Our Black in Tech series shares the inspirational stories of Black professionals in the tech industry at all levels of responsibility and across all job functions.

It is one of the ways we are trying to support a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce, as we hope these profiles will provide some guidance and advice for other Black professionals to pursue opportunities in the tech industry.

Each profile below features either a quote based on overcoming adversity or advice for black professionals. Make sure to check them out!

Our Black in Tech series features the career path & advice from Black professionals in the tech industry. In this Q&A, April Cowan, Customer Service Manager at Duck Creek Technologies shares her story.

Where did you grow up and what were you like as a child? What did your parents do for work?

I grew up mainly in Des Moines, IA. However, due to my father’s job, we did move quite a bit.  As a child, I was a sports fanatic.  My parents tell the story of me trying to dribble a basketball before I could walk.  I would even sit and watch the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears with my dad at a very young age.   

Professionally, my father was a Regional Executive for GTE (General Telephone and Electronics which is now Verizon).  My mother was a Hospital Administrator.  Both are retired. 

Where did you go to college? What did you study and what did you do after graduating?

I went to Northwest Missouri State University. I started off majoring in Art History however later changed to Business Administration.  After graduation, I moved to St. Louis where I worked as an Assistant Manager at a bookstore.  I loved to read and what better place for free books.  

What inspired you to get into the tech industry?

My inspiration came from a project I was assigned to lead by my former manager (and current mentor) that involved providing business requirements for a new claims application that was being developed internally at the insurance company where I was working. I became intrigued with understanding the behind the scenes / development work being performed to make the business requirement ‘come to life'.  Ultimately that role evolved with me becoming the liaison between the technical and business teams. 

What has your career path looked like in tech and the various positions you’ve held before joining Duck Creek Technologies? 

While working on the aforementioned claims adjusting, I moved from a claims handling role to a Project Manager role. I left that company and joined another insurance company resuming a similar Project Management position, and later moving to a National Claims Director - System Administration and then AVP of Claims IT. During that tenure, I also led a team implementing new claims adjusting and first notice of loss tool.  Over the last 10 years, I’ve been in roles that support insurance providers in the capacity of Consultant and to most recently, Customer Service Manager.

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as Customer Service Manager at Duck Creek Technologies?

As a Customer Service Manager, I’m responsible for managing multiple major, medium to large accounts.  I am the primary contact between clients and our internal operations team.  My main focus is customer satisfaction which may include being responsive to their needs from an infrastructure perspective, making suggestions on improvements and/or other Duck Creek product offerings, and providing metrics and other key performance reporting.  I also provide mentorship/training to more junior or new Customer Service Managers.

What has attributed to your success thus far and what types of obstacles have you had to overcome along the way as a Black professional? 

My ability to adapt to my surroundings and still be my authentic self has mainly contributed to my success navigating through corporate America as a black woman/professional.  I refuse to lose the essence of what makes me a good employee but I’m open to growth, critiques, and change that will continue to enhance my ability to be a valuable asset at any company.  I’ve been lucky to have a mentor who is well respected within the insurance-technology industry and has provided some guidance along the way. Finally, watching my parent's work ethics at an early age has also definitely helped.

What types of programs and initiatives does Duck Creek Technologies have that support diversity, equity, and inclusion? 

Over the recent year, Duck Creek Technologies has established a Diversity and Inclusion group, a Women’s Employee Resource Group (WRG), and a Black Employee Resource Group (BRG). I’m a member of all of them and a founding member of the BRG. I believe Duck Creek Technologies has done an amazing job supporting and speaking out on diversity, equity and inclusion internally and externally.  

What advice would you give to other Black professionals who are interested in joining the tech industry?

My main advice would be to ‘stay true to yourself,’ the world is evolving and while you need to keep up from an educational and knowledge perspective, don’t be fooled into losing who you are, ‘unless’ it brings you continued growth and success in pursuing your career goals and aspirations.  

Our Black in Tech series features the career path & advice from Black professionals in the tech industry.  In this Q&A, Meisha-ann Martin, Ph.D., Director, People Analytics at Workhuman shares her story.

Where did you grow up and what were you like as a child? What did your parents do for work? 

I grew up on the lovely island of Jamaica, in a city called Portmore. Most people have never heard of Portmore, but it’s right next door to Kingston, the capital of Jamaica. My mother worked in life insurance and was spectacularly good at it. She provided a great example of how to have a successful career as a woman. I am so fortunate to have grown up with such a powerful female career role model. My father is an accountant. He also has inspired the way I approach my career. He taught me about the importance of balance. He still does accounting, but he also got into the farming business. My father does things in his own way in the way that works best for him, and I greatly admire that. 

Where did you go to college? What did you study and what did you do after graduating? 

I left Jamaica to attend Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. Morgan State is an HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) and was a soft spot for me to land in the US as I slowly adjusted to my new status as an racial minority. I studied Psychology. From there, I went on to University of South Florida in Tampa, FL where I earned a Masters and Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. In graduate school, I built on the diversity research I started doing while I was an undergrad and both my thesis and dissertation were on diversity-related topics. When I left graduate school, I took a role leading the pre-hire assessment process for a financial services firm. This was the beginning of me incorporating diversity into roles that did not have diversity in the title. I was responsible for selecting, designing and administering pre-hire assessments. In this role, I took the opportunity to advocate for fair hiring practices even beyond the pre-assessment process. That approach worked well, and the role later expanded to include employee engagement and more people analytics, and I approached all of it in a similar way. 

What inspired you to get into the tech industry?

I worked for a huge semiconductor company that was very good at incorporating technology into operations and analytics. I was responsible for designing and creating real time dashboards for our People and Resources Department. This required me to lead a project to create integrations between the Human Resources Information System (HRIS) and a data warehouse that then automatically updated our Tableau dashboards. I learned so much and started to understand the importance of data structures and see how people analytics benefited from technologies like data warehouses. This inspired me to get into the tech industry and learn more. My current work in technology has also taught me about how technology can improve the employee experience, particularly for remote or partially remote workers.

What has your career path looked like in tech and the various positions you’ve held before joining Workhuman? 

After my work at the semiconductor company, I led a talent management team. That gave me the opportunity to learn about learning management systems and more about setting up talent processes in our HRIS. This was really the beginning of my thinking about how technology impacts how people experience work. 

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as Director, People Analytics at Workhuman?

In this role, I am responsible for leading a strategic research agenda that proves the impact of humanistic work experiences. Since we believe that without the human it’s only work, my team engages individual clients, showing them the impact of our human-centered technology on business outcomes. We also do studies using the millions of data points collected over time and across clients. This allows us to identify emergent patterns in how people are experiencing work. Lastly, we do independent surveys of the workforce on topics like recognition, stress, psychological safety, and timely topics such as hybrid working and return to work. As the leader of the team, I do a lot of communication around our findings to prospects, clients, and others. We want to show the world that humanistic work practices are good for the human and good for businesses. 

What has attributed to your success thus far and what types of obstacles have you had to overcome along the way as a Black professional? 

One of my uncles tells me that I have been asking “But why?” ever since I was a little girl. I think this natural curiosity has served me well in my analytics roles. Digging deeper helps me find the most meaningful insights. As for obstacles, the biggest thing I faced was dealing with how to present insights on diversity and inclusion as a Black woman. Earlier in my career, I would downplay my identity as a Black woman and worry about coming across as self interested. Now I consider my identity and experiences as a Black woman to be part of my expertise, and now I freely share my story and my experiences in tandem with our research findings. I also use my own experiences and the experiences of those around me to inform our research agenda. That has been working out really well. It’s also helped me facilitate the idea that users of our award-winning peer-to-peer social recognition platform feel psychologically safe; to bring their whole selves to work, take risks and be vulnerable without the fear of negative consequences.

What types of programs and initiatives does Workhuman have that support diversity, equity, and inclusion?

With diversity, equity, and inclusion a core part of our connected global culture at Workhuman, we aim to be the unwavering champion for our people, customers, and partners through our pioneering product vision and our commitment to the diversity that is changing our world, our perspectives, and our future for the better.

In addition to ongoing recognition from our own product, Workhuman Cloud, we have a number of employee resource groups (ERGs) to support our people and to help elevate the discussion and urgency around diversity, equity, and inclusion.  These groups – which include DEI, Women & Allies, and Sparkle - help educate their peers and serve as a community of belonging where everyone can share openly about their journey as either a person of color, women, or LBGTQIA or any ally. Our employee resource groups are a place where members and allies can come together to connect, share resources, and celebrate and learn about the many unique backgrounds that represent our humans. This group also sponsors educational opportunities where people across the organization can participate in meaningful discussions from both internal and external speakers. I have been very fortunate to be part of our ERGs and have not only been able to share my story but have learned so much from my colleagues. We often say at Workhuman how we’re on a journey together and being open and vulnerable about what we don’t know is a first step toward learning and growth. 

What advice would you give to other Black professionals who are interested in joining the tech industry? 

The tech industry is really hot right now. Take the time to figure out what your particular passion is, which roles in tech align with that passion and target those roles specifically. Doing meaningful work that feeds your passion makes life so much better and is more rewarding than just being able to say you work in tech. And of course, read and study what is happening in the industry. It is critical to stay on top of trends, particularly in the tech industry that is always rapidly evolving and changing.

While general awareness of the problem of diversity in the tech industry is a step forward, to make a lasting change, real actions need to be taken.  Do you have any ideas or suggestions on what companies or employees can do to step up and make a difference? 

There are a couple of specific things I strongly recommend. We all know that access to education is unequal in this country. Examine the educational requirements for all of your roles and ask yourself if those requirements are really necessary. Also, offer a path internally for those who want to go into certain tech roles. With all the online learning available currently, motivated individuals can self study and gain certifications and knowledge that would qualify them for these roles. Advertise these certifications, courses and positions within your company. Maybe there are current employees who would be interested. Secondly, be purposeful about the environment you create and what you are defining as “professional.” Our old antiquated ideas of professionalism are exclusionary and make some people feel like they have to downplay their authentic selves in order to be a part of your organization. Create an environment where all talented people feel welcomed regardless of what they look like or how they choose to dress or style their hair. These two things should create an environment that attracts, grows, and retains diverse talent. 

Our Black in Tech series features the career path & advice from Black professionals in the tech industry. In this Q&A, Uzemoya Peters - Senior Product Manager at Smartbear shares his story.

Where did you grow up and what were you like as a child? What did your parents do for work? 

I was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, West Africa. It is the busiest city in Africa with the largest economy and population. As a kid, I was pretty inquisitive and super athletic. I pretty much played every sport available to me, from track to soccer and rugby. I think it’s fair to say that I was the most outgoing and adventurous son out of six boys in my family, though I’m sure my brothers will beg to differ.

My dad is a retired Colonel in the Nigerian Army. Currently, he's an entrepreneur, philanthropist and financier with investments in telecommunications, smart city and industry park developments, fisheries, power generation and distribution, and mining. My mom is the managing director of a telecommunications company that she and my dad co-founded. So, working in tech is in my blood, and I come from an entrepreneurial family. 

 Where did you go to college? What did you study and what did you do after graduating? 

I got my bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Guelph on an athletic scholarship for football and track and field. After that, I worked in the telecommunications industry. I worked for a company called Alpha Technologies, working on designing voice-over-internet protocol applications for the Nigerian telecommunications ecosystem. 

Subsequently, I worked in investment banking with Merrill Lynch on their over-the-counter fixed income trade securities. I also worked with an ad tech company on building B2B advertising widgets within their consumers’ APIs.  

Then, I got my master's degree from Harvard in management and social policy. Subsequently, I co-founded my own startup named NIFI Communications, Ltd, which is a wireless communication/telecommunications provider in Lagos, Nigeria. 

What inspired you to get into the tech industry?

I would say my parents inspired me to get into the tech industry and really assisted with my career development. They have continued to guide me through my technology upstarts, and educated me on how to deploy tech to impact the lives of a magnitude of people in a positive way. 

They guided me throughout the process of my entrepreneurial endeavors. They are a lynchpin in my career decisions as well. They were definitely a crucial, integral part of building my confidence, education and career aspirations.

What has your career path looked like in tech and the various positions you’ve held before joining Smartbear? 

Prior to SmartBear, I had the bulk of my skill sets in product management. I've worked in multiple work streams in the product development lifecycle,  from conceptualization to working on feasibility studies with management consulting firms to deploying and managing products and companies. I have successfully driven major product initiatives on digital fixed income securities products in Investment Banking with Merrill Lynch, as well as managing the development and go-to-market for VOIP APIs in telecommunications. Prior to SmartBear, I co-founded a startup in Lagos, Nigeria called NIFI Communications, Ltd. I was the CEO of the company. 

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as Senior Product Manager at Smartbear?

As a senior product manager at SmartBear, I am currently responsible for defining product vision in collaboration with the Director of Swaggerhub. I am also responsible for managing and driving our product development and enhancement initiatives on our roadmap.

Additionally, my role is focused on refining the user onboarding process for the SwaggerHub API design and collaboration platform. My objectives are to build mechanisms to drive product-led growth, while bolstering our sales enablement programs, to drive product growth and expansion. 

My goals for the year are to drive improved conversion and retention rates within the product. I am excited about driving users to our key features within the product, by making them more accessible, more discoverable, and more usable for end users. Essentially, making new users super users of our product. Additionally, my mission, in line with our global product initiative at SwaggerHub is to improve the efficacy of our users within the product by building in-app guides and tools that guide users to their first aha moment. We will continue to deploy various methods to enable them to engage with the product and ultimately convert them into long-term, high value customers.  

What has attributed to your success thus far and what types of obstacles have you had to overcome along the way as a Black professional? 

I would like to bifurcate my answer. One of them is a cultural barrier of moving from Nigeria to the U.S. where the way of life is entirely different. Even spoken language is different. I mean, Nigeria’s first language is British-English. However, there are some nuances to grammar. There are differences in the way we enunciate words that are easily misunderstood in the US. The way we contextualize and frame our sentences, syntax, all that is very different from the U.S.  

On the other hand, Socializing in the U.S in a professional context was initially pretty difficult for me. You have to deal with a lot of language barriers as well as cultural barriers.  

There are also issues with immigration here as well, where you have to jump through several immigration hurdles here to get a job. There are many obstacles immigrating from Nigeria to the U.S. I was one of the lucky few to do it successfully because my parents were super proactive, and they made the right applications with guidance from their lawyers. 

I would say the biggest issue within corporate America is the lack of diversity and not having people who look like you, speak like you, and who share your same interests. These are key proponents to socialization and networking within corporate America.

As for the obstacles, I've overcome them. Like I said, I have a very strong support system around me, I have 5 brothers who have done this before me. So, they were able to elucidate the path to follow. I learn from their lessons, I don't make some mistakes they did. They’ve been instrumental to my career advancement.

As a wise person, Warren Buffet once said, it's good to learn from your mistakes, it’s better to learn from other’s mistakes. I pay really close attention to other people's experiences, and I try to leverage that to my advantage, to my learning, to my improvement. Moreover, coming from an entrepreneurial family, I've been brought up with a lot of forbearance, so I'd say I am highly resilient. I perform well under pressure. I'm super open-minded and like to learn new things. 

What advice would you give to other Black professionals who are interested in joining the tech industry? 

From a professional standpoint, take on risk. If there is a business or product idea you are passionate about, study it, learn the market, figure out how you can impact other people's lives positively, and figure out what problems people have and what solutions you can provide for them. Build the product, starting from zero and take it to market. 

Do not worry about the unknown focus on what you can control. Just go for it. Build your first product. Learn from it. Try to drive it to market. Fail, and learn from your mistakes. Always take stock. What you will learn is the more you build products in collaboration with others, the more sophisticated you become at people and product management. You will develop more people management skills, persuasion skills and leadership skills that are integral to drive product and get people aligned with your objectives and goals. And collaboration and leadership are fundamental to be successful as a product manager. Ultimately, when taking on new product ideas you try and fail a lot, but the lessons you learn are indelible and will ultimately culminate into success. 

You will imbibe them for life, and you will hopefully impart them on the second generation after you. So, to me, I think that's very important to understand from a professional perspective, because I do get that question a lot. How do I become a product manager? You have to collaborate with a team of people to build a product and take it to market, get market validation and iterate on it and try to drive as much value as you can to your target customer. Do that enough times and you will have the tools you need to take any product from zero to one.

Often, we practice negative self talk. We externalize success and internalize failure. You watch movies, and because humans are heavily influenced by what we see in the media. We see many executives in movies, making awe inspiring decisions in boardrooms with the overdramatized politics and aggrandizement. We see the stereotypical highflier CEOs, which may not match our persona and that affects our confidence or seems unattainable. One thing you should make a dictum of your life is this; no one can do it better than you can. Have faith and believe in yourself. If you are passionate about an idea, no one is going to drive it with as much exuberance, resourcefulness, and resilience as you can. With time, education, and practice you’ll develop the mastery to be effective.There are many shapes and sizes of leaders, not just the stereotypes you see on TV. You can be a leader too.

I don't want to be cliche but believe in yourself, that's one of the most important doctrines to follow. Make it a daily habit to practice positive self reinforcement. Outline all your goals for the day and try to achieve them. Overtime you will start to build confidence and develop self-efficacy. Everyone fails sometimes. Even the most famous CEOs of the world go through multiple failures throughout their careers. However, they are quick to learn from their mistakes, don’t dwell, and move on quickly.

While general awareness of the problem of diversity in the tech industry is a step forward, to make a lasting change, real actions need to be taken.  Do you have any ideas or suggestions on what companies or employees can do to step up and make a difference?

The most important thing to me is advocacy. I think we all have a voice within the organization. Once we realize the power of the voice we have, we should use it to its maximum capacity. Speak up. Be the arbiter of change you want to see. 

If you have new minority hires in your company, work with them to develop their skills to be the best they can be at their positions. Work with upper management to design training programs if they're deficient today. It's important to empower our community to not just be represented as an executive or as a leader, but to also develop the skill sets to be very successful at their positions. 

Ultimately, as much as we preach the idea of diversity, we want to make sure that we are successful in our roles and responsibilities. We have the capacity. We have the talent. We have the skills to prosper. We just need to build that community deliberately and not defer to others. Use your voice. 

Our Black in Tech series features the career path & advice from Black professionals in the tech industry. In this Q&A, Bianca Sullivan - Inclusion, Equity & Belonging Specialist at DraftKings shares her story.

Where did you grow up and what were you like as a child? 

I was born and raised in “Title-Town,” also known as Boston, Massachusetts. I learned most of my values from my parents, who migrated to the United States from Jamaica. Growing up, my family and I volunteered with numerous philanthropy organizations to provide resources to impoverished neighborhoods allowing me to serve as a change agent for the Jamaican Diaspora in the Greater Boston area. Besides volunteerism, I was a competitive student-athlete involved in Track & Field, Tennis, Double-Dutch, and Lacrosse. Lacrosse was my favorite sport, and I played from grades 5-12 and played D1 Lacrosse at Howard University. 

Where did you go to college? What did you study, and what did you do after graduating? 

I went to Howard University, a private HBCU in Washington, DC, and studied Communications. In addition to being a student-athlete on the Women’s Lacrosse Team, I also contributed as a Sports Writer for the student newspaper of Howard University, The Hilltop, to create visibility on women’s sports.  My passion for writing, sports, entertainment, and advocacy sparked my interest in Media. As a student, I held numerous internships with professional sports leagues and TV stations. After graduating, I worked for FOX News Channel in New York City and NBC Sports Group in Boston. 

Bianca and her Lacrosse teammates at HU

What inspired you to work in Tech, Sports & Entertainment at DraftKings?

In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, employees are not only expecting employers to talk the talk on diversity but walk the walk by taking actionable steps to disrupt systemic biases and policies. Tech is the birthplace of innovation, growth, and global advancements, and DraftKings is a leader in this space. DraftKings is deeply committed to achieving and maintaining parity across our worldwide organization. 

I look forward to continuing to make a positive impact on the business of sports and inclusion. 

What has your career path looked like and the various positions you’ve held before joining DraftKings? 

Before joining the team at DraftKings, I held several positions within the media industry. Recently, I worked with NBC Sports Group in Boston, working in Sales and Production closely with The Boston Celtics. Before NBC, I worked at FOX News Channel in New York City in Sales. I held several internships with media companies like The Washington Football Team, ESPN, CBS, NBC, and the U.S German Embassy in college. 

Assisting Tommy Heinsohn and Mike Gorman at a Celtics Game

Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as Inclusion, Equity & Belonging Specialist and some of the advancements DraftKings has made in the IEB space?

The IEB Team at DraftKings aims to foster a culture of inclusion and belonging that makes our employees feel safe, empowered, engaged, championed, and inspired to be the very best.  In my role, I am responsible for assisting in advancing diversity across our global work-force, supporting efforts on knowledge sharing, promotion readiness, and career progression opportunities, and cultivating strategic partnerships that align with our Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging strategy.  

DraftKings has made considerable strides to become more inclusive such as $1MM annual investment in IEB, increased diverse representation on our Board of Directors, cultivated new partnerships and social justice compact commitments, enhanced gender affirmations benefits and accommodations, and announced International Women’s Day, Juneteenth, and Election Day as company holidays. 

What has attributed to your success thus far, and what are some of the obstacles Black professionals overcome along the way? 

My perseverance, leaders, and support system have been attributed to my current success. There have been countless moments in my life where I have leaned on someone trustworthy for advice or assistance from professors, coaches, peers, or others, the importance of mentors is undeniable. My mentors have helped guide, direct, and shape my present situation and future opportunities for the better.  

The systemic barriers rooted in race and gender bias contribute to the challenges Black professionals experience. Many of us face difficulties securing jobs, fitting into the work culture, and are paid less than our white counterparts. These disparities exist at all levels regardless of education and accolades. According to data collected by Forbes, “only 3.2% of C-suite executives are black, and only four fortune 500 CEOs are black.” The data speaks for itself and shows that racism still exists in the workplace. Black CEOs are all around us if we would just let them grow!   

Can you tell us about the affinity groups at DraftKings and how you celebrated Black History Month?

DraftKings has three Business Resource Groups: DK Shades, DK Pride, and DK Women’s, all of which are committed to supporting and providing stewarding leadership and action within these communities that are welcome to employees and allies. Our Business Resource Groups act as strong cultural voices for DK, driving meaningful change and decision-making with our senior executives’ participation that affects our employees’ day-to-day experiences. 

For Black History Month, we held several initiatives to celebrate black culture. We kicked off the month with our Buy Black February Challenge, encouraging employees to invest in Black economic empowerment and bridge the racial wealth gap by utilizing our crowdsourced resource catalog to support Black-Owned businesses. Just as voices can effect change, so can the dollar. We also worked with a black-owned organization named TriLuna Wellness to host a workshop on Meditation for Stress Management to provide employees with tips and tricks on navigating in times of uncertainty through journaling, mediation, and breathing exercises. Lastly, we launched our virtual career role-modeling speaker series with our newest Board of Directors to talk about navigating industries, the importance of diversity and mentorship, and the future of DraftKings. 

While general awareness of diversity in the tech industry is a step forward, real actions need to be taken to make a lasting change.  Do you have any ideas or suggestions on what companies or employees can do to step up and make a difference? 

Diversity is a fact; equity is a choice, inclusion is an action, and belonging is an outcome. I believe that organizations should amplify ongoing educational opportunities for employees and carve out safe spaces for diverse thought to tackle optimal results. I strongly encourage organizations to consider recruiting at Historically Black Colleges & Universities to find diverse talent for your pipeline effectively and recruit where diversity thrives. 

Our Black in Tech series features the career path & advice from Black professionals in the tech industry. In this Q&A, Jasmine Smith - Senior Technical Talent Acquisition at Rapid7 shares her story.

VentureFizz: Where did you grow up and what were you like as a child? What did your parents do for work? 

Our Black in Tech series features the career path & advice from Black professionals in the tech industry. In this Q&A, Cam Johnson - Sales Manager, New Business at ZoomInfo shares his story.

VentureFizz: Where did you grow up and what were you like as a child? What did your parents do for work?  

Cam Johnson: I was born and raised in Connecticut, spending the first 13 years of my life in New Britain (near Hartford) before my father and stepmom bought a house in the small town of Berlin, outside of Hartford. As a child, I was very hyper and active in sports (football, baseball, and basketball) year-round. My parents were constantly running around to get me to all of my practices and games. Sports were my outlet as a child and where I learned a lot of life lessons that have paved the way for my successes today. 

My mom is a nurse who worked endlessly to support our family while I was growing up, most of the time close to 100 hours per week. She wasn’t able to attend many of my sporting events or be around as much as I would’ve liked, but she taught me that through hard work you can achieve anything, and I understand why she worked so hard as an adult. My father is a machine operator, and my stepmom works for the State of Connecticut.

VF: Where did you go to college? What did you study and what did you do after graduating?

CJ: I went to Union College, a small liberal arts school in upstate New York. I had aspirations of playing professional football and, unfortunately, didn’t take college too seriously. I didn’t select my major until junior year, and I chose history solely because I took enough classes related to the subject and could graduate on time. Following college, I got into sales, working for a consulting firm that worked with AT&T. 

VF: What inspired you to get into the tech industry? 

CJ: I got into the tech industry solely to take a job and move back closer to home. I was in Chicago for a year following college, and at the time, my stepmom was sick, so I wanted to be closer to home. One of my best friends from college reached out to me and said he was at a startup software company that was projected to take off and had aspirations to become a publicly traded company in the coming years. 

VF: Talk about your career progression and some of the roles that you’ve held along the way?

CJ: I started off in door-to-door sales right out of college before working with a lighting and distribution company. One thing people saw was my ability to connect with people. I needed to find the right opportunity to accelerate my career sales. 

At Zerto, I started in the Sales Development Representative (SDR) position, and within a year, I was interviewing, training, and onboarding new members of the team. As the fifth SDR at the company, I assisted in bringing on seven new employees in the department. 

I left Zerto to take a closing role at SmartBear Software and gained the experience needed to take the next step in my career, which brought me to ZoomInfo. While at ZoomInfo, I’ve been fortunate to have a rock-star leadership team that has helped me further develop my career and grow into a leadership role. 

VF: What was your first position as a manager and what advice would you have for others who are interested in a management career path?

CJ: My first position as a Manager at ZoomInfo was in 2018 when I was promoted into a team-lead hybrid role. This was my first taste of management while still holding my own book of business. I’ve always said I get more satisfaction out of seeing other people succeed and helping them hit their numbers. If you hold that same philosophy, management might be a great position for you. 

As with any relationship, the foundation is built on trust, and management is no different. Your team has to trust you in order for them to follow you as the leader. 

My advice is to sit down with someone that holds a management position, understand their responsibilities, the pros and cons of management, how they progressed into that role, and what has made them successful. These anecdotes and learnings will help you understand if management is the right role for you.

VF: Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a Sales Manager, New Business at ZoomInfo?

CJ: My current role at ZoomInfo is to support a team of new business representatives. A big focus of my role is training and developing seasoned and newly promoted Account Executives to progress their sales careers. Constant coaching and open lines of communication enable me to support my team’s ongoing learning and development to produce consistent high performers.

VF: What has attributed to your success thus far and what types of obstacles have you had to overcome along the way as a Black professional? 

CJ: Work ethic, relentlessness, coachability, and never doubting my ability to be successful. I’m always eager to learn, and I understand that failure is okay; it’s about how you overcome hurdles or obstacles that make you successful.  

I think the first obstacle that most Black professionals in tech have to overcome is being one of the only ones of color in the room. When I first started in tech six years ago, there weren’t many people who looked like me, and when you’re in meetings or company functions, you hesitate to allow your voice to be heard. 

From a young age, my father told me to always be the hardest-working person in the room and let your voice be heard. There have been a few times when I felt I was up for a promotion, and I didn’t receive it. When speaking with my dad, he’s always told me that you have to go the extra mile and show there isn’t a reason to not promote you. 

It’s imperative that you build your brand equity at any organization, but it’s even more important as Black professional. 

VF: What types of programs and initiatives does ZoomInfo have that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion?

CJ: In early 2019, GIDI – ZoomInfo’s Global Inclusion and Diversity Initiative – was created and the support has been amazing. Minority groups need allies and people who not only understand their hurdles, but stand with them arm-in-arm to help. 

We host monthly events for each chapter and are preparing for our first GIDI Summit in October, which’ll be a full day of hands-on, immersive learning for our employees. It’ll be an interactive conversation that’ll produce some great outcomes on how we can further promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace together. 

I serve as the head of the Zoom in Color chapter, and this year, we hosted our first Juneteenth celebration. We had over 400 employees – one-third of the company – attend the virtual celebration, in which members of Zoom in Color told the story of Juneteenth and answered questions from our colleagues about how we can all unite further in society. 

Looking back on it, our Juneteenth celebration was a significant moment in our company’s history. Having uncomfortable conversations is where diversity and inclusion starts, but it’s imperative that these talks continue so we can better understand each other and unify. 

I’m also extremely proud of the work that ZoomInfo has done in donating over $100,000 to seven nonprofit organizations in support of equal rights and racial justice for the Black community. ZoomInfo isn’t a company that just says it’s diverse and inclusive and gives back to the community – it’s an organization that continually acts philanthropically because supporting all individuals in our society is part of the company’s DNA. 

VF: What advice would you give to other Black professionals who are interested in joining the tech industry?

CJ: I’d tell them to use technology to their advantage. There are a lot of “Black in Tech” groups that host networking events with fellow Black professionals across all roles. I’d also tell them to find a space, or a sub-section, in tech that ignites their passion. We’re all willing to help each other find the next opportunity and connect via LinkedIn to ask about each other’s roles in the tech industry. 

VF: While general awareness of the problem of diversity in the tech industry is a step forward, to make a lasting change, real actions need to be taken. Do you have any ideas or suggestions on what companies or employees can do to step up and make a difference?

CJ: I recently had a conversation with a CEO regarding diversity in the tech industry, in which we discussed how it’s not that companies aren’t providing enough opportunities, it’s that there aren't enough candidates in the pool. However, that’s not good enough. 

I’d like to see tech companies partner with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as well as diversity groups at local colleges and universities to build out networks. If you’re in a city or have local colleges, go find the talent on those campuses and recruit. 

It’s time for us to be more proactive, outline goals, and set success metrics based on diversity. Similar to how you hold employees accountable in their roles, it’s time to hold your organization accountable too.

Our Black in Tech series features the career path & advice from Black professionals in the tech industry. In this Q&A, Jenner Thomas - Software Quality Assurance Associate at America's Test Kitchen shares his story.

VentureFizz: Where did you grow up and what were you like as a child? What did your parents do for work?  

Jenner Thomas: My family and I are originally from Freetown, Sierra Leone. I immigrated to the United States in 2005 when I was just 10 years old and we made our home in Lowell, Massachusetts. My father worked as a residential program director while my mom raised me and my little sister at home.
 
As a child, I kept to myself since my English was very poor at best. However, I enjoyed taking weekly piano lessons, playing video games, and watching anime. My father had always encouraged me to read more, but I already had hobbies that I enjoyed. He also encouraged me to play sports, which gave me the opportunity to be more social and competitive. I played soccer, football, and ran track & field.

VF: What inspired you to get into the tech industry and what was your first role in the industry? 

JT: During the summer following high school, I was in the public library when I picked up a book titled “Building a Website for Dummies.” After weeks of trial and error, I created a simple website using HTML and CSS. I truly enjoyed that experience and I haven't looked back since. 
 
My very first role in the industry was as a customer service associate for a property management software company. I transitioned into a product specialist during the time that I was there and eventually moved on to my current role at America’s Test Kitchen.

VF: How did you learn about Launch Academy and how did it help your career?

JT: I learned about Launch Academy through conversations with developers from work or public events. My experience at Launch helped me fill in the blanks left behind by most online courses and tutorials. Additionally, I was able to make several professional connections.
 
The process of completing Launch was very revealing for me. Launch was treated like a work environment and It challenged me in ways that made me realize that this was a career that required a great deal of patience, curiosity, and diligence. 

VF: Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a Software Quality Assurance Associate at America’s Test Kitchen?

JT: At Americas’s Test Kitchen we provide a first-in-class online destination for home cooks. My responsibilities are focused on developing test cases for our online platform through automated and manual methods.

VF: What has attributed to your success thus far and what types of obstacles have you had to overcome along the way as a Black professional? 

JT: My ability to be receptive towards criticism is a key component towards my success. My parents were very supportive but they never held back in their honesty. When you don’t take feedback personally and focus on what is being said, you can motivate yourself to perform past your own expectations.

Personally, my biggest obstacle is finding a peer or mentor that I can connect with. I believe that it is important to have someone, whether it be personal or professional, that can assist you with navigating through the tech industry. 

VF: What types of programs and initiatives does America’s Test Kitchen have that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion?

JT: This past fall, ATK promoted our own Elle Simone to the newly formed role of Inclusion Leader. Elle joined ATK in 2016 and is the founder and operator of SheChef, a mentoring and networking organization for women of color in the culinary field. In December of 2019, we founded ATK's first Diversity Council, a group open to staff who are passionate about creating and supporting Diversity and Inclusion. The council has since sponsored activities and talks in the ATK office.
 
In light of recent events, ATK closed business for a day in June so employees could participate in a Day of Reflection. Additionally, ATK introduced a gift matching program to the following organizations: NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Black Farmers Fund, and the Detroit Food Lab. Next week, all staff will be participating in unconscious bias training being put on by She+ Geeks Out. In addition to addressing bias, our goal is to increase our employee population of people of color to 25% by the end of 2021.

VF: What advice would you give to other black professionals who are interested in joining the tech industry?

JT: Do not fear failure or rejection - it is a part of the process. It is best to focus on your strengths and use them to your best advantage. Remember that you do not owe anyone anything - make decisions that are best for YOU! This is very important as you continue to develop in your career. 

Finally, spread your knowledge and experiences to other Black professionals that are not presented with the same opportunities. You never know who might be a long-term connection, mentor, or friend.

VF: While general awareness of the problem of diversity in the tech industry is a step forward, to make a lasting change, real actions need to be taken.  Do you have any ideas or suggestions on what companies or employees can do to step up and make a difference?

JT: This is a difficult problem and there isn't a clear-cut way to solve it. However, a great start would involve having a mind that is open enough to make a REAL attempt to understand where the shortcomings are. 

In the past couple of weeks, I have read several articles about companies pledging to “do something” by coming up with an action plan to make the workplace more diverse.  From my perspective, a company must first be able to attract and retain black professionals through hiring and promoting from within. How a company presents itself on their major platforms plays a significant role in attracting more diverse groups. At the end of the day, the public faces of your company should match your message of diversity.

Our Black in Tech series features the career path & advice from Black professionals in the tech industry. In this Q&A, Jo Bentley - Business Information Security Officer at Liberty Mutual shares her story.

VentureFizz: Where did you grow up and what were you like as a child? What did your parents do for work?  

Jo Bentley: I grew up in Manchester, England; Nigeria and London, England. I was a shy child, quiet and reserved. I spent most of the time at boarding school where I played field hockey, long jump and did a bit of track. I also loved to read adventure books. My mum was a nurse while my dad was a public relations executive. 

VF: Where did you go to college? What did you study and what did you do after graduating?  

JB: I went to multiple colleges. I studied Philosophy and English at University of Lagos, Information Systems & Technology at City University in London and Business Administration at Questrom School of Business at Boston University.

I worked for a startup that assembled computers after graduating and then joined a management training program at the ODEON Cinemas in England.

VF: What inspired you to get into the tech industry?

JB: My early experience in computer assembly sparked my interest. The magic of putting parts together and then typing up a document on something I put together intrigued me. I took a networking course and then went back to university to study technology and became a customer project manager on a management training program at British Telecommunication (BT) in England. At BT, I was exposed to networking on a grand scale: circuits – copper and fiber, digital networks, private branch exchanges, dealing systems, telephony, mobile continuity systems and research labs with a singular purpose of making future bets. I was hooked on the one hand and on the other, quickly learned how technology enables businesses. 

VF: Along the way, you have obtained multiple degrees and certifications.  How has this helped you in your career?

JB: The certifications I obtained helped to qualify my experiences, categorize competencies, gave some of my experiences structure, served as a gap analysis or expanded my knowledge of the subject of study. In a strange way, they kept me honest and created opportunities for continued professional growth and development. 

VF: What has your career path looked like in tech before joining Liberty Mutual and how did you end up focusing on Information Security? 

JB: My career path in technology has been multi-dimensional across different industries, countries and roles – covering telecommunication service delivery lifecycle, software development lifecycle, student loans guarantor and private banking. I’ve been a project manager, manager, director and a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) before joining Liberty Mutual.

I have focused on different aspects of security over the years. In my telecommunication days, I worked on the implementation of fiber backbone networks meant to prevent listening in on the wire, the delivery of mobile business continuity systems ensuring the continuity of operations, provisioning and administering test application access. In more recent years; I have designed, implemented and led successful Information and Cybersecurity programs that were appropriately scaled and scoped to manage cyber risks in a highly connected business environment. 

As for how I ended up focusing primarily on Information Security; I was asked by my then CIO to lead a project that required my company to have a certification to handle highly sensitive information and/or transactions. The project proved challenging, as I had to understand all aspects of the business operation and the security controls that supported it. I studied the required standards, mapped and assessed in-place controls, uncovered the gaps and designed initiatives to mature controls or address the gaps. My company eventually received its certification to handle sensitive transactions. 

VF: Can you share the high-level responsibilities of your current position as a Business Information Security Officer at Liberty Mutual?

JB: The Business Information Security Officer (BISO) is a strategic partner aligned to help technology and business leaders in their cybersecurity program implementations. The BISO proactively drives alignment between business unit objectives, enterprise security strategy and policies. The BISO also facilitates a security culture with the business need for speed, agility and business results. 

VF: What has attributed to your success thus far and has helped propel you to the position you have now?

JB: An openness to learn and the flexibility to pivot when needed. Unlike most, my interests were not crystal clear to me when I left school. I had to engage in different areas of interest to figure things out. In the same light, I had to be willing to walk if I did not feel fulfilled by what I was doing. Every job in the past has taught me something about the job I do today. My successes have come from taking a leap, daring to try, learning from failure, and working hard.

VF: What types of programs and initiatives does Liberty Mutual have that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion?

JB: Liberty Mutual is clear about its values and is one of the company’s I have experienced that lives its values. They are not just words; they are effectively a lifestyle. The values represent the core of who we are as a company and are intrinsically linked to the Diversity and Inclusion strategy. The D&I strategy is live, supported by the CEO Pledge and has a dedicated group that takes a holistic approach to awareness, engagement, communications, and initiatives. Some of the D&I initiatives include Unconscious Bias Awareness, Guidelines for Inclusion to help employees move from D&I awareness to action, Employee Resources Groups (ERGs), Men as Allies initiatives and summits, Race and Ethnicity Collaboration to help employees build their skills in working across differences in race and ethnicity for better relationships and results and a D&I lexicon and communications toolkit to help employees choose the most inclusive terminology.

VF: What advice would you give to other Black professionals who are interested in joining the tech industry and starting a career in the rapidly growing sector of cybersecurity?

JB: Learn, learn, learn, and do not be afraid to go down the road less traveled. Be good at what you do. Understand your strengths and play to them. As for those things you are not as good at, use them as opportunities for continued growth and development.  Be open, inquisitive, humble, engage with integrity and be on your game. 

VF: While general awareness of the problem of diversity in the tech industry is a step forward, to make a lasting change, real actions need to be taken.  Do you have any ideas or suggestions on what companies or employees can do to step up and make a difference?

JB: Be open to learning with your heart. History is living and breathing all around us; understand context not just the story. Listen and engage with good intent. Create a safe environment that encourages thoughtful questions, discussions, and engagement.