We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Grace Hong. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Grace below.

Grace, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I’m really excited about the projects I’m bringing to life at the moment across multiple dimensions of my life – from a career perspective, my art and creative self-expression, and what I’m involved in on the non-profit and impact side. I’ve spent many years cultivating my artistic pursuits in isolation from my work as a corporate executive and business strategy consultant, and I’ve always had a strong calling to give back and do good in the world. Over the past year or so, those things have started to come together in a meaningful way.

I launched an organization PARASOL with the mission of creating a more conscious, connected, and purposeful world. Our platform unifies the business, creative, and wellness sectors in a growing network of creators committed to change for good. It started with day-long micro-festivals I would host in my backyard, events that combined art, music, mindfulness, and incredible workshops and speakers focused on personal and collective growth. It was truly transformational. My aspiration is to continue to host immersive transformational experiences and to eventually build out the other branches of PARASOL, which include a consulting arm, music label, non-profit, and venture fund. I’m excited about fostering collaboration, supporting creatives and other creators, and incubating meaningful projects.

Serendipitously, another project that’s meaningful to me was born at the same time as PARASOL. It’s a band with my husband Martin Wave called Grace & Moji exploring love, growth, and healing in our relationship. We got married after 3 months of dating pretty much Day 1 of the pandemic and found ourselves in lockdown getting to know each other in a deeper way. It was intense, and like I believe all relationships, as beautiful as they are, they create a mirror to the parts of ourselves that need greater self-examination and change. It’s been a beautiful and painful process, and we channeled that into our project. Our first song was released on June 22nd of this year, and we’ll continue to release songs off our EP for the rest of the year. We’re also working on an album.

I’m also working on finishing up an EP for my solo project Nolo Grace. It’s experimental, beautiful, and honest. I wrote songs about my mother who was abusive and schizophrenic, addiction, the death of my boyfriend when I was 14, my connection to my higher self, and self-love.

Lastly, I’m on the board of the nonprofit Save the Music, which focuses on building music programs in the 20% of schools in the US that do not have access to music education. Growing up in a broken home, music truly did save my life, and so this cause is important to me. Some people may not consider music education to be an urgent issue, but I believe it can provide the soul nourishment to keep going when “real life” may be too much.

Grace, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My life and career have taken a lot of twists and turns. I’m originally from New York City. My parents were Korean immigrants who didn’t speak much English, and my home life was violent and chaotic. I had to grow up quickly, and I naturally excelled academically, so that became a lever for me to find opportunities out in the world. I was always passionate about music, played piano and sang, and would listen to music obsessively even though my creative side wasn’t encouraged. When I was in middle school, things got really bad at home, and I had to find a way out of there and ended up getting a scholarship to a boarding school Phillips Academy Andover and then went to Columbia University for undergrad and grad school. The creative side of me died – or at least became dormant – for nearly 20 years as I went down a path of career fulfillment, first in the social sciences and international development and then in the corporate world. During the international development period of my life, I worked at a think tank and then on projects for the government of Liberia and several democracy and transparency-focused organizations in South Africa.

The start of my corporate career was unplanned. I had been applying incessantly to NGOs and jobs at organizations like the UN to no avail and then ended up getting an invitation to interview with the hedge fund D. E. Shaw. I believe I was 26 at the time and thought corporations were all evil, especially Wall Street. I went to the interview, and I was honestly blown away by the people I met who were brilliant, kind, and interesting multi-dimensional people. I accepted the job and then eventually left the world of financial services and went to a large B2B enterprise software and information services company, first in corporate strategy and later into head of strategy, head of project, GM, and other executive roles.

In 2016, I hit a bit of a breaking point and decided to leave the corporate world. I spent a year being nomadic traveling the world. I was lost and grasping for answers. I went deep into my own inner work and further developed my spiritual practice, including getting certified in reiki, which I rarely share with people. I also started singing, learning guitar, and eventually songwriting and learning how to produce. I would go through periods of making music and giving up in frustration. I also started consulting and holding interim executive positions, and today, I have a multi-faceted career as a Senior Advisor at the private equity firm TPG, artist and music producer with a solo project (Nolo Grace) and band with my husband (Grace & Moji). I also started an organization called PARASOL with a creative community, consulting arm, and music label. It started with transformational microfestivals I would host in my backyard coming out of the pandemic and has evolved from there. I’m excited about growing the community and network of incredible, purpose-driven people across disciplines coming together to work on themselves and also create positive change in the world.

My focus with PARASOL at the moment is to grow the community and platform and build out Parasol Partners, the consulting arm of the organization. Parasol Partners is dedicated to transforming businesses through human-centric approaches to strategy, innovation, company culture, and leadership development. Grounded in deep self-inquiry and the latest findings from neuroscience, we offer cutting-edge solutions that inspire organizations to thrive in the rapidly evolving landscape of the 21st century. Our team of seasoned consultants works closely with organizations to co-create strategies and initiatives aligned with their vision and values, from innovative business strategies and fostering a thriving company culture to developing agile leadership and promoting employee well-being.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I recently transitioned into being a creative and still lead a hybrid life with a number of business pursuits. One of the most important things you need as a creative is space and time. When you’re relaxed and have plenty of space and time, your mind drops into a different zone where there’s more subconscious and unconscious processing and ideas that lie below the surface come into existence. It requires trust.

In my work in the business world, there are frameworks, answers, and right ways to do things, and you naturally fit into those constructs. Most of the time when I have a creative idea, there’s no one else there to validate whether it’s a good or bad idea. It’s really not even the right question to ask. It’s honestly anxiety-provoking for me in a way as someone who’s been academically driven and spent most of her life in the corporate world. Is this a good idea? Is this terrible? I guess only I can say. It’s empowering and terrifying at the same time.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I would say my mission with my work is to heal myself and the world. By knowing myself better, being honest about what I learn and find, and shedding the layers, I believe I’ll continue to transform. When we change, those around us also change, and there’s a cumulative effect to that process.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://parasol.la/
• Instagram: @nolograce @gracexheart @parasol.la @graceandmoji
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parasolcommunity
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracexhong/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Parasol_LA
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb1umemZ59E2mVdqkfDtoRA

Image Credits
XKYLAR, Lindsey Ruth, Preston Thalindroma, Martin Wave