Meet Betsy Aristud, A Customer Strategy & Insights Marketer at Dropbox
Below is an article originally written by PowerToFly Partner Dropbox, and published on March 20, 2018. Go to Dropbox's page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.
Our mission at Dropbox is to unleash the world's creative energy by designing a more enlightened way of working. Creative energy is the force inside everyone that drives them to be inventive, imaginative and solve big problems — it's not about being a "creative person" so much as approaching work with possibility and optimism. Our Women's employee resource group took the idea one step further and created an internal campaign, "This is Feminist Energy" and asked Dropboxers what feminist energy means to them. In celebration of Women's History Month, we'll be featuring Dropboxers and sharing their thoughts on feminist energy.
Q: What is your name, what office do you work out of and how long have you been at Dropbox?
A: My name is Betsy Aristud, I work out of the San Francisco office and I've happily been working at Dropbox since November 2017.
Q: What is your current role at Dropbox?
A: My role is Customer Strategy & Insights Marketing. I'm primarily focused on understanding Dropbox's audience so that we know how to reach them and talk to them in ways that resonate. Ultimately making them fall in love with our brand/products.
Q: What are your hobbies? or what can we find you doing on the weekends?
A: Oh boy… too many to count. I fluctuate between hiking (highly recommend "60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: San Francisco"), reading, binge watching TV shows/movies and board games. My life is pure excitement.
Hiking views: Betsy hiking on Mt. Diablo in CA
Hiking views: View from the top of El Yunque (Puerto Rico National Rain Forest)
Q: Any accomplishments you're proud of outside of work?
A: I recently completed my 3rd year volunteering at the San Francisco SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). I go between being a dog walker, cat socializer, dog/cat matchmaker (starting adoption process) and sometimes I help teach the next wave of volunteers. It's very rewarding to see a dog or cat, you've helped socialize go home to a new family. Seeing the happiness it brings to the family and knowing that the pet will have a warm home to sleep in that night fills my heart with joy.
Dog walking and socializing at the SFSPCA
Dog walking and socializing at the SFSPCA
Q: What's your personal story?
A: I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. My grandparents are a beautiful mix of cultures (Spanish, West African, Taíno…). I was raised mostly by my grandparents, which was ultimately what gave me a sense of maturity and responsibility. They were wise, caring, god-fearing people and ensured all of their kids and grandkids had a strong moral foundation. They tried to give their kids/grandkids everything they didn't have growing up. And for that, I'm very grateful.
Q: What word/adjective best describes your feminist energy?
A: Harmonious Energy
Q: How do you exhibit this energy?
A: By choosing to lead from a place of balanced consensus instead of division.
Q: Who is your role model? Why?
A: My grandmother. She was raised as a poor child in Puerto Rico. She was removed from school when in 2nd grade so she could work (babysitting for a rich family) and contribute to her family's income. She went on to raise a family of six, often times collecting fruits from trees to have a little something to eat. Through it all she remained resilient and positive in the face of adversity. Now battling Alzheimer's, she still remains positive, cracking jokes to whomever will listen. I draw from her strength, and her eternal happiness.
Q: Do you have any thoughts/suggestions on how we can better celebrate women throughout the year?
A: I think we need to celebrate women by empowering them. By creating equity instead of equality. Equality is treating everyone the same. Equity is giving everyone what they need to be successful. Equality aims to promote fairness, but only works if everyone starts from the same place and needs the same help. My wish is that all minorities get what they need to start from the same place.
Q: What is something interesting about you that not a lot of people know?
A: I started playing the mandolin when I was 8. I then consistently played in string orchestras until I left college. What people didn't know was that I didn't know how to read music. I did it all by ear. I would audition by asking the teachers to play the song for me once, or listen to the group play it, then I would pick it up from there.
Check back soon to meet more Dropboxers. In the meantime view our jobs on PowerToFly. Dropbox is growing, grow with us!
Lead Together: Behind the Scenes of Facebook's Women@ Leadership Day
Tatiana L. is a global client partner based in Miami.
Tatiana is part of the Women@ Facebook Resource Group and helped plan Women's Leadership Day, an annual global community summit. While the highly-anticipated event takes place over just one day, its massive impact is felt over the course of the entire year.
Amy W. is an operations lead based in London.
"Women's Leadership Day is more than an event. It's energy, and it's a movement," Amy W., an operations lead in London, says. "Moments like this can completely change the perception of women in technology."
From choosing the content and programming for the event to making it accessible for women around the globe, we went behind the scenes with seven members of the Women@ Facebook Resource Group to learn more about how women are empowered—and are empowering one another— in their career journeys at the Facebook company.
Behind the scenes with Women@
Amanda M., an internal recruiting manager based in Singapore, speaking onstage at 2019 Women@ Leadership Day in APAC.
"I've always been passionate about empowering women, but I didn't know how I could do it at work. My first Women@ experience changed how I felt at Facebook," Amanda M., an internal recruiting manager in Singapore, remembers. "From then on, I wanted to help other women feel heard, valued, and confident."
Planning the global event, which brings together women from more than 20 countries, calls for close collaboration across multiple teams, regions, and timezones. Members of Women@ also partner with other Facebook Resource Groups, such as the Pride@ Resource Group, Latin@ Facebook Resource Group, Desis@ Facebook Resource Group and Black@ Resource Group, to ensure all women at Facebook are represented and feel included.
Vivian V. is a program manager based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
"Across regions and communities, we each bring unique differences and powerful stories. When one of us moves forward, we have the opportunity to bring all of us forward," Vivian V., a program manager in the San Francisco Bay Area explains. "While planning the summit, we meet weekly to talk about what women in different regions are experiencing. From the event theme and content to planning speaker sessions and fine-tuning details, we each have items to own. Two months before the summit, we meet daily to share updates and make sure nothing slips through the cracks."
"Just like me, women in APAC look forward to Women's Leadership Day all year long," Amanda says. Planning something that's deeply meaningful to so many people can feel like a lot of pressure, but at the same time, it's uplifting. I appreciate that we have the opportunity to talk about our individual and shared challenges, and we map out ways we can build community while empowering leadership for women across the globe."
Empowering confidence, equality, and leadership through storytelling
Paris Z., a vertical strategy lead in Singapore, and Amanda M. collaborate with women across the globe to plan Women@ programming and events.
Women's Leadership Day encourages women to talk about challenges like experiencing imposter syndrome, breaking through barriers, and how to manage work/life flexibility. "Storytelling is a huge part of the event," Paris Z., a vertical strategy lead in Singapore, explains.
Vivian says, "I've been at Facebook for nearly two years and help plan these events, and honestly, I never really understood imposter syndrome before I got here. Working with the Women@ community and hearing from our speakers—who are talented, brilliant superstars—I've seen firsthand how it affects them too."
Michelle C. is a client partner based in London.
Michelle C., a client partner in London, says that the summit's speaker sessions, which feature people from inside and outside of Facebook, are a highlight of every event. "We had a speaker from Tel Aviv who talked about the importance of balance in her personal life and how she co-parents with her husband. She shared specific things she's done, like adding her husband to the WhatsApp chat groups for mothers she's in and reminding her daughter's school that her husband is also available when their child feels sick. Her message was that we'll never be equal in the workplace until we're equal at home, and it really struck a chord."
Paris says that in APAC, Eva Chen's talk about facing challenges amidst the coronavirus pandemic and how she's raising her daughter was a top-rated session because it was so relatable. "From talking about her daughter's love for dinosaurs—a "boy" thing—and raising kids to fully be themselves to opening up about what it was like to grow up with immigrant parents from China and Vietnam, Eva inspired us with her authenticity and openness. Her struggle to feel supported while working in fashion and tech, rather than medicine, is something a lot of people in APAC understand."
"Every woman has a unique story," Michelle says. "Hearing from others is inspiring, validating, and truly eye-opening. It reminds us that we're not alone."
A memorable and lasting impact
It's no surprise that with the tremendous amount of planning and careful consideration that goes into the summit, its full impact is impossible to measure.
"It meant so much to me when people shared such positive feedback about Women's Leadership Day," Paris says. "We heard that some attendees felt inspired for days and weeks."
Kira G. is an agency partner based in Berlin.
Kira G., an agency partner in Berlin, has witnessed how the summit's programming can inspire action, even helping people push past a career plateau. "We might reach a point in our careers when we think, "I can't do this anymore, I'm not moving forward'," she says. "Women's Leadership Day gives us fresh perspectives, shows us new approaches, and starts important conversations. This can unlock new paths for growth and help us move forward."
Impact is felt in other Facebook groups, communities, and across teams too, inspiring interest and allyship. Amanda explains, "I felt so proud when a male VP from the Sales team came to us after hearing about what people talked about at Women's Leadership Day. He told us he wanted to learn more because it's everyone's responsibility to be an ally."
Empowering the community throughout the year
While Amanda describes Women's Leadership Day as a "bump in energy and inspiration" and "an injection of adrenaline", Vivian says that the real magic is what happens afterwards—and takes place all year long.
"When we think about Women's Leadership Day, our focus is on making sure that the powerful messages we hear and experience serve us throughout the entire year. We ask ourselves questions like, "How can we sprinkle these themes into our programming throughout the month or quarter? How do these ideas fit with our Women@ initiatives?" Going through something awesome together is just the beginning. Our work takes place year-round and we're constantly building on it to do more."
Paris agrees: "There's no shortage of amazing stories from our Women@ community throughout the year. Women's Leadership Day is just one channel for those stories, and I love how it stays top of mind with people and empowers them to do more good. When we come together, we can do anything we dream of."
"We're building a sisterhood and a community," Tatiana beams. "It feels so good to know there's always someone there to support you."
Learn more about Facebook's Employee Resource Groups, including Women@ here.
