PCMA Panelists Discuss Overcoming Adversity, Championing Others

As reported by PCMA, shifting your mindset from adversity to ambition isn’t an easy thing to do, but at PCMA Convening Leaders Opening Main Stage on Jan. 8, executive Steve Pemberton and social activist Nadya Okamoto showed it’s not impossible.

Pemberton, who like Okamoto received a standing ovation, recounted how he was orphaned and placed into foster care, then abandoned and betrayed by the individuals entrusted with his care.

According to PCMA, Pemberton’s triumphant life journey was made into a film, “A Chance in the World,” drawn from his critically acclaimed memoir of the same title. Today, in addition to being the chief human resources officer of Globoforce, Pemberton is a passionate champion for disadvantaged youth, serving on several boards, including the United States Business Leadership Network and UCAN.

Okamoto’s story of childhood discrimination and abuse served as the catalyst for her humanitarian work. When she was a freshman in high school, her family was homeless for several months. Her commute to school went from 12 minutes to more than two hours each way. After striking up conversations with the homeless women she met at the bus stop, she learned the most challenging aspect of their living situation was menstrual hygiene.

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