Meet Yesenia B. Sevilla
In an era defined by disruption, Yesenia B. Sevilla stands out as a leader who builds not just organizations, but ecosystems rooted in humanity. A TEDx speaker, author, and EdTech CEO based in Nashville, Sevilla has spent more than two decades operating at the crossroads of global biotechnology, healthcare, higher education, consulting, and now education technology. Her work is guided by a deeply held belief: innovation only reaches its full potential when it is inclusive, human-centered, and grounded in integrity. As the Chief Executive Officer of CHALK, Sevilla leads with a rare blend of strategic precision and lived empathy, championing tools that serve educators first while improving outcomes for young learners. Across every chapter of her career, she has emerged as a connector, mentor, and collaborator, empowering individuals and institutions to build with intention rather than urgency.
The Fire That Became a Signal
There are leaders who rise through carefully planned steps, and then there are leaders who emerge through lived reckoning. Yesenia Sevilla belongs to the latter. Her leadership was not shaped in abstraction or comfort, but in moments that demanded resolve: navigating early trauma, enduring homelessness, surviving domestic partner abuse, and rebuilding after professional setbacks that could have ended a career. Instead, those experiences became her teacher. Today, Sevilla leads with a steady conviction born of lived wisdom, turning survival into signal, and adversity into a compass for human-centered leadership.
At every turn of her career spanning global biotech, healthcare, higher education, and now education technology, one principle has remained constant: leadership works best when it honors people first.
Foundation: A Multicultural Lens on Inclusion
Born in Chicago to immigrant parents, one Brazilian, one Cuban, Sevilla grew up inside a multicultural, multilingual household where respect for difference was not theoretical; it was daily practice. Those early experiences instilled in her a truth that would later define her leadership philosophy: inclusion accelerates outcomes. Understanding before responding, listening before acting, and honoring how others wish to be treated became second nature. Her formative years also taught her resilience.
When external forces threatened to control her trajectory, she learned to reclaim agency by mastering one thing entirely within her control, her response. This mindset, refined through years of reflection and healing, became foundational to how she leads teams, builds organizations, and mentors others. Sevilla earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami, later complementing her academic foundation with certifications in multicultural mentoring and strategic business integration. But her most enduring education, she says, came from experience itself.
“Being in control of your reaction to reality, and then looking for the lesson changes everything,” Sevilla reflects.
Ascent: Building Across Borders, Sectors, and Systems
With more than two decades of leadership experience, Sevilla’s career defies linear categorization. She has led market development across the Americas in biotech and medical devices, directed public nonprofit initiatives in healthcare, shaped product marketing strategies, and served in executive leadership roles within higher education, each chapter expanding her global perspective and sharpening her ability to lead across complexity.
Her tenure at Vanderbilt University exemplified her ecosystem-building approach. As Director of Strategic Engagement & Ecosystem Development, she served as a connective force bridging academic institutions, entrepreneurs, investors, and civic leaders to strengthen Nashville’s innovation landscape. Her work focused less on ownership and more on orchestration: creating the conditions for collaboration, trust, and sustained impact.
Parallel to her institutional leadership, Sevilla built a reputation as a sought-after innovation consultant and speaker. Whether advising founders on global expansion or coaching leaders through reinvention, her guidance always emphasized clarity of purpose and courage in execution.
Impact: Leading with Empathy, Precision, and Purpose
In December 2024, Sevilla stepped into her most defining role yet, Chief Executive Officer of CHALK, an education technology company focused on early learning and kindergarten classrooms. Leading the organization through launch, fundraising, and scale, she brought a rare blend of strategic rigor and educator empathy to the forefront. CHALK’s platform empowers instructional coaches and administrators to collect meaningful classroom observation data, visualize insights in real time, and track growth across both academic and self-regulation skills.
“Integrity means your words matter,” Sevilla often says. Practicing the Platinum Rule, treating others as they wish and deserve to be treated has shaped how she makes decisions, resolves conflict, and builds trust within high-performing teams.
Under Sevilla’s leadership, the mission is clear: design tools that serve teachers first, because student outcomes follow teacher support. Her leadership style is anchored in values rather than ego. Beyond her executive role, Sevilla continues to advise founders through the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, mentor innovators within university ecosystems, and serve pro bono on advisory boards, amplifying her impact well beyond her own organization.
Voice: Authorship, Healing, and Shared Humanity
Sevilla’s influence extends beyond boardrooms and classrooms into the literary and speaking worlds. A TEDx speaker and podcast guest across national platforms, she brings uncommon vulnerability to conversations about leadership, healing, and possibility. That same courage is woven through her debut book, The Milkman’s Daughter: Lessons from My Life’s Early Memories.
A lyrical blend of poetry, prose, and reflection, the book explores childhood neglect, identity, and self-acceptance, inviting readers to see themselves not as products of what happened to them, but as authors of what comes next.
“Life has been one of my greatest teachers,” Sevilla shares. “Her lessons have been poignant, beautiful, and sometimes cruel, but always invaluable.”
Recurring throughout the book is the symbol of the dragonfly, representing transformation, clarity, and resilience. For Sevilla, it is also deeply personal: a messenger of connection, a reminder that growth often comes when we emerge from one phase of life into another with grace.
Vision for the Future: Empowering Voices, Expanding Possibility
Looking ahead, Sevilla’s vision is both expansive and intimate. She is committed to empowering women to find their voices, talents, and power while advocating for anyone whose voice has been underrepresented in their spaces. Through education technology, mentorship, authorship, and speaking, she continues to create pathways for others to lead with authenticity and confidence.
Her philosophy is simple, yet demanding: “Always do the right thing right, the first time, every time.” Whether leading a startup, writing a book, or helping a stranger without recognition, she believes excellence is most meaningful when no one is watching.
Empowering Lessons from the Path of Yesenia B. Sevilla
- “Seeking to understand before responding is always the better route to take.”
- “Always do the right thing, right, the first time, every time.”
- “Practicing the Platinum Rule keeps decisions grounded in empathy and respect.”
Editorial Note: A Leader Who Leaves the Light On
Yesenia Sevilla’s journey is not defined by the challenges she survived, but by the clarity she gained, and the care with which she now leads. Her story reminds us that leadership is not about perfection or polish; it is about presence, integrity, and the courage to turn lived experience into shared strength.
For executives, founders, and changemakers alike, her example poses a quiet challenge: to lead with empathy, to build with intention, and to recognize that sometimes the most powerful signal comes from those who have walked through the fire, and chosen to light the way forward.
