Helen Young Hayes
FOUNDER & CEO
Helen is the Founder and CEO of ActivateWork, a culmination of her past experience in for-profit and non-profit sectors, where she harnesses the power of the marketplace to develop a vibrant talent ecosystem that fuels opportunity, growth, and prosperity for Colorado.
The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Helen is a believer in and an embodiment of the American Dream, which she has woven into the fabric of the organization. ActivateWork bridges the gap between individual potential and realized success through rigorous recruiting, industry-driven training, curated job matching, and professional skills coaching, preparing new employees to thrive in their careers. ActivateWork seeks to advance economic mobility and professional success by fostering new habits, mindsets, and disciplines to transform driven individuals into highly skilled, valuable team members.
Helen is a 20-year veteran of the financial industry. She was the portfolio manager of the flagship Janus Worldwide Fund and Janus Overseas Fund at Janus Capital, a mutual fund company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. She also served as Managing Director of Investments, heading the 100-person research and investment arm of Janus Capital, encompassing equities, fixed income, money market, and trading.
In 2018, Helen was selected as one of the Denver Business Journal’s Outstanding Women in Business for her leadership at ActivateWork. Helen was honored by Girl Scouts of Colorado as a 2019 Woman of Distinction. In 2020, Helen received the GlobalMindED Inclusive Leader Award for the Nonprofit Sector and the Colorado Titan 100 CEO Award. She was a 2021 Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business and an APEX Awards Colorado Technology Association Talent Champion of the Year. The following year, Helen was honored as a Top Entrepreneur Finalist by ColoradoBiz Magazine and was a finalist for the 9 News Leader of the Year Award in 2023.
Helen is a member of the Colorado Forum, the International Women’s Forum, and the AEI Leadership Network. She helped launch the Colorado Inclusive Economy, a CEO-led collaborative aimed at building a more prosperous Colorado, and serves as a Director of MalarVx, a vaccine company seeking to eradicate malaria in developing countries. She is an advisor and former board chair of Mile High Ministries, a Denver nonprofit serving low-income Coloradans.
Helen, her husband Matt, and her family have called Denver home for 30 years. Helen is an avid, albeit average, athlete and enjoys biking, swimming, running, skiing, and surfing.
