Changemakers from Within

On Changemakers from Within , Senior Inclusion & Sustainability Program Coordinator Zariah Hawthorne pulls back the curtain on Impact Days —FORVIS Mazars’ flagship, firm-wide week of service. What started as a single day is now a multi-day movement with 2,600 volunteers across 70–80 offices (plus remote employees). Here’s how Zariah won buy-in, empowered local champions, and built the toolkit...

When you think about social impact at scale, point-of-sale software might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But for Ani Boyo, Associate Director, Product at Toast and head of its product innovation arm Toast.org, that's exactly where the magic happens. In a recent episode of  Changemakers From Within , Ani joins Millie founder Rachel Klausner to unpack how a few bold ideas have turned...

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...

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 Quart...

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 & Melin...

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, fl...

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...

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 wor...

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...

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 Emil...

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 t...

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 a...

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 Wo...

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...

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! 🎉 Rachel is joined by two incredible social impact folks: Megan Trotter and Todd Lienart, Directors of Social Impact at Zendesk. Hear how Megan engages employees during COVID, and Todd builds out their tech-for-good and sustainability work. You are not going to believe the volume and depth of work they do engaging their employees in giving back to the community a...

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 Partnersh...

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'...

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 end...