WLA 2023| Who is Jorge Castellano?
A Little Bit About Jorge Castellanos
By now, you know who our 2023 WLA Master of Ceremonies is! And if you missed it, IPWS is honored to have Jorge Castellanos share the stage with us on June 3rd.
Jorge is not only an exceptional performer, he also is highly respected early education educator as the Principal and Director of Awesome Kids Academy.
And in that role, he ensures that he is creating space for all children to develop their individual strengths to grow into their amazing authentic selves! He also excels at building Communities! And you know how we feel about community!!
So we asked this “Awesome Guy” a few questions so you could get to know him a little better!
Most importantly … Biggest Influence:
Q: First and Foremost, who (or what) is the biggest influence in your life? How has that helped you?
A: Of course, My Mom. She is the hardest worker I’ve ever met. She moved to the United States from Cuba with a 4th grade education, couldn’t speak English and she managed to make a huge success of herself because she refused to concede. She was humble, asked for help and made it work. Because of her I realized there’s no shame in saying, “I can’t do this, I need your help”. She’s an incredible woman with an incredible story and it inspires me every day.
We have many IPWS Community Members who are at different stages in their careers.
Q: What is the biggest piece of advice you share with friends regarding the working world?
A: I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with and spending time with some people at the absolute tops of their fields and the one thing that sticks out to me is that they are not any different than any of us. There’s an allure to being the CEO of Bank of America or a high level official but at the end of the day the reason they are where they are is they are disciplined, focused, driven and overall are people that others want to be around.
Q: What were the areas of improvement you noticed early in your career and worked on/decided to ignore? Why?
A: When I was younger I noticed there were people that really loved spending the day saying how busy they were without actually getting anything done. It was easy to get wrapped up in that and then one day, I just stopped and realized, I’m actually not that busy and can get a lot done before lunch if I planned and organized my day better. Since then, I make lists of daily tasks I need to accomplish and once I check them off I’m technically done for that day. Not everything needs to be finished today and spacing things out and prioritizing tasks makes it easy to not feel so “busy”.
Let’s have a look at deeper look into what you do:
Q: What do you find most interesting about what you do?
A: Every day is a new reward/challenge. There’s no telling how the day will go as things change so fast (rules, laws, people’s needs, etc) so you are constantly changing on the fly to make sure things are going well.
Q: What makes you stay? What were the crucial/key/special moments of your journey so far?
A: The connections I’ve made with my coworkers/families that are part of us. It means the world to us that people trust us with their children and know that we will take care of them in a way they can feel happy with. The most special moment of working in this field is watching a new child go from apprehensive because they are new to our environment to feeling at home, giving big hugs and loving to spend time with us. It’s a trust that means so much to me.
Q: What makes your work unique in your eyes?
A: Again, I think it’s the connections we make with the families. I can name tons of interesting/funny/silly things about every child we have had since I’ve been a part of Awesome Kids and remember all of them whether they were in camp for a week or have been with us for years. Our parents aren’t just our “clients” I genuinely enjoy spending time with them and often spend nights and weekends at dinner with them or setting up events just so we can find a reason to spend more time together.
What else should we share.
Q: How do you manage life outside of work? What advice could you share?
A: That’s something I could probably get better at, honestly. I don’t really haha, but it’s because I don’t really feel that the extra stuff we do is “work” per say, it’s just socializing with people we care about.
Q: What’s one daily habit you have adopted in order to better yourself?
A: Leaning on others for help. I used to struggle with delegating but years ago I looked around and I realized our staff is incredibly talented and they can do things I can’t do
Q: And lastly: What is your favorite spot in our awesome city of Shanghai?
A: Any hidden coffee shop. I’m a sucker for a tucked away, quiet spot.
An evening to remember!
We can’t wait to see you at the WLA Ceremony!
The 2023 WLA ceremony will be a celebratory buffet dinner and of course, an occasion to connect with top professionals and members of the IPWS community.
Event Agenda:
06:30 - 07:15PM
Registration and welcome cocktail
07:15 - 07:20PM
Opening remarks
07:30 - 07:50PM
1st food round
07:50 - 08:05PM
2 categories announcement (ChangeMaker & SME Business Leader)
08:10 - 08:25PM
Keynote (TBC)
08:25 - 08:35PM
1 category announcement (HeForShe)
08:35 - 08:55PM
2nd food round
08:55 - 09:10PM
Keynote by Diane Ho, Partner Women's Alliance
09:10 - 09:25PM
Raffle and games
09:25 - 09:45PM
2 categories announcement (Corporate Business Leader & Lifetime achievement)
09:45PM - till late
Closing remarks and party
*Please note that the WLA agenda can be changed on short notice. Please check with the organisers for the most up to date information.
Dress code:
We will be celebrating in disco style, so dress to impress!
Tickets:
Normal price (after May 20):
Value deal: Event ticket + 1 year IPWS membership: CNY 850
Event ticket only, Members: CNY 700
Event ticket only, Non-members: CNY 750
Group ticket (8 attendees per group, price per ticket): CNY 600
🥂 WLA ticket includes buffet dinner, free flow wine and soft drinks, and a gift bag from our generous sponsors.
RSVP:
It’s essential to RSVP for this event. Register by scanning the QR code below. Seats are limited!
▼ REGISTER HERE ▼
Ticket policies:
Please note that refunds and fapiaos are not provided.
DON’T LIVE IN SHANGHAI OR NEED A STAYCATION?
Book with W Hotel Shanghai to receive 15% off your reservations from 2-5 June!
Email marketing@ipwsconnect.com for your discount and reservation.
THANK YOU 2023 WLA SPONSORS & PARTNERS
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