Keyarash Jahanian
Describe a day in your life at Beam, formerly Edquity. How do you interact with our partners, students, and staff?
A typical day involves lots of interactions with my colleagues to make sure we're building a product that meets the needs of our partners and students. I most frequently collaborate with designers and engineers, but I also have touchpoints with our student success team, our partner success team, our business development team, and other members of our leadership team, to make sure we're quickly addressing issues affecting our students and partners, understanding larger market dynamics, and informing organizational strategy.
What do you like most about your role?
I really enjoy collaborating with all of Beam's internal departments to comprehensively solve the various problems and opportunities that come up in our work. Being able to work with these stakeholders to understand problems from very different perspectives is something I truly enjoy.
Why did you join the Beam team?
I strongly believe that financially vulnerable people deserve cash assistance without having to perform their poverty to qualify for it. I was also really drawn to Beam's core value of anti-racism.
How would you describe the culture at Beam?
It's a delight to work at Beam because everyone is equally committed to achieving our anti-poverty mission. We also get along really well. These qualities of our company culture make it really easy to work with each other and get things done.
Name three skills you bring to your role.
Effective communicator, strong collaborator, and active learner.
What's your favorite thing to do outside of work?
I love spending time with my family.
Can you share a bit about your previous professional experience?
I built my expertise about the experiences of financially vulnerable people and first-generation college students while consulting for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Immediately before coming to Edquity, I was a Senior Innovation Manager at a nonprofit, where I had the privilege of running a cash assistance pilot for folks in the gig economy. I have a Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of Kansas and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington.
What's your favorite tech, or the last app you downloaded?
I honestly think Slack might be my favorite app. It has made remote work so easy. I'm also able to stay connected with professional groups and friends. I'm definitely a fan.
What are some of your favorite ways to give back? Any charities that are personal to you?
When I have time, I like to volunteer and tutor. My wife and I also make sure to make monthly donations to nonprofits we care about. I'll use this opportunity to give a shoutout to The Haus of McCoy, a community hub for queer and trans youth of Lawrence, Kansas. A friend of ours from when we worked at the University of Kansas started this nonprofit, and we care a lot about its mission.
