40 Under Forty 2024: Hayley Haywood, equity entrepreneur
Photo I Erika Sidor
Hayley Haywood
Photo | Matt Wright
The 40 Under Forty winners and alumni who visited the Jennessa Art studio in West Boylston were (from left) Hayley Haywood (Class of 2024), Jennessa Burks (Class of 2024), Emily Molstad (Class of 2024), Robyn Kennedy (Class of 2020), and Ron Ernenwein (Class of 2006).
- Title Founder & chief equity officer
- Company Elevating Access, in Worcester
- Residence Worcester
- Birthplace New York
- Colleges Clark University; The University of Maryland, College Park; University of Southern California
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Haywood left the security of her 9-to-5 position in higher education to set out on her own, launching her equity-based consulting firm in April 2023.
Today, Elevating Access offers one-on-one and group coaching focusing on the intersectional needs of professionals of color, in addition to consulting support for employers looking to bolster equitable employment engagement and colleges and universities looking to better post-graduate and alumni outcomes. Within her first 10 months of opening her firm, Haywood generated six figures in revenue. Her coaching clients, who are all women of color, have increased their salaries by an average of $22,000. Haywood hosts a free monthly community gathering space geared toward women of color seeking what she refers to as sisterhood grounded in solidarity. She has consulted with NASA on an agency equity panel. Prior to Elevating Access, Haywood rose through the ranks at Clark University in Worcester, ending her tenure as assistant provost for organizational learning. During her time at Clark, she designed and implemented a summer bridge program, resulting in 100% retention of two consecutive cohorts of first-generation students of color and increased graduation rates.
Would you rather travel in time to meet your ancestors or your descendants? Whichever will have the greatest benefit to our collective future & be least disruptive to the space-time continuum.
Go-to restaurant for a business lunch? Root & Press. Love the vibe, the books, and diversity of food options meeting an array of dietary needs.
What piece of advice guides you? Don’t fight the feeling, fight the fear.
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