We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jasmin Ambiong a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jasmin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the best boss, mentor, or leader you’ve ever worked with.

Currently, I work as a Chief Partnership Officer for a disability identity nonprofit organization called Billion Strong where I’m also one of the Cofounders. Prior to that, I have worked in different industries and have met amazing leaders. However, my current employer, Debra Ruh, CEO of Ruh Global Impact and founder of Billion Strong, is the person I consider to be the one whom I have learned the most from. Her advocacy for the community of persons with disabilities is admirable. She is passionate about what she does and is such a very good leader. She is a mentor, and a good employer, and has taught me a lot about advocating for the community.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Passionate and driven, that’s how I would describe myself. As a blind woman living in a developing country like the Philippines, these traits can be a double-edged sword. When I first entered the job market after university, I remember being anxious but, hopeful and excited. It wasn’t going to be easy; I knew that. However, I also did not expect how the rejections and discrimination because of my disability were going to impact me. It was heartbreaking and almost made me give up but, I kept going and transitioned my job search online. My thought process was, “If my own country is not yet ready to accept me, then I’ll try my luck in other countries that will.” That’s how my journey to remote work started long before it became popular. It is also the catalyst to finding my current profession and being a full-time disability advocate.

My advocacy for the community of persons with disabilities is a big part of my life. I write about the employment, education, and accessibility challenges that our community faces. I also spread awareness through public speaking engagements and focus group discussion participation.
Billion Strong, the nonprofit organization I currently work for and cofounded aims to empower, uplift, and unite persons with disabilities all over the world. We now have over a hundred country partners and even more global advisors globally. As a chief Partnership Officer, my job is to maintain good communication with our partners and advisors. I foster good relationships with them to ensure fruitful collaboration for the community of persons with disabilities. My experiences, the things that I’ve learned from fellow persons with disabilities through the interviews I conducted with them, and the 8-month immersive training that I received from Duskin leadership training in Japan are what make me effective in my current role and advocacy.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I met my cofounder, Debra Ruh, through LinkedIn in 2018. Back then, I was working as a freelance general transcriptionist and a web accessibility tester. I was looking for a new client and I came across her profile. Her take on disability inclusion enticed me to reach out to her. We connected and I Started working for her. First on her podcast, got promoted to social media Coordinator, and finally Cofounded Billion Strong in 2021. It was an interesting journey with her. So, I encourage everyone to reach out, offer your skills, and make that connection. It might change your life just like what it did for me.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

It is important to connect with everyone in your team. Know what their needs are so you can encourage them to be the best that they can be. Make them feel included and valued. That way, they will have the confidence to share their inputs and be open to you as their manager.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.billion-strong.org
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmin-ambiong-813b0a9b/?originalSubdomain=ph
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JazzAmbiong