Employee Engagement
How Companies Can Drive Purpose in a Lonely World and Meet Employees Where They Are
Hosted by Grapevine and McPherson Strategies
Thursday, May 14, 2026
12 PM ET | 9AM PT
Delivering on purpose in this moment is not about perfection, but about iteration in a rapidly changing environment. How are corporate impact and philanthropy leaders meeting the moment for communities and employees, and finding new ways to drive engagement around purpose? What are the new and emergent approaches that help meet community needs while giving employees a greater sense of belonging, connection and purpose at work?
This webinar explores what becomes possible when we view employee engagement as both an engine and an outcome — tapping into the power of community to drive collective impact, and the power of social impact to build community. We’ll take a deeper look at the role of connection as a pillar of purpose, and the systems and practices driving transformative outcomes in community impact, employee engagement and professional development.
- Susan McPherson – Founder and CEO, McPherson Strategies (Moderator)
- Laura Turner – VP & Head of Community Impact, TIAA
- Emily Yu – Chief Partnerships and Programs Officer, Newman’s Own Foundation
- Emily Rasmussen – Founder & CEO, Grapevine
Meet Your Speakers
Susan McPherson, Founder and CEO, McPherson Strategies
Susan McPherson is a serial connector, angel investor, and corporate responsibility expert. She is the founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, a consultancy focused on brands and social impact, and the author of The Lost Art of Connecting. With over 30 years of experience in marketing, public relations, and sustainability communications, she frequently speaks at major industry events and contributes to outlets like Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Forbes. Her work has been featured on NPR, CNN, and in leading publications. She is a recipient of Forbes’ 50 Over 50—Impact award and Worth Media’s Worthy100, and serves on the boards of The 19th News and the US Chamber of Connection.
Laura Turner, VP & Head of Community Impact, TIAA
Laura is the VP & Head of Community Impact at TIAA, where she leads the organization’s community strategy to support its mission of providing a secure financial future for all. She oversees volunteerism, employee giving, and philanthropy, mobilizing a network of leaders and employees to drive meaningful social impact. Previously, Laura served as Chief Human Resources Officer and held several senior roles at TIAA, including Head of Employee Relations, interim Chief Diversity Officer, and HR Business Partner. Before joining TIAA in 2013, she built extensive HR experience at Bank of America, bringing over 25 years of leadership in global financial services.
Emily Yu, Chief Partnerships and Programs Officer, Newman’s Own Foundation
Emily (she/her) is committed to driving innovations that ensure everyone can be healthy and thrive. A social entrepreneur, speaker, and published author with more than 20 years of experience in the social sector, Emily is changing how change is made to tackle society’s most pressing challenges.
Emily joined Newman’s Own Foundation in November 2023 and serves as the Chief Partnerships and Program Officer, overseeing all partnership and relationship development, results management, and grantmaking functions of the Foundation. Prior to joining Newman’s Own Foundation, Emily founded AI PRIORI, a B2B and B2C SaaS platform that helps changemakers identify the most relevant information across all their documents and generate insights for greater impact. She also served as the Executive Director of The BUILD Health Challenge® and Managing Director of Partnerships at the de Beaumont Foundation. These community-led and cross-sector partnerships resulted in more than 100 new legislative policies, organizational policies, and funding opportunities.
Honors include being chosen as a Halcyon Fellow, Center for Community Investment Field Catalyst Fellow, and a Terrance Keenan Institute Fellow. Emily earned her MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business and her BS from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Emily Rasmussen, Founder & CEO, Grapevine
Emily brings more than 15 years of financing for impact, nonprofit and social enterprise leadership experience to Grapevine - the only platform dedicated to Giving Circles and the collective giving movement that she founded and runs. Previously, she was the founding Executive Director of NYU’s Center for Ballet and the Arts, launched the Lincoln Center at the Movies global media initiative, and developed innovative financing models for impact at Enterprise Solutions to Poverty. Emily has consulted on event cinema for Disney Theatrical Group, taught Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship at SUNY Purchase, and spent two years developing microfinance and fair trade programs in India. She is a board member and co-chair of the membership committee of the Harvard Business School Women’s Association and a member of the LISC Emerging Leaders Council. Emily holds a B.A. from Occidental College in Diplomacy, World Affairs, and Economics and an MBA from Harvard Business School.