Interview: Rachel Haynes, Operations Director & Treasurer
Reflect on the milestones, memories, and best moments as we celebrate our 10 year anniversary! Hear from B Academics’ Operations Director and Treasurer, Rachel Haynes, about what went into scaling our global impact. Stay tuned for a new article each month for the remainder of the year as we celebrate our journey together.
Read 10 Year Anniversary Interview #1: The Founding of B Academics for the beginning of the B Academics story.
How did you initially get involved with B Academics?
My journey with B Academics began in a classroom at NC State University under the mentorship of Jessica Yinka Thomas. At the time, B Academics was just formalizing its status as a nonprofit, preparing for its inaugural membership launch in 2021, and navigating a major website transition. As a student volunteer, I was right in the thick of it, helping manage that initial web rollout and early member onboarding. I never imagined that a few years later, I would return as Operations Director to help lead the organization into its next era of strategic growth.
You are B Academics’ first Operations Director. What’s something you have accomplished in this role?
Stepping into the Operations Director role, my core mission was to formalize our daily operations and scale our strategic programs. One of my most important projects was launching the Summer B Impact Teams Program. Having taken Jessica’s B Corp Clinic twice during my graduate degree, I knew firsthand how transformative experiential learning could be for students aiming to build careers in sustainability, and I wanted to extend that opportunity globally.
Getting it off the ground was an exhilarating challenge. I distinctly remember the board cautiously asking, “Are we sure this is going to work?” But with Jessica’s unwavering confidence and a newly minted Summer B Impact Guide to anchor the process, we pulled it off. Our pilot cohort launched with 3 companies, 12 fantastic students from various universities, and a dedicated team of mentors. Today, after wrapping up our third cohort we have expanded to 19 students, 5 companies, and generating donation-based revenue. The best part of this program is the opportunity to bring more students into the B Corp movement.
How were you able to build off of the momentum gained from the Summer B Impact Teams Program?
This momentum was matched by a broader push to elevate our member experience. Rather than implementing top-down shifts, our membership committee instituted annual membership surveys to understand what our community needed and how we could improve the member experience. That feedback directly birthed several of our core engagement tools:
- Membership Directory: Seamlessly implemented through MembershipWorks to encourage member-to-member connectivity.
- Chat with the Board Series: Interactive, topic-based discussions giving members regular and direct access to board leadership.
- Quarterly Membership Newsletter: A dedicated channel highlighting member benefits and community wins.
Looking back, 2025-2026 stood out as a landmark time period. Supporting Maria Ballesteros-Sola in launching our very first B Academics B Corp Case Competition was easily one of the most rewarding moments of my tenure. Combined with maintaining our Candid Platinum Certification on GuideStar for multiple consecutive years, these achievements grounded our strategic plan in operational transparency and institutional maturity. Watching B Academics evolve from early web migrations into a thriving global network has been an incredible full-circle experience and our foundation has never been stronger.
Stay tuned for Article #7.
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