Phoebe Eng Delivers Lecture on Cultural Fluency
By JOE NGUYEN, staff writer
March 13, 2005

Denver, CO – This past Thursday, Phoebe Eng, award-winning author of “Warrior Lessons: An Asian American Woman's Journey into Power,” delivered a lecture to an audience composed primarily of students and faculty in the Tivoli Turnhalle at the Auraria Campus. The lecture was sponsored by the Office of Student Life & Activities at the University of Colorado Denver and Health Sciences Center (UCDHSC) and the Office of Student Activities at Metropolitan State College of Denver.

Phoebe Eng listening to a question from the audience

Eng’s lecture focused on the subject of “Cultural Fluency,” which she describes as “the art of understanding, and being understood, across all boundaries and among many communities.” She stated that America is a changing country as “One in every ten people are immigrants... [and] 50% of the population under the age of 40 are people of color.” In order to accomplish this, everyone voices had to become louder in order to be heard, but at the same token, we must listen and ask questions. “Inquiry is not weakness, but a strength.”

Phoebe Eng poses for a picture with aXp's Joe Nguyen

Eng would go on to share several stories from her own past. One which drew laughter from the audience was about a lesson her mother taught her as grew up. “The man may be the head of the family, but the woman is the neck – the neck decides where head turns.”

Eng closed her lecture by fielding questions from the audience followed by a book signing reception.

Phoebe Eng, author and leadership strategist, has been involved in several leadership development initiatives, serving on the Advisory Boards of The Best Companies for Women of Color Initiative by Working Mother Media, and on the White House Project, which works to create a climate in America where it is normal for women to be governors, CEOs and president. Eng has also served as a consultant to a new fund aimed at elevating the voices of women of color in public policy and to the Ford Foundation in their efforts around the UN World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. Eng received her J.D. from New York University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley.