June is here, and we are delighted to be back with our annual Pride Series, that this year will be a little bit different.  It will be a bit different because although we are launching it in June, we intend to keep adding to the series all year long – because Pride is for life, not just every June. This year – to kick things off, we hear from the Founder of “Out in Finance” about the affinity group he is building, and the relief he felt on being able to be his authentic self as well as from a financial planner who specifically focuses on working with LBGTQ+ “folx” to enable them to live their lives authentically

We are delighted to bring you our second Pride Special, in which we celebrate the career journeys of LGBTQ+ professionals around the world.   In this year’s series we speak with a surgeon in training committed to raising awareness of the LBGTQ+ community, a finance industry COO who was once a teenage rebel, a recent recipient of an OBE award for services to the diversity an inclusion, a fixed income fund manager, a data junkie, a social worker and many more. 

Ray Tierney is a cybersecurity specialist who was formerly a paramedic.  Prior to that she was a Security Forces Security Specialist. We chart her path through school and into a series of professions that were explicitly intolerant towards LGBTQ identities and discuss how she was “outed” initially by a polygraph test, which contained particularly intrusive questions.

Ronnie Woo is the chef and owner of The Delicious Cook, an LA-based private chef company that specializes in four-star dining experiences. He is an accomplished chef, television personality, and cookbook author (Did You Eat Yet?, March 14, 2023) celebrated by his fans and peers alike for his infectious personality, background in dating & relationships, and creative Asian-American cuisine, which combines Asian dishes with All-American influences.

Erryca Robicheaux describes herself as shaping the future of Diversity and Inclusion through technology.  She is a certified DEI leader and strategist as well as a Neurodiversity ERG lead.

Dr. Safi Mojidi describes himself as a Point Guard of Cyber and Data Privacy.  He is the Founder and CEO of Hacking the Workforce, which co-creates employment opportunities for QTIPOC to upskill their lives and move from empowered to employed in cybersecurity. He is a Board Member and Director of Partnerships at TransTech Social Enterprises and has had a long career in cybersecurity.

Nathan Ortiz is an Associate DevOps Engineer at Red Door Interactive, based in the San Diego area. He previously was a software engineer at Trainsquare and prior to that was in the US Navy. 

Vikki Le is currently studying in the medical field and is a Youtube content creator as well as marketing specialist.  She has focused on concept creation for transgender individuals including in the beauty, fashion and modeling industries and has spent time as a counselor to transgender youth

Maggie Lower describes herself as a Pop Culture Enthusiast and Music Lover as well as a CMO and Board Member. She was formerly CMO for Hootsuite, a social media management platform where she fostereda collaborative marketing approach. She joined the Board of Directors of Grindr the largest LGBTQIA+ social networking App and has won multiple awards as an LGBTQIA+ advocate and been a keynote speaker. She also holds multiple roles as Senior Board Advisor.