Principal Technical Program Manager, Founder and Podcaster, Oakland, CA
Please introduce yourself and describe your career. What do you do for a living?
I am a human first, a Black woman human whose roots stem from the American South by way of kidnapped West Africans. I am a daughter, sister, wife and mom who enjoys a fabulous game night, travel, shoe shopping, a great read and a fantastic documentary.
My name is Lexi B and I am the principal technical program manager for AI Security and Safety at Microsoft. I am also the founder of Sista Circle: Black Women in Tech, a 15,000+ online community and I am the host and producer of “Sit with Lexi B” a podcast that interviews world leaders about the lessons that transformed their lives.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was a kid, I wanted to be on Broadway. My mom loved musicals and put me in musical theater at a very young age. I trained professionally to be on a stage. Recently I realized that all of that stage training has actually impacted my current work in tech. Regardless of what I work on I want to make sure that I am inspiring people and I know how to tell a fantastic story. I know how to present and through that presentation influence stakeholders to get on board with my mission. All of these skills come from the stage.
What did you study? How much schooling do you think is required to get into your role? What could you have skipped?
I have a Bachelors of Arts in Communications and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from Stanford University. I participated in many classes around journalism and of course many many Spanish classes for language and history. I do not think you need a degree in my specific career path. Firstly, tech is made of people who either never went to college or quit school before graduating. Tech is about opportunity and hustle. I do think one of the ways to get into tech companies is through new college graduate programs and you are only eligible for these programs as a student. But you can do these roles without a degree. I am very grateful for my degrees because my university experience really helped me to understand the tech industry and most importantly gave me an opportunity to build a strong network - which is something you definitely need in this industry.
Was your path hard or smooth getting to where you are in your career? (Can you briefly describe what it was like on your journey so far?)
My journey was and still is quite difficult. It is easy to look people up online and see their accolades but you cant imagine what they went through to get there. I am a dark skinned curly haired Black woman from St. Louis, MO and just like I experience so many discriminations and oppressions in the living world, I experience plenty of that in my career. Until recently, I have not started sharing those stories publicly because of the trauma. There are many things that I do not want to relive and opening those wounds makes it difficult for me to get through my day to day. But with alot of therapy and also just feeling more secure about my talents and my finances, I have started sharing those bumps in the road. I have been told that I would not be successful. I have been bullied and denied promotions even though I deserved them. There have been many crying sessions in company bathrooms. I was very close to being fired from a role and I have been laid off twice. But there are also some really phenomenal memories. I have built some very strong friendships in this industry. I found love in this industry. I have been in rooms with some of the most innovative people of our time and I continue to have the privilege and opportunity to develop policies, ideas and products that can literally change the world.
What are some questions someone should really ask themselves if they want to get into your industry / career path?
Before you get into industry, you need to ask yourself “what type of life do I want?” Industries are different and therefore provide you with different lifestyles. This is a hard question to ask and answer at a young age and capitalism trains us to ask “what do you want to be?”. But I hope people really start dreaming about the life they want before choosing a career. Do you want to travel? Do you want have a flexible work schedule? Do you want to live on a farm/live in your hometown/live on mars? Work from home or go into an office?
After you answer those questions, then you can start narrowing down what type of industry you want to be in. For me, I stumbled into tech and by the time I answered these questions it was clear that I was in the right industry for my lifestyle. I want to work hard and solve hard problems that sit between humanity and tech. I also do not plan on working forever and want to build a financial nest egg for my future so at some point I can retire early and rest properly. My family and I currently live in Oakland, CA which is in the Silicon Valley area (the heart of tech) but I do enjoy working from home and having the option to move to a different city in the future without changing jobs.
What is something you do when things get difficult? How do you handle stress/ challenges?
It is very important for me to be grounded in my culture and my people. My people consist of my family and my friends (chosen family). They remind me of WHO I am and WHY I do what I do. Also, I am very big into my own ancestry and was raised by my parents and two very strong grandmothers. My grandmothers have passed away but when times get really tough, you may find me in a corner talking to them. I need to ground myself in my people when times are either really happy or really difficult. Lastly, I am a new mom and there is something magical about just sitting with your kid. I birthed a magical bourgie fairy from Wakanda disguised as a little girl. When I am having a hard day, I just go play with her. She is such a great reminder of why I do what I do and the beauty of just being human.
PS - Booking a trip also helps. Always book the trip! That is my life advice.
What advice would you give to someone who is trying to figure out what they want to do (for work) in general?
Talk to people and ask them about their journey. The amount of information I receive from random conversations with very smart and fascinating people is extreme and I owe my career to so many people who took time to tell me their journey. If you are interested in someone, ask them. We now are way too connected because of the internet but use this to your advantage. Find people on Linkedin and ask them to a virtual coffee chat. Some people will not respond but you will be surprised by the number of people that are willing to answer your questions.
What excites you about the future OR what's up next for you in the near future? (Could be career-related, life-related, or even a future career pivot / path)
This next generation of leaders really excites me. I love their “no toleration” attitude. I love how they are challenging capitalism norms. I love how they are actively not sacrificing their happiness for labor. It’s inspiring.
Right now, I am working in AI Safety and it may be my favorite career chapter yet! I am so inspired by the people that I work with and creating solutions to make sure people are safe with this new innovation. I don’t know where this is going to take me but I am honored to be here right now.
