Today we’d like to introduce you to Yvonne David
Hi yvonne, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Meandering is perhaps the best word to describe my story so far. Through it all, I have always been committed to standing up for, and speaking out on behalf of the underdog, and advocating to level the playing field. This commitment led me to co-found The Pippin Project, a nonprofit dedicated to providing technology devices and life skills training to individuals who can’t afford them.
Growing up in the Netherlands with a British brown Dad and a Dutch white mother, we were a bilingual, multicultural family in a small town. Our ‘otherness’ always felt like an advantage to me: for instance, we spoke English at home (including to our dog!) before being taught that at school like my friends. As a teenager, I started dreaming and scheming about how to spread my wings internationally, like both my parents had done at certain points in their lives. During my Master’s I got my first real taste of life outside The Netherlands, and after getting my degree I moved abroad for a job. As an adult I have lived and worked in 5 countries (Netherlands, Trinidad+Tobago, Portugal, Pakistan, US; 6 in total, counting my country of birth, England) and have worked as an organizational development and cross cultural business consultant. After moving to the US in 1998 for my husband’s job, he and I had our two boys, and I took time off. When I re-entered the workforce, I decided to focus on awareness and advocacy around culture, communication, social justice, and on removing obstacles to help others build a successful career.
So I went back to school and became a business coach with emphasis on intercultural communication, while volunteering with like minded advocacy groups and nonprofits, first in Chicago, then in Atlanta. For the last 3 years I have served on the Board of the nonprofit The Netherland America Foundation, Atlanta chapter (NAF Atlanta), and since February 1, 2025, I serve as Chair. After becoming a citizen, I have worked as a poll worker and compliance officer during elections held in Fulton County.
Being raised by parents who supported and empowered me, no matter what, I have been emboldened to speak my mind and get things done. Being an activist at heart, I am always looking to create ways where everyone has the same chance of succeeding. Being an immigrant has given me an added perspective, allowing me to see things through an international lens. Being curious about whatever new place I live in and the people in it, I am always learning how (and always question why) things are done the way they are. And then I integrated all of those elements and more, and embarked on my latest endeavor: leading a nonprofit.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My least favorite aspect and biggest struggle of my otherwise great business is the constant need for more funding. Thankfully, The Pippin Project is partnered with main sponsors HaulDash and eCloud Recycle, technology recycling and refurbishing companies. Their support and donations are invaluable to us. However, we continue to rely on additional corporate sponsors, charitable grants, and individual donations to meet the growing demands. For instance, our annual fundraiser, The Class of… is about to kick off. This specifically funds the annual donations of laptops to local high school Seniors in May. And each year, I worry that we won’t raise enough to fulfill all the requests. Knock on wood, each year we have been able to provide a device to every Senior who requested one, but it is still a source of stress for me. So if you are reading this and want to help, please go to the DONATE link on our website!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
The direct inspiration behind my current business, The Pippin Project, comes from a deeply personal experience, combined with the impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns. In March 2020, my husband and his three siblings unexpectedly lost their mother. In the wake of her passing, the siblings felt compelled to honor her legacy of a lifetime of charitable works, but they were unsure how. Meanwhile our boys (HS and College age at the time), my husband and I were at home and working on four separate laptops. We realized we were the privileged ones, since all four of us had our own computers at our disposal. In combination with my path as I described earlier, this inspired The Pippin Project. We initially started by adding a charitable arm to HaulDash, the technology recycling company that my husband and his brother had just started, and I headed that charitable division. The goal was to provide refurbished laptops to local HS seniors, and to people reentering the workforce after incarceration. We quickly realized, however, that our efforts would have a greater impact if run as an independent nonprofit, rather than as part of a for-profit company. And so The Pippin Project (a GA 501 (C) 3), was founded, which I lead as CEO. Since becoming a nonprofit we have been able to expanded what we offer. Besides donating repurposed technology resources, we also custom design and deliver life skills training, and organize hackathons to inspire young minds. These add-ons were partly because I personally missed training and coaching people, and partly because we saw a need. Our primary focus remains on the following groups: underestimated young people (working, in college, trade school, anything), who have recently left High School with or without a diploma; and people who face multiple obstacles re-entering the workplace after incarceration. The latter recipients are clients of GA Innocence Project, GA Justice Project, and women enrolled in the braille transcribers program of Emanuel Women’s facility and GA Tech Inclusive Design and Innovation.
There are other organizations that offer similar services to The Pippin Project. What makes us unique is that the criteria to become a recipient are relatively accessible, and based on trust in our counterparts. The only requirement to be eligible, that the person would go without, if we don’t donate a device or training. An example of trust: when the high school counselor or the social worker informs us that student A can’t afford a laptop, we honor that request, no questions asked. Same with GA Innocence Project – if they say client B will be exonerated and released next month, we provide a refurbished device, no further information needed. Which is practically the opposite of getting a grant. We also guarantee a replacement if a donated device were to malfunction. Life is tough enough, The Pippin Project isn’t going to make it tougher. Quite the opposite: we are in the business of providing access and removing barriers.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
As a business coach I always share at least two things with my clients. One. There is no straight path or a timeline for your career, but growth is progress in the end. Two. It doesn’t always matter that you didn’t have that same job before in order to qualify for it now. Because a lot of your knowledge and skills are transferable, so think laterally and you will be fine! More than once I have to remind myself to practice what I preach! Starting an entire new career later in life and in a field I knew nothing about has been daunting at times, not going to lie. Interviews like these though, force me to reflect that we have come a long way already and we have impacted a lot of lives. That is success. That I firmly believe in our mission, namely that everyone deserves the chance to build career capital and financial stability, helps, too, obviously. That makes it easier to keep going during tough days, and boring tasks (doing taxes!), and to continue working towards reducing the digital and educational divide, one laptop and one training at a time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thepippinproject.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yvonne.k.david/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-pippin-project/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonnekdavid30005/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/the.pippin.project/
Image Credits
Mireille Poeisz – Personal Brand Photography
