In Lockport, NY, the sound of bottles and cans rustling can
be heard. It is the sound of a small but mighty group of volunteers who come
together every Thursday to recycle for a cause. Each month, more than 4,000
bottles and cans are sorted and taken to a local recycling center where the team
receives 6 cents per bottle or can. In 6 months, the team has raised more than
two thousand dollars, all of which is used to support local charities and
volunteer initiatives.
While the sorting of used (and sometimes smelly) cans and
bottles may not be glamorous, the end result certainly is. The recycling money
has been used for a variety of things, including purchasing food for a Ronald
McDonald House “Cook for Kids” volunteer event and toys for a Christmas toy
drive. The local volunteer committee also used some of the recycling money, in
conjunction with corporate match, to make donations to Niagara Hospice, the
Niagara County SPCA, and the Ronald McDonald House of Western New York.
The money collected from recycling has had a positive
impact on the volunteer program in Lockport. Not only has it amplified the
amount of good that they can do as a team, it has allowed them to be more
visible in the community and show everyone how truly amazing and generous the
employees are at Yahoo. Thank you to all those Yahoos who participate every
week!
The elevators open and I’m engulfed in a purple office. I had finally landed a job that was applicable to my degree after bouncing around from selling office supplies door-to-door to teaching mountain biking to kids. Little did I know at the time that Yahoo had more benefits than those you first think of (which are still amazing, don’t get me wrong). Yahoo was more. Yahoo was going to become my way of life.
First Two Years at the ‘Hoo
Working in our Omaha, Nebraska office I saw that location grow from under 100 people to becoming one of our larger locations. Right before my two year anniversary I experienced a massive “benefit beyond benefits.” I was offered a promotion, which meant joining our team in New York City. I was stoked of course, but then I was still concerned. I’d never been to NYC. This opportunity pushed me personally and professionally as I’d never experienced before. I was able to move out of the Midwest, where I grew up in a town of less that 10,000 people (what’s up Maryville, MO!) to a borough (BROOKLYN!) that has more than that in a few blocks. Amazing.
Yahoo NYC: The Next Four+ years
Yahoo NYC took me in with open arms and created opportunities from day one. I worked on premium business, and in less than a year in they sent me to London to help our teams there. I’d never been outside the U.S. (except Canada and Tijuana…that’s another story). The trip opened my eyes to an entire new side of the world. Benefits beyond the benefits. From there I explored, navigated New York, and went on business trips to cities I’d never explored.
What’s the point?
Yahoo is in the midst of an incredible state of change. However, walking into that purple office more than six years ago changed my life. The past six years have contained: Life long friends, roommates, moves across the country, seven titles, incredible mentors, traveling to London twice (my first time out of North America…ever. Sad but true), finding my internal make-up, and a fulfilling career. These are benefits no job will ever be able to recreate or give me.
The privilege of working at Yahoo is my benefit beyond benefits. I’ll forever be indebted to Yahoo for the opportunities this amazing company has given me. Working here has empowered me to write my own story, delivered a career I love, and showed that working hard and being a good person pays off.
Our very own Sarah Taylor, Manager, Customer Experience Operations, has been named one of Buffalo Niagara 360’s Spotlight Professionals for 2015-2016 in recognition of her achievements as a rising young leader. Sarah excels in her customer experience role at Yahoo and, as a native of the region, remains deeply involved in the Buffalo community, including volunteering at a local school, serving on the board of the YMCA, and more.
Yahoo first broke ground on our data center in Lockport, NY, in 2009, and since then we’ve invested more than half a billion dollars expanding our team and our facilities. Yahoo is committed to Western New York, and this recognition of Sarah’s development as a young professional is another great reminder of the incredible talent pool in the Greater Buffalo area.
You can watch Sarah talk about her experiences at Yahoo, her focus on volunteering and her dedication to the Buffalo area here, and learn more in her own words here.
By Nicholas Lyon, Sr. Legal Counsel, International Law Enforcement & Data Governance
Members of the Yahoo Legal team from Sunnyvale recently partnered with OneJustice (a nonprofit that provides legal services to Californians in need of assistance), El Concilio (a nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of life of Latinos and other underserved communities in the Central Valley of California) and Morrison & Foerster LLP to hold a free legal clinic in Modesto, CA. The clinic’s purpose was to help a diverse group of immigrants – many of whom did not speak English – prepare applications for U.S. citizenship or, alternatively, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). As those of us who participated in the clinic learned, DACA is a policy President Obama initiated in June 2012 that allows certain undocumented immigrants who entered the country before turning 16 and prior to June 2007, to receive a renewable two-year work permit and exemption from deportation.
Modesto lies approximately 80 miles east of Sunnyvale, so the team boarded the “Justice Bus” for our trip. One of OneJustice’s key initiatives is providing rural, under-privileged communities with access to pro bono legal services. According to OneJustice, “[o]ut of California’s roughly 100 nonprofit legal organizations, only 27 serve rural areas – often doing so with severely reduced funding or access to volunteers from law schools, law firms, or businesses.” To help bridge this gap, OneJustice runs a program known as the Justice Bus Project, chartering a bus that transports volunteers from more urban locations to these distant, often overlooked areas.
After driving out to Modesto, we had some lunch and training before working at the clinic, ultimately helping a total of 30 individuals (who ranged from teenagers to middle-aged adults) prepare their applications for citizenship or DACA. The work was quite meticulous, and entailed compiling supporting documentation for the applicants, filling out lengthy paperwork, and answering basic immigration / legal questions. Picture having to apply for a passport, or file your own taxes, except these forms are in a language you don’t speak well (if at all) and determine whether you get to stay with your family in the country you’ve happily lived in for many years.
While it was a long day, it was an incredibly rewarding and inspiring experience. The clinic fulfilled an important need in the Central Valley community, because as anyone who has ever applied for a passport, filed their own taxes, or submitted a loan application knows, government forms can be a challenge even for those of us who speak English (much less have a strong legal background!).
A big thanks to all the volunteers who devoted a full Friday to making the clinic a huge success!
Celebrating Yahoo’s 21st birthday with our founder, David Filo and CEO Marissa Mayer! Check
out the photo in 3D – a sneak peek at our latest in ad innovations that
incorporate Flickr technology for virtual reality.
By Duru Ahanotu, Director, Data Management, Marketing
Throughout February the Yahoo Black Network (YBN) hosted a month-long celebration in honor of Black History Month. This year’s theme was “Renaissance,” with four sub-themes: tech, media, leadership, and diversity. The month was an inspiring example of the energy, passion, and commitment that YBN contributes to a dynamic Yahoo culture.
Yahoo’s media team joined in on the celebration, delivering a series of articles across multiple digital magazines covering many aspects of African-American life. Users learned about the origins of Black History Month, beauty from a Black perspective, and travelling in China from a Black man’s perspective. In addition – starting with President Barack Obama – our editors reviewed examples of Black leadership in government, technology, and finance.
YBN continued the celebration (and education), bringing in speakers to discuss everything from volunteerism and the importance of one’s community impact to how to collaborate like a jazz master. For those looking for a workout, a dance class in stepping – a dance form primarily used by Black fraternities and sororities as a celebration and demonstartion of unity – provided a high energy option.
The main event was a celebration held on our Sunnyvale campus, which brought stellar performances from local talent. I was deeply gratified to witness electric performances by artists showing a lot of heart, enthusiasm, and genuine appreciation for this event. Plain and simple, they tore the floor up and brought the roof down! I was proud to see our performers bring Black culture to life through singing, dancing, and live musical instruments. We had a jazz band, a beautiful mix of traditional African drumming and dance along with old African-American spirituals, and even dance sessions. During the performances, the audience also learned about various Black inventors, past and present, who brought innovations to a broad spectrum of industries through the Black Inventor’s Traveling Display. Overall, I believe these performances demonstrated the richness of local talent and the power of drawing from the community for important celebrations.
Organizing this year’s Black History Month program for Yahoo was an uplifting moment for my near 6-year career here, and brought together the efforts of many dedicated and talented people from across the company. I am deeply grateful for all of their help and support for making this Renaissance possible! The events throughout the month were a vibrant testament to Yahoo’s commitment to embracing and celebrating diversity.
posted by Michael McGovern, Talent Community Manager
Meet Jonathan Xu, Senior Business Intelligence Manager for Network Insights in our Sunnyvale office. He is a 12-year veteran at Yahoo. He works closely with a team of analysts and product managers to provide audience insights for the executive, product, and marketing teams. Prior to joining Yahoo in 2003, Jonathan was a Senior Business Analyst at Microsoft’s WebTV division, providing customer care budget forecast and conducting customer care incident analysis. He has over 20+ years of combined experience in sales, marketing, customer care, and data analysis fields. Jonathan received his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Texas A&M University, and MBA degree from University of Phoenix (San Jose, CA). Jonathan is a football fan, participating in Yahoo Fantasy Football every year. During his spare time, he likes to work on various home projects and enjoys home cooking.
How did you get interested in tech?
I became interested in science and technology when I was a kid. I came from Shanghai, China. My father was a high school physics teacher when I was young. Watching my father assembling our family’s first black and white 9-inch TV from scratch was the most fascinating thing that inspired me. With a curious mind, I tore apart many things at home and tried to find out how things work, such as alarm clock, wristwatch, cassette player, and radio. Then I learned to put them back together. I probably broke more things than I should. Regardless, my father taught me many things in science and technology, hence encouraged me to come to the U.S. to study in the technology field after I graduated from high school.
What is it like working for Yahoo?
Working at Yahoo is like living in Internet history. I created my Yahoo email account in 1997 and have been using Yahoo products since. Throughout the years, being part of the Yahoo product shift from desktop to mobile devices is such an amazing feeling. By working with many talented people on various projects, I also get to learn new ideas and skills from others.
Why is diversity important to you?
Diversity is important as we share different skills, different culture backgrounds, and different believes. It will be a very boring place if there is no diversity around you.
What is your advice to aspiring youth who are considering a career in STEM?
Keep a curious mind. Get as much hands-on experience as you can. Put down your smartphones and spend time with your parents on various home projects. Apply the STEM skills learned from your school. Although knowledge is power, applied knowledge is more powerful.
As a leader or manager, keeping your team motivated is of huge importance. Ian Weingarten, Yahoo’s SVP of Corporate Development and Partnerships, shares how he keeps the momentum going, from setting his team up for success and celebrating wins, to making sure he is accessible and transparent. Want to learn more? Read the piece in Fortune here.
At Yahoo we celebrate all of the diverse and unique cultures that make us who we are. The Yahoo Chinese Employee Resource Group (ERG) recently held their annual Lunar New Celebration – open to all Yahoos and their families – to mark 2016 as the Year of the Monkey! The ancient Chinese marked each year with one of 12 animals known as the Chinese zodiac symbols. Each symbol represents the distinctive characteristics and unique opportunities of the corresponding year. The monkey is the ninth symbol, “猴”, representing a year full of smart victories, unexpected adventure and surprising romance.
The Chinese Employee Resource Group is dedicated to supporting, inspiring and empowering Yahoo employees of Chinese heritage to fully realize their potential and dreams at Yahoo. Our very own Yahoos hosted and also performed during the event, taking advantage of the opportunity to celebrate and showcase their Chinese heritage and culture for all Yahoos to enjoy. Authentic Chinese food, entertaining cultural performances and various activities entertained family and friends, with magic shows and kung-fu performances to fascinate the children in attendance.
We hope everyone enjoyed celebrating the New Year!
