Autodesk Latinx Network: Providing support and a sense of belonging

I’m the Director of Product Management for Fusion 360 and Head of Tinkercad. I’m based in Marin County, close to San Francisco, and am a hybrid employee, going into the office once a week to meet with one of my teams co-located there. In addition to my day-to-day role, I’m also the Global Lead for Autodesk Latinx Network (ALN), one of Autodesk’s nine employee resource groups (ERGs).

ALN’s role is to provide support and a sense of belonging to Latinx employees at Autodesk. We also love working on community outreach to different Latinx organizations. This might imply coaching on job interviews, training on one of our products, assessing LinkedIn profile creation or personal branding, supporting local schools, etc. All of this helps us amplify Autodesk’s brand and culture, which becomes critical when looking for diverse talent.

Giving back to the community – inside and outside of Autodesk

When I started working at Autodesk, there were not many other Latinx employees at the office. While everybody made me feel welcome, there were moments when it was clear that a better understanding of other cultures would have helped with some of the team dynamics. Also, having migrated to the United States for a job as a company transfer from Argentina, I had a complete lack of understanding of the most basic things about choices for health care, taxes, etc. Having been part of ALN since it started in 2017 — and its lead since 2021 — has given me the chance to work with our Board to ensure a better onboarding experience and access to professional development and leadership opportunities for the rest of our growing community.

Every time we get the chance to mobilize our community to help organizations that work very close to Latinx populations with unmet needs, it becomes a memorable experience for me. From doing workshops at schools to supporting makerspaces – and visiting the first makerspace in a juvenile detention facility – these have all become great intersections between the sense of impact I have when I help build products like Tinkercad and Fusion, and our work on community outreach with ALN.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to visit CSUN (California State University, Northridge) with Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost and CMO Dara Treseder to get to know students and faculty, and also have the chance to talk with U.S. Senator Alex Padilla and U.S. Congressman Tony Cardenas. One key aspect was the fact that they ventured into a field with not a lot of role models from their communities. Latinx culture is deeply rooted in the family, and one of the goals of the new Autodesk Technology Engagement Center is to ensure that we not only inspire kids to be engineers but also encourage families to understand there’s a future for their kids in STEM-related jobs. This kind of impact is the best motivation to keep going.

Celebrating our Hispanic heritage

All of us at ALN want to make sure every Latinx employee at Autodesk feels the psychological safety to be their true selves. We might sometimes take this for granted and ask people to be courageous, but this does not happen if there are fears of bad optics or possible retaliations. Autodesk is a company that has taken very strong steps to make sure those things don’t happen – and ALN, along with the other ERGs, have been agents of change.

Each year during Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15), Autodesk Latinx Network organizes a series of events to empower ALN members. This year, we are hosting a variety of global events throughout the month under the theme of “Storytelling: Unleashing the Power of Our Narratives.” This is a core element in the preservation of traditions and heritage and is a powerful instrument to project the learnings from the past into a better future.

Throughout the month, we are hosting a variety of global events under this theme, including a guest speaker from CSUN, events in partnership with Latinageeks and Latinas in Tech, and a film festival screening. There will also be many chapter events held at local offices around the world. It’s going to be a very exciting month!

The people make it possible

When asked what I’m most excited about when it comes to the future of Autodesk Latinx Network, I have to say it’s always the people. Working close to the ALN Board and Chapter leads across the world and interacting with ALN members is always a highlight of my day.

If you identify with Latinx heritage, I encourage you to join ALN. You’ll find an extremely supportive group of people who are there to help, answer questions, and do what it takes to ensure every member can be their true selves at work. And if you are not of Latinx heritage, allies are always welcome! Join us and get a better sense of the different cultures under the Latinx term.

There’s a lot to learn, and I can assure you that any team that takes diversity seriously is immediately enriched with different points of view, different ways of interacting with other people, and different approaches to problem-solving. It’s way more fun than being in a culture-fit mindset, where everyone ends up thinking and behaving similarly.

Watch: Storytelling as a path towards belonging and flourishing

Learn more about Autodesk’s employee resource groups here.