Connor Diemand-Yauman

Over the last decade plus, Connor has focused his work on building organizations and projects focused on driving more equity (the justice kind, not the stock market kind) and opportunity through education.

Connor is currently co-CEO of Merit America, a nonprofit preparing low-wage, underrepresented workers for skilled careers at scale. Prior to Merit America, he cofounded and led Philanthropy U, the world’s largest trainer of working adults in the social sector, and launched Coursera’s B2B strategy and business line. And before that, he created “Speak Smart News,” an educational program distributed to 10M East Asian learners, and taught primary school in South Africa, South Korea, and Kenya.

Connor is a lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he teaches a course on using humor in leadership. His academic research on improving learning outcomes has been cited in over 250 academic articles and covered by The Economist, BBC International, and The New York Times. He is the recipient of the Pyne Prize, Princeton University’s highest distinction, and was named to Forbes’ 30 under 30. In 2018, Connor was recognized as an education and sustainable development expert by the World Economic Forum, and currently serves on their Expert Network coalition. He is a founding member of McKinsey’s Consortium for Advancing Adult Learning & Development, a member of the Human Rights Watch San Francisco committee, and a featured contributor on the Huffington Post.