When you hear that someone makes a list of top most influential leaders, it's easy to assume they were driven by a clear vision for their career since they were young. The truth is that success like this can be had even by people who start out not knowing what they want to do. In the premier episode of Career Curves, guest Kellie McElhaney shares how she went from not knowing what she wanted to do to becoming passionate about corporate social responsibility and equity fluent leadership, and how these became the center point for her work. She also shares why she chose academia as the arena where she could make the most impact.Meet the GuestDr. Kellie McElhaney is on the faculty and is the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Equity, Gender and Inclusion (EGAL) at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. Launched in November 2017, EGAL's mission is to educate equity fluent leaders to ignite and accelerate change.  Kellie helped develop this concept and teaches it across the globe.  Equity fluent leaders understand the value of different lived experiences and courageously use their power to address barriers, increase access, and drive change for positive impact.  Haas graduates over 1,000 leaders a year; EGAL will ensure that they are all equity fluent.  The center deeply partners with the corporate and civil sectors.  In 2003, Kellie founded the Center for Responsible Business (CRB), solidifying corporate responsibility as a core competency and competitive advantage of Berkeley-Haas. Due to Kellie’s leadership, Haas was rated #1 in the world for corporate responsibility by The Financial Times.  She received the Founder and Visionary Award at Haas in 2013 for this work.  Kellie authored the book, Just Good Business: The Strategic Guide to Aligning Corporate Responsibility and Brand. She writes case studies of companies who are investing in women, and broader diversity and inclusion, and does research in the area of equal, pay, conscious inclusion, equity fluent leadership, and value-creating strategies of diversity and inclusion.  Her Gap, Inc. Equal Pay case won the California Management Review Case of the Year in 2017.  She was named one of the Bay Area’s Most Influential Women in 2019 by the S.F. Business Times.  Kellie’s consulting client list includes:  Ernst & Young, NVIDIA, Gap, Inc., Women’s Initiative Foundation (France), Orrick, Levi, , Network for Executive Women, Twilio, Vimplecom, KAUST, Nokia, Navigant Consulting, NetGear, Personal Capital, CALSTRS, Financial Professionals Association, Driscoll Berries, GE Oil & Gas, Triage Consulting Group, Ulster Bank, Accenture, Yum! Brands, Chevron, ING, Energizer Holdings, Inc., Pandora, Aboitiz, Outotec, Pillsbury Winthrop.  Kellie currently serves on the Board of Directors for Sierra Europe Offshore, LTD., the Closed Loop Fund, and Empower Her Network, and on the Gender Equity Diversity Subcommittee of the University of California Athletics Board.  Kellie lives in Oakland, California and has two college-aged daughters.  She earned her B.A. from the University of North Carolina, her M.A. from Ohio University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.  Prior to moving in to academia, Kellie worked in retail banking in commercial lending, acquisitions and corporate leadership development. LinksKellie’s TEDx Talk: CSR 3.0Center for Equity, Gender and Leadership at Haas School of Business, University of California, BerkeleyCenter for Responsible Business at Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley