Laura Forde
“Our elders emphasized the importance of understanding our traditions, a realization that has grown increasingly significant to me,” Forde said. “The preservation and dissemination of our cultural practices are vital in ensuring their survival.”
A noteworthy member of The Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians tribe, Laura Forde epitomizes the blending of cultural heritage and contemporary pursuits. Her upbringing was deeply rooted in the rich tapestry of her tribe’s language, traditions and cultural morality, forming an integral part of her life's narrative.
Bradley Rodrigues
“People often overlook the fact that the deaf community is a microcosm of the hearing community,” Rodrigues said. “There are deaf people from all walks of life, and just because we can’t hear or speak, it doesn’t mean we can’t achieve the same goals in our lives as everyone else.
Bradley Rodrigues comes from two different worlds: the deaf community and his hearing family.
Jenessa Angel
“Diversity and inclusion creates an environment of mutual respect resulting in increased recruiting opportunities and higher employee retention. Our differences can create a space that employees of all backgrounds thrive in. Diversity at the Lab brings people with varying perspectives and viewpoints together to work as a team, generate ideas, and solve complex problems.”
Jenessa relocated from Southern California to be closer to family.
Jacques Dy
“I think a lot of people don’t know about the Cambodian genocide,” he said. “Something like 2 million Cambodians were massacred, and I feel very fortunate that my parents escaped that and made their way to America so that my sister and I could live a better life.”
Jacques Dy enlisted in the Air Force Reserves in 2021, shortly after joining Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as an electronics technologist with the Controls Engineering team at LLNL’s Site 300 Firing Operations.
Irene Umipig
“It’s important to me to bring a holistic lens to everything we do here,” she said. “My job is much more than health and productivity – it’s also about creating a culture of compassion that leaders can get behind and finding ways to take care of employees from the day they arrive.”
Irene Umipig’s story begins with a serendipitous encounter: her parents met while working at the same Honolulu hospital after immigrating from the same province in the Philippines.
Julie Klein
“I think we all have work to do – every one of us,” Klein said. “We can all get better in some way or another at making ourselves and the Lab more accepting. More welcoming. More inclusive.”
In her nearly 40 years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Julie Klein has seen a lot of change in the world through the Lab’s lens.
For more information on IDEA at LLNL or our Equal Employment Opportunity Policy, or to schedule an appointment to review our Affirmative Action Plan (available at 7000 East Ave, Livermore, CA. 94550) during regular business hours, please contact the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accountability Office at idea [at] llnl.gov (idea[at]llnl[dot]gov).
