THE AMPERSAND SUMMIT 2026
Have you ever felt like you live in two worlds?
Perhaps you’re leading teams at a tech company by day, but at night, you’re choreographing dance pieces. Or you’re a venture capitalist who’s also producing music, or a lawyer who also teaches yoga. Or – you have a secret dream to straddle multiple worlds and want to find a way to make this your reality.
You’re not alone.
It’s time to find your people, and to realize that managing multiple careers or passions is actually your superpower.
The Ampersand Summit will be more than a conference – it’s a catalyst for building your multi-passionate life, with the support and inspiration of a community cheering you on.
Through candid conversations, we’ll explore what it takes to navigate multiple callings, find the connection points between them, and redefine success on our own terms.
We’ll host a works-in-progress show for you to share what you’re working on. We know that not everyone has a built-in audience and that it’s so important to get your work in front of people – whether it’s an arts performance, a story or reading, or a short workshop idea / demo. You can choose whether you want to present or serve primarily as an audience member.
The program:
Gather, mingle, enjoy refreshments
Hosts welcome & kickoff activity
Community circles
Works-in-progress show
Our goals:
Bringing together multi-passionate humans at all stages of their journeys
Sharing the joys and struggles of juggling multiple callings
Sparking ideas that you can implement immediately into your life
Encouraging out of the box thinking
Filling your creative cups
We have one ask: will you join us?
It’s time to embrace your full self & to design a multi-passionate life you love.
Only 30 spots are available for this special event, so reserve your spot today.
– Jessica, Michelle, and Yue
This Summit is a live community event sparked by The Ampersand Manifesto podcast.
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About us:
Jessica
Jessica Wan is an ICF-certified executive coach, venture partner, and former marketing executive with 20 years of experience at Apple, Smule, Magoosh, and the SF Opera. A classically trained soprano, Jessica has led a dual career for the past two decades, performing opera, art song, and musical theatre with orgs like Pocket Opera, LIEDER ALIVE!, Goat Hall Productions, the Berkeley Fringe Festival, and Opera on Tap.
She is the creator and host of The Ampersand Manifesto podcast, where she interviews leaders who straddle two or more worlds. The podcast recently made the Top 25 list of GoodPods podcasts in the Careers category.
Jessica holds an MBA from Berkeley-Haas and earned dual degrees in Music & Product Design from Stanford. Her 3rd Ampersand is mom to a 10-year-old.
Michelle
Michelle Tang is a product designer, independent consultant, and mom to a rambunctious toddler. She’s a multidisciplinary startup leader and former Head of Design who has spent 10+ years at rapid-growth companies building products, designing experiences, and leading teams. She enjoys using both sides of her brain as a designer, and also cultivates broad and deeply embedded creative practices in life — creative body movement through yoga and rock climbing; artmaking through mixed-media journaling, drawing, and illustration.
Michelle holds a B.A. in Economics and Legal Studies from UC Berkeley.
Yue
Yue Deng-Wu is a lawyer, founder, and musician. She is an attorney at Greenwald Doherty, a boutique employment law firm, where she works on the firm’s AI strategy and implementation. She is also working on AI education projects with HeyCounsel, a community of 500+ boutique lawyers. Previously, she practiced at DLA Piper, a multinational law firm.
Yue has a background in tech. As a founder and engineer, she built multiple AI products, including Kaleida, a thought partner for navigating career decisions. She also created Spacenotes, an online music learning product.
A lifelong musician, Yue studied classical piano and cello and is a self-taught composer. She is currently writing her first piano solo EP. She has also played with local orchestras as a cellist, including the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic.
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Cancellation Policy
Because the Summit is a small, catered, community gathering, our headcount and costs are locked in the final week. Please note our cancellation terms before you register:
Cancellations before September 27, 2026: Full refund, minus the payment-processing fee.
Cancellations on or after September 27, 2026 (the 7 days leading up to the event): No refund — but your ticket is fully transferable. Just send us the name and email of whoever will take your place, and we'll update the registration.
If we cancel the Summit: You'll receive a full refund, including fees.