Connor Diemand-Yauman

Connor Diemand-Yauman is co-founder and co-CEO of Merit America, which the New York Times described as “the hybrid future of training programs for the disadvantaged” and was named Fast Company’s Most Innovative Education Company in 2026. He also serves on the faculty of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he teaches about leadership and human flourishing, and hosts the podcast “Is This Working?!”, which explores the intersection of work and what it means to be human in the age of AI.

Prior to Merit America, Connor co-founded and led Philanthropy University (acquired by OneValley) and launched Coursera’s B2B business. Before that, he helped found “Speak Smart News,” an educational program distributed to millions of East Asian learners (which may or may not have involved him teaching English to kids while in drag), and taught primary school in South Africa, South Korea, and Kenya.

Connor’s research has been cited in over 250 academic articles and covered by The Economist, BBC International, and the New York Times. Earlier in his career, he received the Pyne Prize, Princeton University’s highest distinction, and was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 (though he hasn’t been on any “under 30” lists for a few years now).

In his spare time, Connor enjoys boxing, cycling, and teaching inmates at San Francisco’s County Jail #1.