Taking a moment to reflect and be proud of my journey

This week was like no other and I find myself reflecting on a few things that seem worth sharing.?

I was surprised by Kim Akers , Carolyn Lesser , Tara Kelly and the rest of the MCAPS E&O leadership team sharing that I been chosen as one of the winners of the Microsoft Platinum Club Pinnacle award.

“The Pinnacle Award is our most exclusive and prestigious award bestowed on exceptional individuals who consistently perform at the very highest level and directly contribute to our success. Recipients are influential leaders that have surpassed expectations by going above and beyond and demonstrate an unwavering commitment to Microsoft, our customers, and our partners and embody a growth mindset, demonstrate a customer obsession, and are committed to maintaining an inclusive work environment where everyone feels they can contribute.”

To say I’m honored to receive such recognition for doing a job that I love is an understatement.?I am honored, but I’m also thankful to all my coworkers, mentors and sponsors that helped me grow into the person I am today and to those that were part of delivering on the impact I’m being recognized for.?While I led the way, I didn’t do it alone.

As I think back across my career, I’ve always held myself to a high bar, I was determined to be seen as capable – not wanting to be defined by my disability. Over the last several years I have grown beyond determination for how I’m seen, to being an ally for others and helping to design experiences that allow everyone to participate and show their capability.

I want to take a moment to share a few reflections and some gratitude for moments that shaped my personal journey – ultimately landing me in the job I love with the opportunity to pursue a passion for inclusive experiences that led to this amazing moment of recognition.

• Know what is a priority for you - There is always more you can do, but time is precious and to maximize impact while keeping balance for life outside of work it's important to choose wisely what you invest your time and energy in. I'm thankful to Tracie for teaching me the value of saying no when needed so you don't lose traction on the things that really matter.
• Be Authentic – For several years I’ve had conversations with others on “being your authentic self” Denise Rundle , Jenny Lay-Flurrie – Thanks for instilling the value of authenticity in me.?I may not have understood its impact at the time as I have always been grounded in my sense of self and authentically me. However, I have realized a new layer to this topic.?We all hold something back about ourselves in various contexts. It is important to be careful that you don’t hold back the thing that could super-charge your superpower.?More on that in a moment.
• Empathy and Allyship – I have always been a person who is both curious & empathetic – who felt like justice would be everyone being able to easily participate in the things they wanted to.?That was largely shaped by my experience as a person with a disability who saw how easily barriers got in the way. A few years ago, when leading an ERG brought with it collaboration opportunities with other communities, I had the chance to listen, learn and deepen my allyship.?This grew my perspective to have a truer view of inclusion as I saw more closely how barriers exist in many forms for various communities. ?Remember that allyship is a verb, that you must practice, and inclusion doesn’t just happen – it must be intentional. Neither is possible, in my opinion if you don’t first learn from the perspective of others. ?Thanks for being part of that journey with me Jen Emira, PMP , Rita Boyle , Kenny Singh , Anthony Papini , Karen Smith , Mary Ellen Smith , Chuck Edward & many many others.
• Value your own experience too – A few years ago one of my managers Cindy Healy highlighted one of my super-powers was connecting with the audience of an experience to understand their wants and needs, to make sure we were creating the *right* experience.?I loved that part of my job and was given the opportunity to do more of that in the M365 Consumer PMM Team.?I was in my happy place there helping to understand customer needs and working with Engineering partners to translate those needs into product value. However, going back to the comment I started around authenticity above.?It was in the PMM team (about 20 years into my career at Microsoft) that I recognized sharing more of my own lived experience was just as important as listening to others.?Things I assumed were common sense based on my life experiences I realized weren’t always common understanding for others. By sharing more of myself and my experiences with the team we implemented more inclusive actions in our work – leading to more inclusive product features. I really began to understand my value to the team in a new way. Diversity takes many forms but we need to create safety for the diverse voices to feel comfortable sharing so we can listen, learn and grow. ?Thanks for being part of helping me have this aha moment Justin Oppelaar , Jay , Liat Ben-Zur and everyone I worked with on the PMM team.
• Take on big challenges, one step at a time! About a year ago I took on a role I see as a big opportunity to change the world by helping shape Microsoft's skilling programs to bridge the disability divide for those interested in the technology industry and Microsoft technologies. The honor of the Pinnacle award is really a reflection of taking some big first steps towards that ambition. But there is so much more to do to really deliver on the inclusion I know is possible.?It’s a journey that each project builds on the last as we identify the next barrier to remove or inclusive experience to build.??I look forward to continuing this journey and changing what is possible with my colleagues and fellow inclusive design advocates ( Clint Covington , Swapnaa Jayaraman, Ph.D. , Christina Mallon (She/Her/Hers/Disabled) , Melroy D'Souza , Neil and many more). I appreciate you all being part of my journey and leaning in with me -and finding moments to laugh along the way.

I feel lucky to have navigated to a role where I really am able to leverage my passion and expertise to be part of empowering every person on the planet.? I am humbled by the recognition of the progress so far and look forward to continuing the momentum with everyone who is part of this work with me. Thank you all for being part of my journey! (There are too many of you to tag everyone.)