I first met Dwynn during college under circumstances that were cool enough for me to feel her out and verify she was “good people”. Fast forward a few years, and she’s been employed in the tech sector for quite some time now. She also has another hobby outside of work that she’ll address today in her Black Perspective.
Introducing: Dwynn Evans
SSD: Jumping right in, tell me a bit about yourself and what you do.
DE: In its simplest form… I tell the vision! When people ask me what I do, oftentimes they have little to no idea about dev/agile environments. Or when they use their favorite app, they don’t think about the engineers who coded the functionality, or the designers who selected the color scheme or buttons. They just see a product in its beta (go to market) or growth stage. So, when someone says… ‘Let’s do this!’. I say, here’s why we should or shouldn’t. I work with designers who say — here’s what we can do and engineers who say, — here’s how we can do it. X time later, you have a new feature/product.
SSD: What do you hope to accomplish as you continue to pursue what you’re doing?
DE: If I could inspire even just a handful of people who looked like me to become a software engineer, UX/UI designer, cloud architect, or agile project manager – then I’ve done my job. Year-over-year, there remains a diversity deficit within the tech industry. There should be more than one person of color on your engineering team, and there should be at least one person of color on your executive team.
When you evaluate last year’s stats, only 3% of tech roles are held by African American women. That’s astounding and makes me think not much has really been done to diversify the industry. So, if I can contribute to improving the equity for others, then hopefully at the end of my career I’ll have made an impact.
…[F]ind whatever makes you happy, and go after it with gazelle intensity.
Dwynn Evans
SSD: You sound very well adjusted in terms of your professional and personal aspirations. Any tips on how others should go about figuring out what they want out of life?
DE: Whew! I have so many experiences where I’ve gained clarity, taken risks, “showed up”, wrote down my aspirations, executed, followed through, etcetera, etcetera. You know, all the cliche motivational BS people tell you to do to win in life. If you really look at the root of what you want…in some shape or form it will amount to the synonym of happiness.
So, find whatever makes you happy, and go after it with gazelle intensity. Be relentless about your happiness- the things that bring you joy, peace of mind, laughter, prosperity, and well-being. Because at the very least, throughout all of your days… you’ll want to be somewhere between contentment and euphoria. Two very different experiences, but all within the realm of happiness.