Kindra Graham Graduates From Emerge at Yale

For Kindra Graham, wishes do come true. She heard about Emerge at Yale in a meeting and said to herself, “this is what I need.” Months later, Graham and 22 early-to-middle-career staff members are the second cohort to graduate from the leadership initiative.

Graham, who has worked as a Security Manager for Yale Security for four years, went to the Emerge at Yale website to learn about the program. “I really needed this program, but I didn’t know how to be a participant,” Graham said. “Lo and behold, a few months later, I opened an email that said you’ve been nominated to participate in Emerge cohort 2.

Emerge at Yale is an initiative, launched in March 2022, that supports Yale’s commitment to develop staff for leadership positions across campus.

Participants in the eight-month program were nominated by leadership. Graham said she never mentioned her interest in the program to anyone and didn’t know who nominated her, but said she is forever grateful.

“My experience with Emerge was wonderful. It was everything that I could’ve wished for and more,” Graham said. “The designers of this program were thoughtful with every aspect of planning and organizing.”

The session topics covered a variety of learning experiences that included networking with senior leaders, small group project work, leadership self-assessment, and coaching. Graham said, “Strategic planning and building financial acumen can be common leadership topics, but with this program, there was a message on belonging.”

She adds, “This program covered many topics I knew I needed and others I didn’t know I needed. I knew to advance, I needed to work hard, but this gave me more insight into what it takes to elevate myself to upper leadership.”

The program concluded with teams working on group projects.