SEATTLE, United States — Tracy Johnson, senior program officer for user experience and innovation at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, gets mixed reactions when she makes the rounds from team to team.
“I will say there are meetings I go into where people’s faces fall and they think, ‘Oh my God, she’s back. We wish she would go away. We don’t understand her,’” she told Devex at the Seattle headquarters of the largest foundation in the world. “That is changing, and more and more I’m met with smiles, and they think, ‘Okay, Tracy is going to ask about this issue and get us to think from a different perspective and perhaps come up with some different ideas as a result.’”
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About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is a Senior Reporter for Devex. She covers the West Coast of the U.S., focusing on the role of technology and innovation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. And she frequently represents Devex as a speaker and moderator. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, worked as a web producer for POLITICO and reporter for World Politics Review, and helped to launch NationSwell. Catherine has reported from all over the world, and freelanced for outlets including the Atlantic and the Washington Post. She is also the West Coast ambassador for the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit that trains and connects journalists to cover responses to problems.
