# Janine Yancey

> Janine Yancey is the Founder and CEO of Emtrain, a San Francisco-based AI-powered compliance training and workplace culture analytics platform she founded in 2006. A former employment lawyer and first-generation college graduate, she built Emtrain to replace lecture-style compliance check-boxes with cinematic, skills-based learning backed by behavioral data. The platform serves 800+ enterprise clients including Netflix, Yelp, and Chevron, has raised $18M in funding, and is known for its proprietary Workplace Color Spectrum and culture benchmarking engine drawing on 25 million employee sentiment data points. Yancey famously predicted the #MeToo movement in a 2016 Medium article - months before it went global.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Emtrain
- **Organizations:** Emtrain, Employment Law Partners, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, Northern California Human Resources Association, General Assembly
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts, English and Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, Juris Doctor, UC Hastings College of the Law (UC College of the Law San Francisco)
- **Known for:** Founded Emtrain in 2006, growing it to 800+ enterprise clients including Netflix, Yelp, Dolby, LiveNation, and Chevron, Raised $18M in total funding, including $8M Series A in May 2020, Predicted the #MeToo movement in a 2016 Medium article, months before it went global

## Career timeline

- **1992** — Earned JD from UC Hastings; began career as employment attorney in San Francisco
- **1992-2005** — Employment litigation and counseling for tech companies; partner at Employment Law Partners; counsel at Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
- **2004** — Authored 'The HR Handbook' to help tech startups navigate workplace law
- **2006** — Founded Emtrain to transform compliance training through online learning
- **2016** — Published Medium article predicting the #MeToo movement, citing social media and millennial activism
- **2017** — #MeToo movement goes global, validating Yancey's prediction and accelerating Emtrain's relevance
- **2020** — Raised $8M Series A led by Education Growth Partners; $2M facility from Signature Bank
- **2021** — Emtrain named to Inc. 5000 Regional List as one of California's fastest-growing private companies
- **2021** — Hired Odessa Jenkins as company's first President
- **2023** — Launched EmtrainAI - AI-powered compliance training and culture analytics platform
- **2024** — Strategic partnership with Udemy to deliver compliance training to enterprise customers
- **2024** — Published Workplace Culture Benchmark report based on 25M+ employee sentiment data points

## Achievements

- Founded Emtrain in 2006, growing it to 800+ enterprise clients including Netflix, Yelp, Dolby, LiveNation, and Chevron
- Raised $18M in total funding, including $8M Series A in May 2020
- Predicted the #MeToo movement in a 2016 Medium article, months before it went global
- Named to Inc. 5000 Regional List 2021 as one of California's fastest-growing private companies
- Emtrain recognized in Fast Company's World Changing Ideas 2020 (Honorable Mention)
- Built compliance training platform that meets all 8 U.S. state harassment prevention mandates
- Authored 'The HR Handbook' for tech startups navigating employment law
- Board member of Northern California Human Resources Association
- Instructor at General Assembly
- Pioneer of the Workplace Color Spectrum - a proprietary framework for discussing workplace conduct
- Built culture analytics engine with 25 million+ employee sentiment data points
- First-generation college graduate who became an attorney and then a tech CEO

## Latest updates

- **2024-01** — Featured on HCI Podcast discussing creating and sustaining healthy workplace culture
- **2024-01** — Udemy and Emtrain announced strategic partnership to provide compliance and culture training to enterprise customers
- **2023-08** — Featured on Voices of HR Podcast discussing proactive skills for avoiding harassment and bias claims
- **2023-01** — Launched EmtrainAI - new AI-powered learning and culture analytics platform
- **2021-05** — Emtrain named to Inc. 5000 Regional List as one of California's fastest-growing private companies
- **2021-04** — Hired Odessa Jenkins as Emtrain's first President

## Links

- Website: https://emtrain.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janineyancey
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/jyancey
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janine.yancey/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Emtrain/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/janine-yancey
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-12