Vanguard is being recognized for its pro bono contributions in the Philadelphia area over the past two years by Philadelphia VIP, a nonprofit organization that offers free legal services to the city’s residents, small businesses, and nonprofits with civil matters.

Philadelphia VIP awarded Vanguard with this year’s Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Award, which honors the volunteer or practice setting that had the biggest increase in volunteer participation or number of cases represented over the past two years. Vanguard volunteers were honored at Philadelphia VIP’s virtual Awards Night held on Tuesday, October 12.

“As a life-long Philadelphian, it meant a lot to me to help individuals in need of legal services in the community through Vanguard’s Pro Bono Program,” said Robin H., who led the Financial Institution Pro Bono Day event, which was the project cited for the award. “The clients were in such dire need for legal assistance.”

A sense of purpose and community

Vanguard joined other financial institutions from across the U.S. on January 14, 2021, to provide pro bono virtual legal services to vulnerable communities. Fourteen volunteers from Office of the General Counsel’s (OGC) Pro Bono Committee assisted clients, mostly nonprofit social service agencies struggling with tax filings related to their incorporation.

Committee Lead Carrie S. shared, “Being a part of the Pro Bono Committee for the last two years has provided not only the opportunity to help underserved people and organizations, but also a sense of purpose and community during a time when we couldn’t gather in person. I’m really proud of what we’ve created and sustained as a committee and a broader OGC community.”

Enthusiasm for serving

Vanguard pro bono volunteers have had diverse opportunities to provide legal services to the community throughout the year, including:

• Assisting the PA Innocence Project in screening cases for potential exoneration.
• Assisting immigrants with asylum applications.
• Advocating for students with educational challenges.
• Filing legal name change documents for low-income transgender individuals.

“The Pro Bono Committee has created new and expanded opportunities where all within OGC have the ability to serve the community. It has galvanized the division and generated enthusiasm for serving,” said Committee Sponsor Keri M. “I am so proud of the committee and all who participated, especially now—when service during the pandemic had to move to virtual and everyone carries the weight of community and personal stressors.”

It’s not just a day when you’re a member of the LGBTQIA+ family. Coming out is never a once and done like, “Phew, I made it through that! Now let’s just move on with my life.” It’s every day. It’s ongoing for the rest of our lives. I’ve had to come out over and over and over again in a variety of different scenarios.

Starting a new job?
As a new crew member at Vanguard, I’ve had to come out to all my new colleagues over the past few months during introductions as topics of family and who we spend time with over the weekend has come up in casual conversations. It can be very awkward and anxiety-ridden, depending on how questions are posed. For example, I’ve been asked “What’s your husband’s name?” more times than I can count over the lifetime of my career.

Moving to a new location?
I relocated from Chicago, IL to Reading, PA when I accepted my new role at Vanguard. I’ve had to come out to new neighbors and new social circles. There’s a risk of not feeling comfortable or welcome in your own neighborhood, depending on the beliefs of these strangers you now share a side lawn with or sit next to at book club. Going out to meet new people? You take your LGBTQIA+ status with you everywhere you go.

Meeting new friends
At some point they will ask if your husband stayed home with the kids for girl’s night, too. Coming out is exhausting because it carries a heavy emotional tax. Oh, you thought it would be easy to come out after having lived as an out and proud lesbian for over 20 years? That’s a myth. I still have anxiety about it every single time. I’m often asked questions that I’ve never heard asked of straight colleagues or friends.

When introducing my wife, I’ve been asked, “Are you two legally married?” Pause a moment. Let that sink in. If you are married or have married friends who fit the hetero-normative profile, have you ever observed anyone ask the legal status of their union? That’s an example of a microaggression that doesn’t even cross the mind of the person who is asking, I’m sure. We can all play a role in making coming out an inclusive and supported experience.

On the occasion of NCOD, well frankly every day, here are the top 3 things to consider as you support the LGBTQIA+ community:

1. Listen. Coming out is about letting someone tell their own story. You don’t have to take any action or say anything profound. Supporting the person is the most important part of their coming out to you.
2. Don’t out others- even your own children/family members. If a colleague has shared their personal story with you, that’s great that they trusted you with that information. It doesn’t mean they trust you to share it with others. It’s never your story to tell.
3. It’s ok to ask questions. Don’t make assumptions. Don’t assume everyone you meet is straight/cis-gendered/just like you. Be mindful that your questions, if they are not invasive or inappropriate, are preferred over assuming. Consider how to frame your questions more inclusively. Instead of asking what a woman’s husband’s name is, ask what their spouse’s name is. Lead with “my pronouns are she/her” to make someone else comfortable to share their pronouns, whatever they may be.

I look forward to the time when coming out is not such a big thing. Until then, I’ll keep coming out so that I’m visible. As a leader in an industry that is still moving diversity initiatives forward, that’s important to me. Vanguard’s people culture is the most resounding positive aspect of the corporate profile that I read about prior to joining, have heard about from industry peers along the way, and have experienced first-hand from current crew members after joining the organization. I feel empowered to show up to work at Vanguard as my authentic self every day, and that’s a great feeling!

Thank you to those of you who continue to make coming out less of a thing.

Hispanic Heritage Month or ‘el Mes de la Herencia Hispana’ has arrived. Vanguard’s crew resource group, Hispanic/LatinX Organization for Leadership and Advancement (HOLA), has selected a theme for the celebration: “De corazón a corazón, we are a family together.” In an effort to capture this theme through design, HOLA held a logo competition earlier this year. In this blog, we hear from the winner, Jamie H., about the experience and what ultimately inspired her design.

It is an honor to have my design selected to represent HOLA for Hispanic Heritage Month. I currently serve as an Instructional Designer in Vanguard’s Retail Investor Group and have been with the organization for a little over three years. My background is in illustration and graphic design, so when I saw the opportunity to create a unique logo for HOLA, I was very excited to contribute a piece of my own!

Inspiration for this logo came from a few different places. The phrase “De corazón a corazón, we are a family together,” really resonated with me. I wanted to develop an image that showcased how we support and lift each other up by connecting and sharing with one another. One of my favorite aspects of working at Vanguard is the genuine enthusiasm among crew to learn about different histories, cultures, and experiences. We don’t shy away from difficult conversations and we embrace the chance to grow together. Each encounter I’ve had at Vanguard, both big and small, where I hear about others’ experiences has been important to me. Everything from crew opening up about their holiday traditions, to frank discussions about inequities and injustice, to spotlights on individuals and their success, I’m continually inspired to learn more and support others whenever I can. I wanted to capture that feeling of sharing and support in this logo.

Lastly, my family, friends, and coworkers are all a source of inspiration to me. I’m always blown away by their kindness and willingness to teach and open up with me. I look forward to celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with them, as well as HOLA and the broader Vanguard organization.

During the month-long event, HOLA invites crew to celebrate and generate awareness of the Hispanic and LatinX heritage, identities, achievements, and barriers. Key events include a fireside chat with CEO, Tim Buckley and HOLA leaders, an educational series focused on Hispanic culture, small group discussions centered on diversity within LatinX, a virtual cooking class, and lastly a closing signature event with external speaker, Paola Ramos. Paola is a host and correspondent for VICE and VICE News, as well as a contributor to Telemundo News and MSNBC.

We recently sat down with Vanguard recruiters and asked them to share tips and best practices for interviews. In this segment of the Recruiter Q&A Series, Tom Riley provides insights and advice for candidates interested in pursuing an opportunity in our Client Experience and Digital group.

Tell me about yourself. How long have you been at Vanguard?

My career at Vanguard started two years ago when I was brought on to support hiring for design talent in our newly formed Client Experience (CX) pillar. CX was formed in January of 2018 to enhance our Retail Investor Group (RIG), Institutional Investor Group (IIG) and Financial Advisor Services (FAS) clients’ and participants’ experiences and build the infrastructure to scale rapid value creation, so that client experience work can live within the business. In summer of 2019, the client journey labs and the divisions were both ready for the labs to move into the business. RIG formed the Client Experience and Digital (CXD) subdivision to support existing RIG labs and create new labs to expand the scope of RIG’s client experience work to more client journeys, as well as key digital platforms and capabilities. IIG’s journey teams support diverse Business to Business (B2B) client segments (traditional institutions, plan sponsors, and consultants). Our FAS labs help improve the client experience with large transactions that are developing a toolset to provide advisors with dynamic portfolio analytics and recommendations.

What has your career journey looked like?

I was always interested in design. I took art classes in high school and considered going to college for Industrial Design. Professionally, I’ve always recruited for design roles going back to things like Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Controls, and Systems Design. My first real experience with Human Centered Design was with a reputable automobile company. There, I really got to see where design was forced to try to empathize with someone else rather than designing something for themselves. They designed something around that person’s wants and needs.

What business area do you recruit for?

At Vanguard I support a number of User Experience (UX) and creative roles for our experience, product and marketing labs in RIG, IIG, and FAS. Positions include UX Designers, Design Strategists, Researchers, Content and Journey/Product Owners. It’s an exciting time for design at Vanguard! Our product and marketing teams are being restructured into pods or labs as we adopt more modern practices such as Agile, Lean and design thinking.

How do you recommend candidates prepare for an interview in this specific field?

If I wanted to prepare myself as a design candidate at Vanguard, my focus would be on having a really solid portfolio. It’s the best way to tell the story of your work and the impact you’ve had. People learn in all sorts of ways. A formal degree in design or user experience is great because it shows you’ve put in the time to get a deep understanding of theory and practice. But a portfolio is how we are going to learn more about you and what you’ve been able to achieve. Here are some tips to consider:

• Tell the full story. Our managers like to see depth and breadth. Your project overviews should summarize the problem statement, process, team makeup, and your role on the team. It’s a red flag when all they see are final mockups with no understanding of how you arrived at that solution.
• Highlight your strength; what’s your superpower? When managers review a portfolio, they are trying to identify your potential strengths. It could be coding, complex interactive design, visual design, or something else. If you are newer to the field, managers will look for previous experience and skills that may be transferable, like the ability to problem-solve and use empathy to understand problems.
• Make sure your portfolio is modern and up to date. Refining your portfolio is a great way to improve your chances of getting a job. The details are super important to make it look put together and organized. Double-check for typos, grammatical errors, proper alignment of elements, etc.

-Tom Riley, User Experience Recruiter
Connect with me on LinkedIn.

My journey as a Financial Advisor

Growing up in a lower income community, financial advice was a concept not frequently discussed, despite its importance. This disparity is what led me to become a Financial Advisor, but most importantly, what led me to pursue my career as a Financial Advisor with Vanguard’s Personal Advisor Services (PAS). Vanguard stays true to its mission – to take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success – and has been a trail blazer in doing this within PAS. I wanted the opportunity to be able to do what is best for clients from a variety of different backgrounds and levels of wealth, and PAS enables me to do this every day.

Joining Vanguard’s Black Professional Network

Professional development is a large part of why I enjoy working at Vanguard. Crew are always encouraged to continuously develop ourselves as well as those around us. As a member of one of Vanguard’s Crew Resource Groups, the Vanguard Black Professional Network (VBPN), I’ve had the honor of serving on a team within VBPN that has been tasked with creating and facilitating unique opportunities for crew to develop personally and professionally by building expertise.

Fireside chat

Earlier this year, we organized a fireside chat highlighting Vanguard’s advisory business, where leaders discussed how Vanguard is bringing advice to traditionally underserved segments at scale and shared career options and best practices for those interested in pursuing a career within Vanguard’s Personal Advisor Services group. The event featured two of Vanguard’s most prestigious women in advice, Janelle McDonald, Head of Product Management and Strategy for Personal Advisor Services, and Massy Williams, CFA and the Principal and Head of Strategic Operations for Financial Advisor Services.

The event was amazing! Janelle and Massy were able to explain where Vanguard fits within the broader advisory and wealth management industry, as well as provide an overview of the competitive landscape. They also opened up about how Vanguard has maintained its standing in the industry due to the quality of service that we offer at a competitive price as well as the commitment we have made to do what is best for our clients. Massy shared, “Vanguard has been consistent in telling investors to be disciplined, stay the course, and remain committed to their long-term investment plans.” This spoke to me because it is essentially the reason that I love being a Financial Advisor with Vanguard; we are equipped with the organization’s methodology and are empowered to do what is best for our clients to ensure they are successful long-term.

Lastly, one of my favorite moments from the event was being able to hear more about career pathing within Vanguard’s advisory business. Janelle highlighted a wide range of options that are available to crew, from client facing roles, such as Financial Advisors, to product ownership opportunities that help shape how we deliver advice to our clients. There are a lot of possibilities, and that leaves me excited about the future.

Interested in exploring our Financial Advisor opportunities? Click here to learn more.

-Aliya W.

CFA® is a registered trademark owned by CFA Institute.
Advice services are provided by Vanguard Advisers, Inc., a registered investment advisor, or by Vanguard National Trust Company, a federally chartered, limited-purpose trust company.

As Vanguard celebrates Pride Month, we are excited to share a personal story from a crew member in Arizona. Adele P. and her husband have cultivated an inclusive culture within their neighborhood. Here’s how they did it:

Flags at my home

When I bought my home in early 2019, I noticed how many flags there were in my neighborhood. Most of them were the good ‘ole red, white, and blue, but there were others as well. My home had a flag mount already and by the time I bought a pole, LGBT Pride Month was just around the corner, so I ordered a Pride flag to show my support. However, when schools started shutting down in early 2020, I was surprised by a knock on my door – three teens stopped by to thank me for putting up the flag, stating that with school going virtual, they had been walking around the neighborhood just to hang out. Two of the three identified as LGBT+ and said they really appreciated knowing that someone in the neighborhood supported them as they weren’t getting the acceptance they needed at home.

A couple weeks later, I received letters from two other teens, both identifying as LGBT+, who were in similar situations. They asked if my husband and I would be their pen pals over the next couple months, so I made a mailbox out of a large peanut butter jar that I decorated and put in a flower pot by our door so that they could pick up and drop off letters without being afraid of a family member reading something they weren’t yet ready to share.

Depressed, Lonely, Scared, Queer? Leave a letter, We’ll write back. Love Wins.

It was incredibly moving to see how desperately these kids needed to connect with someone who accepted them. Further, it reminded me of the struggles LGBT youth are still facing today. For this reason, I decided to formally invite my neighbors to drop us a line if they were experiencing challenges as well. In June of 2020, I made signs out of left over pegboard my sister had given me and some acrylic paints we had on hand. One read “Happy Pride, Take a Flag” with a flowerpot of pride flags next to it. Another one read “Depressed, Lonely, Scared, Queer? Leave a letter, we’ll write back. Love Wins.” and we bought a small mailbox to hang up underneath it. During this period, I also ordered a second flag pole and purchased a “Black Lives Matter” flag to hang up on the other side of our garage. I don’t know what I was expecting. I think I was feeling disconnected to people the same way we all were. And I assumed that if five teens contacted me, there were probably a few more that were afraid to or hadn’t thought about it. What I got was letters and notes from people of all age ranges and backgrounds. One was from a delivery truck driver who opened up about their drug addiction recovery and was struggling with their family trusting them again. A few were from likeminded neighbors showing support and introducing themselves. One letter was from a young woman back from college, a first generation college student, who was having a hard time connecting with her parents who were proud of her but didn’t understand what she was going through. There were also many kids, ages 10-18, who were afraid to come out to their parents and just needed someone to share their identities with. Slowly we saw our little flags spread down the street, like weeds of inclusion as the 80+ flags we offered were collected throughout the month.

The moment that made me the happiest, was when a trans boy stopped by to chat. Near the end of our conversation he mentioned that his friend made him a friendship bracelet and he really wanted to wear it, but it was pink. My husband, an artist that was wearing a rainbow of colors that day, stopped him and said, “Don’t replace one toxic set of beliefs with another. If you want to be a boy who wears a pink bracelet, be a boy who wears a pink bracelet! Don’t let the opinion of others keep you from being who you are!” As this boy received validation from a man who was also wearing pink, he grinned bigger than I’ve ever seen, eyes tearing up, as he put on his bracelet and left.

We’re still receiving about two letters per month, but even more than that are the waves we get from children when they ride past our home on their bikes as well as the smiles we get from our neighbors as they’re walking their dogs. It cost less than $50 between the flags and small mailbox to invite our neighbors into our lives, and I’m so glad we did. This last year has been rough on everyone. Everyone feels the loss of community when their social circles are cut off from them. It’s become clear that these visual signs of inclusion have been important, and I believe they’ll remain important as we get back to our lives and move beyond the pandemic. Because of this, these signs and flags are here to stay for as long as we live in this home.

Your identity plays a significant role in how you lead. Recognizing and acknowledging your cultural background within your identity shapes your leadership style. Embracing the fact that there are celebrated business leaders from every culture, we can internalize and appreciate there isn’t only one way to be successful. This is the first step to accepting and evolving your personal gifts as a leader. For example, as an Asian female raised by traditional Taiwanese parents, I honed the skill of compromise early in life. Growing up in the U.S., I had many opportunities to practice finding common ground between Eastern values emphasizing collectivism and Western values emphasizing individualism. I am wired to hold and optimize opposing concepts in the same space. As a business leader, I have used this skill time and again to solve seemingly intractable problems with multiple stakeholders.

One of the most important practices in leadership is self-reflection. Through the self-reflection process, you find out all about yourself – the good and the bad. If you don’t accept all you are, you can’t use all you have. There are many aspects of yourself that are there for you to bring to everything you do. Your cultural background is an integral part of who you are. Self-reflection opens the door to discover places you may have overlooked in yourself. This helps you to love your uniqueness. There is, after all, no one like you. You have a perspective that only you can offer and contribute to others.

As leaders, we need to look for opportunities to leverage our identity in whatever we do for our business. It could be as simple as tapping into our personal and professional networks to source diverse clients. Who we are is who we know, and that’s powerful. When we combine our individual networks, we cover a lot of people! For example, Vanguard’s Leadership and Engagement for Asian Professionals (LEAP) Crew Resource Group partnered with ASCEND (a US- based, nationwide Asian professional organization) to co-produce an informative webinar featuring two of our own leaders on investing in these uncertain times. Organizations like this help to expand our network and reach new clients.

Our cultural identity is a wonderful tool to further business goals. As managers, we are charged with creating the right environment and equipping our team to drive business results. It is corporate culture that creates those outcomes. Research proves there are better solutions and more creative, collaborative results when you have a diverse group of people. Bringing our identity to the table is not only the right thing to do, it is also an appreciated one that is good for business. Our clients care about the culture in the corporations they are affiliated with. In my role leading a team of investment consultants who advise our Institutional pension clients, I not only represent, but also discuss our corporate diversity and inclusion efforts.

Embracing your cultural background is not just letting people know who you are, it also includes finding out who they are and how you can work best together. It’s often easy to hide your true self, creating an artificial line of demarcation between work and personal. Too often your personal identity is not accepted as part of your business identity. Getting to know others can allow you to see more of who you are.

Being vulnerable and open to sharing your personal story and inviting others to share theirs becomes a powerful and expansive give and take. Leaders should tell their story, as well as listen to the stories of others. There are plenty of appropriate avenues through informal conversations, blogs, and social events, whether virtual or in person. Just remember that while listening, you should be willing to really hear what the other person is saying.

A good tool for understanding your leadership style and learning about those of others is the Deloitte Business Chemistry types. Like Myers Briggs, it talks about different characteristics within four primary categories: Driver, Pioneer, Integrator, and Guardian. This tool provides greater insight into your style, and also helps us understand the behavior of those with different styles.

Remember that whether you’re conscious of it or not, all parts of you, including your culture, show up in all you do. For example, I am a Pioneer and an Integrator. This makes a lot of sense to me. Being part of an immigrant generation is a crucial part of my identity. When my family came to this country, we had nothing and had to pioneer new ways to do things. As a middle child, I was always keeping the peace, trying to integrate everyone and find compromise. The person I have become because of my background and culture is reflected in my business dealings. Today, my leadership sponsors the Open Architecture effort, connecting investment professionals and information technology. In addition, I find innovative ways to craft win-win pricing proposals for clients and Vanguard, and I bring a differentiated perspective to building our pension advisory business.

Throughout my career, I have found adaptation to be an evolutionary necessity, but rejecting who you are in the process is a mistake. My cultural heritage and personal background are strengths that I leverage daily.

-Jean L.

Jean is a co-lead of LEAP and a Principal and Department Head in Institutional Advisory Services, where she leads a team of investment professionals. She embraced and manifested her own cultural differences to rise through the Investment Management Group Division leading teams in the Fixed Income Group, Risk Management Group, and Global Investors Shared Services. Jean has been an active member of LEAP since its inception – as co-lead for the Leadership and Professional Development sub-team, sponsor of all three LEAP Leadership conferences, and an active member of the Advisory Board.

To me, Autism Awareness Month is about recognizing the unique perspectives and abilities that various people are able to contribute that are not always recognized. Autism Awareness Month also serves as a time to reflect and consider ways to make both our workplace and world a more inclusive environment for those with Autism and related differences.

The Information Technology (IT) Inclusion Council is an internal volunteer group focused on making the IT environment at Vanguard more welcoming and inclusive of different backgrounds and perspectives. It often holds events to celebrate, recognize, and support different forms of diversity.

On April 1st, the IT Inclusion Council held an Autism Awareness panel featuring crew members from across Vanguard and an external speaker. The event provided a great opportunity for the panelists to draw upon their unique experiences to answer questions from the audience and share their stories.

During the event, some common characteristics and diagnoses with regards to Autism were shared. Chris L., the event panel moderator, summarizes the educational aspect of the event with the following quote, “It’s important for all of us to create an environment that is inclusive of people with autism, and that can start with autism education.” Also, when asked about how to respond to a new autism diagnosis based on her personal experience, panelist Julia S. responded, “Usually, people say they’re sorry. But this is a good thing. You know more [now]. Stuff is going to make sense now. You may have a sense of community now.”

I look forward to being involved with future IT Inclusion Council events focused on promoting the awareness of and celebrating various communities!

-Chris L.

More about the panelists:

Tom N. has been the headmaster at Hill Top Preparatory School for 14 years. Located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Hill Top serves bright, neurodiverse students in grades 5-12. Throughout students’ high school years, the school focuses on college preparation and experience in the world of employment.

Michel B. has worked for Vanguard for 16 years and is an IT assurance advisor in Global Resource Strategy and Controls (GRSC). He lives in Pennsylvania, with his wife, daughter, and adult son, who is diagnosed with moderate autism. He enjoys spending time with his family, playing guitar, and educating his friends and colleagues on autism.

April D. is a senior project manager on the Sourcing Governance Team in GRSC. She came to Vanguard in 2016 through the MBA Development Program. Before joining Vanguard, April earned an M.B.A. from Indiana University, a J.D. from Ohio State, and practiced law for ten years. April lives in North Carolina, with her husband and two children, both of whom are on the autism spectrum.

Tracie L. has been at Vanguard since 1998 and has worked in many different technology roles. She currently works in Global Investment & Financial Systems, supporting Corporate Finance on the Oracle Cloud Transformation Program. Tracie grew up and lives in Pennsylvania, with her three sons. Her middle son is autistic.

Julia S. is an infrastructure engineer within Workplace Services in Global Technology Operations. She’s been with Vanguard since 2018 and is passionate about data and automation. She lives in a 145-year-old rowhouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, three blocks from her fiancée. Julia is an autistic mom of an autistic teenager. Their all-autistic household has strong feelings about autistic representation in media and autistic self-advocacy (“don’t talk about us without us”).

Each year on March 8 we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) to honor the achievements of women, in a variety of fields, throughout history and across nations. March also happens to be Women’s History Month in the United States.

In recognition of both International Women’s Day (IWD) and Women’s History Month, Vanguard’s Women’s Initiative for Leadership Success (WILS) hosted a number of experiences centered around the 2021 IWD theme: Choose to Challenge. This theme is all about making conscious choices to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements and to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality.

Through live speaker events, coaching sessions, workshops and a podcast, crew engaged with each other across virtual platforms. Many also participated in a #ChoosetoChallenge campaign by posting photos striking the IWD pose to show their commitment to helping forge an inclusive world.

Lastly, WILS also took this opportunity to recognize and celebrate “women we admire” through a spotlight series. Take a moment to read the insights these crew members shared about their personal career experiences with our WILS members.

Ginene L.
Associate Counsel and Senior Manager, Vanguard Litigation & Regulatory Enforcements Team

Ginene opens up about the importance of being your own advocate: “I’ve experienced many encounters that required me to speak up for myself, even when it came with possible rejection or consequence. But that’s the sacrifice of being your biggest advocate––everyone may not agree with you but, if it’s true to who you are and what you believe, you have to trust yourself and trust your journey. I also learned that it’s never too early or too late to take charge of your career. Oftentimes, the fear of ‘why would they want to meet with me’ or ‘what do I have to offer’ gets in the way of building great relationships that can change the trajectory of our career. Keeping my head down and waiting for the work to come may have worked for others, but that wasn’t the road for me.”

Adriana R.
Head of Institutional Sales for Mexico and South America

When asked how she challenges the status quo in her role, Adriana says, “Building a business in the International division means we challenge the status quo pretty frequently, and our business partners will attest to this. Without their collaborative support and frequent and upfront communication, we would not be able to serve our clients by strategically leveraging Vanguard’s scale and strengths.”

Mara B.
Project Manager, Institutional Investor Services Business Enablement Team

When it comes to your career, Mara believes you control your own destiny: “I am certain we have all been in a situation where a friend, family member, or colleague has questioned a decision you made for your career because maybe it was something you hadn’t done before, or maybe it didn’t follow the typical path of those before you. When those situations happened to me, it was important to remember that I was the only one who could make the decision. It didn’t matter what one person said or what they thought of me after, it mattered what I wanted for my career and what would make me happy. You control your own destiny, and the only person who can stop you is you.”

Sara V.
Personal Experience Lead in Australia

On breaking barriers to achieve success, Sara shares, “Growing up, I was blinded by the idea of needing a stable and reputable career when I went down the accounting path. People often say the only way to succeed in your career is to love what you do. It took time to build the courage to do something about the career I’d built that did not align with my passion. Taking action is important, and I’m now in a more people-focused, dynamic and fast-paced role where I use my strengths every day to make an impact. I am so much happier for it—even on the stressful and challenging days!”

Jessica B.
Education Consulting Services Manager, Institutional Investor Group

Jessica opens up about Vanguard’s culture and how it has afforded her flexibility as a working mom: “Something I greatly value about Vanguard’s culture is the opportunity to leverage flexibility in the workplace to be successful as a working mom. Four years ago, my first daughter was born with complications resulting in many lifelong disabilities. I thought my career was over, as the demands for her doctors’ visits and therapies wouldn’t allow me to be successful in both my career and providing her the care she needs. However, our corporate culture and many influential leaders in the organization have taught me that I can do both; thrive as a mother raising a child with disabilities and be a successful career-driven woman. I have learned to utilize resources such as mobile technology to stay plugged in to work while sitting in doctors’ offices. I have leveraged my ability to work a flexible schedule in order to facilitate my daughter’s physical and occupational therapy sessions. Watching my daughter overcome the many obstacles she is faced with daily has been my inspiration to thrive for success in everything I do, to never give up, and to always find the value in my accomplishments.”

With most of us working remotely, networking has taken a back seat. Gone are the days when you could grab a quick conversation with someone after a meeting, in the hallway, or the galley. In our bubbles, we can’t even meet often with friends outside work. Creative thinking must be called upon. For our personal and professional lives, we need to find fresh ways to connect. Vanguard’s Leadership and Engagement for Asian Professionals (LEAP) is offering opportunities to get to know people across the enterprise with monthly Virtual Coffee Chats.

How it Started
I found out about it when I was asked to put together an email for the LEAP Networking and Cultural Awareness Group. The group realized in a virtual environment it’s hard to meet new people. Someone on the team had the idea of virtual meet ups and two members of the group, Annie B. and Vrinda M., ran with it. By taking advantage of our remote environment, it’s now possible to meet LEAP members across the world.

My Experience
I met with Catherine D., who is Head of Direct/Large Market Sales for Institutional Sales. She and I hit it off and found we have a lot in common, but there were also opportunities for us to help each other grow. For example, she suggested specific areas of focus in my learning journey and I gave her tips on writing. At the end of the meeting we agreed we wanted to continue the friendship. Judging from the responses of other participants, the goal of the LEAP Virtual Coffee Chats to unite people is working! I found a new friend and colleague. Catherine has always been a remote worker from her home in Northern California, and I’m in Pennsylvania. She’s a Department Head in Institutional and I’m an Administrative Associate in Information Technology, so the likelihood that our paths would cross was slim.

My second experience was a wonderful conversation with Stephanie S., a PA-based Accounting Operations Lead in Finance. Though she’s not so far away, Stephanie is still someone I would have been unlikely to meet in the office environment. Now I have new connections, broader perspectives, and agreements to keep the relationship going. Two new friends without leaving my chair!

How LEAP Virtual Coffee Chats Work
For those of you who are interested in organizing a similar program, we explained the concept in an e-mail and provided a link for all who were interested to sign up. Annie and Vrinda performed a randomization on the names and came up with pairings. The pairings were sent out in two columns. The first, highlighted in yellow, was the designated person to set up the meeting. The second column was the partner. Those who sign up continue to be included month to month. With each round, a broad email asks if anyone else wants to participate.

What’s Next?
Annie and Vrinda were pleased that in the second month of Virtual Coffee Chats, the number of people who participated doubled! Not stopping there, the two came up with an idea that, every other month, it might be fun to have a Group Chat, centering on a topic selected by the participants. These would be conducted as small group meetings in Microsoft Teams breakout rooms. For the Group Chats this month, due to popular demand, we are looking into providing healthy breaks of meditation and stretching. LEAP Virtual Coffee Chats continue to bring people together and strengthen them.

-Alexandra C.