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Alexis Raymond

Senior Manager

Chief Sustainability Office

Alexis Raymond is a senior manager within Cisco’s Chief Sustainability Office, working to raise visibility of the impact Cisco's sustainability efforts have on customers, communities, and the planet.

Alexis began her career as a print journalist and still loves developing compelling stories that people like to read and find inspiration in. Before joining Cisco’s CSR team, Alexis was the Director of Communications for RedRover, a U.S. nonprofit organization that provides emergency sheltering and disaster relief for animals, financial assistance for veterinary care, and humane education for elementary-age children. She has also been a writer, editor, project manager, and grammar cop for two universities, a hospital, a graphic design studio, and a Washington, DC-based media consulting firm.

Articles

Three Cisco Employee Volunteers Recognized as “Citizen Teachers of the Year” by Citizen Schools

2 min read

Three Cisco employees were recently named “Cisco Citizen Teachers of the Year” by Citizen Schools, one of Cisco’s longtime nonprofit education partners. More than 125 volunteers from Cisco have stepped out of their jobs as engineers, sales executives, and technology professionals to become mentors and “Citizen Teachers,” leading groups of students in 10-week “apprenticeship” classes. […]

Cisco and MIND Research Institute Are Reimagining Math Education

1 min read

This post is derived from the 2012 MIND Research Institute Annual Report. When Tylicia transferred to third-grade at Occohannock Elementary in Virginia’s Northampton County, her teachers described her as polite but extremely quiet in class. She was failing math, but wouldn’t ask questions when she needed help. Two months into the school year, Tylicia had […]

Cisco’s Palestine Investment Commitment Featured in Forbes Magazine

1 min read

The August 12 issue of Forbes magazine features Cisco’s investment to fuel job creation and economic development in the Palestinian information and communications technology (ICT) industry. “We do this because we want to change the world. And we don’t do it on a small scale. It’s nice to help a village, but the key is […]

Cisco Among Top Bay Area Philanthropists

1 min read

Cisco was recognized yesterday by the San Francisco Business Times as #6 on its list of Top Corporate Philanthropists in the Greater Bay Area. Cisco has a long history of supporting the communities where its employees live and work. For example, one of Cisco’s longest-running traditions is a special program for Bay Area nonprofits, which […]

Networking Academy Instructors Help Close Widening Job Skills Gap

1 min read

Starting tomorrow, hundreds of Cisco Networking Academy instructors from the United States and Canada will travel to San Jose, California for the 2013 Academy Conference. Networking Academy instructors prepare people to design, build, maintain, and secure computer networks. Demand for these skills is growing as more and more industries – from healthcare to entertainment to […]

5 Reasons to Study Networking Technology Now

3 min read

Whether you’re just planning a career or considering a career change, here are five reasons you should include networking technology in your studies.

Cisco CEO John Chambers Recognized Among 100 CEO Leaders in STEM

1 min read

“Given the rapid speed of change in today’s global marketplace, a country must invest in its greatest asset—its people—and train them to excel in science, technology, engineering, and math [STEM].” Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers A skilled workforce is the backbone of a successful and competitive economy. Unfortunately, here in the United States, we […]

Cisco Tied for #1 with Google on Greenpeace Cool IT Leaderboard

1 min read

Greenpeace started evaluating global Information Technology (IT) companies in 2009 because IT companies have a central role to play in enabling a modern, renewable-powered energy infrastructure. The IT sector has the opportunity to drive transformative change in the consumption and production of energy, with the potential to drive a significant reduction in the greenhouse gases […]

On Girls in ICT Day, Cisco Encourages Teens to Pursue Technology Careers

2 min read

Teenage girls use computers and the Internet as much as boys do, but are five times less likely to consider a technology-related career. In the United Kingdom, fewer than 1...

Visual Approach Helps Students Learn Math

1 min read

The importance of improving math education is increasingly urgent. America ranks 25 out of 34 industrialized nations on math tests. Tomorrow’s jobs — more than 8 million by 2018 — will require skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Cisco supports an organization, MIND Research Institute, that is using an innovative approach to improving math skills. […]

Winners of 2013 DoGooder Video Awards Announced

1 min read

Today, four videos that were created to inspire social change were named the winners of the seventh annual DoGooder Video Awards. The DoGooder Video Awards recognize the creative and effective use of video in promoting social good. The awards are organized by See3 Communications, the Nonprofit Technology Network, and YouTube. The winners were announced today at the […]

Personal Interaction Drives Innovation and Collaboration

1 min read

Many technologies allow us to collaborate “virtually” today: email, instant messaging, texting, video conferencing, and desktop sharing to name a few. But regardless of what technologies we use, our interactions still rely on a basic element: other people. Recently Cisco undertook a study of human behavior and the barriers to effective collaboration. The study showed […]

ICT Education Propels One South African Woman from Child to Role Model

2 min read

Guest blog by Ntombozuko (Soso) Luningo Soso Luningo is a trainer with the ICT Academy at CIDA City Campus in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she trains students on the Cisco Networking Academy curriculum This is my first blog ever, long overdue since I am an expressive person. Everywhere I have ever spoken, the question has […]

Vote for the Winners of the DoGooder Video Awards

1 min read

The field for this year’s DoGooder Video Awards is down to a handful of superb finalists. Now you can help choose the winners. With great difficulty, the DoGooder team has narrowed an incredible array of funny, moving, and compelling videos that communicate important messages down to several finalists. Voting is easy; just select your favorite video or videos […]

Celebrate World Water Day by Helping People Who Don’t Have Clean Water to Drink

2 min read

Even if you don’t read TMZ or People magazine, you may have heard that actor Matt Damon isn’t using the toilet until the World Water crisis is solved. No doubt Damon has visited the bathroom dozens of times since announcing his “strike.” But through humor, he called attention to a serious problem that affects billions […]

The Unhealthy State of Children’s Healthcare

1 min read

It is well known fact that pediatric specialists are in high demand but short supply in the United States and around the world. Sixteen U.S. states have fewer than one pediatric subspecialist under age 65 per 100,000 residents, according to the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions. As a result, many children and […]

Technology Helps Reduce High Unemployment Among Post-9/11 Veterans

1 min read

On March 8, NBCNews.com reported that the unemployment rate among post-9/11 U.S. military veterans was 9.4 percent in February, well above the national unemployment average of 7.7 percent. Nearly 1 in 10 ex-service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan is hunting for a job, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The NBCNews.com […]

Technology Improves Access to Specialty Healthcare in Jordan

2 min read

The journey to the capital city of Amman can be daunting for rural Jordanians who require specialty medical care—people like Haifa Abd-El Karim Omoush. The 34-year-old married mother of five suffers from a treatable cardiac condition. Her local doctor at Al-Mafraq Governmental Hospital in rural northeast Jordan referred her to a cardiac specialist in Amman […]

Cisco Sponsors DoGooder Awards to Recognize Videos that Inspire Social Change

1 min read

Today, many people and organizations use video to create real impact for social causes. Meanwhile, the prevalence of video in our everyday lives is growing by the minute. A February 2013 report by Cisco indicates that video accounted for more than half of all mobile traffic for the first time in 2012. It is expected […]

A Successful CSR Program Depends on Employee Engagement

This week, SmartRecruiters recognized Cisco as having one of the top 10 corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs in the United States. In her assessment of Cisco’s CSR programs, SmartRecruiters blogger Lexie Forman-Ortiz acknowledged one of its key components: our employees. A Cisco employee plants vegetables that will ultimately help feed people across northwest Massachusetts

Cisco Partner Inveneo on Huffington Post: How Internet Connectivity Expands Economic and Community Development

1 min read

Kristin Peterson, CEO of Inveneo, a key Cisco CSR partner, is a guest blogger on Cisco’s Impact X section on the Huffington Post. In her post, Kristin talks about how Internet connectivity can impact economic and social advancement in developing communities. She describes the remote Kenyan island of Mfangano, where Internet access has dramatically increased participation […]

American Red Cross Still Helping Hurricane Sandy Survivors

2 min read

For more than a decade, Cisco and the Cisco Foundation have supported the American Red Cross (ARC) and its efforts to help people displaced by natural disasters around the world. This support has taken many forms — from matching employee giving campaigns to corporate donations to product donations, such as Cisco data and voice communications equipment […]

49 Days Later, Superstorm Sandy Relief Effort is Still Running on Cisco Technology

3 min read

More than two months have passed since Superstorm Sandy devastated communities and lives in the eastern United States and the Caribbean. But Jim Killoran, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Westchester, still shows up at 6 a.m. every day to lead dozens of volunteers who have come to the Rockaways in Queens, New York, […]

Scoring Suppliers on Sustainability

1 min read

At Cisco, we rely on more than 600 suppliers worldwide to manufacture, test, ship, and recycle the products we design. And, we expect these suppliers to meet the same high standards on ethics, labor rights, health and safety, and the environment that we apply to our people and operations. So how do we manage that […]

Ending the Global Hunger Crisis on Huffington Post

1 min read

Today on the Huffington Post, Tae Yoo, Cisco Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, writes about how technology is being used to help people who don’t have enough food to eat. She writes: “In a world that currently produces enough food for the entire population, I continue to be astonished that every year 870 million people […]

Santa Takes Cisco Technology on Virtual Sleigh Ride Across U.K. and Ireland

3 min read

For many children, visiting Santa Claus, sitting on his lap, and telling him what they want for Christmas is a highlight of the holiday season. But for a sick, hospitalized child, participating in this tradition can be impossible. Thanks to Cisco technology and a network of Cisco volunteers, hundreds of hospitalized children in the U.K. […]

The Changing Landscape of Healthcare in the Digital Age

1 min read

Dr. William A. Kennedy knows how having a sick child can burden a family. In the 1970s, his brother suffered from metastatic Ewing’s sarcoma. Getting him the care he needed at a hospital 25 miles away was a full-time job for their mother and required help from other relatives and friends. Today, Dr. Kennedy, a […]

Putting a Human Face on Big Data at the Social Innovation Summit

1 min read

Today, everyone at Cisco is excited about the release of a new book — “The Human Face of Big Data” by Rick Smolan, a former Time, Life, and National Geographic photographer best known as the creator of the “Day in the Life” book series. Cisco is a sponsor of the Human Face of Big Data […]

Social Innovation Summit: Where Business Innovation Meets Social Transformation

2 min read

The Social Innovation Summit takes place this week on December 4 and 5 in Mountain View, California. This annual gathering brings together corporate, investment, government, and nonprofit leaders to explore the strategies and business innovations that are generating social transformation. At Cisco, we apply the same technology, expertise, and partnerships we use to help our […]

Cisco’s Global Hunger Relief Campaign Exemplifies “Giving Tuesday”

1 min read

Cisco is proud to be a partner in Giving Tuesday, a campaign to create a national day of giving at the start of the annual holiday season. We are celebrating Giving Tuesday by: 1. Promoting Cisco’s signature employee giving initiative, the Global Hunger Relief Campaign. Our goal: contribute $1.25 million in employee donations to hunger relief agencies […]

A Charitable Alternative to Black Friday

1 min read

Black Friday. This shopping day has become as synonymous with Thanksgiving as turkey, pumpkin pie, and football. In 2011, U.S. consumers spent $52 billion while shopping during Thanksgiving weekend. But not everyone in the United States can enjoy the trappings of Thanksgiving, much less Black Friday. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2011 48.5 […]

“Getting Veterans Back to Work” on Huffington Post

1 min read

Today, as Veterans Day is observed across the United States, the Huffington Post features a blog by Tae Yoo, Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Cisco, entitled “Getting Veterans Back to Work.” According to Tae’s blog, approximately 1 million U.S. Armed Forces personnel will transition from military to civilian life within the next four […]

A “Thank You” to the Nonprofits Helping Superstorm Sandy Victims

1 min read

At Cisco, we focus our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) work on specific areas, one of which is critical human needs. Or, more simply, food, water, shelter, and disaster relief. A lot of the nonprofits we have partnered with over the years in this area, such as food banks and disaster response agencies, have been working round-the-clock […]