As Kamauri Yeh re-entered the halls of Judge, she joked that she would happily return as a student if she could. Behind this humor however, exists an inspiring story reflecting years of curiosity, creativity, and ultimately daring acts to become a leading voice through global marketing at Nike. 

Yeh describes her career as a series of spontaneous opportunities, rather than a perfectly planned journey. Growing up for her was easy, she wanted as much exposure to big chances as much as possible. 

Yeh graduated from Judge in 2007, and spent four fulfilling years participating in student government, mock trial, soccer and even track and field. Her mindset was more focused on the indulgement, rather than the performance level. Looking back, she believes all these experiences helped shape her ability to build trust, connect and communicate with all kinds of people. 

“I never put the pressure on myself that I had to be great at that thing,”Yeh said. “I just wanted to try that thing.”

After high school, Yeh attended the University of Portland where she initially had plans to study communications and eventually reach law school. Not long after, she became intrigued by the rise of social media. Platforms like Twitter and Facebook were still new, and brands had yet to recognize their potential. 

After accepting an unpaid internship for social media management for a local magazine in Oregon, she only became more obsessed with the near future of digital communication. 

Her curiosity remained through all these new firsts for her, and she eventually got her way to working with Nike while managing social media for the University of Portland’s men’s basketball team. 

Yeh is someone who initiates the opportunity instead of it finding her. She received a six-month contract at Nike, and would volunteer herself for projects even if it meant it was outside her comfort zone. Her devoted commitments led to working on special campaigns involving the Olympics, partnerships, and global sporting events. 

Whether it was working with Netflix, Disney, Sony, or Lionsgate, her dedication was brought to the table every single time. Some of her most memorable moments working with celebrities include times with Snoop Dogg and Taylor Swift. 

She soon realized she missed the sports community, and would return to working with Nike. 

Today, Yeh oversees global integrated retail and digital marketing at Nike, helping redefine how brands tell stories across the board. 

She explains how branding today has a direct focus on stories that are authentic, and the ability to connect with an audience on an emotional level. 

Yeh emphasizes the importance of gaining meaningful experiences and learning about yourself through trial and error vs competitive internships and hard to reach titles. 

“And so I would just say, like, don’t put so much pressure around names of places or titles of things. I have all these titles, but they don’t really mean anything.” says Yeh. 

“I think it’s never too early to be curious about people,” she said. 

Some of her best advice is to expand your networking, be proactive, and stay curious!

We look forward to hearing from Kamauri at the class of 2026 Commencement ceremony on May 17.