Empower Work Welcomes Philanthropic Leaders Suprita Makh and Nancy Heinen to the Board, Celebrates New Emeritus Member Julie Lein
Additions deepen strategic expertise in scaling Empower Work’s approach that improves economic mobility and emotional well-being for vulnerable workers
Empower Work is excited to add two new members to our Board of Directors, Suprita Makh and Nancy Heinen at a pivotal growth inflection point for Empower Work. Simultaneously, we celebrate the longstanding commitment of Julie Lein, who helped get us to this point, and who will be stepping into Board Emeritus.
Over the past five years, Empower Work has built a first-of-its-kind approach through our national worker text line, training, and data that improves mental health and economic mobility for historically marginalized workers. As Empower Work grows to meet the needs of the more than 60 million workers across the United States who lack access to resources and support for work and career challenges, growing the bench of expertise on our Board is key.
Suprita and Nancy each bring a unique combination of deep commitment to addressing inequality paired with specific, relevant, and unique expertise in scaling impactful approaches.
Suprita Makh is a results-driven leader with over 15 years in the global social impact sector. She has designed and led women’s and children’s health and economic livelihood programs in 35 countries. She currently leads the global philanthropy program at PagerDuty, Inc. a tech company based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and managed the philanthropic program at Twilio previously. Suprita is committed to being vocal about and upending systemic inequities and inefficiencies in philanthropy and doing it differently than its been done – in a way that truly works for communities, for leaders at the frontlines, and for our planet. Suprita has a Bachelors in Psychology, a Masters in International Development, and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.
Suprita Makh
Nancy Heinen is the former SVP and General Counsel of Apple, Inc. where she was a key member of the executive team during Apple's historic turnaround and successful emergence as a consumer product powerhouse. Since leaving Apple, she uses her experience across corporate, government, and philanthropic sectors to help entrepreneurs and nonprofits build and scale innovations that tackle pressing social and environmental challenges. Nancy is particularly interested in the empowerment of women and girls through education and entrepreneurship. Nancy serves as Board Chair of First Place for Youth and on other Boards or Advisory Boards including UC Berkeley Center for Law and Business; Northern California Innocence Project; and Illuminate Ventures. She is a Partner, board member, and past Board Chair of SV2 - Silicon Valley Social Ventures.
Nancy Heinen
“Nancy and Suprita bring a wealth of experience tackling big challenges in impactful and scalable ways,” Founder and Executive Director Jaime-Alexis Fowler said. “It’s invigorating to have their fresh perspective and complementary skill sets as we embark on the next 5 years of our mission. Our Board’s dedication to leveraging their background, lived experience, and insights to help us radically reimagine and shift workplaces - and access to the safety net around work - for millions of workers is incredibly significant.”
“Empower Work is at an exciting point in its evolution with significant evidence of the impact of the work already built and now ready for the next phase of maturation and scale. I’m excited to support and be a thought partner on this journey,” Suprita Makh said.
Suprita and Nancy deepen the bench of Empower Work’s current Board that includes Emmicia Swartz, Jennifer Habig, Jyot Bawa, John Bradley, Robert Gordon IV, Jennifer Burdick, Emily Kramer, and Jaime-Alexis Fowler.
Empower Work is grateful to founding Board Member Julie Lein who will now be stepping into a Board Emeritus role. Julie, Managing Partner at Urban Innovation Fund, was a pivotal part of Empower Work’s launch and growth to this point.
“I’m deeply appreciative and honored by Julie’s dedication,” Jaime-Alexis said. “From initial questions Julie helped me grapple with when we were just an idea to the impact that we’ve grown these last 5 years - that over 91% of workers who connect with us report improved mental health - her contributions have been instrumental to what we are and where we are today.”
Empower Work began - and continues to be - rooted in worker needs. While jobs are core to wellbeing, workplaces for too many workers are harming that wellbeing. In 2021, over 84% of workers said their workplace conditions had contributed to at least one mental health challenge. In Empower Work’s data, over 70% of those who connect in to our text line say they feel unsafe and disrespected at work, with over 80% not trusting or not having access to resources at work.
Empower Work is changing that. Through our three pronged approach of direct support for workers’ well-being through our text line, training for volunteers and organizations to improve practices, and the use of data and storytelling to shift systemic structures, we’ve helped over 350,000 workers over the past five years.
With Suprita, Nancy, and our current Board, team, volunteers, champions, and workers - we look forward to millions more in the years ahead.
About Empower Work: Empower Work is on a mission to create healthy, equitable workplaces where people are valued, supported, and empowered in ways that support their economic mobility and emotional well-being. We envision a world where everyone can thrive at work. When work actually works for people, an individual’s economic and emotional well-being increases. And there is a ripple effect: communities, companies, the economy, and our democracy, thrive. See our 2022 Impact and learn more about Empower Work.