Upcoming Speech at a Conference in Dallas at the LGBT Reception

So recently I was invited to attend a conference this weekend in Dallas for SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science). I know I know...I don't fall into that category.

The reason I was invited though was to speak at the LGBT reception for the conference and represent NOGLSTP (National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals). I've been a member of NOGLSTP for a year or so now and have participated at one conference here in Austin at their diversity booth.

At first I was concerned about not fitting into the demographic for this one, but I was assured that was not at all the point and the LGBT reception was more about helping LGBT scientists discuss issues and experiences.

I was asked to share my experiences on how I came to work for Freescale, how I came out at work, how to choose a company and in general advice about coming out in the workplace.

Here is my speech. It's supposed to be about 15 minutes so take a look and let me know what you think.

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Hi everyone. I must admit that I had some trouble deciding what to talk about tonight. My experiences have not been that exciting or drama filled…definitely not worthy of an episode of Desperate Housewives [optional joke]. After thinking about it for a little while I decided that it didn’t necessarily matter that I haven’t had a dramatic or traumatic experience being gay, but the fact that it hasn’t been is worthy of sharing. I suppose in some small way my experience has given me comfort in knowing that; however slow, attitudes towards LGBT people are improving. It also gives me a great respect for those who have had to fight adversity and prejudice. Of course I’m not saying that my life has been without these issues, but I like to think of myself as optimistic and I tend to see through to the good parts which I’d like to share with you.

I’ve been very lucky that I work for such a progressive and integrating company. When I decided to work for Freescale I had just come out 3 months prior. I was 21 years old working towards a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering with big ambitions for graduate school and scientific research. It wasn’t until March of 2006 that I realized I had completely run out of money and no summer job flipping burgers would get me through my senior year. With little to no help from my parents I was forced to go out and look for a summer internship. I stumbled upon the job at Freescale by accident, and being it was my last option since I was so late in deciding to look for a job I took the opportunity. At the time I had no idea what environmental engineering was but figured as a worst case scenario I would suffer through 3-months and have enough money to finish my senior year and move on to graduate school.

I can’t say that Freescale’s open attitude towards LGBT employees is what convinced me to stay. My decision to forgo graduate school and stay in industry was based solely on how much I enjoy my job and the people I work with…and the paycheck [optional joke]. In fact, it wasn’t until well after I had completed my internship and accepted their full-time job offer that I discovered how forward thinking their policies really were.

Freescale, then part of parent company Motorola formed its first gay employee group in 1993 which through outreach and education the group was successful in amending the corporate diversity policy to include sexual orientation. As the 90’s progressed gay employees worked towards gaining equal rights within the company and in 2000 domestic partner health benefits began. In 2004 Freescale spun off from Motorola to form its own company and in doing so gay organizations within fought to keep domestic partner benefits and Motorola’s sexual orientation policies alive in the new company. Since then and consistently over the past several years Freescale has received a perfect 100 rating by the Human Rights Campaign. We are also vary involved in local LGBT events such as sponsoring Austin pride, supporting Equality Texas, NOGLSTP, as well as both local and national employee resource groups within the company.

For me coming out has been a very interesting experience. Not only did I come out at work but across the entire country in a big way all in the same day. Of course there were a few people at work I had told or that were intuitive enough to figure it out beforehand. I wasn’t hiding it by any stretch but I wasn’t going to go and risk my career until I knew for sure the news would be well received; besides, professional environments are hardly the place to stand up on the table in the middle of a meeting and say to everyone, “I’m here, I’m queer, get used to it!” [optional joke]. When I began working full-time after graduating college I actively sought out the LGBT group within the company and joined. To this day I’m not entirely sure what spurred me on to do it. I personally didn’t feel like it was anyone’s business how I choose to live my personal life and I had a large circle of gay friends outside of work to occupy my time. I suppose I did it out of curiosity mostly. Over the course of a year I attended a few meetings and got to know a few of the group members, but never really made a valiant effort. I suppose I shouldn’t complain, but with cutbacks and the economy everyone has been expected to do more and my workload doesn’t leave me open to do much extra curricular activity.

I guess it was about a year ago that I was contacted by the head of Freescale’s Out & Equal group about getting more involved with the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals or NOGLSTP…phew, what a mouthful [optional joke]…He told me about this “New Faces of Engineering” recognition that is awarded every year to up and coming engineers across many disciplines during Engineering Week. He mentioned that my age, year of graduation, and the work I’ve done in my field would make me a perfect candidate to be nominated for the recognition. The catch of course was that Freescale would nominate me to NOGLSTP. NOGLSTP then would chose from its list of candidates to nominate one person up to the Engineering Week Diversity Council. The Diversity Council would then choose from its list of candidates from all of the various diversity organizations across the company to recognize one person for Engineering Week. It was a little nerve wracking because come to find out the winner would be shown in a full-page add in USA Today during engineer’s week and be shown on the Engineering Week website, the Diversity Council website, as well as their nominating society’s website.

It was at this point I had to make a decision. The leader of Freescale’s Out and Equal group told me that he would respect my decision if I chose to decline the nomination; not wanting the potential to be outted on such a grand scale. This was a tough choice because up until then I had no plans to ever come out at work. I figured it was no one’s business and at the time I didn’t really care to be seen as “that gay engineer”. I thought about it for a few days and convinced myself why not, I probably wouldn’t make it through all of the rounds of nominations anyway. I worked with Freescale HR to develop my application and supporting materials and after sending it in completely forgot about it. About 2 months later I got an email from the head of the Engineering Week Diversity Council telling me I had been named as their nomination to New Faces of Engineering and would indeed be recognized in USA Today.

I think I just about had a heart attack reading that email. Not only did I never expect to make it that far but I hadn’t even bothered contemplating what it would mean if I did. I realized now that I had only a few months to figure out how to come out to my coworkers before USA Today beat me to the punch. I suppose I had forgotten how difficult it is to come out. By then it had been several years since I told my best friend I was gay and I wasn’t sure what to expect in a professional setting. I spent the next few months slowly hinting to some of my coworkers who I felt would be the easiest to tell. The whole time it was as though I was skating on thin ice, not sure how to spread the news without literally blurting it out and trying not to offend anyone in the process.

It’s amazing, how fast a few months passed looking back it seemed like eternity and despite all my efforts when the article came out I managed to catch quite a lot of people by surprise. At that point every day was full of suspense. After several weeks of various congratulations and reassurances I realized something I had not expected. Not a single person had anything negative to say. Yes there were some that seemed to be slower than others to warm up to me after that. Understandably the person they had come to know seemed very different in their eyes. Through all this there was one person I was most nervous about telling. She is someone I have come to respect greatly and her opinion has ultimately shaped my decisions to continue my career on its current path. After hearing me tell her about my experiences being gay and coming out she told me, “Don't forget that to most of us, you are Robert - and that is that!”

As I look back on all that has happened this year I’ve really had to think about how I would do things differently. It’s not that I’m unsatisfied with how it turned out but from where I sit it’s feasible to think that I won’t be with Freescale forever. Statistics have shown that a person will hold many jobs throughout their lifetime and as I move forward through mine there are a few things I’d like to do differently the next time around.

It’s true I’ve been very lucky ending up with a company so progressive on the LGBT front. Although I may not currently be taking advantage of the benefits fought for by my peers before me I will likely need them to fall back on someday. There is a delicate balance between work and life and from this point forward choosing a company that hinders as opposed to harbors who I am as a person will only leave me hating my job.

When choosing a company to work for there are a few things that I feel are important to have. First of all sexual orientation and gender identity should be called out in the company’s diversity and anti-discrimination policies. Until the legislature enacts an equal workplace protection law it will be important to look out for your job. It would be devastating to choose a company and work hard to excel your career only to be fired for being gay. As sad as it is to say this is still out there. The second thing I would look for are domestic partner health benefits. Even if you don’t need them right away, you can never predict what the future has in-store for you and having that benefit to lean on may become very important. Finally, but not necessarily as important is the availability of an employee resource group for LGBT employees and allies. Sometimes there may be a situation with a smaller company that there are no other LGBT employees. This is not a show stopper, as long as the other two are in place. There are organizations to join outside of the office that can fill the role, and I feel it is very important to get out there and meet other gay professionals and share experiences.

NOGLSTP is a professional organization that provides a great way for you to network with gay professionals and is an advocate for equal employment opportunities, role modeling, science education, and scientific freedom/responsibility. Through NOGLSTP students can join MentorNet as can professionals. It is a forum where professionals in various fields can help young people explore opportunities for LGBT students and cope with the rigors of being out in the scientific community.

The last thing I wanted to talk about today is more along the lines of coming out at work. Some of you may think this is a no brainer, especially at a company that might have robust discrimination policies and benefits; however coming out is a very personal undertaking. For everyone it is different and I would never presume that what is right for me is right for you. All I can say is moving forward it will be for me as it has always been, off the cuff. For me it is as if there is a balance between proving yourself as an employee before getting too personal at work. I think it goes for anything and not just coming out. I’ve strived to first prove to everyone that I am capable of doing my job to the best of my ability before throwing something out there that may cause people to see past my hard work. As sad as it is to say, years after the government finally gives us equal rights and protections there will still be prejudice. I would never want to be ignored and unappreciated because a coworker or manager disapproves of my lifestyle but at the same time I would not want it to be on the opposite end of the spectrum. I don’t want to be given unfair advantage because someone is afraid to be seen as homophobic.

That being said I will never go out of my way to stay closeted at work. Lying about yourself can only make things worse when you do eventually decide to come out. Sure there are ways to remain ambiguous and sometimes it is necessary but to out and out falsify your private life can be dangerous. I can’t say that I have never done it, but it’s something I’ve never been proud of. I’ve spent a lot of time, effort, and tears coming out up to this point and for me there is no turning back.

Updates

I guess I haven't written on this in a few months. To me it's pretty obvious why but likely not to you. Here's the low-down...


-Took a trip to Seattle to visit James and tour Microsoft
-Bought a house
-Had some pretty major issues at work I had to contend with


That's pretty much the summary of my last few months in a nutshell. Buying a house has been very stressful, yet a very exciting step in my life. On the note of stress, work has been overwhelming. I still love my job, but the last two months have been absolutely draining. I'm starting to get burnt out and of course it doesn't help to read in the ChE magazine that I'm grossly underpaid compared to my peers in both the environmental engineering realm as well as compared to those I graduated with. Yeah, needless to say it's been a tough year financially, I suppose that just comes with getting older.

I have to admit that sadly I just haven't had much for ideas on what to write in here. I'm kind of lacking all forms of inspiration right now. My sex life is non-existent, mainly because it seems like there isn't anyone in this city worth giving half a shit about (save my best friend of course). Frankly I'm getting board with Austin again. I seem to go through these phases where I really just want to pack up, move out, and start over....now is one of those times.

I don't regret buying a house here and officially settling, I still love my job, but I just wish the entirety of the gay population of Austin would turn-over and refresh itself. I feel like I'm in the bottom capitol of the world and what little tops there are to go around are either worthless losers, or too interested in what's young and dumb.

I had a long conversation last night with a straight friend of mine about the difficulties of dating in the gay community here in austin, especially for someone at my age who is heads above everyone from a maturity stand point. Thankfully I'm starting to find older guys attractive, but it's been a challenge to meet people I'm even remotely interested in.

All of this stress, financial struggles, and relationship struggles have left me even more bitter than I used to be. I'm really trying to fight it but it's very challenging. I find myself wanting to just sit at home by myself all the time. I still greatly enjoy the company of my friends, but for some reason I just lack the motivation to organize anything or get people together. perhaps it's the long gruesome hours at work the past 3-weeks, I don't know. Thank god I have Nathan around to keep me socializing or I'd probably become a vegetable.

I suppose on a happier note I had a pretty good day at work today. A project that I was working on and was scared to ask for the funding for given recent events at work was actually approved sometime last week while one of the design engineers was working on it and pushing it through while I was occupied. It will be a nice feather in my cap for the year (another $100,000 in annual savings to add to my tally, I think that brings it to just over $750,000 in annual savings I've earned for the company). On top of that I was given a pretty resounding kudos from upper management today on how I handled the recent events that have plagued my work responsibilities for the past three weeks.

I've got it on my schedule to take Mondays and Fridays off for the rest of August, which should provide for an easy going month. 4-day weekends are always enjoyable. I'm afraid I have absolutely no funds to do any of the work that I've wanted to do around the house so it's likely that I'll just have lots of a lone time. I'll probably go to Barnes and Noble and find a book to read. Work on my yoga and probably meditate a bit. hopefully I can pull myself out of the funk pretty quickly. Here's hoping all this time off will give me a fresh outlook on things.

Namaste

I just can't resist...

I just have to post this........

This story pretty much cracked me up to the EXTREME today...

Naked KFC workers fly coop in hoax

By The New Hampshire Union Leader
Saturday, February 28, 2009 - Added 2d 22h ago

MANCHESTER - Three KFC workers were hoaxed by a cruel prank caller into spraying themselves with a fire extinguisher, stripping naked and then going outside.

Cook Mary McCarthy said the Daniel Webster Highway store manager, Sonia Gilbert, received a phone call Thursday from someone claiming to be from the corporate office, telling her to test the fire suppression system.

Gilbert complied, and McCarthy said that resulted in the release of a chemical powder in the sandwich area where she and a third employee, Fay Owens, were working.


The caller then told the women to strip and go outside, because they had been contaminated. That’s when police got involved.

Police Sgt. Todd Boucher said officers went to the restaurant in response to a call about a naked woman standing in a doorway.

Bouxcher said the caller had told the employees to go outside and strip and urinate on one another.

As fire, health department and police investigated the incident, McCarthy stood outside the side door of the restaurant, wearing one jacket and using another as a skirt.

Standing next to a pile of clothing on the ground, McCarthy said: “We had to strip out here.”

Boucher said police are investigating to find out who is behind the prank. Similar pranks on fast food workers, in which callers ordered them to strip or conduct strip searches of each other, have been carried out around the nation in recent years.

The KFC workers were sent to a local hospital. District Fire Chief Michael Gamache said because the chemical powder is a respiratory irritant, employees needed to be checked and the restaurant needed to be cleaned and cleared to reopen by the City Health Department.

One step at a time.

As 2008 comes to a close it's time too take a look back at everything, and hopefully reflect on some things for the new year.

Work:
Work has kept me both sane, and insane this year. I must admit I never would have expected achieving as much as I have and moving forward I'm excited about what the new year will bring. In March my department suffered a round of layoffs which forced me to move from an Austin-wide role to a more site specific role at Oak Hill managing the water and air programs. I've attempted to retain some of my previous responsibilities, but that is proving to be more difficult than I had anticipated. I'm glad for the change as I'm finally doing what I was hired for and what I went to school for. More notably this year I have personally contributed over $270,000 in cost savings to my organization within the company with nearly $500,000 in indirect contributions. Overall since I started working for the company I have broken past the $600,000 mark in annual savings that is realized as a direct result of my efforts. My department has won several awards this year that I submitted for including the Keep Texas Beautiful Business Award, the Austin Business Journal Going Green Award, and various Austin Water Conservation awards. Another exciting achievement; since I took over environmental compliance we have had zero notices of violation!

Earlier this month I was notified that I would be nominated by Freescale for the New Faces in Engineering recognition put on by the Engineer's Week Foundation. Low and behold, after reaching several milestones in the process I will be among about 8 other "New Faces" of 2009! I am representing both Freescale and the National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals (NOGLSTP); So keep a look out for the USA Today Article in February!

Speaking of gay, I'm slowly but surely coming out at work. It's not something I want to just exude as to not hinder my future career, but several people in the office have asked about it and most of the group that I work with (if not all) at Oak Hill know. It's almost refreshing, but at the same time nerve wracking. Hopefully it will at the least help to make everyone more comfortable knowing that someone they are close to is gay.

Family
This year has been a trying one for me. There is the usual drama on my dad's side of course while on my mom's side I have lost a cousin to alcohol poisoning and an uncle to heart disease (he leaves behind his wife and three kids). Otherwise for the most part things outside of the immediate family have been standard operating procedures.

Sometime in March or April my father was diagnosed with a rare form of skin cancer/blood disease; so rare in fact that when he goes to the doctor there are usually a team of them observing in the background. He has been undergoing some light-therapy treatment (essentially a VERY strong tanning bed, as in more than 60 seconds and you're burnt). They know it won't cure him but they are hoping to at least keep it from worsening. He very well could live a good many years; however, it has spread through much of his body so there is really no telling. At this point I'm not really sure what to think. My father and I have never been very close; I hate to see him go but I'm not going to worry about it until the time comes.

In August my parents decided to take in a foreign exchange student from Slovakia. Anna, lives with them now and will continue to live here until June when she moves back home. She is a senior in High School and is looking forward to graduation in the spring. I must admit, she is a very humble and interesting person to talk to. I'm looking forward to spending more time with her this coming year.

All-in-all my immediate family is doing well. Mom and Dad are still happy together and working the same jobs. My sister now works at my old stomping grounds, Austin's Pizza. She is a 3rd-year with Senior Credits at UT majoring in Math and Kinesiology, and make very good grades I might add. Tomorrow morning we are all leaving on a trek through the mid-west to end at Kansas City to visit my dad's family for my grandmother's birthday on January 1st. I'm already looking forward to being back home though.

Relationships
In all honesty this year seems to have been a relatively uneventful one. I dated one guy for about 6 weeks and he ended it because he wasn't feeling it anymore. Looking back I can't say that I blame him, but it did hurt at the time. My promiscuous phase came to an end early this year and stayed that way throughout. I think given my intense working schedule and focus combined with being out of college my game has suffered a bit, but I'm not letting it get me down. I'm planning to approach 2009 with a more laid back approach to meeting that one guy, I figure he'll turn up when it's time and not a moment too soon.

Friendships
This has been an interesting year for friends. For the most part I have kept touch with all of those that are the most important to me. Nathan has of course been an unwavering pillar for me through it all and having him here is one of the biggest reasons I haven't gone completely off the deep end yet. Jack has remained a very close and loyal friend this year despite a few challenges early on, but we are better for it. Many close friends have come and gone; James R, James C, Austin, and some others; while I have also gained many new ones; Kris, Alex, & Tyler.

Overall I must admit my relationship with Austin has suffered greatly this year. Perhaps it's living together that has caused it, but it didn't seem to start until after May when he finished college. He now has a new boyfriend Dustin who has and still is shaping and moulding him into the perfect guy...the only problem is it's not the same Austin. We have really drifted apart these past few months but mostly because I feel like I don't even know him anymore. I think it's important to realize that throughout life friends will drift in and out, but that doesn't mean they don't leave their mark. I will always love Austin and he has been a very wonderful friend.

Time to forge ahead
With 2008 coming to a close I welcome 2009 with open arms. I'm looking forward to a new president, and a hopefully better economy. Perhaps the most important thing I've learned this year is how quickly everything can change, and how impossible it is to be prepared for all of the outcomes. I hope to enter 2009 with a more realistic and laid back approach to life. I want to branch out more, volunteer for HRC, fight for gay rights, make new friends, and cherish friends I already have.

Given everything new and exciting about next year I don't think anyone will be able to predict where it goes. 525,600 minutes is a long time with so many possibilities. This year one song in particular has stood out to me, "One Step at a Time" by Jordan Sparks sums up how I want to approach life from now on. In general I know where I'd like to be but the path is unknown. It is important to take each step one at a time, and that's how I plan to move through the next 12 months; savoring all 525,600 minutes of it. Where I'll end up is anyone's guess, but I plan to make getting there ALL the fun.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love Always,
Rob

Thought this was pretty cool

So we keep hearing about all these new green technologies. Here is one I thought was interesting from an MIT researcher. I borrowed this post from the Good Cleantech Blog.

MIT to Test Innovative Wave Power System



Chiang Mei, the Ford Professor of Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT, is one of the earliest advocates of ocean wave energy. Since the late 1970s he has been working on developing new ways of harnessing this awesome renewable force -- research which recently culminated in the creation of the oscillating water column (OWC).

The device is the product of Mei's collaborations with his colleges from the Technical University of Lisbon and is based on numerical simulations that can predict wave forces on a given device and the system's resulting motion. Situated on or near the shore, an OWC consists of a chamber with a subsurface opening. The system works by modulating water and airflow as waves come in and out and channel into an electricity-generating turbine. "We found that we could optimize the efficiency of the OWC by making use of the compressibility of air -- something that is not intuitively obvious," Mei says. "It's very exciting."

The Portuguese-planned OWC facility, to be built at the mouth of the Douro River in Porto, will include three columns that together will generate 750 kilowatts -- enough to power 750 homes. For more on the OWC go here or visit the MIT Energy Initiative.