Pride. Peace. Power: How Adobe employees honor Asian and Pacific Islander heritage

Each May, Adobe marks Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month by honoring the contributions Asians and Pacific Islanders make to culture, business, science and communities around the world.

This year, the theme of our celebration is “Pride. Peace. Power.” Throughout the entire month, our Asian Pacific Islander at Adobe (APIA) employee network is hosting events across the company featuring ceremonial performances, culinary demonstrations, artistic showcases, employee storytellers and more.

We’re excited to share some of these unique stories from Adobe employees of how they honor their Asian and Pacific Islander heritage, embrace their own complex identities, and find strength in unapologetically being their authentic selves to find their own pride, peace, and power.

Roo Yeshpaul Johnson, senior social strategist

Roo lives in Phoenix, Arizona, but she grew up in London, where her parents emigrated from India. Her story illuminates how she embraced her Punjabi identity and is actively working to pass on that pride in her heritage to her sons.

"I decided at the age of seven I would go by Amber and proceeded to do that well into my late 20s. It wasn't until I moved to the States that I realized that this wasn't an authentic part of myself. I had always remained Roo or Ruhi with my family, and that always felt like who I truly was. 'Amber' was like another persona that I had that just wasn't gelling with me anymore."

“I speak about my own name, and maybe you would think that would lead me to want my kids to have more westernized names, but in fact it’s done the opposite for me. I want them to have names that represent the heritage that they come from. It gives them culture right from the start.”

Georgie Ma, deliverability consultant

Growing up in a small town in the UK, Georgie remembers being one of the only people of color in her school. She’s determined to make sure her daughter learns from lots of strong role models who embrace their Chinese heritage.

“I’d really hate for my daughter to grow up how I did, where I suppressed all my feelings. So, I flipped this around; in August 2020, I started my podcast called Chinese Chippy Girl. I speak about my upbring and bring guests on the show to talk about our experiences of being Asian.”

"I'm proud of my heritage and I'm proud of where I came from. I know it's not something that I've always felt, particularly when growing up in Macclesfield, but I'm on a journey to learn more about my Chinese heritage, embrace it and teach anything I learn to my daughter, so she too can embrace it and feel proud of her Chinese background.”

Julia LaVone Allen-Pi’lani, privacy analyst

Julia, has at times faced difficulty in claiming her Pacific Islander identity. As someone with Black, Hawaiian, and Filipino heritage, she’s found that she can draw strength from all aspects of her unique background.

“I was hoping that by sharing my story, I might be able to bring some visibility to other folks who might feel what I’m feeling. I don’t get treated in the world like a Hawaiian person. I don’t get treated in the world like a Filipino person. I get treated in the world like a Black person. It led to me having some questions about my identity and oftentimes being afraid to express it.”

“Something that is shared between my Black family and my Hawaiian family is the idea of power. I get comfort knowing that resilience is in my blood. When there’s things that I think I can’t do, I just remember that I have the power from my ancestors in me.”

We invite everyone to embrace your experiences and be proud of your unique and authentic selves. #AdobeForAll