Yahoo for Good Profile: Emmy Negrin, Manager, Yahoo for Good | Yahoo Employee Foundation
By Michael McGovern, Talent Community Manager
Meet Emmy, Manager for Yahoo for Good based in Sunnyvale where she manages the Yahoo Employee Foundation, social impact projects and employee engagement programs.
Emmy joined Yahoo in 2013 as Chief of Staff for the Global Learning and Development team, where she supported the Yahoo University team’s learning and leadership development portfolio, and lead development strategy for top talent initiatives. Prior to Yahoo, Emmy worked with organizations focusing on youth and experiential learning programs in the Bay Area such as Galileo Learning, Citizen Schools and Youth Community Services. After graduating college, Emmy was named a Davis for Peace Fellow for founding a startup microfinance organization in Namibia, Africa. The startup provided impoverished women facing domestic violence with artisan workshops and entrepreneurial skills to create small businesses, and build a life towards financial independence. She received her Bachelor’s of Art in Communication and Culture, International Development and Social Change from Clark University.
In her spare time, Emmy is part of the UC Berkeley Advisory Board for the Innovation & Leadership through Positive Psychology Executive Education Program exploring how positive workplace practices can help leaders improve engagement levels in companies. She also leads and facilitates mindfulness retreats across California connecting leaders with tools that reduce stress and maximize fulfilment. She’s a world traveler, avid skier and outdoor enthusiast.
How did you get interested in tech?
I grew up in Silicon Valley (Palo Alto) surrounded by entrepreneurs and innovators. When I traveled abroad, I told people I was from “the internet” as I used to walk my dog by the first Facebook building. I started my career working in nonprofits, where I lead programs that addressed poverty, the opportunity divide and economic inequality in the U.S. and Africa. During a project I was part of in Namibia, I was taken back by the power of technology and it’s ability to connect people across the world. I made the transition to the tech sector so I could help influence ways technology could address problems in the world and create long lasting solutions. Now that I’m working in Silicon Valley, I have the opportunity to support many of the global organizations I partnered with at a much larger scale.
What is it like working for Yahoo?
Yahoo is an incredible company. Yahoo attracts amazing people, who are smart, fun and want to make a big impact. There are tons of ways you can get involved in initiatives you’re passionate about. For example, I’m passionate about diversity in tech and was invited to lead the Yahoo Pride Employee Resource Group (ERG) driving initiatives for the LGBTQ employee base. I’m passionate about building strong teams and leaders, and had the opportunity to create development strategies and manage programs for emerging leaders and top engineers. I’m continuously surprised how Yahoo’s culture and environment allows me to bring my full self to work each day and lead from an authentic place.
What is your connection to Yahoo for Good?
I was fortunate to transition my career at Yahoo into my current role as Program Manager for Yahoo for Good and the the Yahoo Employee Foundation (YEF). I lead employee volunteering campaigns, manage Yahoo’s corporate giving sponsorships and design employee engagement initiatives such as a Mindfulness Program. As the Program Manager of the Yahoo Employee foundation, I support the employee Board of Directors, lead the giving strategy, create communications and drive multi-faceted grant cycles providing opportunities for employees to champion grants for causes they care about in their communities. Since 2000, YEF has granted over 1,000 grants – more than $20 million dollars – to organizations that Yahoo employees chose, making it one of the largest giving circles in the world! In 2016, YEF plans to grant $2.5 million to causes all over the world that Yahoo employees are passionate about!
Why is diversity important to you?
Diversity = authenticity and innovation. The world is a diverse place and companies should reflect how the world looks, not just be accessible to an elite few.
My passion for diversity drove me to create a program that addresses diversity issues with tangible solutions. In my current role managing the Yahoo Employee Foundation, I created a grant program that aligns diversity and social impact initiatives. This program allows Yahoos ERGs to partner with nonprofits aligned to their mission and apply for grant projects that address the opportunity divide and issues facing their diverse populations. We just launched the program and I’m happy to share that the Yahoo Employee Foundation will be funding over $100,000 in grants to organizations aligned to Veterans, LGBT, African American and Latino populations! The magic of this program is in the partnership, as employees create an impact by supporting non-profits in the community aligned to diverse population and volunteer to support the causes throughout the year. For example, our Veterans employee resource group applied for a grant in partnership with an organization called Fisher House which is part of the VA Hospital in Palo Alto, CA. Fisher House received a $25,000 grant from the Yahoo Employee Foundation to support the temporary housing unit for Veterans and active duty service members and their families when a Veteran or servicemember is inpatient at the hospital. Yahoo employees will volunteer each quarter with activities such as holiday drives, meal prepping, cooking, tutoring and gardening to support veterans. The diversity grant program program is all about partnerships and is a platform for employee groups to drive change in their communities.
What is your advice to aspiring youth who are considering a career in STEM?
Get involved in projects and issues you’re passionate about. Trust your big dreams and follow them. Ask for a mentor and think about problems in your community that you want to solve. How can you use technology to design a solution to these problems? Having a career in Tech can open your eyes to many ways you can make a big impact on your communities and the world we live in.
Lastly, what is your favorite Yahoo memory?
A memory that will be in my mind forever was on June 27, 2015 when marriage equality was legalized in the U.S. and Yahoo threw a party to celebrate at our Headquarters in Sunnyvale. As the Chair of Yahoo Pride Employee Resource Group, I was able to lead a global campaign celebrating LGBT equality at Yahoo from highlighting equality issues on Yahoo products to employee activations on campuses. At Yahoo Headquarters, we hosted a transgender visibility panel, a LGBT nonprofit fair and threw a celebration and dance party to take in the historic moment with colleagues. Yahoo’s been named a Best Place to Work for LGBT employees for nine years in a row by the Human Rights Campaign. It’s incredible to be part of a company that cares about and prioritizes diversity and social issues.
Yahoo for Good leverages core Yahoo assets, our people and product, to enable the next generation of creative thinkers and doers. We do this by providing access to opportunities in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math), and by channeling your passion for good into social impact.