Case Study: Lean In + Mariana Santiago

Challenge

Lean In, the nonprofit organization founded by Sheryl Sandberg, is dedicated to advancing women’s leadership and workplace equality. Despite decades of progress, women remain underrepresented in senior roles—holding only 29% of C-suite positions—and continue to earn just 81 cents for every dollar earned by men. Lean In’s mission is to close that gap through education, advocacy, and community programs.

In 202`, Lean In launched Allyship at Work, a groundbreaking initiative designed to help organizations build cultures of diversity, equity, and inclusion—not just for women, but across all racial and identity lines. This expansion marked a significant evolution for the organization, positioning it as a broader advocate for workplace equality. To ensure the program’s success, Lean In needed to reach a wider network of corporate partners, drive large-scale adoption, and modernize its digital engagement infrastructure—starting with a long-overdue overhaul of its email marketing program.

Solution

I partnered with Lean In in 2021–2022 as a lifecycle marketing consultant to rebuild and optimize their email marketing program from the ground up. The goal: to create a scalable, data-driven foundation for effective outreach, engagement, and conversion.

The first step was to strengthen the technical underpinnings of their marketing ecosystem. I conducted a comprehensive email deliverability audit, ensuring full compliance and authentication across SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI protocols. This established a reliable infrastructure that boosted sender reputation and ensured consistent inbox placement.

Next, I executed a list hygiene and optimization initiative, removing inactive subscribers to reduce costs and dramatically increase engagement—ultimately improving open rates by over 40%. To further enhance subscriber experience, I built a preference center that empowered users to self-select the types of content they wanted to receive, leading to a marked decrease in spam complaints and unsubscribes.

From there, I developed a robust segmentation framework based on behavioral and demographic data such as job title, company size, and program engagement. This allowed for more personalized, relevant messaging targeted to decision-makers and key stakeholders across industries.

I then mapped the complete customer journey, identifying entry points, conversion paths, and communication gaps. This enabled Lean In to deliver the right messages at the right time, increasing program adoption efficiency. I also created automated workflows for lead nurturing, reporting, and follow-ups—freeing the team from manual outreach and administrative burdens while maintaining consistency and quality.

To make engagement more interactive, I integrated tools like SurveyMonkey directly into email campaigns—turning feedback collection into a near-gamified experience. These insights informed both marketing strategy and program development, ensuring continuous improvement.

Recognizing the importance of internal enablement, I also developed a comprehensive training series of over 20 instructional videos, equipping the Lean In team with the knowledge and tools to independently manage their lifecycle marketing efforts. Additionally, I built dashboards and performance reports to provide real-time visibility into key metrics, empowering data-driven decision-making.

Results

With these enhancements, Lean In successfully achieved its ambitious adoption targets for Allyship at Work, driving participation from numerous companies committed to advancing DEI within their organizations.

Beyond the immediate program success, Lean In emerged with a fully rebuilt and modernized email marketing ecosystem—one that was technically sound, strategically segmented, and equipped for long-term growth. Engagement metrics improved across the board, staff became self-sufficient in managing lifecycle campaigns, and the organization gained a scalable foundation to support future initiatives.

By the end of our engagement, Lean In was not only amplifying its impact—it was equipped to sustain and expand it.