In this episode of the Pride in Tech podcast, Karl Perry caught up with the wonderful Danielle Summers to delve into strategies, tips, and techniques for hiring and retaining LGBTQIA+ talent in the tech industry.

Dani is a seasoned engineer based in Manchester with 15 years of hands-on experience covering the full Microsoft stack, including modern web development, plus nearly half a decade in management.

Dani champions cultures of trust, respect, and acceptance as her teams rise to new challenges. Having worked with many international brands with multi-national presences across North America, EMEA, and Asia (e.g. Sony, GSK, NCAA & Tesco to name a few), plus local public-sector businesses, Dani is intimately familiar with tailoring her public presence to the needs of any audience and mentoring engineering teams to accommodate off-shore legislative requirements or accreditation.

Want to appear on the podcast? Contact the team at Trust in SODA to find out more: https://www.trustinsoda.com/get-in-touch

Happy Bi Visibility Day! We were delighted to be joined by Sian and V from the London Bisexual Network on this Bi-Visibility Day special edition of the Pride in Tech Podcast. Tune in to hear our conversation about the demystification of bisexuality.  
 
Victor Moreno Alhambra is the Head of Engineering of (probably) the queer-est start-up you can find out there! Victor has been a technology enthusiast since he can remember, which pushed him to learn, try, build and ultimately pursue Computer Science as a profession, something that coupled with the fact that Spain at the time wasn’t the best market for it, ultimately lead him to leave Zaragoza (his hometown) for the lively Dublin first, the Netherlands after and, finally landed in the UK where he has been for the last 6 years. He has spent the last 17 years working in IT and the last 6 supporting other engineers as a leader. He loves building stuff and in the last years, he discovered that building processes, teams and groups of people to work towards a goal is as satisfactory as building a CDN (which he did).

Sian Jones (she/her) is co-chair of the London Bisexual Network; she has been involved in improving education about and visibility of Bisexuality for a decade, having previously been Bi Rep and Campaigns Lead in Accenture’s Pride Network.
Professionally, she is Business Operations Lead at Fifth Dimension AI, has previously worked as Head of Product at several startups, and has worked across a variety of industries - including energy, dating and finance.

​Find out more about the Pride in Tech community: https://www.trinnovogroup.com/pride-in-tech 

In this episode of the Pride in Tech podcast, we caught up with the incredible Amazin Lethi to hear her take on the power of storytelling in cultivating more inclusive environments. 

Amazin LeThi, a global LGBTQ icon, is a force across multiple arenas, from sports to advocacy. As the only Asian LGBTQ athlete with 10 international sports ambassador roles, she boldly breaks down barriers. Recognized by 30+ international organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD, she's earned the title of Honorary Citizen of the State of Georgia. Forbes spotlighted her during 'Asian Pacific Islander Heritage' month, naming her one of the top six Asian women to watch.

A luminary in diversity, equity, and inclusion, Amazin is in demand as a speaker, advisor, and consultant for Fortune 500 companies, governments, sports organizations and global entities. From the White House to The Prince’s Trust, she guides advocacy across human rights, DEI strategies, sports, and LGBTQ rights. Her journey from homelessness to global LGBTQ icon underscores her pivotal role in advancing Asian and LGBTQ equality.

Amazin played a vital role in President Biden's 'Out For Biden' 2020 campaign as their digital advisor for LGBTQ and Asian communications, championing inclusivity and transformative change. Her narrative was immortalized in Florence Schechter's debut book 'V,' published by Penguin Books in 2023, establishing her as a leading voice in the global conversation on equality and inclusion. Making history in 2024, she blazed trails as the first Asian LGBTQ sports ambassador for The Centre for Sport and Human Rights, 'World Cup 2026' ambassador program, the Out Foundation, and Pride House Paris 2024 Olympics.

As a preeminent global advocate, Amazin resumes her advisory committee role in President Biden’s ‘Out for Biden Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign working group, continuing her impactful engagement at the highest levels of government.

photo credit: Alina Oswald

In this episode, Josh Duggan caught up with the ever-insightful Whitney Simon to discuss the building blocks of belonging, cultivating a D&I consultancy, and intersectionality in the LGBTQIA+ experience.

Whitney (she/her) is the Head of DE&I at Missive, a London-based independent communications & PR consultancy that specialises in technology.   

Whitney is a BME Pros Xec Leadership graduate and board member of the PRCA’s Race Ethnicity Equity Board (REEB). She is currently pursuing an accreditation with Inclusive Employers for a CMI level 4 award in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. 

She originally started her career in Boston before moving to San Francisco where she was introduced to the world of tech PR. Five years ago, Whitney made the move across the pond where she has continued to build her DE&I knowledge and expertise.

Get involved with Pride in Tech: https://www.trinnovogroup.com/pride-in-tech?source=google.com

In this episode Alfie Rice is joined by somebody who is no stranger to the Pride in Tech network...it's Jaipal Sachdev! Jaipal is a distinguished leader and advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (D&EI) in the corporate landscape, notably within the Corporate Pride Space. Leading the 3M Pride employee resource group, he passionately fosters inclusivity and empowers LGBTQIA+ individuals within the organization - over 1300 members globally. Jaipal trailblazes DE&I and Pride Initiatives beyond the boardroom into factory floors. 

Recognized as a top 100 LGBTAI+ Global Leader by Involve, and honoured by the British LGBTQIA+ Awards and National Diversity Awards, Jaipal's exceptional contributions underscore his commitment to driving positive change.

Professionally, as a Supply Chain Manager based in Northern England, he adeptly navigates complexities in multiple European factories, contributing to 3M's groundbreaking material science innovations known globally.

During Alfie and Jaipal's conversation, they discuss Jaipal's role as Chair in 3M's Pride ERG, as well as what corporate pride means to him, and how exactly we prevent diversity fatigue. 

Find out more about our movement at www.trinnovogroup.com/pride-in-tech

What does corporate allyship look like in 2023? Our latest Pride in Tech features insights from the fabulous Emma Cusdin (she/her) and Rachel Reese (she/her) who lead the incredible Global Butterflies. Established in 2015, Global Butterflies was created to help businesses become more trans and non-binary inclusive. Since then, Emma and Rachel have worked with hundreds of businesses across the globe – from London, Toronto, New York and even Hong Kong.  

In this episode, Emma and Rachel sit down with Alfie Rice (he/him) to discuss the evolution of corporate allyship, as well as their work at Global Butterflies. We discuss the concept behind Corporate Pride, and how organisations are acknowledging this movement. We also look into some of the excellent work that is taking place to support Transgender folks in 2023.  

Are you interested in continuing the conversation further? Come and join us at our upcoming event ‘The 'T' in LGBTQIA+: The power of intersectional advocacy,’ on 20th September featuring both Emma and Rachel. With the help of our expert panellists, we’ll be discussing: 

• Corporate Advocacy vs. personal advocacy in the Trans and Non-Binary community 
• Bridging generational gaps and unpacking discussions 
• What it takes to feel a sense of belonging 
• Intersecting barriers to progress 
• The impact of language 

P.S. we hope you’re hungry! We will be joining forces with Nando’s for this event and will be live and direct from their secret kitchen in Putney. Register your spot now: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-t-in-lgbtqia-the-power-of-intersectional-advocacy-tickets-675109068397?aff=oddtdtcreator 

Happy listening!  

In our first Pride in Tech podcast episode, Natasha Mallison has the pleasure of sitting down with Sebastian Reemet, (he/they). Sebastian is an Engineering Manager who has been operating in the space for over 10 years. 

In this episode, they discussed Sebastian's story in getting into Tech as a queer person, as well as shedding some light on what businesses can do to better support queer people in the space. 

Happy listening! ✨