Emily Cooper

I come from a family of huge go-getters - I have two sisters who live in the UK with my dad, and we're all very driven. I've always had jobs that are meaningful to me, and I find a lot of worth in putting hard work into something that I find to be valuable. I really believe in the work that I do. I've been really lucky in that I've always had a job where I understood the mission of the organization and was really driven towards that, and I've continued to seek that out. I get a lot of joy in putting together a really great community and belonging program that I see impacting the community. I feel a lot of joy in getting to elevate a lot of people's voices by having them lead a workshop, or having them on a panel, or making sure that the topic that's really important to them is turned into something that we're able to put out to the whole business community. That's been a guiding force for me - to find meaning in the work - and that's something that has really taken shape in all sides of my family. My mom, in her 50s, decided to totally switch careers. She'd been a hairstylist when I was younger, then an office manager at a chiropractor, but she really loved to garden, so she went back to school, got her Master Gardener certificate, and started her own business, and it's been hugely successful. My dad is in politics in England and has done some really impressive things. They're doing what they're passionate about, and that's been really a guiding force for me.

The best career advice I ever received came through leading by example. At the second law firm where I worked, I worked for a partner at the firm who had a son with a severe disability, and that really grounded him in understanding what was important. Though he was a name partner at this law firm with constant trials and depositions in a very high-stress environment, he put people first. He saw you as a whole human, and not just as an employee. That's how he always treated me - the importance of putting family first. I was able to come to him if I made a mistake and let him know, and he was unbelievably understanding. We built a lot of trust in how he treated me. I saw this person who was at the highest level of his career, named partner of this big law firm, and yet he saw me as Emily, and not just as an employee. As I've become a leader myself in various roles, I've really carried that with me. That had a huge influence on what I saw that a leader could be, and my commitment and loyalty to the firm and to him, because he saw me as a person. That's something I've really tried to carry with me.

There's a lot of uncertainty in the world right now that has led to a lot of companies being a little bit risk-averse, and a lot of the programming and things that I'm wanting to do is being shaped by how people are seeing the world right now. I'm so passionate about workforce development, and I'm watching people struggle financially, watching the job reports, and there's just a gap between available roles and the people who need them. How can I help to make those connections? A lot of things are being shaped by the uncertainty of our economy, and the uncertainty that businesses are feeling, the uncertainty that individuals are feeling. I think that shows up in a lot of different ways right now, but is definitely a unique challenge.