Finding community and living authentically at Uber

If there’s one thing Kori X, a UX Research Operations Specialist on our Design team, will tell you about Uber, it’s that we believe great minds don’t think alike. That’s how Kori has harnessed their authentic voice and ideas to navigate 4 internal moves—taking them from customer support to product design—and spearhead global change as a co-chair of our Pride at Uber employee resource group. “Being able to have a community at work that supports you makes the difference between being at a job until you find something better, to being at your career where you want to stay and make the difference you know you can make,” they share. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

“I’ve lived in Arizona my whole life, mainly growing up in the town of Prescott (pronounced like a biscuit; anyone who says differently is wrong). I grew up knowing that I loved being the behind-the-scenes person, from stage production to work, and helping the work run smoothly and successfully.” 

I grew up not fully understanding what it meant to be a person inhabiting my personhood. Slowly, I came to realize that as a queer person, I had to work twice as hard as anyone else to make my ideas known, and anyone that knows me knows that I certainly do! Queer folks are often disregarded for their thoughts and ideas, especially queer people of color. As a white, loud, nonbinary person, I try to use my voice to let the voices of the marginalized be heard.”

You’ve been at Uber for nearly 5 years. How has your role evolved?

“I’ve changed roles multiple times throughout my career at Uber. I started out answering social media questions from riders and drivers on our Community Specialist team. Then went to our newly launched priority support team for our top riders, eventually moving to our agent support where my customer changed from external partners to internal Uber employees. My manager allowed me to explore my interests and develop skills for managing large-scale projects. I’m now with an amazing team of researchers as a UX Research Coordinator helping influence product changes.”

Tell us about your experience navigating life at Uber as a trans person? 

“Prior to Uber, I was fired for being transgender. For being myself. I thought at that very low point that I would never find a career being myself. That was until I found Uber. From the start I was not just tolerated, I was celebrated! I was even a key stakeholder in a project to bring gender-neutral bathrooms to all Uber offices. Diversity of thought helps us find new ways of thinking about things and makes sure we are not focusing on a single voice. I firmly believe that I would not be where I am today without being fired from that company and finding Uber.”

Tell us about your proudest moments as a co-chair of our Pride at Uber Employee Resource Group?

“It’s truly hard to pick just one! I have been involved with Pride at Uber in some capacity since I joined the company. I traveled with the ERG to summits and conferences, surrounded by Uber family truly doing everything they can to make a difference for our employees and external partners. But my proudest moment was being able to help craft the transition guidelines for our employees and let that be open to the public so that other companies could learn from them. This was unheard of for most companies as most internal information is kept locked down for internal use only. But we worked hard to make our guidelines public because we knew that other companies did not have them, and it’s so important to the health and wellbeing of employees everywhere to have guidance when transitioning on the job.”

How do ERGs drive community and change at Uber and how does the company support them?

“Since I joined, I’ve seen Pride drive Uber to continually do what’s right for the LGBTQIA+ community. This has never been met with pushback, only support. Being able to have a community at work that supports you, that has been through what you’ve been through, makes the difference between being at a job until you find something better, to being at your career where you want to stay and make the difference you know you can make!”

Why is now a great time to join Uber?

“It’s always a great time to join Uber! I’ve brought in most of my friends to work here because it’s such an accommodating and inclusive environment. Not to steal the slogan from Olive Garden, but when you’re here, you really are family!”

Interested in joining us? Explore open roles on our Design team →