Looking to buy a home in the Bay Area? You’ll need a household income of about $235,000 to afford the median home price of $1.2 million — and that’s if you can find a seller who will take your money. Whether it’s the climate, the innovative atmosphere, or the world-class tech ecosystem, people want to be here, and Bay Area housing prices continue to skyrocket.
With many left out of the market or enduring long commutes to less expensive areas as a result, local leaders are working together to increase the housing supply and make the Bay Area more affordable for all.
The League of California Cities Peninsula Division, city officials, and business leaders from the Silicon Valley Leadership Group came together to discuss the future of housing in the Bay Area at Housing in Your City, an online SVLG event on January 26.
Following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, colleagues from the Stanford Business School’s Class of 1994 decided to take collective action to address systemic racism in the United States.
When some of the classmates came together in a working group on organizational practice and accountability, many working as general managers said they felt they could be doing more on diversity, equity, and inclusion. They knew resources were out there, but they didn’t know where to start. After speaking with leaders who had made progress on DE&I, DE&I consultants, and academics, the group put together a framework and specific recommendations for change. The Racial Equity Playbook, a tool designed to help corporations make meaningful changes to drive diversity, equity, and inclusion, came out of this collaboration.
The SVLG Launch Circuit Speaker Series last week hosted a lively discussion with former US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez touching on immigration, workforce effectiveness, and leadership. Gutierrez is also the former CEO of The Kellogg Company, where he was both the youngest and first Hispanic CEO in the company’s 100-year history.
When a tiny light went on at a table in the lunchroom at ACE Academy, cheers erupted from a group of girls working on an electronics project made up of tiny metal parts pinned to a foam block. Debbie Andres, one of three volunteers from SVLG member companies guiding groups of middle school girls through the project as part of the 2021 Young Leaders Forum, leaned in as she coached each girl, then went around to other tables to help other groups.
Whether they started with a brilliant idea that they sensed could help people or were inspired by a problem caused by current events, every startup founder is changed by the journey.
Sasha Seletsky, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of SummerBio, and Ainsley Braun, Co-Founder and CEO of Tinfoil Security, are no exceptions. Both have dealt with challenges and have pivoted when faced with failure. They’ve experienced loneliness after success, and politely tolerated unsolicited advice. But both also leaned on colleagues and experienced unexpected support from people in their networks, learning valuable lessons and skills every step of the way.
In a recent discussion moderated by Jason Baker, SVP of Transportation, Health and Housing Policy at SVLG, Seletsky and Braun spoke candidly about what it’s like to be an entrepreneur, sharing wild stories, useful insights, and inspiring ideas.
Great achievements often start small.
In the case of Annamarie Huerta Franc, Managing Director of SAP Labs US, she can trace it back to her five-year-old self having a conversation with her father about what she wanted to do when she grew up. She told him she wanted to be a nurse, because boys were doctors and girls were nurses.
As we near the end of 2021, we are celebrating a year of legislative wins for our members and our region. Our policy work on behalf of our members embodies the overarching values and principles of our community, which include accountability, equity, inclusion, and environmental stewardship. We are working hard to reinvest in our community and its livability, to ensure that we continue to attract and retain the world’s best tech talent. As part of our efforts to foster business competitiveness and create shared value together, we engaged on a significant number of bills during the 2021 Legislative Session in Sacramento. We supported many measures that were ultimately signed by the Governor, and we helped to shape policy discussions around proposed legislation that could have curtailed innovation. Here are some examples of our work on behalf of our members in 2021.
Garine Ferejian-Mayo, Chief Commercial Officer of Sonesta International Hotels Corporation, shared inspiring words as she encouraged attendees to proactively advance their careers in an intimate virtual roundtable discussion hosted by SVLG on Tuesday.
Kicking off both National Hispanic Heritage Month and the Launch Circuit Speaker Series, SVLG and a group of startup leaders was fortunate to host an inspiring speaker and a trailblazer in the corporate world, Monica Lozano.
As the pandemic continues to be a factor in our daily lives, schools have been at the center of public concern. While adults opine on teacher vaccination, when to return to classrooms, and masking mandates, one factor remains constant – the effects of this unusual time on student mental health are real and need attention.
Input your search keywords and press Enter.
