Scholar and Practitioner of Organizational Psychology
Yon Na, Ph.D.
Why I do This Work
Finding Meaning
There was a time when I thought that having a meaningful profession meant achieving financial success. This was early on in my career when I was earning a lucrative salary in advertising sales in New York City.
On Sunday afternoons, I would often sit quietly and stare from the window of my Brooklyn loft. Off in the distance, I could see the Twin Towers standing tall. During the time of the September 11th terrorist attack, when the world had turned upside down, I experienced an awakening.
I realized that what mattered most to me was adding value to organizations by developing its people and cultivating their potential. I left the advertising world and went back to school to pursue higher education. Soon after, I began a new career in organization effectiveness.
professional Bio
Yon Na is an organization effectiveness consultant, researcher, and professor. She applies organizational psychology principles to enhance employee engagement and performance.
Yon’s research area centers on workplace identity and its impact on leadership potential. She shares her research on Asian women in leadership at conferences, companies, and colleges. She is the founder of Radiance HQ, an organization dedicated to advancing Asian women in the workplace. Yon developed the Radiance Leadership Development Program, which combines her research on Asian identity, organizational psychology, and her experience working in Fortune 100 companies.
Since 2003, Yon has worked in Organization Effectiveness, Leadership Development, and Human Resources Management in Fortune 100 and high-growth companies, including Warner Bros., The New York Times, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, and Nordstrom. Her experience includes enhancing effectiveness through organization assessments to identify, design, and lead solutions such as executive off-sites, coaching, team development sessions, and customized learning workshops.
Yon holds a doctorate in Organizational Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. She received her Master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and a BA in Business Administration from Golden Gate University.
Yon is a member of the Organization Development Network, Society of Industrial/Organizational Psychologists, American Psychological Association, and the International Leadership Association. She is certified in Korn Ferry’s Emotional and Social Competency (360) Inventory, Leadership Styles Assessment, and Organizational Climate Survey.
professional Focus
As an organizational effectiveness consultant, my work encompasses three areas:
Working with learning organizations that want to develop people capabilities and enhance employee engagement.
Collaborating with leaders who want to enable and support organizational health and effectiveness.
Partnering with individuals who have a desire to understand who they are so they can create fulfilling careers and positively impact their lives.
As a researcher, my work centers around understanding identity and behavior in corporate settings. My doctoral research focused on the experiences of Asian immigrant women and their journeys into corporate leadership. I explored identity development, the characteristics of Asian women leaders, and factors that led to their success in multi-billion dollar companies. I recently completed an extensive research project to understand the characteristics of Asian American executives in Fortune 500, higher education, government, and nonprofits. This study was funded by LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics.) Link to the study here.