Interview

Exploring Generative AI with Marketing Visionaries: Michael Sanie, CMO at Synopsys

Michael Sanie leads Synopsys’ Enterprise Marketing and Communications group, responsible for the organization's go-to-market strategies, strategic communication, and campaigns.

Innovators and Change Makers: Kamela Forbes, Global Director of DE&I, Pride Global

Kamela Forbes Matheson has been doing transformative work in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion space for over 7 years. She started as a diversity manager in talent acquisition, helping clients diversify their talent pools. Later she moved into the learning and development space, creating and facilitating “Consciously Unbiased” learning experiences educating clients on mitigating bias and incorporating inclusive behaviors in efforts to complement their talent acquisition strategy

Innovators and Change Makers: Madhavi Bhasin, Vice President, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Okta

Madhavi Bhasin is a change leader with experience in successfully managing global programs focused on creating inclusive spaces and processes, social impact, and capacity building. As a people-centric executive with keen insight, perspective, and emotional quotient, Madhavi Bhasin offers 10+ years of experience building, refining, and integrating people-centric organizational processes and outcomes. Currently, she is leading Okta’s diversity, inclusion and belonging efforts.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Tina Lee, Director, Social Impact and Sustainability, Dropbox

Tina Lee has spent over 16 years working in the intersection of social good and technology by building impactful partnerships with global NGOs, foundations and the private sector.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Ricki Wax, Global Diversity Equity and Inclusion Program Manager, Google

Ricki Wax currently works as a Global Equity Program Manager for Google Search and supports DEI initiatives across Google Assistant, Knowledge UX and Trust organizations. She’s responsible for operational rigor, end to end execution and influencing key decisions to create equity for all. Ricki has worked on some of the most critical foundational work at Google including the inaugural Consumer Tech Black History Month & Women’s History Month programming.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Britney Peart, DEI Coordinator, Racial Equity at Intuit

Britney Peart is a DEI Coordinator at Intuit. With a background in health equity and ethnic studies, her studies brought her to the world of DEI in tech. She aspires to address systems of inequity through evidence based programming and strategy creation.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Jennifer McFarren, Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility at Navy Federal Credit Union

Jennifer McFarren leads Navy Federal Credit Union’s corporate social responsibility strategy and elevates their Navy Federal Serves brand that contributes to their mission causes and communities. Prior to joining Navy Federal, her experience includes over 15 years in the nonprofit, community & economic development, and corporate social responsibility sectors. Most recently, Jennifer served as the Executive Director of the Gulf Power Foundation, where she transformed the company’s corporate philanthropy strategy to an impact investment model.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Melissa Potter, Vice President, Strategy and Impact at Paramount

Melissa Potter is a forerunner in creating meaningful social change through her expertise in leading social impact strategies and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. She has a proven track record with national non-profit organizations, as well as some of the world’s largest and most influential brands. Throughout her prestigious career, Potter has established herself as a respected, nationally-known thought leader developing innovative ideas and creative solutions.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Sid Espinosa, Head of Social Impact at GitHub

Sid Espinosa’s career has spanned the philanthropic, government and business sectors. He is currently the Head of Social Impact at GitHub. Previously, Mr. Espinosa has served as the mayor of Palo Alto, CA, and as the director of philanthropy at Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard for a combined 20+ years. He has worked for a U.S. ambassador overseas, served as an aide to former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno at the U.S. Department of Justice, and worked in the speechwriting and public liaison offices in the White House.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Pooja Pelham, Senior Manager, Social Impact at HelloFresh

Pooja Pelham has successfully developed programs and initiatives to make a difference in our communities. Her expertise is focused on building scalable partnerships, harnessing technology for good, and strengthening nonprofit capacity and mission fulfillment. In her role as Senior Manager of Social Impact at HelloFresh, she leads the company's Beyond the Box program, which focuses on food insecurity efforts in the United States.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Michael Tjalve, Chief Architect on the Tech for Social Impact team in Microsoft Philanthropies

Michael Tjalve is Chief Architect on the Tech for Social Impact team in Microsoft Philanthropies where he works with nonprofits and humanitarian organizations around the world on building technology solutions that help them amplify their impact and address some of today’s biggest societal challenges. He teaches AI in the humanitarian sector and ethical innovation at the University of Washington and serves as tech advisor to Spreeha Foundation and World Humanitarian Forum.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Hilary Smith, Executive Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, NBCUniversal

Hilary Smith is the Executive Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility for NBCUniversal. She is responsible for leading NBCUniversal’s global social impact strategy, philanthropic investments, and employee volunteer programs. In this capacity, she also works closely with business leaders throughout the company on important CSR initiatives in each division. Additionally, Smith oversees NBCUniversal’s award-winning public service announcement campaign, The More You Know.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Melissa Conrad, Social Impact Manager, Zillow

Melissa works in social impact at Zillow and is responsible primarily for programs and initiatives that engage employees in meaningful opportunities to give back.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Chris Gale, Head of Social Impact, UK, eBay

Chris Gale leads eBay’s Social Impact work in the U.K, focusing on the role of e-commerce in driving positive social change and empowering economic opportunity across under-served communities.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Lisa Boyd, Head of Social Impact at Lyft

Lisa Boyd has led the creation, launch, and growth of Lyft Up — a suite of initiatives focused on increasing transportation access and equity for low-income communities. She also kicked off Lyft’s company-wide commitment to ESG (Environmental, Social, & Governance) reporting, and continues to drive internal ESG strategy, vision, and coordination.

DEI Innovators and Change Makers: Fatimah Gilliam, Author and Founder of The Azara Group

Fatimah Gilliam began her career as a corporate attorney on Wall Street, worked for Citigroup overseeing campus diversity recruiting for all its U.S. businesses, and oversaw corporate partnerships as the Head of Finance and Fundraising for North America for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning United Nations World Food Programme. Since founding The Azara Group, which provides diversity and inclusion, leadership development, negotiation, and strategy consulting services, she has advised Fortune 500 corporations, senior executives running billion-dollar businesses, and industry thought leaders.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Tuan Pham, Head of Social Impact at LinkedIn in APAC

Tuan Pham is the Head of Social Impact at LinkedIn in APAC. He has extensive work experience across the globe, specializing in driving social impact programs and partnerships in Australia, the US, Thailand, The Netherlands, and Vietnam – at companies including The World Bank, Booking.com, and Heineken. At LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, Tuan focuses on initiatives that connect professionals facing barriers, including women and youth in the APAC region, to the networks, skills, and knowledge they need to access opportunities.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Dr. Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Chair of Learning through Play at The LEGO Foundation

Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Ph.D. is the Chair of Learning through Play at the LEGO Foundation. As a Senior expert on how children and adults learn through play, Dr. Thomsen provides consultation at a bilateral, regional, and multilateral level to international partners and leaders. Dr. Thomsen advises international organizations like the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Economic Forum, World Innovation Forum for Education and UN General Assembly and governments across the globe.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Brandon Dorfman, Global Surface Specialist for Tech for Social Impact at Microsoft

Brandon Dorfman is the Global Surface Specialist for Tech for Social Impact, part of Microsoft Philanthropies, and is responsible for the strategic direction, vision, growth, and performance of Microsoft Surface across the Nonprofit and International Government Organization sectors. The Tech for Social Impact group within Microsoft Philanthropies aims to accelerate digital transformation across three million nonprofits globally, so they can have a greater impact on the world’s most critical social issues.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Alejandra Lopez Global Go-to-Market Lead K-12 Education Programs at Amazon Web Services

Alejandra Lopez is an entrepreneur who is passionate about social impact, technology, education, and innovation. She works at Amazon Web Services as a Global Go-to-Market Lead for education programs that target the K-12 vertical. She has more than 15 years of experience working for a variety of industries and sectors.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Cheryl Timoney Vice President of Tech for Social Impact at Salesforce.org

Cheryl Timoney is the VP of Tech for Social Impact at Salesforce.org, helping change-makers realize the promise of technology to scale their missions and impact. Cheryl goes beyond traditional approaches to help drive strategic impact at the intersection of business and society. Prior to Salesforce.org, Cheryl led program teams in the nonprofit sector, building community solutions for economic and community development.

CSR Innovators and Change Makers: Michelle Baltrusitis Social Impact Manager at Fiverr

Michelle Baltrusitis is the Social Impact Manager at Fiverr. With a background in grant writing, teaching, and consulting, her most recent pivot brought her to the world of social impact in tech as she sought to bring the principles and frameworks she'd learned as a management consultant to purpose-driven programming and strategy creation.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with ALPFA UIUC president, Brian Oviedo

New York Startup Younity Decided to Bring a Group of Students on Board for a Remote Work Project. Here’s Why.

Paragon One managed an eight-week remote externship for real estate technology company Younity, giving students from diverse backgrounds the chance to work remotely at an up-and-coming startup.

Why Crafted Capital Opted to Give Students Their First Taste of Investment Banking Through a Remote Externship

How a boutique investment banking firm partnered with Paragon One to leverage remote student talent at scale and open up their recruiting funnel for the future.

Starting a Remote Career? Here’s How to Make an Impression.

After over a decade in HR and talent development for Fortune 500 companies like Avon and PepsiCo, Sarah Aviram decided to shake things up and travel the world, without sacrificing her career. She has some great advice for young people beginning their careers remotely.

Underrepresented New York Students Have Remote Externships For The Summer of 2020: Thank you, OppNet!

Paragon One is proud to partner with The Opportunity Network to match first generation college students and young people of color with online externships through the COVID19 crisis.