Prior to joining McKinsey, I felt I had to be careful about revealing my sexual identity and how it could impact my career. At McKinsey, thanks to the support of my colleagues and fellow Equal at McKinsey members, I don’t have to worry about that. I can be my authentic self and just focus on my actual work. I am committed to helping my colleagues have the same level of comfort.
I earned my degree in economics from the University of Costa Rica and served as an economic adviser for a business representation organization, advising the board on economic impact projects and leading working groups with affiliate companies.
About six years ago, I joined McKinsey as an analyst in geospatial analytics. Geospatial analytics was new to me at the time, and I appreciated how McKinsey provided all the support and resources I needed to take on a new field successfully.
I worked my way up to analytics specialist and became a go-to colleague for geospatial and location analytics for the Latin America region, largely because I sought opportunities to expand my role. For example, I was vocal about the advantages of being a native Spanish speaker and expressed my interest to work in the region, and everything started from there.
As a specialist, I had the opportunity to recruit, coach, and mentor new colleagues. This helped me discover my love for the “people side” of work, so when an opportunity arose, I changed my career path and became a team leader for the United States and Canadian research group. This new path allowed me to focus on coaching colleagues, expanding my knowledge to new areas, and building new capabilities.
I view myself as a leader and motivator. I encourage and enable my team to serve clients in the best way possible by creating new assets, knowledge, and opportunities for them to innovate. I also work hard to create a positive and collaborative work environment for them.
Work that matters
One of my most meaningful projects at McKinsey has been working on the COVID-19 vaccination strategy for a state in the United States. We applied granular geospatial analytics in an effort to help the state plan how and where to deploy sites and vaccines to improve vaccination rates.
We looked at communities and the percentage of people who were less likely to get vaccinated and made specific analysis for those communities to make sure people in those areas had a site close by if they wanted the vaccine.
The project has and will continue to have impact on people—and hopefully save lives.
A champion of women
I am an active member of Equal at McKinsey, McKinsey’s LGBTQ+ community, and I am working with other colleagues to integrate more Equal at McKinsey and Equal at McKinsey ally activities into the San Jose Client Capabilities Network hub.
Both inside and outside of work, I am an advocate for equality. Prior to joining McKinsey, I felt I had to be careful about revealing my sexual identity and how it could impact my career. At McKinsey, thanks to the support of my colleagues and fellow Equal at McKinsey members, I don’t have to worry about that. I can be my authentic self and just focus on my work. I am committed to helping my colleagues have the same level of comfort.
Within McKinsey, I co-lead our diversity and inclusion initiatives in our San Jose office, and gender equality is especially close to my heart. My older sister, who is my inspiration, is a huge advocate for women’s rights in Costa Rica and consulted the United Nations on women’s issues.
I am part of the Lillian Dombrowski Mentoring Program, which aims to bring more women into STEM roles at our firm. Lillian Dombrowski was the first female colleague hired by McKinsey, and the program was named after her to recognize her meaningful impact. I am also one of the unconscious bias listeners for performance reviews, where my goal is to ensure we aren’t letting unconscious bias impact how we evaluate our colleagues.
More about me
My French Bulldog, Ozzy, is my coworker and best friend! We are members of the Dog Lover Community at McKinsey, a group that organizes happy hours and networking activities for pet lovers. Ozzy was actually featured in one of the weekly dog blogs. When I am not doting on Ozzy, I love being outdoors, doing exercise, and cycling. I also love the ocean, and I recently got my scuba diving certificate so I can see more of it!