Making the world a better place, through both technology advancements and support for social causes and diversity, is why Jaynne Gates works at KLA. “For me, I need to have both to be fulfilled as a person,” she says, adding that KLA’s emphasis on employee engagement allows both to flourish. “Knowing how KLA is making people’s lives better means a lot to me.”
This week we connect with Jaynne who, as part of KLA’s global communications and brand team, helps manage KLA’s presence at major industry events and conferences and actively participates in KLA’s employee resource groups (ERGs).
Organizing Global Events Requires Adaptability and a Drive to be Better
Jaynne considers herself to be in the best role at KLA. Organizing global events requires her to interact with many parts of the company: product managers showcasing a new product, technologists delivering presentations, content writers and designers preparing the displays, and finance teams who make sure things are paid in a timely manner. At the same time, she works closely with numerous external vendors, where her 25 years of sales experience in the technology industry prove helpful when negotiating contracts.
“It can be very challenging with a lot of moving parts, but it’s helped me become a more organized and disciplined person because I can’t let anything fall through the cracks. Our team is continually exploring ways to do things better to promote the KLA brand and improve the event experience.”
Jaynne Gates, corporate communications – global events management.
The pandemic brought new challenges as industry events became virtual, then hybrid, and now slowly returning to in-person while retaining some hybrid elements. Jaynne shared that she is continually adapting, learning new digital platforms, and collaborating with partners to deliver the highest quality events for the business groups, whether in-person, virtual or hybrid.
Walking the Talk on Social Causes and Diversity
KLA and the KLA Foundation provide many opportunities for employees to participate in and support causes that are close to their hearts. During her time at KLA, Jaynne has volunteered at Second Harvest Food Bank and Habitat for Humanity, two of KLA’s longtime community partners, and she really enjoys the team building activities associated with them. While COVID has made volunteering more challenging, prior to COVID, Jaynne joined the Milpitas-based corporate communications team volunteer at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties each quarter and continues to volunteer as restrictions permit. Jaynne added that in March of 2019 she had the honor of accepting the “Bumper Crop” Award on behalf of KLA, which was presented by Second Harvest to KLA and its employees for their fundraising and food drive efforts. Jaynne has also participated in one of KLA’s Habitat for Humanity Playhouse Build projects.
“I’m proud to work for a company that cares about people and empowers me to support social causes that are important to me and my colleagues.”
Jaynne highlighted the importance of inclusion and diversity (I&D) at KLA. There are numerous opportunities to regularly participate in heritage celebrations and awareness workshops organized by the I&D team and various employee resource groups (ERGs) throughout the year.
Jaynne is proud to add that she supports the I&D team in promoting Black History Month. One year, she created a presentation celebrating the Black scientists who shaped the semiconductor industry, which was displayed throughout the Milpitas campus. Her passion for promoting better understanding of the Black community led her to help co-found KLA’s BELIEVE (Black Employees Leading in Inclusion, Excellence, Vision, and Education) ERG. BELIEVE works to further KLA’s inclusion and diversity goals through support, recruitment and advancement of people of color while promoting cultural awareness, understanding and allyship of the Black community. It also helps create opportunities for employees to engage proactively within their communities. Jaynne serves as co-chair of BELIEVE with co-founder and KLA colleague Ramona Wortham.
Spreading the Message of “I Am Enough” (Watch out for next month’s story about BELIEVE ERG’s collaboration with the KLA Foundation.)
If you enjoyed Jaynne’s story and learning about the many ways that KLA fosters a culture of inclusion where employees can thrive, as well as charitable activities supported by the KLA Foundation, watch this inspiring video of KLA employees explaining what motivates them to give back to their communities.
Browse the KLA careers page to see the opportunities where you can advance humanity and make the world a better place.
Follow Us