Alli O’Connell has had a jam-packed 12 months.

In August 2020, after years spent working in international development and the nonprofit sector, she took the leap into a role at California tech company Autodesk’s charitable foundation. Only a few months into the role, her supervisor left, turning what should have been a six-month contract position into not just a permanent role, but a big promotion for O’Connell too.

Now head of marketing and communications at the organization, she talks about what lay behind the risky decision to quit Fairtrade America for the job at Autodesk Foundation, the biggest challenges she’s faced during the transition, and the emerging synergy between impact expertise and the corporate sector.

Shannon Houde: When we met, you were prepping for the interview with Autodesk. Tell us a little bit about your transition from a nonprofit at Fairtrade America to a tech company. How did you feel you were able to make that change?

Alli O’Connell: More and more corporations are realizing that they need to have impact embedded into their work, whether that's through traditional ESG reporting requirements or a more comprehensive focus on impact overall. Because of this, there’s a synergy between more corporate, Silicon Valley or tech companies, and people who have skills and on the ground experience in the impact space. That experience allows you to effectively dialogue and build impact strategies with other stakeholders within the company who may not have the background or expertise. At the Autodesk Foundation, we’re very grantee-forward, so having been on the other side of the table as the grantee, someone with experience in impact sector brings a valuable understanding and level of empathy to working with grantees.

At Autodesk, for example, we’ve recently launched a corporate impact strategy, and the Autodesk Foundation has a big role in that. The Autodesk Foundation’s work and strategy is extremely informed by the nonprofits that we work with. They’re the key players that help inform areas such as impact wide metrics for the corporation, and the way we're looking at how do we do impact measurement and management.

Read the full article about philanthropic and corporate goals by Shannon Houde at GreenBiz.