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Monica H. Kang
Founder, InnovatorsBox® | TEDxLogan Circle | Transforming Leaders, Teams, and Communities
Monica H. Kang is a multifaceted professional with extensive experience in innovation, creativity, and leadership. She is the Lead Organizer and License Holder for TEDxLogan Circle, an independently organized TED event in Washington, D.C.13
Professional Background
Monica is the Founder and CEO of InnovatorsBox®, a company she established in October 2015. Through InnovatorsBox®, she helps organizations worldwide leverage creativity to unlock talent, drive innovation, and build inclusive cultures.2 Her work focuses on strengthening and sustaining creativity to drive culture transformation and team development in engaging and relatable ways.
Expertise and Accomplishments
Author and Speaker:: Monica has authored two books:
- "Rethink Creativity: How to Innovate, Inspire, and Thrive at Work" (2018)
- "Have You Seen My Friends?: The Adventures of Creativity" (2021)2
She is also an accomplished international speaker, providing keynotes and workshops on topics such as creativity, innovation, and workplace culture.
Educator and Coach:: Monica has served as an Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship & Leadership at BAU International University and is an Executive Leadership and Innovation Coach.2 She has been a member of the Forbes Coaches Council and holds various certifications in coaching, facilitation, and leadership development.
TEDxLogan Circle
As the Lead Organizer of TEDxLogan Circle, Monica is responsible for conceptualizing and executing the event.2 The 2024 theme, "Rethink Innovation," aligns closely with her professional focus on creativity and innovation in the workplace.1 Under her leadership, TEDxLogan Circle aims to highlight innovators who are empowering their communities and revolutionizing industries by finding creative ways to intersect multiple sectors.
Monica's diverse background and expertise in creativity, innovation, and leadership make her well-suited to lead TEDxLogan Circle and foster a platform for sharing groundbreaking ideas and solutions to complex world problems.
Highlights
안녕 부산, 반가워요!
I am so excited to be here and kickstart the AI Startup School with the one and only Google for Startups Korea team here. It's a 6-week course in which I have the honor of doing the first three sessions on some of my favorite topics as an entrepreneur - entrepreneur mindset, storytelling, and leadership skills.
오늘 첫 세션 합니다. 스타트업 관심 있으신 분들 AI 차업을 더 잘하고 싶으신 분들 모두모두 모여주세요! 앞으로 6주중 3주 프로그램을 맡게된 모니카 강입니다. 오늘 오후에 곧 부산에서 봐요! RSVP신청 링크는 코맨트에 달아요!
Thanks, Mike Kim, Jessica Chang, YeSeul (Lio) Kim, and JiHye Jenny Park, for your leadership and community building in Korea. Excited to witness the good work MUST Accelerator team is doing in Busan. And thanks Accelerate Performance Sales Consulting for the collaboration opportunity on this meaningful project!
#스타트업스쿨 #부산 #코리아
Thank you for the unforgettable time together. 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻 I'm grateful for your trust in me and cannot wait to repeat this soon with you.
Ten months ago, when I secured the license from TED Conferences to start TEDxLogan Circle in Washington, DC, I had no idea how much work this would be. I also had no idea how much joy and growth I'd gain from this, which would make me want to repeat this experience over and over again. 🙌🏻
As my few hours of prep quickly turned into 80 hours a week, it dawned on me that this was more than just an event. (Yes, this is all volunteer work with zero budget.) We're creating a new space for people to connect, be seen, challenged, and grow, including myself. My role as a coach at InnovatorsBox® taught me how much I love training leaders, but my role as the Lead Organizer at TEDxLogan Circle taught me how much more I love building teams, partnerships, and relationships from scratch. I got to implement all the details and changes I wish to see in any great team, partnership, speaking engagement, and event journey, and I got to witness how that made all the difference. Yes, it took extra hours to write individual rejection letters to the declined speakers, conduct regular team meetings, making in-person visits to build new partnerships, but the joy and impact were tripled.
I learned that managing a paid staff and a volunteer team is different and requires even more grace in communication, agility, and trust-building. I got more comfortable with conflict and difficult conversations. I doubled down on positive affirmation as I sat down with our speakers as they went through their 10th draft, reminding them they got it while also pushing them to go even deeper with their reflections. I leaned on gratitude as I spent hours solving new problems to remember how far we've all come and how lucky I am to work with such a talented dream team. I had so much fun and joy every day. I cried unexpectedly on stage twice at the end, overwhelmed with joy and gratitude as we completed our event successfully. I'm humbled by all of this and much more.
Let's give another round of applause to the dream team!
- 34 Team of volunteers
- 12 Speakers
- 90+ Partners
- 100 Participants
One dream. See you again at TEDxLogan Circle. Thank you. ❤️
#TEDxLoganCircle #RethinkInnovation
Photo Credit: Tammy McConaty from Images by TMAC
