Hi, my name is Caren Young and I am the founder of the Professional Adult.
I’d like to share a story with you. I worked for a number of tech companies, each doing great work and gaining notoriety in how they do business and how they treat their employees. I’ve moved up the ladder to Senior and Management roles, making great money and feeling like I was able to start to make an impact.
However, something was missing. I was miserable. I was surrounded by people who didn’t look or sound like me and I had to work extra hard to overcome perceptions in addition to doing my job. I was a raisin in a bowl of rice pudding.
It started in smaller ways – looks of surprise when I announced I was leading the project, casual yet clunky uses of slang to seem “down”, quiet conversations about “my [insert underrepresented group] friend/spouse/kid” and my personal favorite – moving me to the front for all pictures/videos.
It got exhausting and started to make me consider if I wanted to stay in tech at all. However, instead of shrinking or leaving, I decided to do something about it.
I started The Professional Adult to help individuals not feel so alone and help organizations embrace the fullness of all of their workers. I’d love to chat with you about how we can work together to create a customized solution for you or your organization.