Richard Thomas, senior Oracle marketing cloud consultant, is an active member of our Alliance of Black Leaders for Excellence chapter in Chicago. He understands that the distance between where he grew up and where he works is, for many, much further than a mere trip along the Dan Ryan Expressway into downtown Chicago.

"I'm from what I like to call the suburbs of Chicago where Black communities don't always have an opportunity to see a future where they can walk the halls of Willis Tower," he says, referring to his office in Chicago's signature skyscraper.

Through his volunteer work, Richard has seized the opportunity to contribute to our collective future, walking hand in hand with Black youth as they pursue a future where their potential is fully realized.

Kay was a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) while pursuing her degree in electrical engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. While attending NSBE conferences and events, Kay gained the confidence she needed to pursue highly technical jobs from interacting with so many engineers who looked like her.

Today Kay is the Senior Director of Database Product Management here at Oracle where she develops technical strategy for cross-platform solutions. She’s also a mentor, hip-hop instructor, crafter and more—and believes strongly in not letting expectations define her.

Now Kay is embarking on a new passion project: Lashes.Love.Tech. In this video series, she’ll cover a range of technologies and discuss issues such as navigating the workplace as a woman and combatting racism. She wants to use her own experience to help make technology available to everyone.

Subscribe to the show here and hear Kay tackle challenges one episode at a time.

Raina has been leading a fulfilling career with Oracle for more than 24 years. As community leader for the Orlando Chapter of the Alliance of Black Leaders for Excellence (ABLE), she’s passionate about sharing knowledge and helping others succeed.

“As Maya Angelou said, ‘When you know better, you do better.’ I use my lessons and experiences to encourage, uplift, and empower others just as my village did for me. This is what fuels my desire to give back to my community and to inspire others to do the same.”

When Black History Month comes around, she sees it as an opportunity to invite people of all backgrounds to learn more about her heritage. “It’s a time to reflect upon the sacrifices of our ancestors and to teach youth the power of knowledge and self-affirmation.”

Johnny Hill is the Vice President of Quality Engineering for Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) Cloud and on-premise suite of products.

Throughout his journey as both an athlete, and a leader here at Oracle, the strong values his parents instilled in him at an early age were the backbone of his perseverance.

Now, Johnny’s passion for mentoring and giving back has led him to become a diversity and inclusion advocate at Oracle.

“Over the last year, the issues and systemic racism our community still faces were on full display to the world. The global acknowledgment and support by people that don’t look like us have been heartwarming. For once we feel seen and heard. I also perceive a commitment to action for diversity and inclusion from Oracle.”