About
Candies Kotchapaw is a Career Development Speaker, Author, and Consultant
I excel at developing unique solutions to gaps in niche industry pipelines. Passionate change maker focused on amplifying the excellence within Black communities. I hold Master and Bachelor degrees in Social Work, and a Diploma in Child and Youth work.
I actively engage my structural social work experience and education to address intersectional barriers to employment and societal advancement specifically for Black young professionals.
My work currently centers around education, training and mentorship in careers where Black talents are stereotypically under-represented. I use experiential learning as the focal point to expose Black youth to careers in diplomacy and negotiation, STEAM and other leadership focused areas.
Over the course of the last 3 years, I have spearheaded the development of two community based leadership development programs. I created the early intervention #LeadLikeAGirl program for Black girls ages 8-17. Young girls in this program are mentored by Black women and allied women to disrupt the gender wage disparity in professional careers.
From my own lived experience of lack of access to the diplomatic education and training space, I developed the Black Diplomats Academy for young professionals interested in careers in diplomacy and negotiation. Black young people ages 15-35 get the opportunity to hone their skills in networking, policy studies and negotiation; while regularly interacting with policy actors from across various industries of societal influence.
My goal is to strategically dismantle entry point barriers and socio-economic inequities historically faced by Black communities.
