Winner
Katie Young
Senior Vice President of Store Operations, Starbucks
Starbucks Is Creating More Accessible Stores Under This SVP’s Leadership
As Senior Vice President of Store Operations, Katie Young is responsible for ensuring systemic store excellence across all Starbucks locations. Under her leadership, the coffee company launched Starbucks’ Inclusive Spaces Framework earlier this year, creating a more accessible store experience in its U.S. locations moving forward. The framework aims to expand independence, choice, and ease for all customers with optimized acoustics, lighting, and accessible equipment designs. The framework is also open-source, to help promote accessibility across the retail industry. Starbucks opened its first store using the Inclusive Spaces Framework guidelines in Washington, D.C. in February and plans to open more throughout the United States this year. “At Starbucks, we have challenged ourselves to imagine what’s possible when we take a closer look at the many ways our partners and customers interact with us and experience our stores every day,” said Young. “Building and scaling an Inclusive Store Framework is central to our mission of connection and will lead to greater access for all.”
By: Courtney Connley
