My Story
Growing Up and Giving Back
As a child growing up in San Francisco, my mother instilled within me the importance of and giving back.
When I was a little girl, I could remember her making bag lunches for those who were less fortunate. While visiting her at work, my sister and I would help her hand them to people on the street.
She showed me what it meant to be a good human through leading by example and lovingly instilling respect, consideration, responsibility and honest within us.
My love for community comes from her, and I’ve always felt called to be a fearless advocate for the most vulnerable people among us.
I was so gung-ho about defending people that my dad thought it was important for me to have Martial Arts training. It came in handy when I was able to stop a woman from getting robbed at knife-point.
I’ve always had this feeling that God was keeping me here for a reason.
I guess so, because...
I’m the person that runs to the fire, instead of away from it!
Fed Up with being Frustrated
I decided to be the change I wanted to see
When I started my career in tech, it didn’t take long for me to recognize a disturbing pattern: I saw far too few people who looked like me at work on a daily basis.
Even after ascending to the Director level, I noticed just how few people of color there were. There were even fewer women of color in executive roles.
In fact, I’d be lucky to see someone who looked like me once every few weeks. My coworkers would be puzzled at the fact that my colleagues and I would be so elated to see one another. We had to constantly explain why: it just felt good seeing other people who look like you. It felt good knowing I wasn’t alone.
The plight of all tech companies is the norm for diverse representation is 1%. But, that isn’t nearly enough to foster a healthy culture at any company.
Belonging is the number one, intangible human need - which is why diversity and inclusion are so critical.
Even though I spent years working my way up in the tech industry, I knew I wasn’t an anomaly. There were other people like me who deserved to have the same opportunities.
So, I complained to HR for 8 years, and repeatedly asked them to inject more diversity in the company. But, it seemed like my concerns landed on deaf ears and went on largely unaddressed.
Needless to say, I was frustrated at the lack of diversity at my tech company. But all that would change in 2013.
I was in the midst of what was supposed to be a routine procedure, but it quickly turned into a life-threatening surgery. I ended up in a coma for nearly 3 weeks.
After I came out of the coma, my aunt visited my bedside and said to me, “You have a greater purpose on your life.” She told me that God kept me here for a reason and encouraged me to seek out my life’s greater purpose.
The Birth of Girl STEM STARS
Of the many things I achieved, starting GIRL STEM STARS is by far one the greatest things I have accomplished.
While in recovery, I spent a lot of time praying. I decided it was time to stop complaining to HR about the lack of diverse representation.
Instead, I decided to be the change I wanted to see.
That near-death experience ushered me into my purpose, and from my hospital recovery bed, I called Legal Zoom and told them, “I want to start a nonprofit that advances girls of color in STEM.”
Girl STEM Stars was born.
The Impact of Girl STEM Stars
We started with weekly visits, bringing in 50 girls between the ages of 8-18 to the campus of the tech company I worked at.
Every Wednesday, the team would look forward to educating the girls about the everyday uses for STEM in fun and interactive ways. From the outset, we received so much support. Every department was involved.
From there, our momentum grew. I witnessed first-hand how access and exposure expanded the worlds of these young women. These 2-hour long STEM days forever changed lives because it helped these girls become aware of all the possibilities available to them. Parents were thrilled and sent me countless emails, voicemails and text messages marveling at the transformation they saw in their daughters from those visits.
I also started Girl STEM Stars because I didn’t want another young woman of color to feel like she didn’t belong in tech.
Fast forward to today and we’ve expanded those 2-hour long STEM days into day-long experiences where girls learn about data science, coding and robotics in everyday ways that excite them and build their confidence.
The momentum has grown, and we’ve been able to partner with tech giants like: Google, Yahoo, NASA, and Microsoft and touch the lives of young women from the Bay Area to Africa, and even Malaysia.
Of the many things I’ve achieved, starting GIRL STEM STARS is by far one the greatest things I have accomplished.
Testimonials
Here’s a little bit about me, outside of my work:
My Hobbies: fishing, camping, paragliding, Tai Chi, photography, volleyball, wakeboarding
What I Do on the Weekends: serving as a neighborhood Crime Watch Captain
My Family: I’m the mother to my incredible son and wife to my husband Patrick in California
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Girl Stem Stars
