Growing up in Detroit, Michigan, Erin Teague had very little exposure to what she calls “all of the magic that is Silicon Valley.” She wishes she had been able to gain a greater understanding of the region’s storied innovation ecosystem that has influenced so many aspects of our lives at a much earlier stage in her career. But, that certainly hasn’t slowed her down.
Today, Erin is a director of product management at YouTube, where she is the global product lead for several verticals, including Sports, Racial Justice, and new subscriptions businesses. Before that, she led YouTube’s Virtual and Augmented Reality product team, where she was responsible for the YouTube VR app, rated #1 across multiple platforms. Her experience has led her to believe that the most important technological breakthrough that could serve humanity’s current needs might just involve virtual reality. How?
Erin notes that virtual reality has been coined the "empathy machine," because there is no other technology that can give people the experience of "walking in someone else's shoes" as a catalyst to inspire both empathy and compassion. She says, “When I think about the challenges of our increasingly polarized society, where the notion of de-escalating conflict is becoming more rare, I believe deeper levels of empathy-driven understanding are core to the solution space.”
It’s this kind of creativity, insight, and empathy of her own that has inspired a variety of organizations to recognize and honor Erin over the course of her career. She is the recipient of the 2019 BET Her Tech Maven Award and has been named as one of the “100 Most Influential Women in Silicon Valley” by Silicon Valley Business Journal. She was included in “The Next Generation of Tech Stars” by Refinery29, a digital media and entertainment website focused on young women, and in “40 Under 40 in Silicon Valley.” Erin has also been named one of Glamour Magazine’s “35 Women Under 35 Who Are Changing the Tech Industry” and one of Business Insider's “Silicon Valley 100.”
We at CHM couldn’t be more pleased to have the benefit of Erin’s guidance as we decode technology to shape a better future for humanity. Leveraging the “magic” of Silicon Valley’s innovative spirit, visionaries like her will lead the way in creating technology that’s equitable, ethical, and sustainable for all.
Welcome Erin!
