“When I saw what Alissa’s photography did for others, how she captures the inner essence of a person in her headshots, I wanted that too.” That is what Kate Chevarley Vong, a frontrunner in Human…

“When I saw what Alissa’s photography did for others, how she captures the inner essence of a person in her headshots, I wanted that too.” That is what Kate Chevarley Vong, a frontrunner in Human Resources, stated about why she got here to Alissa for a headshot.

“I grew up in Boston, attending the oldest public faculty within the nation, based in 1635, the Boston Latin School. Everyone needed to take a take a look at to get in, however it’s (nonetheless) free to attend. I took the take a look at, was accepted, and attended from seventh to twelfth grade. I met great individuals from all completely different backgrounds there. The top-notch classical training I acquired opened a door to Harvard.

At Harvard, I acquired a liberal arts diploma, creating my crucial pondering, researching, and writing expertise.” Speaking of creating, Kate has had a lifelong theme of management growth and studying in her profession. “The theme of studying runs again to my first job out of school. I moved to Japan to show English to highschool college students in a rural space. It turned out, the scholars weren’t the one ones who discovered. Me too! I hadn’t studied Japanese and had by no means been to Asia earlier than. It was a humbling expertise as I needed to learn to ask for assist. I used to be functionally illiterate. But via it, I constructed sturdy relationships with individuals I labored with. I believed I’d keep for a yr, however I renewed for a second yr as a result of I used to be simply greedy the language and understanding the tradition. Gaining that international expertise early in my profession has made me a greater chief and formed a big a part of who I’m. I’m so grateful.

After Japan, I returned to Boston and labored as a fundraiser at Harvard Medical School. This job allowed me to take enterprise lessons without spending a dime at evening, which helped me to use for twin MBA and Master’s of Industrial and Labor Relations levels at Cornell University. From there, I joined American Express as a part of their HR Global Rotation Program, went on a world project within the UK, frolicked as an HR generalist, I finally transitioned into management growth and efficiency administration, main packages for the corporate at scale.

Then I had the good alternative to affix Microsoft, main efficiency and growth for over 200k staff to help excessive efficiency throughout the corporate. I had an opportunity to bolster Microsoft’s development mindset tradition via the packages and studying assets that my workforce developed.

Recently, Kate has had the chance to transition from huge tech to biopharma and not too long ago joined Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a pioneer in RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics within the Cambridge/Boston space, as Global Head of Learning and Leadership Development.

“There was a lot to understand about Alissa’s headshots. The mixture of taking outing of my day to get my hair and make-up completed was a pleasure. Also, it was nice to have the ability to take plenty of footage in a snug setting when you’ve an skilled who optimizes in your behalf!”