In this episode of Reimagining Company Culture, we’re chatting with Dominique Reese, Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Plug and Play. Dominique has created a multidimensional, community-centered approach to advancing diverse representation in the tech world worldwide. Tune in to learn Dominique’s thoughts on ensuring a feeling of belonging, the role of storytelling and education in DEI, ownership mentality, and more!

Dominique Reese is the Head of DE&I for Plug and Play Tech Center, one of the most active Venture capitalists in Silicon Valley and the world’s largest innovation platform. Through her experience at Plug and Play, Dominique noticed a lack of representation in the tech industry and wanted to make an impact. This led her to build and launch Plug and Play’s first DEI-focused initiative, DRIVE. DRIVE stands for Diversity, Respect, Inclusion, Vision, and Equity. DRIVE works multi-dimensionally. The initiative develops, assists, and provides better access to funding for underrepresented founders and educates the company’s broader ecosystem on the importance of DE&I via tech-enabled solutions, workshops, and training sessions. Dominique has created a multidimensional, community-centered approach to advancing diverse representation in the tech world worldwide. In doing so, she has connected historically underrepresented founders of different backgrounds with more giant corporations interested in similar initiatives and contributing to the common good for the diverse future of tech. Although Dominique has always been fueled by social impact and innovation, her early career began in the Supply Chain Vertical at Plug and Play Tech Center. In this role, Dominique was exposed to some of the most influential companies in the Supply Chain Industry, such as Walmart, USPS, DHL, JP Hunt, and many more. Through this experience, Dominique witnessed how tech-powered innovation can solve the internal needs of major corporations. Dominique realized that if innovation can improve the world’s supply chain, it can also change the world for the better. Additionally, Dominique graduated from California State East Bay, Hayward, CA where she obtained a BA in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. By bridging the two, she has stepped into her new role leading the external DE&I efforts for Plug and Play to promote change and impact for the whole world, but more specifically, how the world of tech looks. Dominique’s overarching goal is to build a community for underrepresented founders to grow and scale their businesses and be role models for other founders that look like them and come from similar backgrounds.