New Board Members Deepen Experience and Expertise as Empower Work Grows

Empower Work is excited to share the addition of four members to our Board of Directors, Angela Scott, Emily Kramer, John F. Bradley, and Robert Gordon IV.

Each one brings deep experience, passion, and perspective as Empower Work grows our impact and mission, improving the well-being of vulnerable workers.

• Angela Scott is the Associate Director of Workforce Development at the Bayview YMCA in San Francisco, which is committed to helping youth overcome personal and professional barriers by providing them with skills that prepare them for workplace success. There, she oversees internship and employment opportunities for transitional age youth between the ages of 16-24. Angela has nearly a decade of workforce development experience working in nonprofits and as a certified career coach. She is passionate about turning obstacles into opportunities for young people by motivating and inspiring individuals in identifying and developing their passion and purpose in life. 

• Emily Kramer is an experienced startup marketing executive and currently partners with early-stage companies on marketing strategy and recruiting, through her advising group MKT1. Emily is an advocate for equal compensation, and offers free salary and equity reviews through Help Wanted Project, which she started in early 2020. She’s built marketing teams from the ground up at Carta as VP of Marketing, Asana as Head of Marketing, Astro (acquired by Slack), and Ticketfly (acquired by Eventbrite). While at Carta, she co-authored the gender equity gap study and launched the Table Stakes initiative to improve cap table diversity. 

• John F. Bradley is the Chief Operating Officer for Year Up, a national organization on a mission to close the Opportunity Divide by providing underserved young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. He also serves on the Board of Year Up Professional Services (YUPRO), a staffing/placement firm affiliated with the organization. Prior to joining Year Up, he spent 30 + years in financial services in senior human resources roles including Chief Human Resources Officer for both JPMorganChase and UBS AG. John first became involved with Year Up while at JPMorganChase and joined Year Up’s National Board of Directors for 6 years, during a period of record growth.

• Robert Gordon IV is the Director of Partnerships for /dev/color, leading /dev/color to be an engine of wealth generation for the Black community by supporting the advancement of and investment in Black software engineers, including technical founders. He is a business development, fundraising, and digital marketing subject matter expert who has spent his career at the intersection of technology and social impact. Rob has over two decades of multi-sector experience leading organizational growth, strategic partnerships, and brand strategy at organizations including Hustle, Leaderosity, the Presidio Institute, and America’s Promise Alliance. Currently, at /dev/color, he creates strategic partnerships to unlock /dev/color's innate power to change the industry, both to better reflect the diversity of talent as well as better design technology that responds to the diverse interests and needs of our society. In doing so, /dev/color creates its own pathway to generate equity and wealth for the Black community in one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world.

“John, Rob, Emily, and Angela are deeply committed to building healthy, equitable, inclusive workplaces that truly work for people. It’s energizing to add their conviction and passion to Empower Work’s current Board at this critical period as we deepen our impact with an ambitious goal of improving the emotional and economic outcomes for 3M vulnerable workers in the next five years,” Jaime-Alexis Fowler, founder and executive director of Empower Work, said.

Robert Gordon IV, who has been involved as an advisor shared, “We are in a fascinating moment in American history where we have an opportunity, potentially, to redefine how we create healthy, supportive work environments across the nation and eventually the world. It’s extraordinary to see Empower Work go from idea to national impact in just a few years. I’m honored to be part of moving this vision forward now on the Board.”

“Angela, Emily, Rob, and John bring fresh energy, expertise, and perspective to our Board of Directors. Right from the start of the interview process, their insights and commitment to ensure that Empower Work deepens and expands its impact came across. I look forward to working closely with the new team as our organization tackles an ambitious goal of ending systemic inequality for workers through our direct services, training, and data,” Jyot Bawa, founding board member, shared.

The four new members expand Empower Work’s Board from our founding members Julie Lein, Jennifer Habig, Jyot Bawa, Jennifer Burdick, Renee Jackson, and Jaime-Alexis Fowler. In building the Board, we embarked on an intentional process to add expertise in key areas critical to the next phase of the organization including marketing, revenue, and fundraising to fuel the growth of Empower Work’s unique crisis text line for workers, expanding our impact both for the vulnerable workers we connect with and the volunteers we train to provide the support. Fundamental to the Board’s growth was proximity to the population Empower Work serves. Of those who connect with Empower Work, 76% identify as a woman, 56% as a person of color, 17% as part of the LGBTQ community, and 40% are low income. 

Empower Work Board Members are elected by the full board and serve three-year terms. Board Members provide strategic thought partnership for the organization, helping propel the mission, vision, and strategy of the organization forward to ensure every worker has the support and tools to thrive at work–and contributing to larger systemic change to foster healthy workplaces. They provide strategic guidance, evaluation, and support; oversee and serve as fiscal stewards for the organization; and review and provide oversight of operations to achieve the mission.

About Empower Work
Empower Work is a national nonprofit on a mission to create healthy work spaces where people are supported, valued, and empowered. We believe that when people thrive at work, communities, companies, the economy, and our democracy, thrive. Empower Work provides the first crisis text line for workers, serving underrepresented and underresourced Americans, who are disproportionately impacted by adversity in the workplace. Over 90% of those who connect with Empower Work see positive emotional and economic impact following a conversation. Empower Work was founded by Jaime-Alexis Fowler, a seasoned leader with a track record of building agile, high-performing, healthy teams. Learn more at www.empowerwork.org.

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