Erica Lockheimer on Pivoting from LinkedIn to HumanizeHer and Why Elevating Women’s Voices Is Her Life’s Work
…SupportHer: Pay attention to the small moments. Beyond jobs and money, there are everyday interactions that shape the workplace. In a meeting — whether in person or on Zoom — who’s doing all the talking? Who’s getting a voice? If you notice someone being overlooked, speak up. Say, “Hey, I’d love to hear your thoughts, Meredith.” That simple action can open doors for someone who might not have felt included…
I had the pleasure of talking with Erica Lockheimer. Erica is a seasoned technology executive, entrepreneur, and advocate for women in the tech industry. Over nearly three decades, she has built a career defined by innovation, leadership, and a commitment to fostering inclusivity. Best known for her tenure at LinkedIn, where she led engineering teams that contributed to the platform’s significant growth, Lockheimer has since pivoted to entrepreneurship with her latest venture, HumanizeHer, a media platform dedicated to elevating women’s voices.
Raised in a working-class family with two sisters, Lockheimer was the first in her family to graduate from college. Her parents, neither of whom attended university, emphasized the importance of education, and her father, an aspiring electrical engineer, instilled in her a love for math. Encouraged to pursue technical skills, she discovered computer programming in high school but initially hesitated to pursue it as a career. Instead, she took a more circuitous path, attending a junior college before transferring to San Jose State University. There, a chance encounter with the Society of Women Engineers reignited her interest in technology. Despite working full-time while attending school, she completed her degree in computer engineering — a journey that took seven years but ultimately shaped her career.
Lockheimer’s professional trajectory began in the early 2000s when she joined Good Technology, where she helped develop enterprise solutions for mobile email and calendar synchronization at a time when such technology was still in its infancy. Her work laid the groundwork for her expertise in large-scale engineering systems, preparing her for the challenges she would later tackle at LinkedIn.
In 2010, she joined LinkedIn as an engineering leader and quickly made an impact. She built and led the Growth Engineering team, which played a crucial role in expanding the platform’s user base from 150 million to over a billion members. Under her leadership, the team grew to 120 engineers and helped transform LinkedIn into one of the world’s leading professional networking platforms. Later, she took on broader responsibilities, overseeing engineering for LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com), LinkedIn Talent Solutions, and Glint, a workplace engagement platform, a team of nearly 1000.
While her technical contributions were significant, Lockheimer is perhaps best known for her efforts to increase diversity in technology. At LinkedIn, she founded Women in Tech (WIT), an initiative designed to recruit, retain, and empower women in engineering roles. Recognizing that cultural change required more than symbolic gestures, she ensured WIT was backed by real resources — time, funding, and executive support. The initiative helped increase the representation of women in LinkedIn’s engineering team from single digits to over 20 percent, a notable shift in an industry often criticized for its gender imbalance.
Beyond LinkedIn, Lockheimer has been a vocal advocate for women in STEM. She has served as a board member for the Anita Borg Institute, judged competitions aimed at encouraging young women in technology, and mentored emerging leaders. Her influence in the industry has been widely recognized; Business Insider named her one of the top 22 women engineers in the world in both 2014 and 2015.
Despite her success at LinkedIn, Lockheimer eventually found herself at a crossroads. After nearly 14 years with the company, she stepped away from corporate life, seeking a more personal and fulfilling way to make an impact. This led her to found HumanizeHer, a media company dedicated to supporting and amplifying women’s voices. The platform, built around a high-quality video podcast, brings together a diverse range of women — from entrepreneurs to athletes to journalists — to share their stories and insights. Lockheimer sees it as a natural extension of her life’s work: building communities, fostering representation, and investing in people.
In her leadership philosophy, Lockheimer emphasizes the importance of resilience, learning from failure, and creating opportunities for others. She often recounts a pivotal early career mistake when she accidentally deleted an entire project just days before a major presentation. Instead of letting it derail her career, she rebuilt the project in two days, a feat that not only salvaged the situation but impressed her superiors and ultimately strengthened her path to leadership.
Now, as an entrepreneur, investor, and advisor, Lockheimer continues to push for change. She believes increasing women’s representation in leadership is not just a matter of equity but also a business imperative. Companies that fail to include diverse perspectives, she argues, risk missing out on valuable market insights and innovative ideas. With HumanizeHer, she aims to shift narratives, challenge biases, and ensure more women have the visibility and support they need to succeed.
Her work has taken her to global stages, including SXSW, where HumanizeHer recently hosted conversations with women from diverse backgrounds. She remains deeply involved in the tech community, serving on advisory boards, investing in startups, and mentoring the next generation of women leaders.
Lockheimer’s journey — from a young girl encouraged to excel in math by her father to a senior executive shaping one of the world’s largest technology platforms — illustrates the power of perseverance and purpose-driven leadership. Through her ongoing work, she continues to inspire, demonstrating that true impact comes not just from personal achievement but from lifting others along the way.
Yitzi: Erica, it’s a delight and an honor to meet you. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn about your personal origin story. Can you share with us the story of your childhood and how you grew up?
Erica: Thank you. I’m honored to have this conversation with you. I grew up with two sisters — a family of all girls. Even the dog was female! My dad was amazing. I was actually the first person in my family to graduate from college. My parents never went to college, but they always encouraged me to pursue it.
Honestly, I was a daddy’s girl. I followed him around the house; I was his tool girl. He had always wanted to be an electrical engineer, so I really followed in his footsteps. He used to say, “Erica, just be really good at math. Nothing else matters.” So, I did. I was terrible at spelling — thank goodness for AI and Grammarly!
In high school, I had a teacher introduce me to Pascal programming. Computers were these big gray boxes, and I was mesmerized. The teacher suggested I take a programming class, so I did. It was all in black and white, but I made a tic-tac-toe video game. At the time, it felt revolutionary! That’s when I got the bug. I realized I could build and create, and it was amazing.
But then I looked around the room — I was different. I was a cheerleader, the only woman in the class. It just didn’t compute. So, I stepped away and didn’t finish that course.
Years later, I went to junior college because we didn’t have a lot of money. Sometimes we did, sometimes we didn’t — my parents were self-made. My mom was born in Mexico, one of 11 siblings, and grew up on welfare. My dad was raised by a single mom who didn’t have a career. They were always hustling, and that work ethic was instilled in me.
I started working young — maybe 13 or 14 — helping around the house, then at my dad’s meat company. I was a butcher’s daughter! I even went vegetarian for a bit, which my dad wasn’t thrilled about.
I was working full-time while attending junior college when I walked through the halls of San Jose State and saw a plaque for the Society of Women Engineers. I was mesmerized. That seed that had been planted years earlier in high school came back to me. I thought, “I can do this.” That’s how I chose my major.
I went to San Jose State, worked 30 hours a week, and graduated in seven years. It was really hard, but I did it. And I’ll toot my own horn — I’m now on the Tower Foundation Board at San Jose State, part of their innovation board, and I even gave the commencement speech for the entire engineering department a few years ago.
I never imagined all of this would happen. I didn’t have much mentorship or sponsorship, but I had amazing people who believed in me and gave me opportunities. That’s how it all started. There’s so much more to my career journey, but those were the early days.
Yitzi: Amazing. Please tell us a bit about what you’re doing now and the story behind it.
Erica: Yeah, so I completely pivoted. I started a company called HumanizeHer, which is all about supporting, investing in, and elevating women. It’s really a media company — a high-quality podcast with a world-class video production team. I met them at LinkedIn, where I worked for 13 and a half years. I even have my own LinkedIn Learning course and led an engineering organization there for a long time.
When I decided to make this career pivot, I thought, I need to surround myself with really smart people. So I reached out, and they all said yes. But the real catalyst behind it? I’ve been in the tech industry for almost 30 years, working hard to get into leadership positions. I was VP of Engineering at LinkedIn, but I also started Women in Tech there.
When I joined the company, there were only a handful of women in engineering. I wanted to build great products, but I also wanted to build them with great people and feel balanced. And when you work for a company that represents the global workforce — half of which is women — you need women at the table building that platform. So I started Women in Tech, and the CEO and head of engineering asked me to make it official. I made it 20% of my job and ensured it had real resources — time, money, and people — because culture change takes investment.
That’s something I’m really proud of. I wasn’t just building products — I was helping build a better company and a stronger community. We changed our numbers from the single digits to over 20% women in engineering. I take a lot of responsibility for that. I changed hiring systems, provided feedback, and hired differently — 50% of my leadership team were women.
At LinkedIn, I ran three different lines of business, led a 1,000-person team, and oversaw one of the company’s largest business units. And I loved LinkedIn. But after a while, I started feeling burnt out. It wasn’t fulfilling me in the same way. Life also happened — personal reasons, which I don’t mind sharing if we go there.
For the first time in my career, I decided to take a break. I never even took a real break when I had a kid — maybe six weeks because I had to after a C-section. But this was different. It was scary as hell. I took a trip along the Oregon Coast, spent time alone, and tried to reconnect with my purpose.
And what I missed most? The community of women I had built. They kept reaching out, and I realized — I’m not done. So I thought, Why not create my own community? Maybe I could be an entrepreneur, figure it out as I go. And I did.
I’ve never felt so energized. Sure, I’m not getting a paycheck anymore — that was an adjustment — but I am rich in so many other ways. My product is humans.
Last week, we took over the podcast lounge at South by Southwest. I interviewed women from South Africa, a Paralympian, Emmy-winning journalists — women who just believed in something different. I brought together a team of 10 incredible women, each a master of her craft, and we built something together.
We walked away as different people. I swear, I came home changed. And so did they.
Yitzi: It’s been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Do you have a story about a humorous mistake you made when you first started your career and the lesson you learned from it?
Erica: Yes, I have a lot of them. But one story I share quite a bit — it’s funny — one of my friends, who’s also an engineer I graduated with, once told me, “You need to have this on your license plate.” But I’ll tell you the story.
I was working at a company called Critical Path. This was during a time when just having a website where you could access your email and calendar online was revolutionary. We take it for granted now, but back then, it was all new. I was working as an engineer, and I wanted to excel. I was eager to take on a project and have more responsibility — more autonomy, more leadership.
The head of engineering at the time, Mike, said, “Hey, Erica, you can take on this project. I have a board meeting coming up, and you’ll need to gather all the stats on how the server is running behind the firewall — how many emails are coming in, how many calendars — so we can prove that everything is functioning well.”
I said, “Great.” So I worked on this project, coding for about two weeks, and it was ready to present. Now, this is where I was a rookie. Back then, we didn’t have a ton of disk space — no cloud storage, everything was backed up to the server. And you were supposed to check in your code frequently.
Well, first mistake — I wasn’t doing that enough. Second mistake — I thought, “I need to clear up some disk space.” So I ran rm -rf. And if you’re an engineer, you know that means I deleted my entire codebase, my entire directory. Gone. No way to recover it. My stomach sank.
That’s the phrase my friend says I should have on my license plate: rm -rf.
I remember walking to my boss’s office — it was in a building in San Francisco. Everything felt dark, like the walls were closing in on me. I still remember that feeling. I told him, “Mike, remember that project you wanted done? I deleted the code.”
He just looked at me with utter disappointment. I almost crawled under his desk. Then I started crying. But in that moment, I said, “I’ll get it done in two days.” This project had taken me two weeks, and now I had just promised to redo it in two days.
He looked at me and said, “Okay.”
And I thought, “Crap. I better actually do it in two days.”
So I pulled all-nighters, barely slept. I tapped into my friends who had worked on the project with me. “Hey, do you remember this? Do you remember that?” I rewrote the entire thing in two days. And honestly, it was amazing — code actually stays in your head. I rewrote it with fewer bugs.
When I delivered it, Mike was amazed. My colleagues were amazed. And fast forward — when he left to start a new company, he tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Hey, Erica, do you want to join the team?” I ended up working at that company for nine years. That was my path to leadership.
And I’m still friends with him. I was just chatting with him the other day — he’s into Bitcoin now. But that moment taught me something important. I thought I was going to get fired. Instead, someone gave me a chance after I made my worst mistake.
That experience shaped how I lead. At LinkedIn or wherever I’ve worked, when someone accidentally takes down the site, I don’t panic. I just say, “Let me get you some coffee. I’ve been there. Let me tell you my story.” Because it happens to all of us. What matters most is how you recover. Do you own it? Do you learn from it?
The people I love working with the most are the ones with no egos — just real, human people.
So yeah, that’s one of many mistakes.
Yitzi: You probably have some amazing stories from your illustrious career. You already shared one great story — could you share one or two others that stand out in your professional life?
Erica: I’d say one of them was the first time I got a coach. I was a senior manager at LinkedIn, and I remember wanting the next position up. I didn’t get it — but I also didn’t ask for it. I just thought, “Well, why didn’t they think of me? They should just be considering me.” But trust me, if you don’t ask, the answer is definitely no. You’re not even in the conversation.
For some reason, though, it crushed me. I remember feeling so disappointed, and to make it even harder, my colleague — my peer — got the job. That always stings, right? But what was amazing is that, as a new leader in his position, he was worried. He thought, “Here’s one of my strongest partners, and she’s not happy. This is not going to be good.” So he reached out to some of the leadership and shared how I felt. The next thing I knew, I was in every executive’s office. Everyone wanted to talk — “Let’s talk about how you’re feeling, Erica.”
I couldn’t even process it. And I remember Kevin Scott — who’s now the CTO of Microsoft — saying, “Erica, I think it would be great if you got a coach. I have one.” At first, I completely misinterpreted that. I had never even been to counseling before, and now I have so many coaches and therapists — I need a lot of help all the way around! But back then, I thought, “Wow, I must be really messed up.” That’s how I took it. I thought, “I need a lot of help.”
But Kevin said, “No, I do this for the rest of my leadership team. You should totally take this opportunity.” So I said yes. And that was a huge moment for me — having those one-on-one sessions where I could truly be myself, in a space where I could be authentic and get professional guidance. It helped propel me into a version of myself I didn’t even realize I needed to work on. It was magical.
Since then, I’ve always had coaches. Right now, I have two because I’m in a new phase of my life. When you’re growing and stepping into something new, you need someone, a community, or professional help to guide you through that next stage. That experience transformed me. It taught me that if you’re not in the right spot, get the help you need.
That applies to everything — even with my kids. Sometimes you need that outside perspective, someone who sees you differently. And that’s a gift. It’s an act of kindness. Getting feedback can be hard, but that’s what has changed for me.
I’m a big believer in giving critical feedback because I see it as doing someone a favor. It’s not just about being nice — it’s about being kind. And to me, kindness is about wanting someone to grow. I give feedback because I see so much more in people, and I want them to reach their full potential. That mindset really changed me, for sure.
Yitzi: Thank you so much. Let’s shift now to the main focus of the interview — how we can increase women’s engagement in leadership and management. I saw a recent study showing that only about 30% of all executive positions are held by women. This is great historical progress — better than zero — but it also shows that there’s still a lot of work to be done. In your experience, what’s currently holding women back from leadership and management?
Erica: Yeah, and it’s interesting that you mention 30% in leadership, but if you look at the C-suite, it’s even more depressing. Look at founders — it’s even more depressing. Look at the amount of funding women-led businesses receive — it’s even more depressing. The numbers just aren’t where they need to be.
So, what’s holding women back? Honestly, if anything, creating this platform has made me realize that while I spent years focusing on Women in Tech, this issue goes far beyond that. Now, I’ve expanded my scope to women across all industries — women in sports, entrepreneurship, film — just women across the board. And I’m amazed at how universal this challenge is. Women make up 50% of the global population, so honestly — WTF? It makes me mad.
But here’s the thing — women aren’t what’s holding women back. It’s not about the women. They are working their butts off. They’re pushing, they’re asking, they’re showing up. I know this personally because I’ve been living it for 30 years, and I constantly hear these stories behind closed doors. The challenge isn’t the women — it’s the people around them. It’s about those people having a better, wider lens — hiring differently, giving opportunities differently, thinking differently.
Look at history. Women had to fight for the right to vote, the right to work, the right to just exist in spaces where they belong. And honestly, I’m a little worried we’re moving backward. So, what’s holding us back? The systems, the biases, the people who still aren’t making space.
That’s why this podcast, HumanizeHer, is so important to me. It’s a media platform dedicated to raising women’s voices — because if we don’t do it, who will? I’m serious. We all need to come together. This isn’t about competition — every platform, every initiative that focuses on empowering women, I say thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
And honestly, we need more men like you. We do. Because that’s how we change the conversation — that’s how we change the game. And yes, you have a responsibility, my friend. You have six beautiful daughters, plus your wife — that’s seven incredible women in your life. It’s up to you, and people like you, to really push for change.
I wouldn’t be where I am today without the amazing male allies in my life — men who decided to change the game, who chose to do something different. So, there you go. Those are my thoughts.
Yitzi: This question will probably feel intuitive and obvious to you, but it’s not so obvious to everyone, and it’s important to spell it out. Why is it important for us to have more women in management and leadership positions?
Erica: I’m glad you think it’s obvious, but the truth is, it’s not obvious to everybody.
Think about everything we use in society. The global population is diverse — we have different use cases, different perspectives, different needs. If you only have one type of person making decisions — whether it’s just one gender, one background, or one way of thinking — you’re going to build for only a small part of the population. And when you do that, you’re going to get it wrong.
It’s not just a moral argument — it’s bad for business. You’ll be missing out on massive opportunities. There are tons of studies that prove diverse leadership leads to better decision-making, more innovation, and higher profitability. It’s just smart business.
Women are also major consumers, decision-makers, and market influencers. There’s plenty of data showing how much buying power women have. So, if companies want to succeed, they need to make sure they’re building products and services that actually work for women.
And then there’s the bigger picture. I’ve lived through the mobile era, the dot-com boom, and now we’re in the AI era. AI is shaping everything, and if we don’t have diverse voices shaping those algorithms, we are in trouble. Bias in AI is incredibly hard to undo because algorithms build upon existing knowledge. If the data is flawed or incomplete, the results will be, too. Trust me, as an engineer — I’m telling you, it won’t work.
So we have to make this change. We need leadership that actually represents the world we live in. We need a more balanced, inclusive approach — because it’s not just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.
Honestly? I see this as a crisis. I really do.
Yitzi: This is our signature question. We spoke about what’s holding women back and why it’s important to have more women leaders. Now, for the next part — can you share five things we can do as individuals or as a society to help increase women’s engagement in leadership and management? Give us five actionable steps.
Erica: Number one: EmpowerHer: If you’re in a position of power, it’s your responsibility to make sure you’re providing equal opportunities for women and checking your own biases. Are you consciously ensuring that women have the same chances as men? Trust me, I’ve had to check myself too. So, number one — if you’re in a position of power, be intentional about creating opportunities for the women around you.
Number two: EncourgageHer: When you decide to invest your time and energy, don’t just offer opportunities — actively mentor and sponsor women. If you’re hiring or leading a team, ask yourself, “Am I reaching out to women as much as I am to men?” Because mentorship and sponsorship are how people grow. Those small conversations lead to bigger moments in someone’s career.
Number three: InvestInHer: If you have money to invest, think about where it’s going. Are you supporting businesses led by women? Are you ensuring a balanced portfolio? I’m an investor, and while I invest in both men- and women-led companies, I make sure my portfolio is balanced because, as I mentioned earlier, diversity is good for business.
Number four: SupportHer: Pay attention to the small moments. Beyond jobs and money, there are everyday interactions that shape the workplace. In a meeting — whether in person or on Zoom — who’s doing all the talking? Who’s getting a voice? If you notice someone being overlooked, speak up. Say, “Hey, I’d love to hear your thoughts, Meredith.” That simple action can open doors for someone who might not have felt included.
And number five: HearHer: Truly listen. That’s how you learn. I don’t have all the answers, and everyone’s experience is different, but what I can do is listen and figure out how I can help.
Oh, and one last thing — I actually have a tagline for this: “HearHer. SupportHer. EncourageHer. EmpowerHer. InvestInHer. HumanizeHer.” I even have a bunch of stickers I can give you!
Yitzi: Perfect. So, Erica, because of your great work and the platform you’ve built, you’re a person of enormous influence. If you could spread an idea or inspire a movement that would bring the most good to the most people, what would it be?
Erica: Oh, well, there are so many things. That’s a good question. I just want women to feel supported, and that can mean so many different things for different people. Some women are in situations where they don’t have the same opportunities. I’m very fortunate — I’ve worked in the industry for 30-plus years, and I’ve created financial freedom for myself. Being able to make choices like that is a privilege, and I’m fully aware of that. Not everyone has that.
So when I say support, that can take many forms. I want to support women by giving them a voice, providing investment opportunities, and helping them achieve financial freedom — because financial freedom is huge for women. I’m really passionate about independence in that sense. When women have financial freedom, it changes everything.
Yitzi: Amazing. This is what we call our “matchmaker question,” and sometimes it actually works. We’re very blessed that prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the U.S., that you’d love to have a power lunch with, collaborate with, or even just grab a coffee with? We could tag them on social media — maybe we can help make it happen.
Erica: Do you want to know what my dream is? I was just at SXSW, and I saw Michelle Obama — it was amazing. She’s still on my dream list. It would be my absolute dream to meet her. I don’t know — do what you can. I’m counting on you!
Yitzi: We’re going to do our best to get her attention. Even if she doesn’t respond right away, it’ll be out there permanently — Internet ink — and it’ll slowly percolate.
Erica: All right, I have faith in you.
Yitzi: Beautiful. So, how can our readers continue to follow your work? How can they support you in any way?
Erica: Yeah, thank you so much. We’re on all social platforms, of course — I’ve got to play the growth game and be everywhere. I also have a website that I built myself. No bugs… or at least, none that I’ve found!
But I’d say YouTube is the platform I’m pushing the most. If you subscribe, take action — comment, listen, follow — that would mean a lot. We’re also on Instagram, TikTok, and all the things, but YouTube is where I’m really proud of the work we’re doing. The team has built something incredible because we’re a video podcast. A lot of podcasts are just audio, which is amazing, but we focus on high-quality video production. If you’ve seen our content — actually, I hope you haven’t yet, so you can go subscribe! I’ll be checking!
But seriously, I’m really proud of the craft and the team behind it. They’re world-class — independent film producers and executives with big dreams, too. It’s not just about the mission of HumanizerHer, it’s about what this opportunity can do for all of them. They were filming live at SXSW, and that’s something they can put on their resumes. The designer who worked on all this — her resume is now out there, too. It’s about lifting everyone up.
Yitzi: Beautiful. I wish you continued success and blessings, Erica. You’re doing great things. I hope we can do this again next year.
Erica: Oh, I hope so! That would be awesome.
Erica Lockheimer on Pivoting from LinkedIn to HumanizeHer and Why Elevating Women’s Voices Is Her… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.