APIA Scholars

Challenge

APIA Scholars, the nation’s leading nonprofit advancing higher education for Asian and Pacific Islander American students, faced internal challenges that hindered its ability to achieve its mission. Leadership sought to align the organization around its core values, improve team communication, and strengthen employee engagement and retention. With a growing team and ambitious goals, APIA Scholars needed both strategic guidance and operational support to ensure it had the capacity to sustain and scale its impact.

Solution

Orr Group partnered with APIA Scholars to address these challenges through a phased approach. The engagement began with a curated leadership and all-staff retreat, informed by a staff engagement survey, to foster collaboration and realignment around core values. This retreat helped reset team dynamics and laid the foundation for deeper organizational improvements.

Following the retreat, Orr Group conducted a comprehensive Human Resources Assessment and Compliance Audit. This included an in-depth review of systems and processes, as well as a series of staff interviews to understand cultural strengths and areas for growth. The assessment identified ways to leverage existing HR capabilities while introducing new people-focused initiatives to better support staff and organizational goals.

With these findings, Orr Group moved into implementation, adding interim capacity by managing employee relations and co-designing culturally-aligned practices to improve engagement. This included launching APIA Scholars’ first-ever 360-performance review and developing clear, transparent pathways for promotion. Orr Group also managed logistics, facilitated trainings, and provided embedded support throughout the rollout of these new systems.

After six months of interim support and close collaboration with APIA Scholars, Orr Group pivoted to recruiting a full-time AVP of People & Culture. Through a comprehensive executive search, Orr Group successfully identified an AVP to assume the people and culture functions in-house as a member of the senior leadership team, building on the strong foundation established through the engagement and to ensure continued momentum in aligning people strategy with organizational values and growth.

Impact

With Orr Group’s support, APIA Scholars evolved its HR function into a strong people and culture model with authentic policies, engaged leadership, and sustainable systems. The retreat renewed team alignment, while the HR assessment and interim support brought clarity and meaningful improvements to the staff experience.

By prioritizing people and culture, APIA Scholars addressed immediate challenges and laid the groundwork for long-term success—empowering the organization to stay focused on its mission of educating, elevating, and empowering the Asian and Pacific Islander American community.