Impact career at Twitter: Bloom interviews London Lee

Dear friends,
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Welcome to the first edition of Coffee with Changemakers!!! 🎊 Once a month, we take a break from our regular Sunday newsletter (for reference to our new Bloomers in the community, here's last week's newsletter) to share interviews with PRACTICAL takeaways, DIVERSE changemakers, and, best of all, the chance to MEET them for a coffee (or tea, juice...any drink you want – we figured most of you drink coffee 😂).
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Our guests are award-winning podcast hosts and authors, human rights influencers, climate entrepreneurs, journalists, STEM leaders, and some of the world's top impact career coaches. This week, we're honored to introduce you to London Lee, a Senior Social Impact Associate at Twitter! London's seeds of wisdom come from a powerful place of gratitude, community, and faith – grounding forces that are helping her build an incredible career. We're grateful for her resource(full) interview and hope London's story guides you with new perspectives in own impact journey 💚
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with light,
Jasmine

If you had to summarize your life in five words what would they be, and why?

Community. Living in a transient city like San Francisco, it’s especially important for me to invest in community, cultivating relationships with people around me and serving the communities where I live and work.

Faith. My spirituality is a huge part of my identity and a constant source of energy and strength.

Cycling. Susan B. Anthony once said, “I think cycling has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel... the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood." I wholeheartedly love cycling and believe this to be true!

Identity. As an Asian American, I strive to honor both the challenges and treasures that come with a multifaceted cultural identity. I hope to continue lifting up AAPI voices and advocating for diversity across the impact space.

Curiosity. The more I live, the less I know! I’m always seeking opportunities to learn, grow and understand new perspectives.
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​One of the things that shines through about you is that you’re an incredibly positive person - where does your joy come from?
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​Much of my joy comes from personal challenges I’ve faced in my life, particularly around mental health. Growing up, I suffered from severe anxiety and depression, which drastically shaped my perspective on gratitude and self-care. Both of these things have helped me find grounding and stability in my life and also maintain a sense of positivity and joy.​
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​Tell us about your current role; what does a typical day look like for you?

I work on Twitter’s Social Impact team, which is part of our global Public Policy team. We oversee a range of programs including employee giving and volunteerism, grant making and product donations. I’m currently focused on social impact strategy development, impact measurement and communication. While no day is the same, my time is usually spent meeting with external and internal cross-functional partners, planning, writing communications to employees and partners, and spending time on deep work when focused on strategy (my favorite!)
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​Community question from Farhiya💚What’s something you wish you had known when you began your career?

1) Careers aren’t always linear or binary. They’re winding, twisted roads that lead to different destinations – not necessarily good or bad, just different. Whatever path you choose will give you the opportunity to learn and grow.

2) Don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself and ask for what you need. No one else is going to do it for you!

3) Seek out mentors to help guide you along your way.
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​Community question from Shanna💚What advice would you give someone wanting to pursue a career similar to yours?

If you’re looking to pursue a social impact role in the private sector, here are a few things you can do…

Learn about the industry and stay up to date on trends! I follow The Stanford Social Innovation Review, ESG Today, Boston Center for Corporate Citizenship, and Harvard Business Review's Social Responsibility to name a few. There’s also a plethora of online courses via +Acumen, Coursera, Udemy and edX, as well as social impact certifications through the University of Pennsylvania and NYU.

If you don’t have any experience within the social sector, seek out opportunities to get involved. Volunteer for a nonprofit you admire, join a board, start working with the social sector. US programs like Catchafire, YCore, and Volunteer Match can help facilitate these kinds of engagements.

If you already work in the private sector, find opportunities to create impact where you are. Does your company have a social impact team you can get involved with? If not, can you lead your own initiative?

Focus on transferable skills. Even if you don’t have a strong background in social impact, focus on general core competencies such as program management, community development, relationship management, communication and storytelling, and impact measurement.

As much as it’s about competence and passion, it’s also about timing. Stay patient and don’t give up. ​
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​Let’s say you were reading a job application from someone hoping to join your team: what would stand out, and attract you to working with them?

• An understanding of and passion for community development, especially if it’s in a particular market the job is hiring for. Experience working in the social sector at a nonprofit or social enterprise is valuable.
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• Stakeholder management and partnership development. Experience working externally across sectors and internally across teams is important. Social impact is increasingly collaborative and involves cultivating relationships with many different types of people and entities.
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• An ability to learn quickly, be resourceful and be comfortable navigating ambiguity!

Impact resource rapid fire questions!
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​book worth reading? How Change Happens is an interesting read on why some social movements succeed and others don’t. She explains why some of the most significant 21st century shifts happened by studying the movements behind important causes from LBGTQ+ marriage equality to gun rights.

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​quote worth repeating? "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference."​
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​podcast to listen to? Behind the Impact by Jeremey Brown is worth a listen! It highlights the changemakers building social impact programs of some of the most philanthropic companies on the planet.

OK now who wants to grab a coffee with London??? She's kindly agreed to three 1:1 meetings with Bloomers. Send us an email to let us know if you're interested and we will select three of you to meet London 💚

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