Founder and CEO, Her Workplace
Name: Marilynn Joyner
Summers as a Camper: 8 (1998 – 2005)
Years as a Staff Member/Positions held: 2006 (CILT), 2007 (Motorboating Staff), 2008 (Motorboating Staff)
Current Profession and Title: Founder & CEO of Her Workplace
Can you provide a brief overview of your job responsibilities?
I’m the Founder and CEO of Her Workplace, a workspace and digital career community for women and non-binary people to build relationships, exchange knowledge and share stories.
I launched Her Workplace because I spent over 10 years in the corporate world struggling to find easy access to career resources, networking, mentorship and professional development. After graduating with my MBA from both Columbia Business School and London Business School, I discovered my passion for entrepreneurship, DEIB and advocacy for gender equity in the workplace.
My responsibilities as the CEO include driving the growth and impact of the organization. We recently launched our membership offerings and opened our first co-working space in New York City last Fall. We’re planning to expand nationally by providing flexible workspaces, community and professional development to women and non-binary people across the country.
Do you have any career advice for members of our Camp community?
Embrace your fears. Throughout my career, I’ve faced numerous situations where I felt uncomfortable or afraid, and I still do! However, it’s those fearful experiences that continue to allow me to learn and grow the most.
What do you believe have been some of your greatest personal and professional accomplishments? Is there a goal toward which you are currently working?
One of my biggest professional accomplishments was graduating with my MBA from Columbia Business School and London Business School in 2021. It was one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. It led me to explore entrepreneurship and taught me the value of organizations embracing diverse experiences, cultures and thoughts.
I’m currently working toward growing my newly launched company, Her Workplace, and striving to positively impact the lives of the members within our community and the organizations we partner with.
How do the values or skills you learned at Camp show up in your everyday work and/or personal life?
Camp taught me so many valuable lessons and skills and the ones that show up the most in my professional and personal life are giving back and striving to achieve all that I want to.
While growing up, Camp ignited this spark inside of me of wanting to make a difference in the world. It took me some time to figure out what that meant, but now that I’ve finally found it, I know it all began from my early years at Camp.
Additionally, Camp taught me to set high goals for myself and to never give up in achieving those goals, whether I failed or not. Throughout my career, I’ve faced failure and rejection countless times, but it was those failures that made me stronger and led me down a different path that ended up being better. Camp helped me build my resilience and strength.
Is there a person or a situation that had a huge influence on you while you were at Camp? How and why did they/it impact you?
Cille Griffith is someone who had a huge influence on me at Camp. I remember the many times in the dining hall when she would say, “make it happen.” It inspired me and encouraged me to set those big goals for myself.
Favorite Camp meal: Grilled cheese & tomato soup
Favorite mess hall entry song: Walking on Sunshine (such a happy song!)
All-time favorite skit memory: All the motorboating skits – I remember one to the song “Danger Zone” and we wore engine covers on our heads!
Favorite special event at Camp: I always loved the dances!
Devotion you best remember from Camp: The toothpaste devotion is a classic where campers learn to think before speaking.
