“When you think about diversity in the traditional sense, you may not peg me, a white, heterosexual male, to be passionate about DEI,” he said. “But I care. I want to be part of the solution.”
“I love the fact that we are trying. We are taking action, not just checking a box. We are starting to tell people’s stories,” he said of eMoney’s DEI efforts, which include publishing employee spotlights to showcase the diverse backgrounds of our people and even having DEI as a core value.
“If people aren’t comfortable being themselves at work, we failed as an organization. Employing authentic people has power.”
After all, the people are what Ricky loves most about eMoney.
“Everyone cares so much about the work we do. I have built real friendships here. I love catching up about our personal lives after meetings,” he said, noting that he always appreciates discussing “tough topics.”
Ricky admits there is still a lot to learn about DEI, but he feels good about the path we’re on at eMoney. “My vision for DEI is that it becomes part of the culture here. How we operate, how we communicate, DEI should not be separate from those things.”
His aspirations for DEI apply to life at eMoney and beyond. “My hope is that everyone is able to speak, be who they are, have their voices heard, and not be judged,” he said.
Ricky grew up in Allentown, Pa., where there was a large Hispanic community. At school, he said many kids came from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Now living in the Philly suburbs with his own family, he credits his upbringing for exposing him to diversity when he was younger.
“I had the opportunity to see things from different points of view as kid,” he said, although now he looks to his own children to continue expanding his outlook.
“When it comes to acceptance, my kids inspire me,” he said. “They never want to exclude anyone. Different is normal to them, and my kids have taught me what we as adults can improve.”
When it comes to raising awareness about DEI and getting through to those who don’t seem to understand, the process is not dissimilar to what Ricky oversees in the product development world.
“Have hard conversations. Try, fail, iterate, and try again. We need to continue to try new things until we are finally better and stronger as a society.”
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