Jay Staples: Apex Origin Stories

Join us in The BreakLine Arena for an intimate conversation with BreakLine Alum, Jay Staples.

Jay is a member of the BreakLine Alumni Council, where he played a critical role in the successful launch of Apex, our vertical hyper-focused on closing the diversity gap in tech by helping high-performing people of color pivot into compelling careers within the industry.

In this episode, Jay shares deep insights into the value and power of building community within organizations, especially as a member of an underselected group. Upon joining PayPal, Jay became an Employee Resource Group (ERG) Leader for Amplify, an internal organization advocating for Black employees at the company.

Before joining PayPal, Jay had a 4.2 GPA in high school and received a full merit-based scholarship to college as a pre-med mathematics major. He is a master of the pivot and ended up graduating summa cum laude with a degree in Intelligence, Security Studies, and Analysis.

He then enlisted in the United States Air Force, where he spent 6 years as an Intelligence Analyst, including gathering data for the NSA and deploying to Benghazi, Libya & Greece.

Credits: Music for this episode was provided by fellow BreakLine Alum, Gabby Allong, courtesy of Valery Kingdom Records. Featured selections include: Gift, Stuck in My Head (Remix), and Rose.