SIM Member Spotlight: Pride Edition

Leona Thomas has more than 20 years’ experience as a business transformation leader working with corporations, non-profits, and start-ups across strategy, operations, and technology. She is currently in a senior level position with Slalom, a global, purpose-driven consulting firm focused on strategy, technology, and business transformation. Leona holds a BSE in Electrical and Computer Engineering and an Executive MBA, both from Drexel University.

Leona has been an active member of SIM for more than 20 years, most notably on the SIM Women’s Advisory Council and as one of the original organizers of the SIM Women Leadership Summit. She also serves on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Council. We asked her to share her SIM experience and how the society has helped her “Connect, Lead, Give” as a technology and leadership professional. We also asked her to help SIM acknowledge Pride Month by sharing her thoughts on the topic of representation in the industry.

I joined SIM when I unexpectedly moved to Portland, OR right after September 11th. The city was in recession, I didn’t know a soul, and I had to build a whole new network. Many of those SIM members I met in Portland have become long-time friends. Over the years, I’ve continued to build connections through the Philadelphia chapter and through SIM Women across the country.

?SIM Women has created a lot of opportunities within the organization and now with the DEI Council, we are applying those concepts more broadly. As a mixed-race out lesbian woman very visible in SIM, I am able to make a difference just by being there… for other women, other LGBTQ+ professionals, and other marginalized communities. ?I try to be the first one to reach out and say hello when I see someone who doesn’t quite look like the rest walking in, and when I present at leadership events, women reach out to me.

?I especially enjoy mentoring those who may not yet be at the CIO level but are striving for that level of leadership. There are not a lot of women at this level, nor LGBTQ+ professionals, nor enough people of color. I want to make sure all people are brought into a more welcoming environment. Kristen Lamoreaux, the founder of SIM Women, has been championing DEI within the organization for nearly two decades. She been a fearless advocate creating new opportunities for women, and many others, throughout SIM.

?I’ve always known that the “B” that is often left out in the DEI(B) - Belonging is the most important part of DEIB. We need to create an environment where people are safe to share who they are, where they are made to feel like they belong, and not forced to feel like they have to assimilate to be accepted. I’ve been in business transformation and change for over 20 years, yet I am sometimes dismissed because I don’t fit the “traditional male leader persona”. ?We still have some work to do in that regard. It’s gotten better but there is still resistance. I have yet to meet anyone in SIM who openly identifies as LGBTQ+. I’m sure there are others, but it can be a challenge professionally to be out. And even though many have suggested I hide my being LGBTQ+, I refuse to do that.

?I grew up mixed race and I’ve been living with systematic racism and bias since the moment I was born. Being LGBTQ+ is no different. Dealing with the racism growing up made coming out easy.?I know I’ve lost out on some opportunities but after 50+ years of living with barriers, I find a way around them. I know not everyone has the ability and fortitude to do that and I have an amazing support network of family and friends that make it easy.?Representation matters!?Every one of us who can come out, who can show people something is possible, makes a difference. ?My visibly using the privilege and opportunities I’ve gained makes it easier for the next people coming in behind me.

?SIM can help leverage the power of technology leaders to challenge laws, to change things within their organizations, and by creating spaces and hiring people based on their skills and not just those who look like you. We need to challenge ourselves to think differently – giving everyone access to new opportunities… we can give people who may not have had the same opportunities, training and support for new opportunities moving them forward. ?People who are not in a marginalized community often don’t realize some of the advantages they get. Think about how you can share those benefits and advantages. ?One way is to figure out who is missing, who’s not at the table, and reach out to bring them along.

?In terms of mentors throughout my life, my paternal grandmother was a teacher who understood the challenges of underperforming public schools. She always taught me at home and by the time I entered kindergarten, I was reading at a sixth-grade level. What she taught me meant I didn’t need to depend on a failing public school system and gave me a chance at opportunities others I grew up with didn’t have because she taught me how to learn on my own. I also had two aunts and a family friend who provided support and encouragement to me all the way through.

?In addition, when I was graduating from high school, I got an engineering scholarship with a summer internship, and that is how I met my “big sister,” Tonie Leatherberry, who spent her entire career championing for creating opportunities for diverse communities. When she hired me as her intern, she didn’t wait for me to get assigned a mentor, she just declared she was mine! ?That was just beginning. We’ve been friends for almost 40 years!?She’s stood by me as I worked my way through college and all way throughout my career. Tonie is one of my inspirations for how women and others in marginalized communities can come together and help each other!

Are you a SIM member who would you like to be featured in an upcoming SIM Member Profile? Or would you like to nominate a fellow SIM member to be profiled? Email us at [email protected].