Helen Young Hayes’ American dream began in Starkville, Mississippi in 1965.
She remembers when her family packed up to move South. Helen’s parents were Chinese immigrants who had come to the United States a few years prior seeking economic prosperity, political freedom and physical safety. After receiving their graduate degrees, her parents had accepted jobs in academia at Mississippi State University. The family was unfamiliar with America’s geography and didn’t realize that they were moving into a deeply segregated community in the throes of the Civil Rights Movement.
As a child in Mississippi, Helen experienced exclusion from the majority culture. Her family was the first Asian family to move into the college town, and she was the first Asian woman to graduate from her high school. Growing up, she experienced bias and prejudice directed toward herself, her family and the other people of color in her town. She watched as people were kept in the margins of society based on the color of their skin.
This experience was incredibly formative for Helen. Her upbringing instilled in her a lifelong desire to help people break out of the confines placed on them by society, and she realized early on the American dream she believed in excluded so many.
Helen left Starkville to get her B.A. in Economics from Yale University. Upon graduating, Helen launched into a 20+ year career in the financial industry, working as an investor on Wall Street. She eventually became a Portfolio Manager at Janus Henderson Investors, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. During her tenure at Janus, she also served as Managing Director of Investments, heading up the 100-person research and investment arm, encompassing equities, fixed income, money market and trading.
Her time in the financial industry allowed her to access institutions of power she never knew existed. She broadened her understanding of the systems that perpetuate inequality. She stepped into leadership positions that showcased her ability to be strategic, visionary and decisive. During this time, one of the most pivotal moments in Helen’s leadership journey happened, rather unexpectedly, in mid-air.
Helen boarded United Airlines flight 232 in 1989 expecting it to be an average trip. When the plane’s engine disk cracked about an hour into the flight, the plane was rendered unsteerable and unstoppable. The moments that followed were catastrophic, leading to what is remembered as one of the most impressive airline landings ever conducted. 112 people died tragically in that crash landing, but Helen survived. Coming out of that experience as a survivor, Helen experienced a strong sense of appointment and destiny. It inspired her to live a fearless and courageous life defined by purpose.
It’s this same sense of purpose that empowered her to move from being a donor to a doer when she founded ActivateWork in 2016. As the CEO and Founder, Helen advances ActivateWork’s mission of helping under-served individuals achieve their fullest potential through the dignity of work. Over the next five years, ActivateWork will catalyze 1000 individuals to prosperity through launching IT careers. In 2020, Helen also founded and launched the Colorado Inclusive Economy (CIE) Movement to help build the nation’s most racially diverse and inclusive economy. Comprised of 134 leaders from business, nonprofits, education and government, CIE commits to creating community change and economic opportunity through transformed recruiting, hiring, retention, promotion and pay practices to build multicultural organizations from the top-down, bottom-up and inside-out.
Helen is also a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s Leadership Network, the Colorado Forum and Colorado Concern. She is a director of MalarVx, a vaccine company that seeks to eradicate malaria in developing countries, and an advisor to Q Advisors, a Denver-based investment bank. She is an Advisor and former Board Chair to Mile High Ministries, a Denver nonprofit serving the urban poor.
When Helen reflects on her lifetime of moments from Starkville to Yale to Wall Street to Flight 232 to her life today in Colorado, she feels incredibly grateful. Helen prides herself on being a leader who confronts challenges head on, mentors those around her, and takes bold action to create a more equitable economy and community.
Helen has been in many leadership roles across numerous sectors, but the most important is her role as a mother. She values the moments she’s been able to step aside from her career to spend time with her husband Matt and their children. She’s grateful she has such a loving and purpose-driven family around her, and together they’re living their own version of the American dream.
Vote for Helen to be the 2023 9NEWS Leader of the Year.
