Changemakers from Within

In this episode of Changemakers from Within, host Rachel Klausner sits down with longtime friend and CSR trailblazer Katy Spriano, who supports the DK S.E.R.V.E.S. program at DraftKings. From global tree-planting initiatives to embedding volunteerism into new hire onboarding, Katy shares how DraftKings is weaving social impact into the fabric of company culture across six countries and thousands of employees.

In this season-two installment of the Changemakers from Within podcast, host Rachel Klausner sits down with Eddie Hightower from Caliber Collision—the largest auto body service company in the U.S.—to discuss how a unique blend of sustainability, workforce development, and community impact is transforming an entire industry. 

In the latest episode of “Changemakers from Within,” Rachel sits down with Kaitlin Westbrook Tolson, National STEM and Philanthropy Advocate at Apex Systems, and Erica Woods, Director of Contractor Programs & Philanthropy at Apex Systems. Get an inside look at the framework they are using to leverage their team that resulted in a 100% participation rate in 2022. From campaigns like their Quarter of Caring, Random Acts of Kindness, and Earth Week to gamified events like Giving Madness, Gamers vs Cancer, Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader (exec version), and a Virtual Magic Show, Apex Systems is dedicated to offering something for everyone. Tune in to learn more about how they leverage their teams to create multiple, successful giving campaigns all year long.

Tune in for an exclusive deep dive into all things Giving Madness with founder, Rachel Klausner, interviewed by Millie team member, Stacy Schmitz. In this episode Rachel talks the origin of Giving Madness, the purpose behind gamified giving, and the amazing results seen since the pilot launch in March of 2022. With customer testimonials, Rachel's journey on a colab sprint with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, interesting results from a tech error and some impactful “aha” moments, you will not want to miss this episode! You can also download the free Giving Madness pilot launch report here: https://blog.milliegiving.com/giving-madness-report/

In the latest episode of “Changemakers from Within,” Rachel sits down with Kaanji Irby, an inspirational, amazing human and podcast extraordinaire. Kaanji is Head of Diversity & Inclusion and Social Impact at Next Insurance and cohost of the "Motherhood in Black and White" podcast. She defines "pivot" with her many paths that have led her to social impact. After her experience as a teacher, flight attendant, then lawyer, she co-founded a nonprofit. She was approached to spearhead a social impact program for Next Insurance, a company whos' mission is to help small businesses thrive by providing insurance for entrepreneurs. She provides a unique perspective to social impact with her legal expertise as well as her well-rounded background and most importantly, her heart. An impact story you won't want to miss!

Checkr's mission is to change the future with background checks. And Megan Goddard is on a mission to impact lives by ensuring people with convictions have a fair chance to work. Megan is the Corporate Social Responsibility Program Manager at Checkr, a software company that has the unique ability to channel all of their social impact efforts into the Fair Chance Movement by taking the bias out of the background check process. While pursuing criminal justice reform at NYU, Megan interned at Rikers Island. Tune in to hear about how this experience paved the way for her future that has led her to the new CSR department at Checkr and what Checkr.org has in store for the future!

Vimeo is known as one of the world's largest video creating and sharing platforms, but thanks to Lenna Daniels, the technical operations manager at Vimeo, the company is also making a name for itself through social impact. As the founder and co-chair of Vimeans for good, a member of Women4Good, and a student in the ‘22 cohort of UPenn's Executive Program In Social Impact Strategy, Lenna works hard to incorporate social impact into every aspect of her life. Listen to learn about Lenna's beginnings at Vimeo, how she started Vimeans for good, how she leverages herself and her job for good, and what her vision for social impact at Vimeo is 10 years down the road. This episode includes music by audionautix.com, released for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

When it comes to social impact, Christina Louie Dyer has a knack for getting others engaged. Throughout her career, Christina has used her passion for change to help the organizations she's worked for — like Teach for America and Box — make a difference. Now as head of social impact at Lob, Christina is bringing her skills to the automated mail space, helping to grow its social impact arm, Lob.org, into a leader for good. In this episode, Christina takes us through her career in corporate social impact and the creation of their dot-org. Listen to learn how Christina is leveraging employees and partners for change, their three focus areas for social impact are and what Christina's hopes are for its future. This episode includes music by audionautix.com, released for use under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In the latest episode of “Changemakers from Within,” Rachel sits down with Lisa Boyd, Director of Social Impact at Lyft. Listen to learn about the way social impact is weaved throughout Lyft's mission as a company, and the way their programs have transformed transportation access, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this month's episode, Rachel is joined by the Director of Social Impact Product at Facebook, Emily Dalton Smith. Want to hear how the platform that connects the globe prioritizes impact projects? Listen as Emily and Rachel dive into how Facebook's platforms drive incredible social impact. You'll hear how social impact at Facebook began, the decisions that led them to today, as well as how Emily and team think about what's next. And you wont want to miss some of the epic stories Emily shares about the behind the scenes of making it all happen. Changemakers from Within is a production of Millie. https://milliegiving.com/ ---- And thanks to Kevin MacLeod for some of the jams: Feelin Good by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100475 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

When the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way impact work could be done, many changemakers found themselves looking for creative new ways to engage their teams. But some, including Sueli Shaw from DoorDash, found that their companies already had the right systems in place to help mitigate the negative effects of the pandemic. The challenge was making these systems bigger and broader — and adjusting them to new circumstances. Listen to learn how DoorDash was able to scale their program to reach 800 cities and make 400,000+ deliveries during the pandemic, and hear how they've been supporting dashers, restaurants, and the communities they serve. And click here to check out the Pitching Social Impact Toolkit from Millie.

In the mid-'90s, Kat Owsley finished her thesis as part of her master's program in Irish studies, and she got a temporary job at Bosch to make some money before returning to Belfast to graduate. Over a decade later, she became the president of the Bosch Community Fund, the corporate foundation associated with Bosch in North America. Kat's path to a career in social impact has been full of twists and turns. Listen to this week's episode to hear more about Kat's journey, the challenges and benefits of running an autonomous corporate foundation, and the importance of trusting your gut.

Rachel is joined by Kirstin Powdrill from G2 — a software review website with a philanthropic twist. As G2's Global Community & Culture Specialist, Kirstin oversees not only the company's giving program, but also its diversity and inclusion efforts. Listen to hear more about her journey and how she works to make G2 a workplace that celebrates individuals and their differences.

Lemonade isn't a traditional insurance company. They've created a breakthrough business model, where giving is embedded into the core of how they operate. This week's episode features Lemonade's social impact coordinator, Nina Rauch. Listen to hear Nina and Rachel geek out about embedded giveback programs and the giving power of younger generations. This episode includes the audio track “Boogie Woogie Bed” by Audionautix. The track is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

When Bryan Breckenridge first started working at Salesforce back in 2001, he was just a “loud employee” who wanted the company to prioritize social impact. Since then, Bryan has been a trailblazer in the Tech for Good movement — working his way up to become Salesforce's director of nonprofits and education, then later building out social impact programs at LinkedIn, Box, and Zillow. Throughout his career, Bryan has worked to make sure that social impact ties into the core of what companies do. On this week's episode, Bryan shares the wisdom he has acquired from two decades of putting social impact in the spotlight. Listen to hear more about his social impact story, his advice for building out product-for-good programs, and his tips for getting employees engaged in giving and volunteering programs. This episode includes the audio track “Big Swing Band” by Audionautix. The track is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

This week, Rachel is joined by the Bayyina Black. A former travel YouTuber and the first-ever TOMS Global Giver, Bayyina is now the Global Sustainability & Impact Manager at R/GA — an advertising agency with some of the biggest clients in the world. Listen to learn how Bayyina built her own social impact model and convinced her company to take it on.

Our first double episode is here!

Excited to have Julian Gutierrez, Program Manager of Culture and Social Impact at Segment, talk about his CSR journey. Hear how Julian constantly mobilizes people around him to lead new social impact, and diversity, equity, & inclusion initiatives. Always bringing people together, Julian tells us about the various programs Segment has built including “No Lunch Donation”, their Citrus Partnership, and DE&I infrastructure.

On this captivating episode, Senior Social Impact Partner at Pegasystems, Lindsey Clark discusses how she built an engaging social impact program that represents the passions of all employees. After going on a coworker listening tour, she noticed common threads and focused the foundation of the program around the three pillars that stuck out. Listen to hear how Lindsey continues to build out Pega's CSR program from her extensive social impact background.

Our first shorter, bonus episode is here! We had the pleasure of meeting with Beth Bodner, Enterprise Support Engineer and leader of social impact programming at Samsara to discuss volunteering locally and using your product for good.

On this episode, we had the honor of sitting down with Stacey Baxter, Engagement Strategy Manager and leader of the Social Impact Committee at Castlight Health. From her experience in the Peace Corps in Botswana as a young adult to her last job at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Stacey brought her mission-driven attitude to transform social impact at Castlight. Her story is a must-listen!

Get ready to hear some of the most innovative social impact programming. Joined by guest Chad Kilpatrick, Head of Talent Community and Social Impact at Spreetail, we'll hit on some truly special programming that aims to inspire employees to participate in their communities—and always fills a need that community stakeholders ask for. You won't want to miss this one!

On the latest episode of Changemakers from Within, we had the pleasure to sit down with Tu-Han Phan, the head of social impact and diversity at RingCentral. RingCentral is a tech company headquartered in the Bay Area, and is a leading provider of global enterprise cloud communications and collaboration solutions. On her ninth birthday, she wanted to raise 900 dollars to donate to help save the endangered pandas at the time. After years of experience leading in the nonprofit sphere, Tu-Han went back to business school and began to dip her toes in the corporate social responsibility world. Hear her incredible story building out RingCentral's CSR program.

Excited to have Heather Jin, Global Head of Social Impact at Medallia, talk about her journey to leading the program and how it's transformed from HR-focused impact to product-focused impact (and how they still have a super engaged team!). Hear how Heather started working on CSR programming as a side hustle to her original role at Medallia and how she rallied to make it a full-time position and program. You won't want to miss her inspiring story and Medallia's social impact work!

Rachel is joined by Rachel Seward, VP of Enterprise Communications + Philanthropy at MiTek, as they discuss Rachel's incredible path to social impact via her various roles in the St. Louis public school district. Plus, hear some of the strategic building-related community initiatives happening at MiTek.

Get ready for a fantastic guest (human) and surprise guest (not human!), as Rachel speaks with Kari McHugh, Senior Director of Customer + Community Relations at Dunkin' Brands and Executive Director of the Joy in Childhood Foundation. Kari's story and insight are incredible as she helped build the foundation in its early days and later stepped in to lead it. Hear how her team spends their time listening and gives back around community needs.

We are joined by Sara Quist who tells us about her inspiring work as Community Engagement Lead at Cigna. In this episode, Sara walks us through the different employee + community engagement programs she leads and how it's fostered community within Cigna. The programming they've implemented has increased volunteerism by nearly 200%! Learn about what they do, and how it's had a powerful impact as it trickled down to employees beyond their time in the office.

Amy Wendel, Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at LogMeIn, joins us to discuss the amazing charitable work she has done both at LogMeIn and through her own nonprofit. Amy shares the career path which led her to CSR and the many initiatives she leads through "Mission Possible" at LogMeIn. Amy also discusses the measures LogMeIn is taking during this unprecedented time of Covid-19. Listen to hear her incredible story!

Rachel is joined by Heather Stowe, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Domtar, to discuss the amazing charitable programs that Heather leads for Domtar's 10,000 employees. In this episode, Heather describes the 3 programs that she manages which focus on areas of literacy, health & wellness, and sustainability. Heather shares her passion for social impact, how she spearheaded an employee engagement project focused on sustainability, and the ways that Domtar gives back to communities.

Join Rachel Klausner as she is joined by Michael Newhall to discuss the incredible philanthropic program Michael runs at Sentinel Benefits. The company is less than 300 employees and has nearly a dozen different programs running throughout the year to impact the community. Listen to the inspiring story of SentinelCares, the unique give back initiatives they run inside and outside their offices, and how they stay authentic in their giving.

Corporate social responsibility comes in all shapes and sizes. Each month, we'll talk to the heroes making the for-profit businesses they work in socially-conscious, philanthropic workplaces. Hosted by Rachel Klausner, Founder and CEO of Millie, Changemakers from Within will highlight these stories of everyday people who create impactful social change by empowering their coworkers and the companies they work in.