Normalizing career breaks^®

We recognize relaunchers as:

• Individuals who have taken career breaks from one to over twenty years, for a range of reasons unrelated to job performance, including childcare, eldercare, a personal health issue, underemployment, and time after military service or as a military spouse
• An untapped pool of highly motivated and experienced talent that is the hidden gem of the workforce
• A strong return on investment, offering a combination of education, experience, drive, and dedication at a stable life stage
• Exceeding industry averages in retention rates, ranging from 70% to over 90%

Tami Forman is the Executive Director of iRelaunch, the return-to-work platform powered by Akraya, which helps employers reach highly qualified professionals who are not typically available through traditional channels. She led the acquisition of iRelaunch and the integration of its 125,000+ member community and 350+ employer partnerships with Akraya’s Women Back to Work program.

Before joining iRelaunch, Tami founded Path Forward, a nonprofit that worked with employers to create pathways for women returning to paid work. Over seven years, she and her team launched return-to-work programs with more than 100 companies, including PayPal, Apple, Netflix, SAP, Walmart, and Pepsi.

Tami is an expert on gender equity, talent planning, professional development, and women’s participation in the paid labor market. She is a frequent speaker, having presented at the Grace Hopper Celebration, DisruptHR, Tech Inclusion, and the Conference Board’s Women’s Leadership Conference, among others. Her writing on career and workplace topics has appeared in Fortune, TODAY.com, New America Weekly, Forbes, and LinkedIn. She was a Fairygodboss VIP and was named by FlexJobs as one of the top 20 career experts for working moms. She also writes the newsletter How We Do It.

Sonu Ratra is the Co-Founder and President of Akraya, an award-winning talent solutions provider, and the founder of Women Back to Work. Having faced the challenges of returning to work after a career break herself, she set out to help women reclaim their careers and to persuade businesses and leaders to welcome skilled women back. She launched Women Back to Work more than 10 years ago as a workforce reentry program for women in technology, and has since worked with companies such as Palo Alto Networks, LinkedIn, Cisco, Pfizer, Workday, Equinix, Infoblox, Farmers Insurance to build and scale returnship programs.

A recognized thought leader in talent strategy and a champion of women’s economic security, Sonu serves on the Foundation Board of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Her honors include the Enterprising Woman of the Year Award, the SIA Power 150 – Women in Staffing, the Woman of Influence Award, and a place on Diversity Journal’s Women Worth Watching list.