In honor of Black History Month, we asked our employees the following question:

Please share a Black role model (a public figure or someone you know personally) that has inspired you. How have they made an impact on your life?

We’re so excited to share with you our employees’ responses and celebrate the amazing Black role models that inspire our team. 

Happy Black History Month!

“My sister Rhonda was adopted into our family by my stepmom. She is one of the most loving, authentic, and joyful people I know. She's taught me a lot about healthy boundaries and self-care, as well as leveraging your own experiences to help others.” - David Gray, Principal Software Engineer, Denver, CO“In my first real job out of grad school, I had the opportunity to work with Omar Wasow (@owasow on Twitter, then an executive director of Community Connect, now a politics professor at Princeton). Omar was so fluent in taking complex problems and technologies and making them consumable for a general audience. As an engineer, it is often difficult to make the things you're working on understandable to others. But it's usually quite important. Seeing Omar do it so effectively helped me learn to value this skill and to aspire to be as good as he was at it.” - George Schlossnagle, Founder and Chief Evangelist, Baltimore, MD “Writer, James Baldwin, inspires me.”- Norm DeValliere, Technical Account Manager, Portland, OR“Marcus Rashford’s commitment to ending food poverty and UK child poverty inspires me. He is an example of someone who has risen from a modest background and has used his influence as a power for change.” - Nathalie Small, Compliance Analyst, Gourock, Scotland“Martin Luther King Jr. influenced me with his ability to respond in a positive and productive way in the face of hatred, brutality, injustice and evil. It is difficult to override the instinctual reflex to attack back with violence. But he chose to rise above for the sake of all his brothers regardless of race providing a vision of unification. Growing up, he was always my guide of how to respond with love in the face of hatred and how to create a better world. “ - Rose Barnsley, Strategic Accounts Director, San Diego, CA“Neil deGrasse Tyson inspired my love for science.” - Ryan Barr, Jr. Biz Ops Admin, Denver, CO,“Michelle Obama is the epitome of a great role model. She is intelligent and speaks her mind; she chooses her words carefully knowing the power they carry. She inspires women to push for better for themselves, whether it is bettering their education, finances, or health.” - Hannah Newmark, Technical Support Analyst, Natick, MA“Kamala Harris is the first African American, Asian American and female Vice President in US history. Nuff said. “ - Kara Welch, Customer Success, Annapolis, MD“I'm inspired by Tosin Abasi, influential guitarist and founder of the band Animals as Leaders. Although largely self taught, he's redefining the genre and what is possible. He's radically innovative in songwriting and technique, and also in guitar design, proving that there are truly no limits if you dedicate yourself to your passion. His example pushes me to always try harder and not be limited by the status quo.” - Charlie Reverte, CTO, Miami, FL“Condelezza Rice’s life story resonates with me and reminds us that it doesn’t matter what your gender is or what race you are born into, quality of thought, unbreakable self discipline, and strong moral values will allow you to raise above everything and reach great personal heights.” - Katie Pietrak, Digital Marketing Manager, Washington, DC“Bell Hooks, an incredible visionary feminist, whose book, All About Love, opened my eyes to what our world could be if we viewed love as an intention and as an action. The world could use more love and less fear right now.” - Christina Paiva, Account Manager, San Francisco, CA“Quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, Lamar Jackson, shows true leadership on and off the field: taking credit for failures and owning mistakes quickly, while quickly highlighting and celebrating the successes of his teammates when things go well.” - Joal Barbehenn, SVP, Head of On-Premises, Annapolis, MD