About Hearken
What is Hearken?
Hearken — the name means "to listen" — is a US- and Europe-based social-impact consultancy that helps organisations "embed listening into their growth and operations to build more resilient companies and communities." Co-founded in 2015 by Mara Zepeda and Jennifer Brandel, who also co-founded the global Zebras Unite movement, Hearken positions itself as a "zebra company" — one that "prioritizes purpose over profit, collaboration over competition, and believe[s] mission and money can align."
The live about page describes the work plainly: "Hearken is a social impact consultancy that uses the power of engagement to impact and influence systems for the public good. We use democratic practices to help people fully participate in the systems that drive a healthy society… we believe listening is the key to unlocking a healthier society, and a more connected world." Hearken combines technology (the Engagement Management System, or EMS), training and consulting to help organisations — particularly in journalism, civic life and higher education — practice deeper listening at scale.
Where will I work?
Hearken is globally distributed by design. The careers page describes the working setup verbatim: "When you work for Hearken, you work in a globally distributed workforce with colleagues from all over the world. This enables us to make a global impact while still developing and maintaining local partnerships in specific countries, regions and cities – from Texas to Transylvania." The DB record gives a Chicago address (233 N Michigan Ave) as the registered US base; Hearken Europe is led by CEO Christian Hougaard.
What is the Hearken team like?
Hearken is "a women-founded, women-owned and women-majority company." Named on the live /staff page: Co-founder & CEO Jennifer Brandel, Chief Project Officer & "Dream Wrangler" Bridget Thoreson, Customer Success Manager Kendall Maples, and Citizens Agenda Facilitator Malii Watts Witten (EngageBetween). The Hearken Board adds Tasha Henderson, Nile Johnson, Paul Pagel and Mara Zepeda. A Hearken Support Team — Yvonne Afable + Jill Villanueva (Afable Consulting, accounting), Chi-Wen Chen + Henry Okonkwo (One World Coders, EMS tech support) and Sarah Sunday (Niedziela Solutions, CMS tech support) — provides specialist coverage.
Funding is described on the about page as deliberately patient and mission-aligned: "Unlike many companies that create technology, we are not venture-capital funded. Our startup capital came from angel investors and strategic investors who care about our mission and impact in the world. We subsist through revenue from our customers and creating valuable programs that attract philanthropic support."
Work-Life Balance
Hearken's public materials describe its values verbatim: "Every individual is worthy of being heard. Truth is found in listening to an individual's story. We look to create the conditions for: Care and compassion; Service and teamwork; Growth and fulfillment." However, the live careers page and about pages do not currently publish a four-day-week policy, hours-per-week target, or detailed leave entitlements — the longstanding 4dayweek.io listing referring to a "four-day week at 80% salary" option cannot be re-verified against any current Hearken-owned primary source, so candidates should confirm working-hours specifics directly when applying.
Perks and Benefits
With no current standing job openings on the live careers page (the latest visible posting is for Democracy SOS 2024 which closed April 12 2024), and no published benefits package on wearehearken.com, the most authoritative source for role-specific perks will be each individual JD when posted. Candidates are encouraged to submit an unsolicited application to [email protected] for future opportunities.