In her current role at LinkedIn and Microsoft, Jeanne Schad (Class of 1994) specializes in employee engagement. So it's not surprising that she's part of the team that's working to make the WJPZ Alumni Association and Hall of Fame more inclusive.
We start with our favorite native Iowan's backstory. Jeanne's parents owned a radio station, and she had her FCC license before her driver's license! In high school, she researched the best broadcast schools, and had good instincts - she picked Syracuse over Northwestern and Mizzou.
She started at WJPZ in the news department and tells the story of being suspended in her first semester. She felt this "knocked her down a few notches," and she got to work - also in music, promotions, and was on the air at Y94 by the summer before her junior year.
If you were at this year's Banquet (or get the emails), you may be familiar with our group's efforts in the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) space. It's no secret that our Alumni Association and Hall of Fame are dominated by white men. And while it's important to point out that nobody has ever been intentiionally exclusive, this thing can happen when there isn't a specific effort to be inclusive. Jeanne says this conversation has been happneing for several years, and the timing is finally right. So a group has been formed to reform some of our processes. And it's on all alumni to help in any way they can. The goal is to move forward, even if it's not perfect.
Following her career at Syracuse, she talks about learning from failures. She did sales in Jacksonville, Florida, learning how hard it can be to do that job in a market you haven't spent time in previously. This led her to the agency side and TBWA/Chiat/Day. That led her to Dallas and Katz Media, and eventually on to Los Angeles.
While in LA, Jeanne took what she had learned about belonging and inclusion, and became certified in executive coaching. This allowed her to reconfigure her network and career - selling for a global consulting firm, before being hired by LinkedIn (owned by Microsoft) in 2022. She now specializes in employee engagement and works with their GLINT product, part of the Microsoft Viva suite of employee experience tools.
In this role, we ask Jeanne what she wishes more employers knew. She talks about flexibility - too many C-suite executives are waiting for the pre-COVID office life to return. It's simply not going to happen. And employees should think about their careers like a chessboard. Don't think about what's "next." Think about what's "next next." She explains.
The WJPZ at 50 Podcast Series is produced by Jon Gay, Class of 2002, and his podcast production agency, JAG in Detroit Podcasts.
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