3AF NextGen Leaders

Helping rising Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Leaders in the marketing, advertising, and creative industry

2024 - 2025 NextGen Mentorship Program

3AF and our partners at Asians in Advertising are proud to announce the start of the 2024-2025 NextGen Mentorship Program, launched in 2021 to help foster the next generation of Asian American Pacific Islander Native Hawaiian (AAPINH) talent in the advertising and creative fields. We’re proud to share that we had more than 500+ applicants and will be matching 200+ individuals. The program will kick start the beginning of October and will run through February.

Since its launch, this program has grown exponentially in a short amount of time, highlighting the need and desire in the community for such initiatives. We’ve found that both mentors and mentees have benefited greatly from the pairings, with many still actively meeting with their mentor or mentee.

Now that we’ve closed applications for this year, we’re excited to share that we’ve got over 450 people who have applied for 2024-2025! If interested in information for future programs, please email us at AsianAdNextGen@gmail.com.

The program is designed to be targeted and focused on helping rising Asian American Pacific Islander Native Hawaiian Leaders (AAPINH) in the marketing, advertising, and creative industry.

As an often underrepresented and fragmented group within these fields, the NextGen program seeks to serve as a learning resource for rising leaders , with industry professionals to empower them in their careers. It also seeks to serve as a learning opportunity and resource for the industry professionals to connect with up and coming talent – which hopes to provide them with insights into the new generation of consumer advocates. 
Mentees and mentors will be matched through the program and will meet once a month over the period of six months. There will also be virtual and in person activities. 

Each month there will be a specific theme or topic to discuss, set by the steering committee, which will provide an opportunity for mentors and mentees to learn from one another, hopefully forging a long term relationship.

NextGen participants will also get a chance to connect with one another in the program through monthly speaker series, workshops, and happy hours. Not only will they get a chance to learn from industry professionals, but they’ll get a chance to learn from others like them who are going through similar stages in their professional careers from all around the country.

Mentees/mentors will also receive other perks, like opportunities to meet and greet with board members from AIA and/or 3AF, early access and discounts to workshops and panels, and other industry resources
NextGen Los Angeles Reception held in collaboration with our friends at Asians in Advertising.  Photo credit: Steven Lam

Qualifications

MENTEES

Mentee Qualifications:

  • <5 years of professional experience in marketing, communications, advertising (career pivoters are welcome!)
  • Dedicated and committed to making the most of your time with your mentor
  • Want to work on specific action item
  • Willing to bring new perspective
  • Please note that due to constraints, we unfortunately will not be taking any current undergraduate students. Program is meant for those currently in the industry.

Mentee Commitments:

  • Mentees will be responsible for following up and setting up meetings with Mentors, confirming schedules, etc.
  • 1 x Monthly Meeting w/ Mentors
  • 1 x Monthly Meeting for workshops, speakers and happy hours
  • 1 x Orientation Meeting w/ 3AF
  • Available during Sep 2024 – Mar 2025

 

MENTORS

Mentor Qualifications:

  • 10+ years of industry experience
  • Dedicated and committed to spending time with your mentees
  • Openness to open your network to help Mentees
  • Share your personal journey and help mentees shape theirs

Mentor Commitments:

  • 1x Monthly Meeting w/ Mentee
  • 1 x Orientation Meeting w/ 3AF
  • Available during Sep 2024 – Mar 2025
2023 PROGRAM RECAP

During 2022-2023, the Asian American Advertising Federation was proud to pair over 400+ mentor and mentee industry professionals. We saw an exponential increase in applicants from our first year in 2021! Throughout the six month program, mentors and mentees met once a month (virtually) for one-on-ones, workshops, panels, and end of the year in-person mixers. The program was a success with motivated individuals from around the Country coming together to learn and grow!

A huge thanks to those who helped shape program in beginning stages: Landon Nguyen, Suzie Bao, Natalie Gatbonton, Clara Luo, Jessalin Lam, Bernice Chao, Jay Kim, Dan Matthews, Paula Cuerquis, and Elliot Lum.

FAQ

Absolutely! Please email us at AsianAdNextGen@gmail.com to be contacted in the future!

Ultimately it’s up to the mentor & mentee for what they get out of the experience. Life happens and it’s completely fine if sessions get missed or if you need to reschedule. We just request that both mentors and mentees communicate with one another and if there are any issues, please bring them up!

Yes! We plan to have some in-person events throughout the year. Also – we plan to activate around smaller cohorts to meet more frequently or find opportunities to gather either online or in-person. We’ve found that people end up meeting offline in various other ways – either planning to meet at conferences, separate events, etc. We encourage and hope that you proactively set these up!

Depending on level of interest from mentees & mentors, we’ll adjust the program accordingly

If you’d like to be considered as a mentor, we’d LOVE to have you. We are seeking industry professionals with knowledge to share & a passion to teach! Please contact us at AsianAdNextGen@gmail.com with “Mentor” in the subject line.