From Idea to Impact: the story behind IdentiTea Collective
A new city, a fresh start…
I moved to Chicago in late September 2021 to start my Master’s program, when the city was still emerging from the pandemic but wrapping up for the long winter months ahead. Signs reminding people to stay six feet apart were everywhere, masks were still common, and the downtown streets felt emptier than I had imagined.
The city felt like it was still holding its breath, unsure of when to exhale.
Most of my early days were spent alone, working by day, studying by night, and barely leaving my apartment. If I wanted to build a life here, I had to do something. The first step was finding a local job. A few months later, I joined LinkedIn as a Product Operations Manager and got involved with LinkedIn Asian Alliance (LIAA).
Finding community…
Before long, I became Chief Office Chair of LIAA’s Chicago chapter, focused on bringing people together. I organized happy hours, karaoke nights, and group dinners, hoping to create a space where people felt like they belonged. What started as a six-person group chat grew to more than thirty, with members planning their own meetups, celebrating birthdays together, and even traveling as a group.
Looking beyond the office, I also wanted to create opportunities for social impact and find ways for our members to give back to the broader AAPI community in Chicago. For AAPI Heritage Month that year, I worked with our Social Impact team to host a fundraising happy hour for Project: VISION (PV), a youth mentorship nonprofit in Chinatown. I left that event so inspired by their mission that I joined the Associate Board (AB) soon after, a pivotal moment that connected me to a larger group of AAPI professionals around the city.
The waves of layoffs…
Then, in late 2022, the series of tech layoffs began.
All the effort we had put into building a community started to unravel. The friendships we had formed quickly faded as those impacted were suddenly cut off from group chats and excluded from events.
And if we were feeling this loss, other ERGs at other companies had to be going through it too. The layoffs didn’t just separate people from their jobs. They fractured communities. So why not create something to help people stay connected? What if we brought ERGs together, not just to support each other, but to make a real impact beyond our companies?
The lightbulb moment at a dinner conversation…
I first brought up the idea at PV’s annual Fall Soiree in November 2022. By chance, I was chatting about this concept over dinner. One introduction led to another, and suddenly, I found myself talking to a small group of young professionals inspired by a shared vision.
A few months later, in April 2023, we hosted a networking workshop for AAPI ERG leaders from LinkedIn, Salesforce, and Google. More than 20 people showed up to what we were calling the Chicago Tech Asian Coalition.
But we weren’t just there to network. We broke into small groups and asked bigger questions. How could we build lasting connections? How could we collaborate? How could we support the broader AAPI community?
What started as a casual dinner conversation was turning into something real.
We rebranded as IdentiTea Collective, building a stronger, community-driven identity focused on AAPI professionals and their stories. While it started in Chicago, we knew we eventually wanted to extend beyond the city for AAPIs in the midwest tech scene.
Two years later, what began as an idea over dinner has grown into a thriving network. The past few years have shown me that communities don’t just happen. They’re built by the people who refuse to let them fade.
How to get involved…
If you’re interested in joining our community, you can:
Connect with Josh on LinkedIn!
