by Beverly Aarons

Picture this: you’ve just got the job of your dreams — high pay, great benefits, and you’re doing exactly what you always wanted. But after a few months, you begin to notice some strange things. You’re never invited to lunch by your coworkers, people distrust you for no reason, and it seems that everyone loves your ideas but only if spoken by someone else. Sounds like a nightmare? It is a nightmare. And for many Women of Color working in STEM, this scenario is more daily reality than aberration. The good news? This reality is about to change. Lorena Soriano, the founder of every POINT ONE, PBC, is on a mission to consign exclusionary and hostile workplace cultures to the waste bin of history. During my telephone interview, Soriano, who lives in Seattle, shared her plans for creating a new reality in STEM.