This post is a part of our series, Culture Champions — Spotlighting the actionable advice, tips, tricks and learnings from top ERG leaders who are making a difference in their workplaces and communities.

Meet Coraly Rosario, Co-Lead of Nianticos, Niantic's Latin American & Hispanic ERG, Vice President of the Puerto Rican Game Developers Association (PRGDA).

Coraly Rosario is a Puerto Rican, senior UX designer with 8+ years of experience working on games, apps, and web products. She's currently at Niantic LA and is a co-lead of Nianticos, Niantic's Latin American & Hispanic ERG where she coordinates opportunities and events as well as collaborates with other ERGs and non-profits. She's also the Vice President of the Puerto Rican Game Developers Association (PRGDA), an initiative focused on growing and supporting the game dev community in Puerto Rico and beyond. As a diversity, inclusion, and belonging advocate, she's actively involved in creating opportunities for underrepresented communities of any age to find careers in the game industry. Twitter: @corapiki‍

As a Senior UX Designer at Niantic, what has best prepared you to manage people and why? 

I would say that having a specific mindset is key; you are a leader, not a boss telling others what to do. I strongly believe that managing others is not just about having them check off their tasks for the day. It's about helping them identify their career paths and working with them to ensure they are realizing that path through their work. I want to see my colleagues grow and flourish in this industry.
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For example, if a UI designer, game designer, or even a producer wants to learn more about UX, I will not only point them to resources for self-learning but also do workshops and classes for them to directly learn from me. I also provide them with opportunities on projects to directly work on those tasks and mentor them through it. Additionally, I have frequent conversations with them to identify the skills they already possess that can cross over into work or careers they want to realize.
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Additionally, sometimes “managing others” isn’t just about your direct reports. My process as a UX designer focuses on democratizing the UX process to the entire team. I will try to create improved ways we can collaborate with other departments to ensure we are all aligned. This allows designers, engineers, and artists to feel more empowered, feel like they have a voice at the table, allowing diverse voices to feel heard, help them truly problem-solve, and think through their designs through a player-centered lens.
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Lastly, I’m aware of myself. I know I can’t do it all or know it all. I rely on my peers to guide me as experts as well. I’ve learned how to delegate in a way that is balanced to all on the team and not just offloading what I can’t do to someone else with a busy schedule. I try to make it clear that I’m always there to support that person as well in the initiatives they take up. We succeed when we all support one another and understand the value each person brings. 

What was your journey to becoming an employee resource group (ERG) leader of Nianticos? 

It’s kinda a funny story. Prior to joining Niantic, Trinidad Hermida had approached me about initiatives she was building as Head of D&I. She wanted me to be a part of it by leading the Latin American side, especially given the partnerships I had already established via the PRGDA. I hadn’t even started working at Niantic yet.

Once I started in the LA studio, she reached out again and introduced me to the Latin American & Hispanic slack channel at Niantic, then called Latinx at Niantic. We didn’t have quite an ERG setup yet. Along with a small team of individuals, we started the process of writing out our mission statement for the ERG as well as bringing on our Executive Sponsor, Lenette Posada. The first 8 months or so I was the main person managing the ERG. Now we have a team of about 10 leaders, each focusing on a specific OKR we’ve set for ourselves or coordinating in specific roles (such as internal events, external events, budget, etc).

Today, I still manage much of our initiatives but I’m no longer alone in this endeavor. Our co-leads step up to either lead things directly with our support. I’m still the main point of contact for the ERG with external partners, other ERGs, or the D&I council, but now I’m not managing everything on my own.

What are the goals of Nianticos? (i.e. internal, external, community, professional development, recruitment, inclusive product design, programming) 

Nianticos’ Mission is to promote cultural awareness in the workplace and to empower Latinxs of Niantic to come together and give back to their communities. We hope to provide Nianticos with opportunities for personal and professional growth, and a safe space for social discussion and collaboration to build relationships and create new connections. We want to celebrate and share our Hispanic and Latin American heritage with our allies to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

Our main OKRs include creating a sense of community & inclusion for Latinx employees at Niantic, raising Latinx awareness inside Niantic, and giving back and supporting the Latinx community outside of Niantic.

What are some of your accomplishments over the past year in the employee experience and how would you measure your impact? 

This year was the first time we were able to sit down and really establish specific OKRs for our ERG. Each OKR has a specific metric of success we outlined based on last year’s participation as well as an end-of-year survey. It was also the first time co-leads volunteered to drive specific initiatives within Niantic. So it’s been a huge learning experience for all of us as well as a more organized way to approach everything we do.

Additionally, this year we worked together with Niantic’s recruiting department to be part of a Latinx job fair called CONEXION. Several of our recruiters interviewed and met with various devs and artists from the Latinx community.

We also collaborated with Compass (our LBGTQ+ ERG) to provide a panel for Gay Gaming Profesionals, collaborated with Wolfpack (our women’s and marginalized genders ERG) on bringing a speaker for Hispanic Heritage Month, and overall were a lot more present externally. We continued our participation in Latinx in gaming’s UNIDOS Online event as the main sponsor as well as with the Latinx Games Festival later this year. Lastly, this year we decided to start sponsoring a new non-profit, GOKIC, which is dedicated to providing resources and skills to black and brown kids in underserved areas of Seattle. 

How are you celebrated and compensated as an ERG leader at Niantic? 

Currently, the way I try to emphasize the good we bring is by getting more Nianticos involved in speaking opportunities or involved in product-related inquiries. ERGs are also given slots during our company all-hands to talk about the work we do. Although currently, we don’t have a compensation plan for ERGs leaders, it is a point of discussion being brought up within the company.

What advice do you have for folks looking to start or lead an ERG within their organization?

From a company leadership level, allow folks to create ERGs specific to different communities. Don’t lump all ERG efforts into a single “Diversity ERG”. Our experiences and perspectives are so different that it actually does a disservice to you employees by having everything lumped together.

From an ERG leadership standpoint, learning to scope and delegate early on will be helpful to you. I know we all want to create so much change and opportunities for our communities, but if only one person is managing everything (plus they have their day job), they will be overworked and burned out. It’s ok if it takes time to do everything, but for now, do what you are realistically able with the bandwidth that you have available. 

What is your call to action for leaders to support the work of ERGs? 

If you aren’t part of an ERG but want to be an ally to ERGs you feel an affinity towards, learn how to use your platform to elevate the voices of those doing the work.

For executives, reach out to your ERGs to understand how you can make your companies better, how you can take an active role in hiring more diverse candidates, improving systems so they feel safe to stay, and figuring out ways your company can create external initiatives that actually creates more opportunities for underrepresented communities. For example, Niantic has the Black Developers Initiative which allows us to take a direct role in helping black owned or operated studios. We need more efforts like this in the game industry. 

How did Niantic and Nianticos celebrate/honor National Hispanic Heritage Month this year? 

Externally: Niantic was a main sponsor for UNIDOS Online and Nianticos provided a panel on our ERGs for their live stream. Several Niantics were mentors for the PRGDA’s Cafecitos mentoring event as part of UNIDOS Online. Lastly, Nianticos leaders provided a Latinx-led panel for Gay Gaming Professionals about building representation for game development.
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Internally: We are providing a craft night – led by an artist – for Niantics to learn how to make papel picado and altars as a way to explain the significance behind the Dia de los Muertos tradition. We also collaborated with Wolfpack (our women's and marginalized genders ERG) to provide a live Fireside chat with Karla Ortiz, a well-known Puerto Rican concept artist in the film and game industry. We started a company-wide fundraiser for GOKIC, specifically aimed at the Wifi as a Lifeline initiative. Lastly, as part of our engagement coordination, we brought in new Nianticos swag as well as provided the company with a curated Hispanic Heritage Month playlist. 

What is one of your proudest moments and why? 

I always feel immensely proud of my peers whenever I see them take the stage, talk about their experiences, and see it resonate with so many across the globe. My goal isn’t about me doing these things but rather about finding ways in which everyone can be involved in making the game industry better, more diverse, and equitable for folks of all backgrounds.