Check out your Company Bowl for anonymous work chats.
Like most offices in the Silicon Valley, our HQ is largely vacant at the moment. But that hasn't stopped our Workplace team from ensuring our offices are sustainable and energy efficient. Due to their hard work in the design and management of our offices, we were awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum status.
Cookie decorating typically happens at 23andMe HQ around the holidays. So last month, our Workplace team hosted a virtual "Gingerbread House Decoration Party" with 23andMe's Chef Clinton. Check out some of the amazing gingerbread houses.
Last month, we heard from three customers about how 23andMe changed their lives and connected them with new family. It was a great way to celebrate the holidays and remind employees how much their day-to-day work impacts people's lives.
Meet Chris Hyland, 23andMe's Sr Manager, Internal Communications! Chris helps lead the communication efforts at 23andMe, internally and for our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. As the Senior Manager of Internal Communications, his goal is to keep employees informed and engaged. Since we’ve been working remotely, he has challenged his team to develop new ways to help employees stay connected. This has included monthly speaker series and fun competitive challenges during the week. Chris is also the lead for our DEI communications team, which is responsible for all internal and external communication of our DEI efforts. When asked why he became a part of DEI at 23andMe, Chris said, “I'm involved in DEI to help give a voice to those who need it because opportunity, unfortunately, is not equal for everyone. My grandmother and mom immigrated from El Salvador in the 1960s. It is because of the perseverance of both of these amazing women that I had the fortunate opportunity to graduate from San Jose State University and eventually work at an amazing company like 23andMe.”
This past July, 23andMe launched a study on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a rare and chronic lung disease. Since then, our researchers have begun generating new insights including a possible link to increased risk for COVID-19. The insights include data from more than 4,000 people with IPF, making it one of the largest genetic studies of the condition.
Giving back to the community is an important part of 23andMe's culture. Employees have proven its importance by creating a "23andCommunity" group that facilitates opportunities, making it part of our DEI initiatives, and even spearheading a new Volunteer Time Off benefit. So for International Volunteer Day, we want to say thank you to the employees that volunteer their time to give back to the community.
23andMe researchers recently launched a study on systemic sclerosis, a rare autoimmune disease that results in the hardening and thickening of the skin and other organs. The hope is that this study will generate new genetic insights that may lead to potential treatments for this disease that has no cure.
We recently received two additional privacy certifications and re-certified an existing security certification, making us the first direct-to-consumer genetic testing company to be assessed against ISO 27001, ISO 27701, and ISO 27018. These certifications show our commitment to information security and privacy and providing the most trusted experience for our customers. Learn more about each certification in our blog.
Our new Family Health History Tree lets customers easily input, track and download their family health history all in one place in order to share with their healthcare provider.
Meet Maya Lowe, 23andMe's Senior Research Associate! Maya is also a member of 23andMe’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) team where she utilizes personal experiences and skills from her role as a researcher to help further DEI initiatives. As a Senior Research Associate, Maya supports diversity-focused projects such as 23andMe’s Populations Collaborations Project. She also helps manage our Education Program by collaborating with schools and educators. On our DEI team, Maya is the lead for all DEI events. She helps strategically plan them and handles the scheduling and coordination of speakers and panels. When discussing her role, Maya said, “I help empower employees to find creative ways to celebrate the diversity they bring to the company.”
