For a roster of strong supporters of diversity and inclusion, look to the Winds of Change Top 50 Workplaces for Indigenous STEM Professionals. And for a close-up view of what it’s like to be part of the inclusive workforce at these organizations, we asked staff members at three of them to share their story.
Jackson Osborn spent three months living and working aboard a German icebreaker in the Arctic on a quest to better understand climate change.
Lianna Nixon, courtesy of NOAA
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
General Engineer
There’s no such thing as a typical workday for Jackson Osborn. A general engineer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Osborn spends some weeks driving around the U.S. ensuring radar and meteorological equipment is functioning properly. Other weeks, he’s back at his home base in Boulder, Colo., doing instrument development, programming, or circuit board work.
In 2020, Osborn had the chance to participate in the MOSAiC Expedition, a year-long project in the Arctic with hundreds of researchers from 20 countries aimed at better understanding climate change. “I got to go out on a German icebreaker in the middle of the Arctic and live and work on it for about three months,” he says.
The opportunity to travel and pursue varied areas of research at NOAA is so appealing to Osborn that he is sometimes amazed that his career has worked out so well and continues to hold such promise in the future. “It’s kind of surreal still,” Osborn says. “I get to work on all kinds of projects and have the opportunity to build my own skill set. I have the freedom to learn from so much expertise and equipment around me. It feeds my intellectual curiosity.”
A big reason that Osborn’s career feels surreal at times is because his path to NOAA has been so circuitous and seemingly unlikely. As a kid growing up in Denver, Osborn was plenty curious. He enjoyed solving problems and was keenly interested in computers, but he was limited in opportunities because his family had few resources. Osborn’s natural curiosity and intelligence didn’t translate into a passion for school, and he decided to drop out of high school when he was 16.
Leaving school and entering the work world was an education, albeit in learning what he didn’t want to do for the rest of his life. “I got my GED when I was 18, but I was still working these hard labor jobs,” he says. “I just didn’t feel fulfilled in my life.” Fortunately, a few of Osborn’s friends knew how smart and talented he is and encouraged him to follow their path to college. At 23, Osborn started at the Community College of Denver with no concrete idea about what he would eventually do. After taking basic courses in English and math, he realized that he enjoys engineering.
In his daily work Osborn is continually reminded of the Indigenous belief that everything is sacred and connected.
Osborn eventually focused his studies on power engineering at the University of Colorado Denver, where he graduated in 2017. Initially, he thought he would utilize his skills in the renewable energy industry, but job interviews weren’t immediately forthcoming. Instead, a school connection helped him land an internship and then a job at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), a partnership between NOAA and the University of Colorado Boulder. “Studying the Earth and protecting lives and property is the mission, and it was easy to get behind,” Osborn says.
While at CIRES, Osborn developed hardware and software for sensor systems — including those used in uncrewed aircraft — and provided support to NOAA fieldwork. In late 2020, Osborn began his current job as a general engineer at NOAA.
Beyond his technical skills and curiosity, Osborn also brought an Indigenous perspective to his work at NOAA. It wasn’t until college that he reconnected with his family’s roots as members of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. “My mom was adopted out of the tribe as a baby, and we didn’t grow up with our traditional heritage,” Osborn explains. That began to change in college, when he was able to attend an AISES National Conference in Denver. Osborn is currently working to rebuild an AISES Professional Chapter in Colorado.
In his daily work, though, Osborn is continually reminded of the Indigenous belief that everything is sacred and connected. The polar vortex in the Arctic is one example. “Until traveling there and seeing the ice for myself, I never thought that a storm in the Arctic could affect me in Colorado,” Osborn says. “But after learning about some of the science, indeed we are all affected worldwide.”
Osborn also sees how his work at NOAA connects with the lives of other Indigenous people. “I understand the importance of collecting quality observations for making a model more robust for weather predictions that could prevent damage to property and save lives,” he says. “It is especially important for me because Indigenous people are some of the first to experience the effects of climate change.”
— Chris Warren
NOAA
noaa.gov
Literally keeping a weather eye on our planet, NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is responsible for much more than monitoring your local forecast. A federal agency under the U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA has a mission to better understand our natural world through science — from the surface of the sun to the depths of the oceans and the atmosphere in between. NOAA helps protect the Earth’s resources while using cutting-edge technology and ongoing research programs to predict and respond to a range of environmental challenges, including global weather events and the short- and long-term effects of our changing climate. The agency’s diverse team of dedicated scientists makes NOAA a workplace where commitment to the mission makes a difference every day.
Not one to give into fear, Poppy Southcott chose an uncharted path to Cisco.
Scott R. Kline
Cisco
Senior Cybersecurity Engineer
Poppy Southcott took chances and they paid off. Now a senior cybersecurity engineer at Meraki, a subsidiary of internet giant Cisco, she earned that role because she believed in herself and others believed in her. “I never had a safe path,” she says. “Every step I took felt unique.”
Southcott, Paiute and Kumeyaay, grew up in Alturas, Calif. “It is a small town of about 3,000 people in the middle of nowhere, and like most Native kids, I grew up very poor,” she recalls. She was only the second person from her high school to go to the University of California, Berkeley, which many regard as the crown jewel in the state system. What’s more, she was the first Native American student from her school to be admitted.
“People around me were saying, ‘You should go to an easier school, one that’s closer to home,’” Southcott says. She was afraid Berkeley was too big, too expensive, and too far away from her family until her grandmother told her not to turn down an opportunity because she was afraid. Southcott says her grandmother was right. Once you make that first step, all the other steps get a little easier. It will be the first in a long series of uncomfortable things you’ll have to do in life, but there’ll be people helping you every step of the way.”
She planned to become a lawyer and follow in the footsteps of her activist grandmother Fern Southcott, who fought for tribal rights on museum repatriation issues. But a summer internship as a paralegal made her realize her path lay elsewhere. By chance she landed a job as a web developer. That led to work as a business analyst then solutions architect.
Today at Meraki, which creates hardware for cloud-managed networks, Southcott defines security policies, helps software developers with secure development, and investigates and fixes security breaches. “My friend calls us ‘the friendly neighborhood security team,’” she says. Her job is far from the stereotype of someone stuck to a laptop. “I’m more likely to be in a meeting or writing process documents than I am to be at a keyboard hacking,” she explains.
“Native kids are encouraged to become doctors and lawyers to help their people, but technology often isn’t part of those conversations. We need to change that.”
Technology is important to every tribe. “We are forced to look outside our community to support the systems that run our governments and businesses,” Southcott says. “Native kids are encouraged to become doctors and lawyers to help their people, but technology often isn’t part of those conversations. We need to change that.”
For Southcott, Cisco feels like home. She struggles to describe what it was like to come to her new employer after 20 years in the tech industry. She works for executives she describes as “amazingly supportive.” Cisco’s mission of Empowering an Inclusive Future for All goes beyond hiring to initiatives that help Native communities, such as last-mile internet access,” she says. She volunteers as the social justice co-lead for the company’s Native American Network and helps plan cultural awareness events.
The company has an impressive internship program. “More than half our Meraki interns are women or people of color. I’ve never felt so supported or been with a company so committed to diversifying its workforce,” she says. “There’s a place for everyone in the tech world. It’s a good, solid, stable career path — your skills will always be in demand.”
— George Spencer
cisco.com
In our increasingly small world, customers look to Cisco for connections that deliver speed, reliability, and security. The company has been solving technological problems since it was founded in 1984, coming out of the gate with innovative products like the multiprotocol router. Today, Cisco is creating solutions for IT professionals around the globe, including with new cloud tools that span networking, security, and operations. Companywide, Cisco is focused on progressing toward its own greener future while helping customers meet their sustainability goals. From emerging talent to seasoned professionals, employees consistently give Cisco high marks as a supportive and satisfying place to work.
Empowering young Natives is a priority for Robert Doore.
Courtesy of Marathon Petroleum
Marathon Petroleum Corporation
Inclusive Communities and Stakeholder Engagement
Robert Doore is building a pipeline for Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) — not for oil, but for people.
“I’m very excited to connect with emerging professionals in Indigenous communities through MPC’s partnership with AISES. At MPC, we value diversity of thought, experiences, and background. Diversity makes us a stronger company, where people can bring their unique talents and feel valued for their contributions,” says Doore, who is helping the Fortune 500 company’s drive to build relationships with Indigenous communities across the U.S.
MPC refines, markets, and distributes petroleum products with a focus on sustainability. MPC was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Composite Index for the fourth straight year as a result of its continued commitment to sustainability. The Ohio-based company has nearly 18,000 employees and operating facilities and offices located across the U.S., with a presence in Canada, Mexico, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. “Building strong relationships in our communities is an important part of our sustainability efforts at MPC,” says Doore. “As individuals, we can come together as a team to help make a difference in the communities where we live and work.”
“We all have to learn how to communicate in two worlds,” he points out. Doore encourages emerging professionals to find a balance between the “two worlds” as they navigate through life.
A member of the Blackfeet Nation, Doore grew up on its reservation in Montana. After focusing on natural resources for his undergraduate degree at Blackfeet Community College, he earned an MBA at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D. Before joining MPC, Doore served as director of business operations and guest experience for the Washington Commanders. In that role, he was the highest ranking Native American in the NFL since the 1920s, when Jim Thorpe was the league’s president.
Doore’s work keeps him on the road, meeting with tribal leaders throughout the western U.S. MPC is actively involved in 21 tribal communities, and Doore’s role includes engaging in workforce development and community investment programs. He also leads tribal relations training for MPC employees, discussing the perspective of tribal communities, cultural sensitivities, and etiquette. “We all have to learn how to communicate in two worlds,” he points out. Doore encourages emerging professionals to find a balance between the “two worlds” as they navigate through life. “I’ve been able to blend both worlds,” he says. “You can too. You can do what it takes to be a successful professional — work hard, be dependable, respectful, and positive, and you can also go home and speak our language and sing our songs.”
Doore worries that too many young people in Native communities struggle with impostor syndrome, an inherent feeling of being unworthy of success. He says that the students he meets have questions such as, “How do I give back to the community and not compromise my personal values?” “Do I deserve to be in college?” “Do I deserve to work for a corporation?”
His message to them is simple — and bold. “Dream big. Never quit,” he says. “They didn’t have a lot, but my family gifted me with a drive, a desire, and a determination to work hard. That drive propelled me to make an impact. If you define success by staying true to your values, your actions will begin to have greater meaning, and this will drive you toward success.”
Doore cherishes the lessons on navigating adversity he learned through playing high school sports. “In life, you will get knocked down,” he says. “It’s up to you to get up. Everybody in this world faces challenges. Everyone goes through trials and tribulations, but it’s important to put in the work and continue the work.”
Doore has a strong, hopeful message for emerging professionals in Indigenous communities “This is your time,” he says. “You can get a seat at the table. How do you get ready? Lean on family, mentors, and support groups as I did. If you don’t have them, find them. They’re out there.”
That seat at the table, he tells students, just might be at MPC. “We’re looking for the next generation of professionals in a variety of areas, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics as well as many other roles,” he says. “If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow within a company that values diversity, encourages creativity, and supports a collaborative work environment, MPC may be the place for you.”
marathonpetroleum.com
Creating energy solutions is a primary business goal at Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC). As the nation’s largest refining system, the company is actively investing in an energy-diverse future while reducing its carbon footprint. Consumers are familiar with retail outlets under the Marathon and ARCO brands that supply fuel and other products coast to coast, but the company also produces and markets industrial petrochemical products for uses from heart valves to asphalt. Just as “sustainability” is a lodestar for operations at MPC, the company is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and is the first U.S. independent downstream energy company to link executive and employee compensation to DE&I metrics.