Aki uses her tech background to help people who are most at risk of COVID, through the nonprofit Helping Hands.
When the pandemic hit, many of us had this desire to help in whatever way we could. Aki Naito took that to the next level. Aki had worked in technology for years. She was really good at taking these complicated ideas and tools, and explaining them to people. Then March 2020 came along. Aki saw an opportunity to take what she’d learned in tech, and apply it on the frontline of the crisis, helping families and communities who are most at-risk of COVID.
Aki is now the COO of Helping Hands Community, a nonprofit technology platform that empowers food banks and other partners to deliver food and essential supplies to people in need, at scale. Since they launched in 2020, Helping Hands has supported over 40,000 families. Visit helpinghands.community to see how you can get involved.
Previously, Aki built teams and grew demand for GitHub (acquired by Microsoft), Cisco and Vistara. Aki went to Dartmouth College for her BA and Stanford Graduate School of Business for her MBA. She’s called the Bay Area home since then, where she enjoys the outdoors and the bountiful farmers markets.