Meet Madalyn Meyers | Yelp San Fernando Valley Community Manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Madalyn Meyers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Madalyn, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
As a Community Manager at Yelp, it is my job to support my local community and inspire those within it to do the same. I partner with local business owners and help to bring awareness to their business by way of social media marketing as well as on the Yelp platform. Every day I work to build a community of like-minded local adventurers within the San Fernando Valley. To me, supporting my community is supporting it’s local businesses. Without our local businesses, the San Fernando Valley would not be what it is today, as our roots lie within mom and pop shops.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My career has had many twists and turns along the way. In fact, I think I maybe have had over a dozen jobs in my whole life time. I always wanted to be a film director, and followed my dream to Chicago where I attended Film School. After graduation, I moved home and immediately started working in Television, and I loved it. However as time went on, it became to weigh on my mental health very heavily. I didn’t have any spare time to even take care of myself because of crazy production schedules. Everything else in my life took a back seat to work. After a couple “What am I doing with my life” crises and some more random odd jobs, I landed at Yelp. While the Community Department at Yelp does take work experience into account, they really hire the person they think is best for the job more. While I did meet the job requirements, I feel like for the first time in my whole career I was hired based off of who I am authentically. It really shifted my point of view when it came to how I approached my job and career as a whole.

Now the challenge I face day to day is being a mom while working full time. I am lucky to have a huge support network of family and friends who have helped make the transition back to work as seamless as possible, but there are days when it just feels like I am burning the candle at both ends. However, Yelp is extremely supportive of parents and I’ve been able to take advantage of a lot of benefits that help with childcare as well as personal wellness. I don’t know I’ll ever find the perfect balance, but a big win is feeling like I have the support and space to figure it out.

I’ve learned that there really is something to the phrase “find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”. I used to think that was total joke. I do think it’s possible for everyone to follow their heart when it comes to their career. If you aren’t happy, make a change. Maybe the road to finding the perfect job isn’t a straight line, but if you ride out the curves and can focus clearly on what it is that you want out of a job, I believe you can get there.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is my kind of question! If I had a friend coming to visit LA, I would first pick them up from the airport and immediately go to in and out (who doesn’t) for a late night bite. Day 1- I would then take them to either Cafe 27 for breakfast with a view, followed by a drive to the beach. Lunch would have to be at The Old Place before heading back to the Valley for either a rooftop movie screening or a sunset walk around Lake Balboa. Day 2 would include a tour of DTLA, including Grand Central Market, the last bookstore, grabbing a beer in the Arts District and having lunch at Phillipe’s. Day 3, I would take them for a coffee in Aroma in Studio City for a glimpse of the Valley “scene”. Then, we’d grab a bagel at Hank’s in Toluca Lake before heading to Lake Hollywood for a leisurely walk. We’d have to grab a glass at Mirabelle Wine Bar and then grab a pizza from Gorilla Pies to take home. Clearly, everything revolves around food. Day 4, we’d start with a hike up Westridge Canyonback in Encino, and probably have a good ol fashioned pool day to soak up that Valley heat. We’d head out to Iroha in Studio City for some sushi, and then cruise down Ventura blvd to hit the Universal City overlook. You have to stop at McConnells to top off the night! I could go on forever.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to give my shoutout to my fellow community managers here in SoCal; this includes Margaret Palanca in LA East, TD Tran in the San Gabriel Valley, Sarah Rhoades in LA West, Evan Kojima in Long Beach, Hayley Hinger in the OC, Jara Simpson and Mylesha Davis in the Inland Empire. I don’t know how common it is to like every single one of your colleagues, but I am truly a part of a dream team of creative and supportive individuals. We all work together and support one another in our roles, and I couldn’t be more grateful to have them by my side.

Instagram: ValleyMaddy

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madalynmeyers/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=buNcnDbbGUzO7X1kZRGxZQ