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In our next “Women of Aurora” profile, we are illuminating Aurora’s LGBTQ+ community. While we celebrate Pride year-round at Aurora, this June, we join the global LGBTQ+ community in honoring Pride Month. As part of our celebration, we are thrilled to introduce Jessica Cobos from our IT team. Read on to learn about Jessica’s personal story and how she aspires to be an agent of change.
Pride Month is a celebration of identity, love, and the LGBTQ+ community around the world. As part of our celebration at Aurora, today we spotlight Hai Nguyen from our Mapping Automation team. Hai shares what Pride and our value “Win Together” mean to him. “We can only win together when we welcome and appreciate each other for who we are. Having empathy for others allows us to do better as individuals, as teams, and as a company. We can then be more nimble, resilient, and effective. Pride Month is an opportunity to celebrate who we are as individuals and share our true, authentic selves with each other. Pride also serves as a reminder that we must continue to fight for the acceptance and inclusion of all groups. This is how we win together—by treating every community with care and equality.”
At Aurora, we drive our work and community forward when we “win together.” Every year, Pride month commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Riots which sparked the gay rights movement. Central to this movement were activist trans women of color: Marsha P. Johnson, Stormé DeLarverie, and Sylvia Rivera. 51 years later, the spirit of protest is more important than ever as we reflect on Pride’s roots and as we continue to fight for Black lives. A core value at Aurora is to “win together,” and we are committed to the ongoing fight for justice and equality for the LGBTQ+ and Black communities.
Aurora’s values inspire the work we do and guide how we do it. Tara Green, Aurora’s new VP of People, highlights our value “Be reasonable” and how it drives her work. “We look to hire intelligent, kind, and growth-minded people and it’s people with these qualities that choose to join Aurora. We hire people we trust with a mutual commitment to act responsibly in any given situation. In today’s work environment, it is even more imperative that we communicate with transparency and openness. This empowers our employees to do their best work and make the best decisions for themselves and the people around them.” Learn more about Tara’s background here: https://medium.com/aurora-blog/aurora-adds-new-leadership-as-the-company-hits-500-people-602b15ca3006
We’re 500 strong and hiring! Please join us in welcoming Aurora’s newest senior leaders: our Director of Systems and Safety Engineering, VP of People, and Head of Aurora Academy.
We're proud to be recognized as a leading company delivering self-driving technology. Read more here: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2020-self-driving-car-race/?sref=nYNmcQMR#aurora
Our next “Aurora Voices” profile features Pittsburgh native Luke Starcher, a talented guitarist who recently launched his own record label. He also works on our Capability Operations team, acting as a bridge between our vehicle operations and our engineering teams to procure critical manual driving data. Check out the full interview to learn more about Luke’s adventures living abroad, his passion for music, and how he’s helping train the Aurora Driver.
Aurora’s values inspire the work we do and guide how we do it. Randy Reibel, Aurora’s VP of Lidar, highlights our value “Focus” and how it drives his work. “Focus is a state of being. To enter this mental state, I start with a clear vision of my goals and allow my mind to concentrate on the desired outcome. This means blocking distractions and irrelevant thoughts so I can steer all my actions into one direction. Although focus cannot be forced, it can be reinforced over time. It is a muscle that can be strengthened by forming habits that foster this state of mind more often and more naturally. By applying focus repeatedly over the stretch of days, months, or years, humans can build and accomplish incredible feats.”
The world has changed, but our focus on delivering the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly has not. We’re fortunate to remain in a solid position, with the unwavering support of investors who understand the importance of continuing to make bold, long-term bets. Here’s how we’re accelerating our progress on the Aurora Driver while supporting our remote workforce.
Our CEO Chris Urmson recently sat down with Inc.'s Founders Project podcast to discuss self-driving technology and his approach to building and leading a company grounded in teamwork.
