Nicole Sanchez, Founder + Managing Partner

Nicole Sanchez is a 30-year practitioner of organizational behavior, people programs, executive management, and culture strategy.

As Founder & CEO of Vaya, Nicole has transformed workplaces, from start-ups to multinational organizations. She has served as a lecturer on workplace diversity at the University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and consults and speaks globally, with firms and organizations that understand we are in the midst of massive cultural change.

She previously served as VP of Social Impact at GitHub, Chief People & Culture Officer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and as the Associate Director for Ethics in Society at Stanford University. Nicole was named a 'Game Changer in Business’ by the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College for her innovations.

She earned her BA from Stanford University and MBA from UC Berkeley .

Debra Sanchez Gill, Managing Director, Public Sector Practice

Debra Gill has more than 30 years of human resources experience, 25 in the public sector. Before consulting, she served as the Director of Human Resources and Labor Relations in the City of Pleasanton from 2015-2022. Before her role as Director of Human Resources in Pleasanton, she served the city as Human Resources Manager from 2011-2015. Since her career at the City of Pleasanton she has served as Interim HR Director for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Interim Director of People and Culture for the Contra Costa Water District. Beyond her extensive job responsibilities, Debra has served several professional organizations in the public sector, including the League of California Cities and the International Public Management Association for Human Resources, for which she was a Board Member for the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter. She is also a longtime member of the California Public Employers Labor Relations Association (CALPELRA), serving on the Board of Directors for several years, and as CALPELRA’s 2022 Board President. Debra also currently teaches Managing Human Capital for San Francisco State University’s MPA program.

Debra received her B.A. in Liberal Studies with a minor in Business Administration from California State University, East Bay. She also holds an MPA from the same institution.

Our Track Record

We’ve had the pleasure of working with over 100 organizations. Here is a sample of clients we have served:

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

A24 Films

Exploding Kittens

Neon Films

NON PROFIT/CIVIL SOCIETY

ACLU

Code for America

PUBLIC SECTOR

City of Berkeley

Southern Marin Fire District

TECH

Dropbox

GitHub

CONSUMER

ba&sh

Rothy’s

VENTURE

Menlo

Redpoint

Sequoia