Eason Yang

Eason Yang was a rising design leader in Silicon Valley when a cancer diagnosis shattered his life and derailed his career trajectory. After taking a hiatus for intensive treatment and being deemed No Evidence of Disease by his doctors, Eason found that reconnecting to his post-cancer career was as formidable a challenge as going through treatment had been. Employers were reluctant to hire someone with the gap cancer left in his resume.

And yet, Eason let nothing stop him from pursuing his career aspirations. He returned to graduate school and built NED, a social enterprise championing the 600,000+ young adult cancer survivors in the U.S. who are ready to work again. Ever since Eason has had the distinction of being Not Entirely Dead, he has become a fierce advocate for those who endure life's interruptions—and is on a mission to help them thrive by moving forward again. NED is changing how people view career gaps and highlighting the super-abilities cancer survivors cultivate through adversity, including grit, determination, resilience, ownership, dedication, and empathy. These are CRITICAL competencies companies are looking for in prospective hires.

Eason recently earned his Master of Design degree at the University of Washington and served as the commencement speaker at his graduation ceremony. He is now teaching design at his alma mater, and has trained to run marathons during his epic comeback. He is making companies look deeper into the resume gap to prove: robust leaders can tackle any tough challenge, and there are no limits to what they can do.