S3 Ep2: Honoring Your Heritage While Pursuing Entrepreneurship

12/12/23 • 51 min

with Salomé Valencia-Bohné and Karla Ciccia

Traditional corporate culture can foster spaces where BIPOC professionals don’t feel as if they can authentically be themselves. Social justice advocate and business owner Salomé Valencia-Bohné, MA, MSW, LSWAIC (she/her/ella) partners with you to explore how social entrepreneurship is a career move that can support you in honoring your cultural heritage and values while also increasing your wallet size.

Salomé Valencia-Bohné, MA, MSW, LSWAIC (she/her/ella) was born and raised in Yakima, WA. In 2019. She graduated from the University of Washington’s MSW program with a concentration in health and mental health. Dedicated to investing in the clinical social work field, Salomé is a member of many clinical social work and Latino societies, provides psychotherapy through an anti-oppression lens and is a strong activist within her community. She is the owner of The Rivers Wellness & Advocacy Foundation, host of the Clinically Growing Together podcast and owner of the Financial Peace & Prosperity program.

Originally from Peru, Karla Ciccia moved to the states as a kid but since then has lived in two other continents before returning to WA and setting down roots. Karla is a passionate traveler and community advocate. She was previously working at a local philanthropy where she led local and international teams to rapidly deliver functional prototypes across a wide spectrum of tech and conservation products. Currently, Karla is working as a product manager delivering quality donor tissue to those in need. Karla is a graduate from the UW and in her spare time loves to explore the PNW with her family, friends, and soon, first child.

with Salomé Valencia-Bohné and Karla Ciccia

Previous Episode

S3 Ep1: "You Can't Make a Living With That" --Negotiating Family Expectations While Following Your Passion

Sometimes, the field we are passionate about can seem too risky to pursue, especially when we have people in our lives cautioning us to be pragmatic and cautious. But what about happiness and personal fulfillment? Aren’t these also measures of success? Artist, designer and small-business owner Stacy Nguyen discusses what it was like for her to make a bunch of ‘bad’ career decisions.

Stacy Nguyen is a Seattle area-based Vietnamese American illustrator, visual designer and writer whose work explores the ways race, Vietnameseness and gender intersect within the lens of popular culture. Her work strongly features themes revolving around women and femininity. Stacy owns and runs Stacy Nguyen Creative, a branding and communications consulting business with a client roster that is primarily BIPOC-led community-based organizations and nonprofits whose work centers around equity, racial justice and economic justice.

Nidhi Kumar (she/her) is a proud alum of the University of Washington, graduating in 2021 from the UW School of Law with her master’s in jurisprudence. She earned her B.A. in political science (prelaw and criminal justice) at Michigan State University and is a current J.D. Candidate in Seattle University School of Law’s evening program, while serving full-time on the seconded Amazon legal team at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, LLP, continuously building and exploring her passion for the law.

Nidhi serves as a member of the UWAA GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) Council, a mentor through the Huskies@Work program and a District Dawg in the 43rd Legislative District, empowered by the mission of giving back to the UW community – providing opportunity, comradery and a voice to current students.

Next Episode

S3 Ep3: Resilience and Well-Being: An Overview of Skills and Practices for Building Resilience in the Workplace

with Megan Kennedy and Gina Topp

UW Resilience Lab director Megan Kennedy talks us through skills and practices for promoting resilience and well-being from the individual to the organizational level.

Megan Kennedy is the director of the UW Resilience Lab. As a leader and facilitator, Kennedy aims to build healthy and compassionate learning communities. From engaging stakeholders in vision-setting to partnering with students, staff and instructors, her approach to leadership centers on collaborative relationships. She believes that building high-quality wellness and educational programs requires teamwork at every level. Currently, Kennedy is developing and evaluating systems-based approaches to well-being that combines applied research, education and collaborative programming across three University of Washington campuses. This includes partnering with academic departments, student wellness groups and community-based organizations seeking to deepen their capacity for mindfulness and resilience. Kennedy earned her master’s degree in applied behavioral science from Bastyr University and is a licensed therapist with over a decade of experience in public and private practice.

Gina Topp (she/her) is a proud alumna of the University of Washington, graduating in 2017, 2021 and 2023. She earned a B.S. in biology, a J.D. and an LLM Masters in tax law. During her time at the University of Washington, Gina particularly enjoyed participating in an externship with the Washington State Legislature, where she fell in love with public policy. Gina served the people of King County as the legal counsel and policy advisor to the King County Executive. She recently started her own law firm. Aside from work, Gina enjoys all sports, particularly tennis and cherishes her role as a new mom.

As a member of the UW alumni community, Gina is passionate about the idea that together, across campuses and across the globe, the University of Washington community can make this world a better place.