COVID-19 Response Activities

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The global pandemic has significantly impacted my career and personal life, both in the short and long terms.

Professionally, to accommodate necessary innovation in client delivery and the care of people, recent accomplishments include:

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• Organized full migration to virtual secure systems for Department of Defense comptroller, including field financial commands (resulting in no delays to client service delivery)

• Lead coordination with Defense Media Activity to articulate safety protocol to soldiers and civilian employees (resulting in successful delivery of urgent information on security of financial systems during partial shutdown)

• Assigned part-time to Housing and Urban Development account to assist with rapid deployment of emergency services for houseless and at-risk citizens (currently serving as process design expert for distribution of stimulus funding)

• Selected to advise the North America Response Taskforce, to make recommendations to support EY people (results include leadership’s decision to add 12 personal days for all employees)

• Co-leading effort with EY Unity (LGBT resource group) to assist candidates in recruiting pipeline who are affected by the pandemic with increased internship stipends

 

In my community and personal life, I have responded by contributing my time and talent in ways that include:

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• Supporting immediate family members who are displaced and out of work

• Assisting efforts by Dignity DC (LGBT Catholic organization) to support LGBT persons struggling financially or emotionally (and who cannot access archdiocesan services due to discrimination

• Transitioning my role as a gallery guide to a “digital docent” by supporting content creation for the Smithsonian art museums, including “virtual tours” that promote imagination and exploration in a digital environment 

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For more information, please contact me at any time.

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Founding of Authentically You 501(c)(3)

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The pandemic has impacted LGBTQ youth in a particular way. In response, I have founded Authentically You, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization aimed at connecting LGBTQ youth to confidential therapy and other resources.

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School and dormitory closures, job loss, and economic hardship have left many LGBTQ youth, especially trans* youth, without the resources to make ends meet. Many of these youth are not welcome home or are victims of abuse in the home. Authentically You provides a digital forum to access resources such as certified therapists, community groups, shelter referrals, and learning and skills training opportunities.

 

I have established the Board of Directors, consisting of business leaders, psychologists, programmers, and trans* youth, to advise the development of our mission. Meanwhile, we have begun standing up online operations and are planning for in-person operations in downtown Washington, DC and Arlington, VA once it is safe to do so.

 

Authentically You is co-founded by a senior member of Ernst & Young leadership, as well as a leading LGBT family therapist in the DC area. We conceived of the idea in memory of a dearly beloved trans* person who brought us together in the spirit of service several years ago.

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Other Achievements & Activities (updated 26 May 2020)

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• I was formally recommended for early promotion at EY, based on continued high performance.

• I’ve also been named Technology Solutions Lead for my practice, encompassing all public sector clients in the North American market – based on my leadership in connecting our unique technological tools to meet governments’ changing needs.

• My 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Authentically You, has now delivered services in MD, VA, and DC. We’ve begun accepting donations and are organizing enhanced therapies for LGBT youth affected by the pandemic.

• I’ve enjoyed getting heavily involved in LGBT programming with fellow admits, including a virtual cocktail class and a forthcoming guided discussion about queer representation in art.

• Lastly, I’ve stayed involved with the Smithsonian, developing digital content for social media channels (check out #HirshhornInsideOut and #MyNGADC for examples).