let me begin by asking each of you to
close your eyes for a moment visualize a
seven-year-old child waiting in a warm
tropical waters in Southeast Asia
surrounded by water buffalos cuddling a
little wiggling piglet in her arms
please open your eyes now to this child
this piglet named Peggy Peggy was not a
pet as most children of her age would
believe it was a means to market a clear
path to be followed by diligently caring
day in and day out for Peggy Peggy even
at this early age this child somehow
realized innately
that if she worked hard took good care
of Peggy Peggy it would bring a good
price at market this became a true
mission driven accomplishment to achieve
this child had a vision that once Peggy
Peggy was sold she would be able to
purchase a rooster and a hen this in
turn would produce many chickens which
would satisfy daily food requirements
and create needed revenues thereby
generating in her own small way a
positive impact not only for herself but
also for her family members although
this young child was born 7337 miles
from here on the other side of the world
she was already pondering a great undone
I am sure you realize the child I have
been speaking about is me my family
immigrated to the United States when I
was 11 years old where I felt not
surprisingly like a stranger in a
strange land can you imagine walking
into my first day of class and seeing
all the children see
around me girls and even boys who I had
never been with at my previous all-girls
school they were wearing what I would
call civilian clothing rather than the
uniform I was accustomed to everyone was
looking at me and when I began to speak
I saw smirks on their faces since my
form of English was as foreign to them
as theirs was to me these early
experiences resulted in my shy and quiet
outward behavior during my primary and
secondary school years minor actions
would my new classmates were limited I
focused on my studies volunteered at
hospitals and participated in community
programs such as tutoring inner-city
children of course I also spent a lot of
time sitting by myself in my bedroom
daydreaming and projecting what I want
to become after finishing high school I
headed off to college where I obtained a
degree in biomedical and biochemical
engineering at the University of
Southern California even while I was
immersed in studies on what seemed like
24/7 basis I continued to devote time to
community service these activities
included feeding the homeless cleaning
up garbage and helping disadvantaged
children I even became the president of
our University’s International co-ed
service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega it
was during these formative years when I
experienced these catalytic events that
I realized there were infinite
possibilities as to what I could be and
what I could do to make a positive
social impact locally nationally and
internationally after graduating college
I was fortunate to secure a job with a
global software company that enabled me
to embark on a personal journey that
hazlit accent the extensive travel in
more than 50 countries from Cuba to
Vietnam from China to Egypt from France
to Peru from Cambodia to Malaysia and
from Australia to Ghana and many of
these countries I had the opportunity to
observe the daily lives of children
students and adults in underserved
communities for example in Cambodia I
watched a child climb into a Styrofoam
container he was no more than three
years old paddle over to me and beg for
money in Cuba I observed how many of its
citizens live a meager life getting by
with only basic necessities the social
media tools at our disposal today such
as smart phones and pads and their
associated millions of applications how
are all of us to have an immediate
global impact for example within minutes
of 15 year-old Malala yousafzai being
shot by the Taliban in 2012 for
advocating the rights of women to obtain
an education her story was instantly
being read on every continent from the
Americas to Antarctica and even in space
on the International Space Station
circling the globe because of the social
media we utilize today globally
publicizing malala’s horrific attack and
her fearless response to it people
everywhere were informed and outraged
this led to a movement to nominate
Malala for the Nobel Peace Prize which
she was awarded in 2014 the youngest
Nobel laureate ever all of us have the
ability to change the world and we are
doing it more than a decade ago 25 years
after my first nurturing firm markit
little Peggy Peggy I had the
privilege to address a 60th anniversary
event at the United Nations honoring the
UN’s formation and globalization of the
fundamental principle that all humans
are created equal
during my UN speech I publicly to choose
a mission in life that generates
measurable social impact
five years later based on my extensive
travel experiences and my background and
global software deployment I identified
a huge market need to deliver health
care more efficiently and
cost-effectively this has become my
mission in life to deliver access to
digital technologies in underserved
communities throughout the world and
some of the African regions I work in
they only have one doctor to serve more
than 25,000 people compared with more
than 70 doctors here in California to
serve the same number of people every
minute spent with a patient is so
important since helping has always been
at my core I created an eHealth
initiative to address these issues after
conducting extensive research in 2013
the West African country of Ghana was
selected as a site for our first
deployment in my positive naive initial
approach to this I thought accomplishing
this initiative should not be too
difficult and everyone would want to
join in on the task under the initiative
I thought I could attract large global
software providers who had not yet
entered the African market to join me in
an effort to serve that continents 1
point in people this would be a win-win
for all the software provider captures a
material share of this market at its
infancy the healthcare providers and
their patients benefit
and accomplish my mission after spending
more than a year doing groundwork I
learned that the major global software
companies were not interested in
addressing this underserved market I
also soon realized that even if the
software was given to us to use where’s
the hardware even if the hardware was
given to us to use where’s the
connectivity even if these items were
all provided to us where are the
necessary human resources to help
implement train operate and maintain the
system facing all of these challenges I
realized that the only way to accomplish
my mission was to design a comprehensive
system addressing all of these issues
the solution I created is the cloud
system an acronym for closed-loop data
system and I serve as a CEO of clouds
the cloud system specifically addresses
major challenges of electronic health
records implementation it aids in
diagnosis reduces errors improves safety
and supports better patient and public
health outcomes having an electronic
health information about an entire
population of patients allow providers
to be proactive and look more
meaningfully at the needs of patients by
implementing cloud systems in
underserved communities we are making
available proven technologies that are
foundational tools used by healthcare
providers in developed countries as we
connect healthcare facilities region by
region the measurable social impact I
was looking for is generated undertaking
any grade and done is not easy
especially in underserved global regions
my mission is no exception
it has been an exhausting multi-year
process it has been a long journey with
many challenges a long journey with many
disappointments
but also a journey that has given me joy
and fulfillment knowing how the cloud
system will forever change the lives of
people by improving the delivery of
their healthcare
I am specially humbled each time
strangers who hear about our project say
to me keep up the good work you are
doing even though we are in their way we
are still facing many obstacles these
challenges include health related issues
from small malaria inflicting mosquitoes
to outbreaks of Ebola there always
present challenges of funding government
regulation and political issues and
lastly but not the least personal
security and terrorism equally
challenging his ability to communicate
excitement and enthusiasm for our
project
for example during my first meeting with
a head of IT at a large Regional
Hospital in West Africa the staff member
did not give me a good reception he
wanted to walk out of the meeting
thinking we were just another vendor
selling something let alone having to
listen to a non African woman lecturing
on i.t after after I was given the
opportunity to explain who we are what
we are doing to improve the delivery of
health care and the vision we have he
immediately signed on to help us in any
way to this day he remains as one of our
best advocates on a lighter note but
reflecting similar initial impressions
it’s what happened to me when I attended
a small dinner at a regional leaders
home in Africa within the first 10
minutes after our arrival the leaders
wife came out to welcome us not knowing
who I was and that I was there to speak
about our project with her husband the
wife kindly invited me to help out in
the kitchen
where I would feel more comfortable and
leave the man to talk about the business
at hand in response I smiled and
graciously declined these types of
actions do not surprise me when I was in
engineering school in the 1990s I was
one of only a handful of women in my
major when I was globally deploying
software in the early 2000s I was always
the only woman on my team what I have
learned from my experiences in
accomplishing my mission is that we get
far better results when we draw upon a
holistic approach we need to apply not
only what we learn in academia or read
in books but also most importantly what
we learn from what we personally witness
and experience in our daily lives as my
brother Michael says a goal without a
plan it’s just a dream to find one’s
true life’s mission one must seek it out
let me share with you some helpful hints
I learned along the way to set your
course and choosing a mission in life
you need to ask yourself how do I do
this first believe that you have
infinite possibilities as to what your
life’s mission can be second from this
unlimited set of infinite possibilities
you need to pick something that you are
passionate and enthusiastic about which
will permit you to utilize unique skill
sets unique to you you may not be
successful with your first second or
even third attempt but do not despair
persevere and you will find your own
great undone to challenge third get a
team of people who believe in your cause
who you can count on to join you on your
journey
only through collective efforts can your
idea be expanded into a local national
or global movement notwithstanding
all of the challenges we face our planet
is still one beautiful piece of art
created in the most divine form but also
bleeding from the ravages of war modern
fears of terrorism poverty and lack of
access to emerging technologies today
all of us are citizens of the world and
as such it is our duty and
responsibility to ensure that all people
are given the ability to live a life
based on freedom justice an expectation
of peace and access to emerging
technologies who other than you have the
actual power decision-making
capabilities and are technologically
savvy to address these seemingly
overwhelming challenges let today be
truly historic for you
let it be because you realize that all
of us have the ability as a single
individual to effectuate positive global
change let it be because you are
inspired to commit right now to
personally tackling a great undone
choose the mission in life and stick to
it what you do and how you do it may
change but never change why you do it do
it for yourself with passion excitement
enthusiasm and a mission to generate
measurable social impact each of you has
the ability to do this there are no
truer words than those spoken by a young
man of my age at his inaugural address
let us always remember what president
john f kennedy said here on earth God’s
work must truly be our own may God bless
each of you as you journey on your
challenging but exciting mission in life
tackling your own great undone
you
close your eyes for a moment visualize a
seven-year-old child waiting in a warm
tropical waters in Southeast Asia
surrounded by water buffalos cuddling a
little wiggling piglet in her arms
please open your eyes now to this child
this piglet named Peggy Peggy was not a
pet as most children of her age would
believe it was a means to market a clear
path to be followed by diligently caring
day in and day out for Peggy Peggy even
at this early age this child somehow
realized innately
that if she worked hard took good care
of Peggy Peggy it would bring a good
price at market this became a true
mission driven accomplishment to achieve
this child had a vision that once Peggy
Peggy was sold she would be able to
purchase a rooster and a hen this in
turn would produce many chickens which
would satisfy daily food requirements
and create needed revenues thereby
generating in her own small way a
positive impact not only for herself but
also for her family members although
this young child was born 7337 miles
from here on the other side of the world
she was already pondering a great undone
I am sure you realize the child I have
been speaking about is me my family
immigrated to the United States when I
was 11 years old where I felt not
surprisingly like a stranger in a
strange land can you imagine walking
into my first day of class and seeing
all the children see
around me girls and even boys who I had
never been with at my previous all-girls
school they were wearing what I would
call civilian clothing rather than the
uniform I was accustomed to everyone was
looking at me and when I began to speak
I saw smirks on their faces since my
form of English was as foreign to them
as theirs was to me these early
experiences resulted in my shy and quiet
outward behavior during my primary and
secondary school years minor actions
would my new classmates were limited I
focused on my studies volunteered at
hospitals and participated in community
programs such as tutoring inner-city
children of course I also spent a lot of
time sitting by myself in my bedroom
daydreaming and projecting what I want
to become after finishing high school I
headed off to college where I obtained a
degree in biomedical and biochemical
engineering at the University of
Southern California even while I was
immersed in studies on what seemed like
24/7 basis I continued to devote time to
community service these activities
included feeding the homeless cleaning
up garbage and helping disadvantaged
children I even became the president of
our University’s International co-ed
service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega it
was during these formative years when I
experienced these catalytic events that
I realized there were infinite
possibilities as to what I could be and
what I could do to make a positive
social impact locally nationally and
internationally after graduating college
I was fortunate to secure a job with a
global software company that enabled me
to embark on a personal journey that
hazlit accent the extensive travel in
more than 50 countries from Cuba to
Vietnam from China to Egypt from France
to Peru from Cambodia to Malaysia and
from Australia to Ghana and many of
these countries I had the opportunity to
observe the daily lives of children
students and adults in underserved
communities for example in Cambodia I
watched a child climb into a Styrofoam
container he was no more than three
years old paddle over to me and beg for
money in Cuba I observed how many of its
citizens live a meager life getting by
with only basic necessities the social
media tools at our disposal today such
as smart phones and pads and their
associated millions of applications how
are all of us to have an immediate
global impact for example within minutes
of 15 year-old Malala yousafzai being
shot by the Taliban in 2012 for
advocating the rights of women to obtain
an education her story was instantly
being read on every continent from the
Americas to Antarctica and even in space
on the International Space Station
circling the globe because of the social
media we utilize today globally
publicizing malala’s horrific attack and
her fearless response to it people
everywhere were informed and outraged
this led to a movement to nominate
Malala for the Nobel Peace Prize which
she was awarded in 2014 the youngest
Nobel laureate ever all of us have the
ability to change the world and we are
doing it more than a decade ago 25 years
after my first nurturing firm markit
little Peggy Peggy I had the
privilege to address a 60th anniversary
event at the United Nations honoring the
UN’s formation and globalization of the
fundamental principle that all humans
are created equal
during my UN speech I publicly to choose
a mission in life that generates
measurable social impact
five years later based on my extensive
travel experiences and my background and
global software deployment I identified
a huge market need to deliver health
care more efficiently and
cost-effectively this has become my
mission in life to deliver access to
digital technologies in underserved
communities throughout the world and
some of the African regions I work in
they only have one doctor to serve more
than 25,000 people compared with more
than 70 doctors here in California to
serve the same number of people every
minute spent with a patient is so
important since helping has always been
at my core I created an eHealth
initiative to address these issues after
conducting extensive research in 2013
the West African country of Ghana was
selected as a site for our first
deployment in my positive naive initial
approach to this I thought accomplishing
this initiative should not be too
difficult and everyone would want to
join in on the task under the initiative
I thought I could attract large global
software providers who had not yet
entered the African market to join me in
an effort to serve that continents 1
point in people this would be a win-win
for all the software provider captures a
material share of this market at its
infancy the healthcare providers and
their patients benefit
and accomplish my mission after spending
more than a year doing groundwork I
learned that the major global software
companies were not interested in
addressing this underserved market I
also soon realized that even if the
software was given to us to use where’s
the hardware even if the hardware was
given to us to use where’s the
connectivity even if these items were
all provided to us where are the
necessary human resources to help
implement train operate and maintain the
system facing all of these challenges I
realized that the only way to accomplish
my mission was to design a comprehensive
system addressing all of these issues
the solution I created is the cloud
system an acronym for closed-loop data
system and I serve as a CEO of clouds
the cloud system specifically addresses
major challenges of electronic health
records implementation it aids in
diagnosis reduces errors improves safety
and supports better patient and public
health outcomes having an electronic
health information about an entire
population of patients allow providers
to be proactive and look more
meaningfully at the needs of patients by
implementing cloud systems in
underserved communities we are making
available proven technologies that are
foundational tools used by healthcare
providers in developed countries as we
connect healthcare facilities region by
region the measurable social impact I
was looking for is generated undertaking
any grade and done is not easy
especially in underserved global regions
my mission is no exception
it has been an exhausting multi-year
process it has been a long journey with
many challenges a long journey with many
disappointments
but also a journey that has given me joy
and fulfillment knowing how the cloud
system will forever change the lives of
people by improving the delivery of
their healthcare
I am specially humbled each time
strangers who hear about our project say
to me keep up the good work you are
doing even though we are in their way we
are still facing many obstacles these
challenges include health related issues
from small malaria inflicting mosquitoes
to outbreaks of Ebola there always
present challenges of funding government
regulation and political issues and
lastly but not the least personal
security and terrorism equally
challenging his ability to communicate
excitement and enthusiasm for our
project
for example during my first meeting with
a head of IT at a large Regional
Hospital in West Africa the staff member
did not give me a good reception he
wanted to walk out of the meeting
thinking we were just another vendor
selling something let alone having to
listen to a non African woman lecturing
on i.t after after I was given the
opportunity to explain who we are what
we are doing to improve the delivery of
health care and the vision we have he
immediately signed on to help us in any
way to this day he remains as one of our
best advocates on a lighter note but
reflecting similar initial impressions
it’s what happened to me when I attended
a small dinner at a regional leaders
home in Africa within the first 10
minutes after our arrival the leaders
wife came out to welcome us not knowing
who I was and that I was there to speak
about our project with her husband the
wife kindly invited me to help out in
the kitchen
where I would feel more comfortable and
leave the man to talk about the business
at hand in response I smiled and
graciously declined these types of
actions do not surprise me when I was in
engineering school in the 1990s I was
one of only a handful of women in my
major when I was globally deploying
software in the early 2000s I was always
the only woman on my team what I have
learned from my experiences in
accomplishing my mission is that we get
far better results when we draw upon a
holistic approach we need to apply not
only what we learn in academia or read
in books but also most importantly what
we learn from what we personally witness
and experience in our daily lives as my
brother Michael says a goal without a
plan it’s just a dream to find one’s
true life’s mission one must seek it out
let me share with you some helpful hints
I learned along the way to set your
course and choosing a mission in life
you need to ask yourself how do I do
this first believe that you have
infinite possibilities as to what your
life’s mission can be second from this
unlimited set of infinite possibilities
you need to pick something that you are
passionate and enthusiastic about which
will permit you to utilize unique skill
sets unique to you you may not be
successful with your first second or
even third attempt but do not despair
persevere and you will find your own
great undone to challenge third get a
team of people who believe in your cause
who you can count on to join you on your
journey
only through collective efforts can your
idea be expanded into a local national
or global movement notwithstanding
all of the challenges we face our planet
is still one beautiful piece of art
created in the most divine form but also
bleeding from the ravages of war modern
fears of terrorism poverty and lack of
access to emerging technologies today
all of us are citizens of the world and
as such it is our duty and
responsibility to ensure that all people
are given the ability to live a life
based on freedom justice an expectation
of peace and access to emerging
technologies who other than you have the
actual power decision-making
capabilities and are technologically
savvy to address these seemingly
overwhelming challenges let today be
truly historic for you
let it be because you realize that all
of us have the ability as a single
individual to effectuate positive global
change let it be because you are
inspired to commit right now to
personally tackling a great undone
choose the mission in life and stick to
it what you do and how you do it may
change but never change why you do it do
it for yourself with passion excitement
enthusiasm and a mission to generate
measurable social impact each of you has
the ability to do this there are no
truer words than those spoken by a young
man of my age at his inaugural address
let us always remember what president
john f kennedy said here on earth God’s
work must truly be our own may God bless
each of you as you journey on your
challenging but exciting mission in life
tackling your own great undone
you
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