Hi, I’m Cynthia.
I do what I do because I am profoundly aware of the systemic marginalization of women of color in the professional world. I am on a personal mission to use all of my skills and expertise to close the race and gender gaps in money, power, and respect.
Cynthia Pong, JD
Cynthia Pong, JD, is an award-winning executive coach and sought-after speaker who empowers women of color leaders to advance their careers and claim positions of power. As Founder and CEO of Embrace Change, Cynthia leads a team of elite BIPOC career coaches in providing specialized coaching and training programs for women of color, from high-performing individual contributors to C-suite executives.
Her flagship leadership program, the Leadership Accelerator, won an Anthem Award in 2023 for its unparalleled success in accelerating the careers of women of color leaders. Graduates have gone on to secure prestigious fellowships (White House, Harvard, Stanford), promotions, raises, speaking opportunities, and admission to top graduate programs (NYU, Berkeley).
Cynthia’s book, Don't Stay in Your Lane: The Career Change Guide for Women of Color, has resonated deeply with countless women of color across industries looking to make bold career shifts, cementing her role as a foremost voice on the career advancement of women of color seeking positions of influence.
Cynthia also founded the Embrace Change Speakers Bureau, the first and only speakers bureau dedicated to amplifying the voices and perspectives of women of color speakers and experts. A LinkedIn Top Voice for Job Search and Career, she is frequently called upon for her expertise on career advancement, negotiation, and thought leadership, with features in The Atlantic and on NBC, CBS, NPR, and more.
With over a decade of experience negotiating––first as a public defender, now as a CEO––Cynthia has coached her clients to negotiate salary increases as high as 67%. Collectively, she has empowered her clients to bring in over $750K in raises. Her unique coaching methodology is calibrated to empower women of color leaders with precisely what they need to break down barriers, claim their worth, and lead with authenticity.
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Working with Cynthia made me feel like the seas had parted and I could see a path ahead. The best part was negotiating a pay bump! I hadn’t even really expected that to be a big part of our sessions, but it ended up being a really important perk, which provided me with long-term lessons on how to better assert my value.
— Nana B.
More About Cynthia:
Prior to founding Embrace Change, Cynthia was a public defender in the Bronx, New York, for six years, carrying a caseload of 100 to 120 criminal cases at a time. She fought tirelessly for her clients' liberty and rights; all her felony trials resulted in acquittals. Before that, she clerked for Justice James E. Graves on the Mississippi Supreme Court. She earned her law degree from NYU School of Law (cum laude) and her Bachelor of Arts from Brown University in Ethnic Studies (magna cum laude).
Cynthia’s social justice background deeply influences the ways in which she supports her clients in their journey of self-fulfillment and wellness. Being a public defender taught her how to ask the right questions and reinforced her zeal for supporting people through times of great difficulty. She has counseled thousands of clients and helped them move forward through the worst experiences of their lives. As a practitioner of restorative justice, she follows the value of deep listening with the goal of truly understanding another person. As an entrepreneur, she has been through countless rounds of strategic trial and error in building her business over the past five years.