Daisy Gao

Background

About Daisy Gao

Daisy is a purpose-driven, dynamic leader in the social impact and corporate social responsibility field. She is dedicated to driving positive change through strategic partnerships, thoughtful program development, and values-driven leadership. She brings a deep understanding of the evolving sustainability and ESG landscape, aligning business goals with impactful community engagement initiatives that foster long-term value for both organizations and society. As a champion of diversity and inclusion, Daisy leads with empathy and a commitment to empowering others. Her passion for cultivating inclusive workplace cultures has driven her leadership of launching the Asian at Ciena Employee Resource Group (ERG), where she inspires collaboration, advocates for underrepresented voices, and fosters environments where everyone can thrive. Daisy’s core expertise spans social impact program strategy design and implementation, sustainability and ESG, global non-profit management, stakeholder relationship engagement, and team leadership. Fluent in English and Mandarin, with basic knowledge of Spanish, she connects across cultures to build authentic partnerships that drive sustainable progress.