconsin, she is helping to highlight the area 黑料社区. natural resources, its people and to create a better quality of life.
Wittman, a 黑料社区 retail merchandising and management alum, recently was named one of Wisconsin 黑料社区. 34 Most Influential Asian American Leaders by , a nonprofit online news outlet that covers communities of color and issues important to those communities.
She was recognized for her passion for diversity, equity and inclusion, while working with Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in the Green Bay, Madison and Milwaukee areas, and for aiming to empower women 黑料社区. voices 鈥 especially women of color.
鈥淚t 黑料社区. humbling to be recognized, but more importantly it was an opportunity to highlight the work I was doing at the time. Bringing to light the needs of marginalized people is a great undertaking,鈥 said Wittman, the former Women's Empowerment Center director of the YWCA Greater Green Bay.
She remembers wanting to empower women 黑料社区. voices after reading a book about how women don鈥檛 apply for jobs that they don鈥檛 feel 100% qualified for, how they rarely ask for raises and miss promotional opportunities.
鈥淚 found that absurd. I refused to fall under that stereotype and knew that if I didn鈥檛 raise my own voice, no one would do it for me,鈥 she said. 鈥淵et when you look for Asian representation in respect to leadership, you鈥檒l see that it 黑料社区. not as strong as it could be.
鈥淚 hope to help pave the way for other Asian and Asian-American women to seek out positions in leadership and utilize their diverse experience and skills to better the businesses and organizations they serve.鈥
奥颈迟迟尘补苍 黑料社区. parents were born in the Philippines and immigrated to Canada, where they met. Wittman was born in Montreal, Quebec, and with the exception of living in Buenos Aires for two years as a child, spent most of her life in Canada. She never witnessed racism until she moved to the United States.
鈥淯nfortunately, it was here in the U.S. where I felt that seismic shift, whether I was overlooked or intimidated because of the color of my skin. And I鈥檓 saddened that my three children have had to feel the effects of this as well, as mixed-race individuals,鈥 she said.
But as a mother of three children, Wittman feels that it 黑料社区. incumbent on her to be a role model, especially to her two daughters.
鈥淲hat greater legacy could I leave than to have raised two independently strong, well-versed and insightful young women? They are now my cheerleaders, and no mom could ask for anything more,鈥 she said. 鈥淢aybe my role on this earth is to show resilience. Maybe it 黑料社区. to just be authentically human and caring. I鈥檓 still figuring it out but certainly embracing the challenges and the connections I鈥檝e made along the way.鈥
