Moss Adams Voices

The eldest daughter often experiences pressure to grow up quickly, but expectations can be multiplied for first-generation children. This was true throughout much of Jennie Ly’s (she/her) life. Today, she’s recognized within Moss Adams and beyond for her work as a senior manager leading Assurance Innovation and the Asian business resource group (BRG). However, achieving the confidence that helped her become an effective leader required courage to confront self-doubt and shame to achieve transformation.

Jennie shares her story while discussing the Asian BRG’s work to help folks across the firm transform their cultural experiences into professional superpowers.

’Empowerment‘ is the theme for this year’s Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Month celebration. How did the Asian BRG select this theme?

The Asian BRG is highlighting cultural values to empower our members to apply those values in the workplace. We believe that leveraging the strengths of our upbringing will help us achieve success in our lives. It’s about finding your voice and crafting your experiences into a superpower.

What does it mean to turn your experiences into a superpower?

My culture heavily values family, and my leadership style reflects that. I foster an environment where the whole team collaborates and supports each other to avoid hierarchy. Family is very important to me, so I adjust my working hours to attend family dinners and be present with my kids. I encourage my teams to do the same. I think that’s a superpower and it exists in all of us.

Can you tell me more about the upbringing that shaped your workplace superpower?

As the eldest daughter in an immigrant family, I had a lot of responsibilities. I was the translator and the caretaker for household finances and my siblings—our parents worked 16 hours and only saw us on the weekends.

Sometimes, I’ve felt powerless in my journey. I always wanted a childhood where I could dream or do things for fun, but we were always in survival mode. My parents immigrated with nothing. We couldn’t take vacations due to financial constraints, so I dreamed of one day taking my parents traveling with me and my family. Hearing stories of how they struggled to achieve a better life for us gave me a sense of pride, but also an obligation to be responsible and never disappoint them, pay it forward, and pay it back to recognize them for their hardships.

That sounds like a lot to handle when you were so young. How did you deal with it?

I tried to be the golden child, and that façade became a prescribed checklist to live my life. While others partied or hung out at the mall, I babysat my younger siblings and cousins. I cooked for my family, studied for the perfect report card, went to college while working full-time, married my high school sweetheart, and had two children before I was 30.

If you’ve seen Mulan, you’ll remember Mushu shouting, “Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your family, dishonor on your cow.” That internal voice of expectations echoed in my mind, urging me to behave and check the boxes on their list or I’d dishonor my family’s reputation.

Additionally, I never felt like I fit in. While we’re Chinese, my parents were born in Cambodia and immigrated to the United States from Vietnam, so our cuisine is primarily Vietnamese. This fusion made it hard to belong to either Chinese or Vietnamese clubs at school, as I didn’t want to appropriate a culture I wasn’t closely connected to.

When did those pressures become your superpower?

I had to get help to let go of the fear and shame of disappointing my family. I heard “dishonor on your family” when I became a CPA because it wasn’t the career my family desired, so I worked hard to move up the ladder and generate wealth quickly. This led to missing family dinners and my grandparents’ birthday parties.

It took two years for my husband to stop asking me when I’d make it home for dinner. I sacrificed a lot that contradicted my values, and I still felt like I’d disappointed my family.

My 18-month-old son started walking in 2017, but I hadn’t noticed because I was caught up with work. That’s when I learned family is more important to me than checking boxes to become successful. I started going to therapy to find my voice and achieve clarity on what I wanted to do rather than what was expected of me.

I was able to visualize what I wanted my life to be and found a passion for visionary thinking. I shared that with partners at the firm and realized there were opportunities in our industry that excited me.

How is the Asian BRG encouraging others to leverage their cultural superpowers?

We’ll be brainstorming how our members can pivot their cultural values into communication and leadership styles. For example, perfectionists can flip their fear of failure with rejection therapy and asking for stretch opportunities. Those of us who may be quiet to avoid being rude can champion inclusive discussions with all team members. It’s about balancing our cultural values, awareness, and the benefits of everything to bring value forward.

Activating our superpowers in the workplace can be professionally and personally transformative. I feel alive again, now that I’m able to align my cultural values with my professional goals. I organize my Innovation work with passion projects and ensure my schedule is available for family. I even wore a Cambodian outfit at the 2024 Ascend Convention.

This is who I want to be, not who I’m expected to be. That’s empowerment.