Victoria Liu has been a Cultivator since day one…literally. In May 2019, she started at Indeed (the employment platform) where she joined two Inclusion Resource Groups (IRGs) on her very first day of onboarding. Her initial goal was simply to meet new people and get to know the company she was a part of. Ultimately, her work with IRGs (particularly Asian Network and Women at Indeed) shaped her experience and growth at the company where she spent the last 4 years, most recently as Deputy Chief of Staff.

A few years ago, Justin, who has now been at Highmark for 17 years, clicked on an internal email and responded “yes” to an event. This quick gesture set the wheels in motion that led us to today. With that quick yes, he became a member of the Mission & Vision Pack at Highmark, an initiative led by Cultivator Penny Schnarrs.

Continuing our How Cultivators Work series is Alvin E. Haygan, Jr., Change Management Principle at Seagen, and a new member of our Cultivators Community. We caught up with Alvin as his family welcomed their second child and so first, we have to start by saying a big Cultivator Congratulations!

Here’s what Alvin had to say about staying motivated and supported at work…

Whether she’s working on her own professional development, co-hosting our Curiosity Club within the Cultivators Community, or working on her book, Caroline is a Cultivator who centers learning in all she does. It’s not a surprise that she finds herself leading Learning and Education for Women in Supply Chain (WISC), a new and growing employee community within her workplace.

We built this comprehensive definition and model of organizational empowerment as a way to synthesize the large quantity of research on this subject into a simplified list of dimensions that describe, at a high level, what it looks like to inhabit a more empowering organizational space where all employees can thrive.

In a way, Steven Panza, Innovation and Design Thinking Lead at Experian, takes his work home with him. His knowledge of Design Thinking and his commitment to finding innovative solutions extends beyond his work hours, even leading him to test different layouts in his kitchen to optimize the experience of making his morning coffee!

We take celebrating Cultivators seriously. We want to hear the story of the community that got you through this year, supported you on your best (and maybe worst) days, and spotlighted opportunities for your career development. We want to hear the story of the person in your network that’s been making waves and taking names!

Elizabeth is the Vice President of Clinical Strategy Execution & Business Operations at Highmark Health, Inc., and the former lead of the Evolve internal development program. With a Ph.D. in Training and Performance Improvement, Elizabeth uses her expertise, her experience, and her passion to drive change through community-focused learning and development.

Recently, we got to sit down with Eva and Deborah to talk about how they’re leveraging social learning and community-building to create a massive impact within a global corporation at Mars.