About the Author

Karesha McGee is an award-winning global communications leader and sought-after public speaker with more than 20 years of experience in the high-tech industry. She is also a caregiver.

Throughout her career, McGee has advised C-level and senior executives at large multinationals, high-growth start-ups, and venture capital firms including Slack (now Salesforce), Cisco, Oracle, Uber, BEA Systems, Hello Tractor, and Vested World. Interspersed with these high-powered professional milestones have been intense seasons of serving as the primary caregiver for her mother through significant health crises, including breast cancer and two brain aneurysms which resulted in multiple brain surgeries and other medical interventions.

The dichotomy of working as a senior enterprise software tech executive while simultaneously serving as her mother’s primary caregiver has forced McGee to develop a pragmatic, integrated, and systems-based approach to navigating healthcare and decision-making under pressure. Her experiences of embracing the joys and challenges of caregiving became the foundation for this book, which translates hard-earned lessons and best practices into an empowering resource for both families and business leaders. 

Currently, McGee is the CEO & Founder of Allana Advisory Services, a boutique communications advisory firm. Previously, she served as VP of Communications at Slack, where she built their first global corporate communications function and helped lead the company through multiple fundraises, executive hires, its direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange, and its subsequent acquisition by Salesforce. She also led executive communications at Uber and served as a partner at the Pramana Collective. Additionally, McGee spent nearly seven years as a member of the executive communications team for John Chambers, former Chairman and CEO of Cisco. 

In addition to her professional pursuits, McGee has regularly volunteered in her community. She is currently a Board Trustee of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, California, which comprises the de Young and the Legion of Honor museums, as well as the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.). She is a member of Black Women on Boards (BWOB) and an alum of Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) and the Rotary International group study program in Brazil.

McGee graduated cum laude from Cornell University with a BA in anthropology and received an executive MBA from the joint UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and Columbia Graduate School of Business program. She has traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. She speaks Spanish, has a working knowledge of Portuguese, and when she’s not caregiving, enjoys dancing Cuban salsa in the rueda style.  

To learn more, please get in touch. In addition to the book, Ms. McGee is available for one-to-one consulting and speaking engagements.