Living a Creative Life with Denise Young Smith

09/03/20 • 50 min

Since she was a young girl, Denise Young Smith has had a love for music and singing. Her career, though, took her into the world of Human Resources including executive roles at Apple. Did this mean she left the arts behind? Certainly not! Music and performing have always been in her life and are taking center stage now as she becomes Chair of the Board at SFJAZZ.
In this episode, Denise shares her journey including how she developed her love for the arts, why it was important to her to attend Grambling State, an historically black college and university (HBCU), how she got into HR, and how she transitioned out of the corporate world. Her story proves there's more than one way to live a creative life.
Meet the Guest
Denise Young Smith recently closed a brilliant two-decade career with Apple and is currently serving as only the second executive-in-residence at the new Cornell Tech (Cornell Ithaca’s graduate school campus in Manhattan). At Cornell Tech, Denise is visiting scholar and a key cultural influencer at this unique institution on the imperative of true diversity, representation, inclusion, and humanity in technology, drawing on her passion to positively impact the next generation of business and tech leaders and entrepreneurs.

Denise held a variety of executive roles at Apple, including building the talent machine for the company’s retail store initiative, taking the chain to over 400 stores globally before being promoted to the Chief HR role, reporting to Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook. She served also as Apple’s first ever vice president of inclusion and diversity, leading the company’s efforts to see its full ecosystem become as inclusive as possible.

Denise has been named a “Most Powerful Woman” by Ebony Magazine and Black Enterprise, has been named one of “100 Most Influential in Silicon Valley” by Business Insider, and has been featured in Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women” issue.

Truly living at the intersection of technology, humanity and art, Denise has just been named Chair of the Board of SFJAZZ, the premiere arts organization featuring Jazz and Black American music, artists, and educational programming. Additionally, Denise is a classically trained soprano who has graced local and international recital halls, including Carnegie’s Weill Hall, Palace of Fine Arts, and SFJazz. She recently released a debut album under her own Blue Organza Productions & Studios, and continues to tell the stories that need to be told, through music.
Links

To learn more about SFJAZZ or to hear Denise’s album, check out these links:

SFJAZZ
Stream Denise Young Soprano on Apple Music
Stream Denise Young Soprano on TIDAL

To learn more about SFJAZZ or to hear Denise’s album, check out these links:

SFJAZZ
Stream Denise Young Soprano on Apple Music
Stream Denise Young Soprano on TIDAL

Previous Episode

Bringing It All Together with Brandon Hernandez

Sometimes reaching your destination means making moves that seem to be on different paths. That's what Brandon Hernandez has been consciously doing as he's built his career in Public Affairs while also volunteering his time and leadership within important nonprofit organizations. The journey hasn't always been easy or stress-free, but it has been rewarding.

In this episode, Brandon shares how and why he made moves throughout his career including how he managed through high-profile incidents that occurred at PG&E while he was there: an explosion in San Bruno and some of the largest wildfires in California history. He also shares why serving on the Board of two non-profits has been important for him personally and professionally. It's an inspirational story told with compassion.

Meet the Guest
Brandon J. Hernandez, Founder & Principal, Reforma Strategies
Brandon is an award-winning communications leader, executive advisor, and political consultant with strong expertise in how to successfully navigate California’s political, legislative, and business landscape. Leveraging in-depth knowledge of both the public and private sectors, Mr. Hernandez advises corporations, non-profits, and political campaigns to succeed at the state and local levels. He has been named a “Top 20 Under 40” Environmental Leader by a leading San Francisco Bay Area publication, received multiple national awards for a groundbreaking Spanish language environmental campaign, and has been honored by then San Francisco Mayor and leading LGBTQ organizations for his leadership on LGBTQ issues.

As the Founder and Principal of Reforma Strategies, Brandon Hernandez directs world-class client solutions in the areas of Political Strategy, Public Affairs, Media Relations, Government Relations, Reputation Management and Issue Advocacy. Regardless of the industry or challenge, he has helped organizations move past complicated events, protect reputations, and prepare for media and legislative appearances. With extensive insights, connections, and strategic leadership experience, Brandon helps companies establish or expand business operations in California, representing the fifth-largest economy in the world.

For 13 years, Brandon served at PG&E most recently as Senior Director for External Affairs and Strategic Initiatives. In this role, he led a statewide team and oversaw legislative policy, collaborated with stakeholders and government agencies, and organized public affairs activities across the State and nation. He spearheaded PG&E’s strategic rollout of more than $6B in capital investments across Northern California, established the first Zero Net Energy substation in the United States, and led a partnership to make San Francisco the greenest city in America. Previously, Brandon worked as a policy advisor for the California State Assembly Speaker, managed Public Affairs for the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and was lead for various corporate and political clients at a leading media and political consulting firm.

Mr. Hernandez holds a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley. Beyond his professional endeavors, he is involved with civic causes and non-profit organizations, including National Board Chair for Voto Latino and on the National board for the LGBTQ Victory Institute.
Links
To learn more about the organizations Brandon is involved with visit:

Next Episode

My Inadvertent Career with Greg Stern

When Greg Stern graduated from college with a degree in Political Science, he certainly did not expect to eventually co-found and co-chair the award-winning creative advertising agency BSSP. He also didn't anticipate that he would eventually be named CEO of the renowned performing arts organization SFJAZZ. He calls his career inadvertent, but the steps he took along the way prepared him for the extraordinarily fulfilling career he has enjoyed. He also continually nourished his love of music and ultimately turned his passion into a vocation.
Greg is an excellent example of someone who leveraged all of his unique experiences, including overseas assignments, to build a successful, rewarding and inspiring career.
Meet the Guest
Greg Stern was recently appointed CEO of the non-profit performing arts organization SFJAZZ. Long a supporter, and previously a 3-term board member of SFJAZZ, Greg has been fortunate to be able to turn a passion into a vocation.

He built his career in advertising and marketing services, and is co-founder and co-chairman of BSSP, an independent creative advertising agency. For over 25 years, BSSP has developed award-winning marketing solutions for clients including Blue Shield, Mitsubishi, Priceline, MINI Cooper and others.

He served as Board Chair of the industry trade organization, the 4A’s from 2017-2020.

Greg’s experience also includes multinational agencies, where he was based in New York, Hong Kong and Indonesia, working with clients including American Express, Unilever and Nestle. Greg has been featured in major media including CNN, CBS, ABC and NBC News, the New York Times, and the Wall St. Journal, and has guest lectured at many universities and graduate schools.

Greg is an active angel investor and advisor to start-up companies.

Links
To learn more about SFJAZZ or BSSP, follow these links:

Career Curves - Living a Creative Life with Denise Young Smith

Transcript

Dan Henkle, host: Welcome to Career Curves, where we talk to people who have interesting careers and explore how they got to where they are today. I'm Dan Henkle, standing in on this episode for our usual host, Beth Davies.

My guest on this episode, Denise Young Smith, spent over 20 years at Apple in senior leadership roles before retiring from the company in 2018 to pursue her other passions, including her love for music and singing. She released her own album in 2018 c