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What happens on the other side of the hiring desk, and how can understanding that process help you navigate your next career move?

Join the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) for a conversation designed for professionals in the early and middle stages of their careers who are looking for a job or considering a change. Hear from human resources leaders about navigating New York City’s competitive job market, making informed career choices, and approaching your search with confidence.

Drawing on decades of executive HR experience at Fortune 100 and midsize companies, Diana Lee and Paolo Palma will be joined by James Cheng, vice chairman of Asian American Dream, for an inside look at the hiring process. Alice Tang, a marketing strategist and founder of Empathy & Art, will moderate the discussion while sharing her perspective on building a career as a content creator. Together, they will explore how to prepare for interviews, follow up thoughtfully, avoid common mistakes, and sustain momentum during a challenging search. The discussion will also address career decisions, how AI is reshaping hiring and the workplace, and what these changes mean for job seekers.

There will be time for audience questions. Help shape the discussion by submitting your questions on the registration checkout page.

About Diana Lee

As the Principal of Diana Lee HR LLC, Diana specializes in consulting with mid-size and small companies that require HR expertise during periods of growth, restructuring and other strategic changes.  Diana provides leadership coaching, dispute resolution, executive hiring, infrastructure upgrades, compensation strategy, benefits management and HR process improvement on a project or interim basis.  Her driving philosophy is that the most successful companies marry their HR processes and practices with their vision, business strategy and culture.  Diana has global HR executive experience across industry including in media and entertainment at Paramount/Viacom and financial services at American Express and in banking.  Her most recent role was Chief Human Resources Officer at Sesame Workshop, the mission-driven non-profit behind Sesame Street.  In addition to consulting, Diana tutors reading to second graders in Chinatown, mentors high-potential mid-career AAPI women in The Serica Initiative’s Mentorship Program and teaches HR management to aspiring small business entrepreneurs in an economic self-empowerment nonprofit program. Diana is an active speaker and moderator who has presented at Chief, a professional network for women, Oberlin College and Columbia University.  She is a past Board member of the Asian American Arts Alliance.

About Paolo Palma

Paolo Palma is a seasoned HR executive with over 20 years of experience shaping talent strategy and driving organizational success. Throughout his career, he has led key people initiatives across Technology, Financial Services, and Consumer Goods in Asia, Europe, and the Americas for some of the world’s leading companies —including Unilever, Citi, AIG, and Google. Most recently as a Director and People Partner Lead at Google, Paolo was instrumental in scaling the Cloud Go-To-Market team and helping establish Google Cloud’s first AI sales organization. Before his time at Google, Paolo helped build AIG’s Data Science team, and also served as HR lead for the Chief Auditor and Chief Marketing Officer for Consumer. At Citi, he served as an HR Advisor supporting Consumer Banking and Risk leadership – including leading Talent Initiatives out of Moscow for Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Paolo started his career with Unilever in the Philippines, taking on various HR and business roles, including heading up Compensation, Benefits, and HRIS.

Paolo earned his Front-end Coaching Intensive (FECI) Certificate of Achievement from Columbia University – helping him bring a thoughtful, evidence-based approach to helping leaders grow. He is also actively serving as a mentor with The Serica Initiative to empower the next generation of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women leaders. Paolo holds an MBA from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree from Ateneo de Manila University. Outside of work, you’ll find Paolo exploring new travel destinations (And their cuisines!), cheering on his favorite sports teams (Let’s Go Knicks!), and taking in live music with his wife and two sons.

About James Cheng

James Cheng is the Founder and Principal Consultant of CHENG Advisors Consulting, consulting on HR, ESG, and leadership strategies, organizational design, and executive coaching. He was formally the Global Senior HR Director and Head of Inclusion and Philanthropy of Zimmer Biomet. He was responsible for the strategy, development, and growth of the Inclusion and Philanthropy at Zimmer Biomet and to drive positive impact for the 17,000+ team members in 30+ countries that services 100+ countries across the globe. Prior to Zimmer Biomet, was the Global Director of Inclusion & Diversity and Talent Acquisition at Gilead Sciences Inc. and formally HR Director of Global Inclusion & Diversity COE Business Resource Groups and Business Development at Cargill Inc. He serves as a Non-Executive on the Board of Directors for Promena, P&L Group Holding Company, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for The Asian American Dream and a board member of NAAAP New York. The recipient of the Top Healthcare Diversity Officers in 2022 and Top 100 Diversity Officers in 2021 by the National Diversity Council, Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Awardee by the Asian American Business Development Center in 2018.

About Alice Tang

Alice Tang is the founder of Empathy & Art, an independent multimedia platform exploring arts, culture, literature, and modern life. She has more than a decade of experience across marketing, media, and technology, most recently working in product marketing in the tech industry.

Previously, Alice served as President and Marketing Director of Mochi Magazine, a nonprofit publication dedicated to amplifying the voices of Asian American women. She is a graduate of Wellesley College, where she studied English and Economics. Through Empathy & Art, she now writes and creates content about arts and culture while building community around shared cultural experiences.