Ashley Pan, a Berkeley Women in Business Finance Committee Member and a second year UC Berkeley student pursuing a B.S. in Business Administration, sheds light on her journey through the non-profit space in business:
Let’s discuss your non-profit journey. What inspired you to get involved in the non-profit sector of business?
Every child deserves to have an education. I feel very privileged to have had a worry-free education all my life. My privilege has pushed me to introduce kids in Sierra Leone to the education and future they deserve, even if it’s something as small as a solar lantern.
Currently, many kids are using harmful and cheap kerosene lanterns to study at night. Studying and good health should be complements, not substitutes. I drew my inspiration from Develop Africa, an organization that empowers communities in sub-Saharan Africa through providing school supplies, child sponsorship, computer training, and scholarships.
I saw an opportunity for me to step in to make an impact on these kids’ lives, and I wanted to involve as many youth around me as possible.
What is “Light of the World” and what were your accomplishments in this role?
Light of the World, LOW, is a youth organization that aims to provide local impact through connecting youth to community service opportunities and global impact by fundraising to replace harmful kerosene lanterns with solar lanterns for children in Sierra Leone who need to study at night.
As the founder and executive director, there were points in my position where I did almost everything for the organization and there are times where I let my directors and members take the lead. I’ve dipped my toes in every aspect of running a nonprofit. I maintain constant communication with Develop Africa to ship out solar lanterns in the most cost effective manner. I was a volunteer at Develop Africa myself, where I listened to numerous nonprofit podcasts and summarized the key points to present to the Develop Africa board.
Not only did I demonstrate my commitment to Develop Africa, I also learned so much about growing LOW’s funding base, maximizing capacity of partnerships and directors, and the power of a clear vision through the podcasts. I was able to rebuild Light of the World as one organization of many youth rather than separate chapters at different schools. Over the past few years, we’ve hosted headshot workshops, volunteer at warehouses, donate to food banks in Plano, host fundraisers at restaurants, and of course, donate solar lanterns.
What are your career goals? What industry do you hope to work in, and why?
My career dream sits at the cornerstone of my two biggest passions: accounting and teaching. I want to be an accounting professor.
I want to unapologetically love and empower the future generation as I am doing now. I want to prove that women belong in finance and accounting. I want to reassure people that careers in finance and accounting are worth pursuing. I want to show the world the power of women. I want to receive my tenure so that I can remain an accounting professor while continuing my work at PanCha and Light of the World. I see PanCha and Light of the World as lifelong projects, as both have become a part of who I am.
I will incorporate my experience as a professor into the business and nonprofit world, and likewise, I will incorporate what I’ve learned through PanCha and Light of the World into my lectures and research.