Everybody Deserves A Voice
London is not your city or my city, it is everybody’s city. With 40% of Londoner’s being ethnic minorities, it’s a special cosmopolitan city.
Incredibly purpose driven, caring, ambitious and a natural team player. All these were obvious and compelling on the 30 minute initial Zoom call with Heather. It was easy for all of us to pick up and recognise these powerful traits when she first stepped into the office.
Heather, at just 26, founded and continues to run Medallia.org, the arm of the business dedicated to maximising Medallia’s social impact. Hugely impressive and a widely noticed personal impact – she was well on her way.
After being brought up in China, her working-class parents took the brave and courageous step to head to America, in the bold hope of a more prosperous future. Like many immigrants, her first challenge was the language barrier. Her broken English meant she wasn’t the most confident or loudest voice.
Feeling the pressure to accommodate and participate in this new culture, so many had struggled to pronounce her name properly, she bravely changed it. It’s hard to imagine taking such drastic action, just so you can be ‘accepted’ and ‘fit in’.
She is driven by the sacrifices her parents made and that gives her a special determination to succeed, for them as much as for herself. It is infectious and unwavering. I loved her energy and passion, and just knew that if the opportunity presented itself, I would love her on my team. In true Heather fashion, one day she casually dropped me a line to say that she’s moved to London from San Francisco!
Our office is young, vibrant and diverse. In many respects, it’s a microcosm of metropolitan London.
We have an eclectic and unplanned mixture of gender, race, faith and outlook. In the main, they are enthusiastic and not long out of university. It’s a source of endless cohesion and inclusion, but also necessary difference and continuous learning.
Heather role models inclusion. She naturally fit into our office environment. The team instantly embraced her and became fascinated in the work she does at Medallia. I think she broke the record for earning herself a set of our office keys!
With Medallia’s unique technology and mission, every day Heather enables a wide array of organisations to ensure everyone has a voice, maybe a voice her parents did not quite have. Her personal experiences have meant she is determined and driven to fostering more inclusive workplaces and communities.
It’s only once you’ve been excluded that you realise the power of inclusion.
