Friday, April 21, 2017

Heart of Darkness - A Journey through Unfamiliar Terrain


An account executive with Informatica, LLC, Leonard Yakhnich has driven major enterprise transactions in diverse areas of the technology sphere, from big data to business intelligence. Leonard Yakhnich is an avid reader who enjoys writers such as Tennessee Williams and Gunter Grass. One of his favorite works is Joseph Conrad’s modernist classic Heart of Darkness.

Number 32 on The Guardian’s 2014 list of the 100 best novels, Heart of Darkness is described as one of the first novels to explore the cultural and psychological conflicts that arose from European colonialism. The story begins with a sailor named Marlow recounting a harrowing tale of a journey down the Congo River, where Conrad himself had been as a young Polish seafarer. Marlow’s mission was to travel upriver from the relatively developed coast, to a part of the continent that was almost untouched by Western notions of culture and morality. The ultimate objective was retrieving the legendary Kurtz, who had left the West behind. The book ends with his famous deathbed exclamation “The horror! The horror!”

The novel is noteworthy in that it represented Conrad, for whom English was not a first language, trying to place in ambiguous words the sense of dread felt when traveling deep into a culture that was not his own.

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

United Way's Financial Planning Resources


Drawing on extensive experience in presales technical support for enterprise technology solutions, Leonard Yakhnich serves as a Senior Account Executive at Informatica LLC. Outside of his work at the San Francisco cloud solutions provider, Leonard Yakhnich supports nonprofit organizations such as United Way

Assisted by the dedication and generosity of 2.8 million volunteers and nearly 10 million donors, United Way works to enrich lives and advance communities by providing individuals with the resources for success. In addition to promoting health and education, the nonprofit works to facilitate financial stability, providing a variety of tools and programs to help individuals become financially independent and empowered.

At more than 400 of its nearly 1,800 global locations, United Way provides free, objective financial guidance and education to help families and individuals reach their financial goals. United Way also provides both in-person and online resources to help Americans file their income taxes.

While H&R Block supports United Way’s MyFreeTaxes online tax preparation service, volunteers provide assistance across the nation through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Individuals who are unsure how to connect with these resources can simply dial 2-1-1, United Way’s helpline dedicated to connecting people with the financial, housing, education, and legal resources they need.

Friday, February 24, 2017

Meals On Wheels Issues Report on Hunger in Older Adults


Since 2012, Leonard Yakhnich has been the senior account executive for the Informatica Cloud Platform of the Informatica Corporation, where he is responsible for selling the firm's cloud platform to Fortune 500 Customers. Engaged with his community, Leonard Yakhnich also donates to Meals on Wheels.

In February of 2017, Meals on Wheels released a report called Hunger in Older Adults. The report was funded by the AARP Foundation and the Caesars Foundation and was designed to gain further knowledge about how various food-assistance programs can help the ten million older Americans suffering from hunger.

Fully 16 percent of older Americans face the threat of hunger, and though there is a myriad of state, federal, and local assistance programs, these seniors often need guidance and help to access these nutritional services. 

The problem extends to the healthcare system, as the report estimated that one-third of older adults admitted to a hospital show signs of malnutrition. It is a serious problem in nursing homes, and 50 percent of community-dwelling seniors could be considered malnourished. The report also stated that healthcare costs soar by 300 percent for older patients who are malnourished.

Finally, the report recommended that advocacy groups could help spur coordination efforts and increase funding to serve America’s seniors better. Furthermore, partnerships should be created for greater impact, and community-based initiatives should be established or strengthened.