Yolanda Townsend is senior vice president and general counsel at Opportunity@Work, a civic enterprise which aims to re-wire the U.S. labor market in ways that enable more Americans to achieve upward mobility in the job market and workplace, to facilitate collective investment by employers to develop the talent they need to succeed and grow, and to scale up promising innovations which unlock more fully the potential of all people for higher-value, meaningful work as a source of economic opportunity and national competitive advantage. From 2015-2016, Opportunity@Work was based at New America.
Prior to joining Opportunity@Work, Townsend held numerous leadership positions in both the private and public sector. She served as president of her own real estate investment and consulting firm, chief financial officer of Wheat Government Relations, a consulting and strategic planning company, and commissioner of the National Credit Union Administration (the regulatory agency responsible for regulating over 10,000 federal and state chartered credit unions). In addition, Townsend practiced corporate finance and real estate law in California, Missouri and Maryland.
Townsend graduated from Stanford University where she obtained a BA in international relations, with distinction. She received her JD from Harvard Law School.