#TeamMITRE Spotlight: Heba Mahmoud

During Black History Month, we’re recognizing MITRE employees from our Black Culture Network Business Resource Group (BRG). This year we share the impactful work of four Black women trailblazers. Meet Heba.

As senior manager of Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) at MITRE, Heba leads the team working to build an inclusive environment—one that cultivates a sense of belonging and ensures that we retain and engage our people. People are MITRE’s most important assets, and we could not achieve our mission without them. Heba’s team builds upon the legacy of I&D work that began at MITRE in the 1980’s. They continue to develop innovative ways for our people and policies to reflect inclusion at its best.

“Identity is at the heart of the work that I do in Inclusion & Diversity, [and] the work I do is the heart of my identity. I am privileged to have many intersecting identities that allow me to build bridges across differences. Like many others, I don’t get to leave my 9-to-5 work at the office. I live diversity, equity, and inclusion concepts and issues in my personal life as well, and I utilize these experiences to build relationships inside and out of the workplace to help us advance our work for a more inclusive workplace and society.”

Q: Why is Black History Month important to you

HM: Black History Month is important to me because it allows us to learn from the past as we set out to change the future. We’ve recently seen a backlash to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in the United States, yet it’s not the first time in our history that this is the case. By learning about our history, we can learn how to overcome these challenges to continue to create progress.

Q: Tell us about your volunteer efforts or service you’re doing in the community.

HM: Outside of MITRE, I am super passionate about youth engagement and actively volunteer with several Washington, D.C., area youth groups. I started a small non-profit organization focused on supporting and engaging Nubian-Egyptian Youth in the D.C. metro area in 2014. I am also a very engaged alumna of Howard University, where I volunteer to mentor students.

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Q: Who’s a Black woman trailblazer that inspires you?

HM: My mother embodies the definition of trailblazer. Armed with only an 8th grade education, she left her homeland and immigrated to Greece and the United States to afford a better life for her family. She’s always instilled the importance of education and resilience in our lives, and the lessons she’s taught me have helped me more than my masters’ degree at times. I thank her for her sacrifice and strength.

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Q: How can we advocate and support Black women in the workplace?

HM: Believe Black women. As we share our stories and experiences, don’t question or invalidate them. It’s important for all of us to build a network of allies, but allies must first understand our issues before they can effectively advocate for us. Make space for Black women to show up in all of our intersectional identities, not the biased narratives that proceed us. Follow this advice for everyone, but especially Black women as we haven’t been afforded that privilege in the workplace.

Check out our other employee spotlights for Black History Month:

-??????? Nicole M. Waddell

-??????? Toni Corbett

-??????? Levonia Moore Parker