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Create belonging: Introducing PIndigenous Leads

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Written by PIndigenous Pinclusion Group

Each November, we celebrate Native American Heritage Month (NAHM) in the United States. We honored the rich cultures, histories and contributions of Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians in addition to Indigenous cultures worldwide - tied to the theme “Good Medicine”. At Pinterest, our PIndigenous Pinclusion Group led us in our sessions and activations. In this blog article, you’ll meet two of our PIndigenous Global Leads and learn more about how we celebrated Native American Heritage Month. 

Meet Brodie Gullic, Software Engineer II

My name is Brodie Gullic, and I’m a Software Engineer at Pinterest. Originally in University, Pinterest wasn’t on my radar until I met our executive sponsor, Jordan Skye Paul, at the National American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Conference. I eventually managed to land an internship with Pinterest, and I’ve been with the company ever since.

Since PIndigenous is what brought me here to Pinterest, I’m glad I get the opportunity to step up and represent the Indigenous community as a Global Co-Lead. I’ve gotten to meet so many different people through this role, including a group I volunteer with supporting Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer people locally.

I’ve really appreciated the growth and opportunities I’ve gotten here at Pinterest, and I hope to pass those on to other Indigenous technologists who want to make a difference for the next seven generations.

Meet Alison Quaglia, Software Engineer II

Hi! I'm Alison Quaglia, a Software Engineer on the Logged Out Product team, working on the Pinterest website. I joined Pinterest just over three years ago as an Apprentice after a big career change. In addition to my current day job, I’m also very proud to be a Global Co-Lead for PIndigenous.

Throughout my life, I’ve always had the utmost respect and admiration for cultures outside of my own, and this led me to a love of travel and a degree in Anthropology from New York University. When I came to Pinterest, I was excited to join a handful of Pinclusion Groups as a way to learn, show support, find community and serve as an ally to groups to which I didn’t personally belong. 

Two years ago, I found myself unexpectedly moving to the southwest, with a vast array of Native American artisans, reservations, schools, events and cultural representation, such as the world famous “Santa Fe Indian Market”. Coming from NYC where this sadly wasn’t the “norm”, I was thrilled at the opportunity to learn about these communities firsthand and share some of the cool things I found with the PIndigenous community at Pinterest. My eagerness to get involved was noticed by one of the leads at the time, and she nominated me for a 2023 leadership role. I was conflicted about applying as an ally since I was very concerned about taking the space of an Indigenous employee, as well as potentially saying or doing the wrong thing as I had so much to learn (and still do!). After a few conversations, I officially applied, and it’s honestly been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my career thus far. 

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month at Pinterest

Here are some of the ways we honored NAHM this month: 

  • Christian Allaire, Indigenous Senior Fashion & Style Writer at Vogue, joined us for a fireside chat and curated a Pinterest board highlighting Indigenous fashion. We also purchased copies of his book, “The Power of Style: How Fashion and Beauty are being used to reclaim cultures” for employees to pick up in local offices or receive by mail. 
  • As part of an ongoing series, PIndigenous hosted a somatic wellness session during Transgender Awareness Week with Indigenous wellness practitioner, Nazbah Tom. 
  • At the end of the month, PIndigenous held a virtual wine tasting with Indigenous LGBTQ+ women-owned winery, Camins 2 Dreams. 
  • Local offices highlighted Native American ingredients and recipes in meals prepared by our food team! 

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