“It feels great to know that I am part of something important—no matter what you do here, you are helping people.” 

Terri joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2018. Her husband has worked at the Laboratory for over 20 years. After a career in both the private sector and law, she was inspired to join the Lab after learning about its national security mission. Terri was always impressed with the world class science being achieved in her backyard. 

Terri manages a business operations team that ensures needed applications are available to the many scientists and researchers who support the Lab’s mission. She also serves as the President of the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory Women’s Association (LLLWA). When first joining the Lab, she was impressed by the dedication to give back to the community manifested by the employee resource groups (ERGs). In her first month, she attended a talk coordinated by LLLWA and has been involved with them ever since. The group and its membership are sources of inspiration and motivation. Terri was recently named the Chair of the WCI Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. In this role she will help WCI achieve its goals of creating a more inclusive workplace.

Terri believes diversity, equity, and inclusion are important because diverse workplaces are more successful, more innovative, and more likely to achieve our mission goals of groundbreaking science. 
Her role models are Mae C. Jemison and Sally Ride.

“Diversity and inclusion are important because without them, innovation is put at a halt. I believe that we should strive to break cultural barriers and understand more of how the world works by connecting with people who are different from us. After all, we can’t change the world if we don’t understand it.”

Before working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Bianca was working with tech startups creating products that did not necessarily feel meaningful or impactful. This left her with a deep dissatisfaction because her passions lay in the realm of innovation, especially as applied to energy conservation and environmental sustainability. When she was recruited into the Laboratory, she was ecstatic to have the opportunity to use her UX Design skills to contribute to the Lab and the world.

Bianca feels LLNL is a great place to work because it is understood at the Laboratory that people are not static and that they grow and change. She loves how Laboratory employees are encouraged to expand past the boundaries of their careers and explore new skillsets by providing free lectures or allowing the flexibility to help on multiple projects that interest them. She feels that the Lab shares the same values as hers, which is that life is not all about work and stress. The Laboratory’s programs break the routine of her workdays by surrounding employees with activities, events, and clubs that can be enjoyed with colleagues.

She is currently the Vice Chair of APAC and Chair of Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AANHPIHM) and is excited to help push diversity and inclusion within the lab and grow alongside so many other ERGs within the lab. Being part of the APAC board not only gives her a space to challenge others in their ways of thinking, but also be challenged in the understanding of her own culture. She constantly feels like she is gaining more empathy for others while learning about herself.

Her role models are her parents. “As immigrants from the Philippines, they sacrificed so much to bring my siblings here, and for that I am eternally grateful. They instilled deep values within me: work with honor and excellency, live with purpose, and always make others feel loved and welcomed! I hope to always reflect them in my character.”

“I saw a need for the Lab to see people of color who can be educated, fun and human. We are the SAME."

Lorenzo has worked at the Lab for over 25 years as a health physicist for Environment, Safety, & Health (ES&H). He was hired after working 13 years at a nuclear power facility as a health physicist. Lorenzo was always interested in radiation as he knew it was all around us and that it could affect the body, but he also wanted to understand the risks and its helpful uses. Monitoring the exposure of radiation to individuals drew him into becoming a health physicist. He enjoys working at the Lab because there is always something new to learn. He feels the learning curve will always climb at a 45-degree angle and keep the Lab interesting.

He is one of the African American Body of Laboratory Employees (ABLE) Employee Resource Group (ERG) leaders and continues to support all ERGs. The importance of diversity and inclusion is evident to him because of the negative feelings people have for those who look different. “I saw a need for the Lab to see people of color who can be educated, fun, and human. We are the SAME,” he says.

For the first time in his 25 years at the Lab he is seeing senior managers wanting more diversity and talking about it. He feels that “diversity should not be hidden because it will be apparent to anyone when you look at any organization to see people of different races, nationalities, genders, and backgrounds.” His hope for the future of this Laboratory is “to see more diversity up and down the management structure, and not only talk about wanting to be diverse, but also holding those accountable to make the change that has been desperately needed for some time.” He believes that “things have to get better and that senior management has heard the call and picked up the ball. Now we have to be proactive and continue with the tough discussions that need to occur in order to get better.”

Lorenzo’s role models are his dad, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the friend who helped him get his position at the Lab.