Episode 219: When DEI Collapsed, This Resilience Educator Rebuilt Her Career—With Joy at the Center
If you’ve ever felt lost after a professional identity shift, this episode will show you how Yvonne Jackson turned a collapsing industry into a catalyst for personal joy, reinvention, and lasting impact.
In this episode, I’m joined by Yvonne Jackson, a resilience educator, talent strategist, and founder of Social Edge, a workplace equity firm helping organizations align people operations with business goals. With a background in process reengineering at Apple and over 20 years in tech and consulting, Yvonne transforms culture and talent teams into strategic assets. She leads with a joy-first approach, blending lived experience, data, and compassion. As a solo mother and former DEI leader, she’s passionate about building brave spaces where people can thrive authentically.
Throughout this episode, Yvonne shares how major changes in the DEI landscape pushed her to pivot, reimagine her business, and reset her priorities. Drawing on her operations background, she now helps teams become aligned and impactful. She opens up about the emotional weight of her work, a healing trip to Japan, and how her own “resilience reset” tools—like joy playlists and movement—help her navigate change. Her story is a powerful reminder that true transformation starts within.
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
When DEI disappeared, so did her business (3:30)
Choosing joy over burnout—in Japan (4:45)
Practicing what she preached (7:30)
Redefining joy as a daily practice, not a reward (10:30)
From DEI therapist to talent strategist (13:15)
Lessons from Apple: Turning chaos into strategy (16:00)
DEI that actually works—by leading with humanity (22:00)
Solo motherhood changed everything (25:00)
Self-care isn’t a luxury—it’s a leadership tool (34:00)