Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Johal.
Sarah, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in San Diego then mostly raised in Ohio after my parents divorced and both remarried. I grew up in a small town near Cincinnati. I was determined to return to California and was really attracted to the Bay Area to study marketing and tech innovation. So, Immediately after high school, I moved to San Francisco in 1999 and graduated from SFSU, where I would meet my now-husband, Indy.
My early marketing career started with an ad agency in charge of its Silicon Valley accounts. Then, a few years later, when Craigslist was becoming the place to job search, I applied to a sales-marketing role at an early startup in Oakland called Pandora Radio. I remember how nervous my parents were for the risk, suggesting I apply to Procter & Gamble closer to home. Music was and continues to be one of my great loves, so it felt like I won the dream job lottery. A few months later, the iPhone launched, and so did Pandora’s name for being one of the first in Apple’s app store.
Soon after, Indy and I got married and became parents with our daughter, Amara. This was the point I became a care advocate for working parents and caregivers, having experienced tremendous workplace bias and challenges returning from maternity and wanting to do more to fix the systems-level issues. I love a great ‘David vs. Goliath’ challenge and I think that stands out in my career journey. Pandora vs. traditional radio. Later, joining Lyft’s partner marketing team vs. Uber. Then recruited to join Workday vs. giants like Oracle. And at each of those startups, I volunteered to create ERGs (employee resource groups) for working parents, because we were all experiencing the same problems at work. My impact at Lyft was featured in the news for founding its UpLyft Parents ERG and successfully campaigning to improve its paid family leave and bereavement policies and workplace practices.
Two huge pillars of support during this time as a new parent navigating rapid startup life and constant change – my husband, who pivoted to become a stay-at-home dad soon after I returned to work from leave. And a professional network I was introduced to and later served as its exec director, Parents in Tech Alliance (2018-2023), a community of diverse leaders who were serving as Parent ERG leads in Big Tech, all experiencing the same root issues at work.
This has all led up to my role today, founder of CareSprint – a charitable nonprofit helping business & policy leaders sprint into action for working families. CareSprint is on a mission to lift our nation up from last place in work/life quality and family care.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
By no means a smooth journey, but never feeling like a challenge could stand in the way of progress. I think about leaving all I knew in Ohio to follow my dreams across the country to a city where I knew no one. I think about when my husband and I were first dating in college. Or having to care for family members needing chronic illness and mental health support. Or having been laid off (again) in tech during immense industry and cultural change.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
CareSprint is a charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping business & policy leaders sprint into action for working families. Today, our nation ranks last place in work/life quality and family care, costing the U.S. billions each year in health outcomes, talent competition, and innovation. We’re on a mission to lift our nation up from last place by surfacing talent and policy solutions that work for working caregivers.
CareSprint launched in January 2024 with three open solutions – an Employer Care Marketplace to search our solution partners in Aging Care, Career Learning, Childcare, Family Finances, Health & Wellness, and Talent DEI & Retention. Our monthly People Leader Library for managers to expand their care mindset with L&D resources. And our Care Policy Dashboard powered by Civiqa, to find and track live care legislation at state and national levels.
Our consulting arm helps organization how to measure caregiving employees within their talent strategy & outcomes. For example, because the gender pay gap is driven by motherhood and caregiving status, organizations who are committed to closing the gap are missing this data in order to achieve that goal. Because companies aren’t required to track caregiving status, most are unaware of best practices how to begin or uninterested because it’s not required.
What matters most to you?
Family, community, and legacy are everything. How I can leverage my skills, my privilege, my experiences to help others in need today. And help our daughter and generations after her be set up for success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.caresprint.org
- Instagram: @caresprint
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/caresprint
- Twitter: @caresprint_org
