About
The Guía Collective was created to help women of color & gender expansive POC change the face of product design, research, and management.
guía (n) - Spanish for “guide,” one who leads another on a path
Guía Collective is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded by Sarah Lin, a product designer and strategist in social good, who was lucky to be taken under the wings of other women of color early on in her career. These experiences shaped her work in product for the past decade, and she saw a need to provide more spaces for WOC and gender expansive POC to receive coaching from those who looked like them and understood their experience as well.
Improving diversity in leadership isn’t possible without ensuring the pipeline is accessible, supported, and resourced! Thus, the Guía Collective was born— a safe space and community to gather, geek out about product, and support one another wherever they are in their journeys.
Welcome!
Why it matters
Diverse teams have been shown to be a key driver for innovation in research studies, and in the social impact space where our work often aids people of color, that representation matters even more. According to a 2015 study by Community Wealth Partners, 80% of nonprofit staff leverage personal and professional networks, yet 75% of white Americans lack minorities in their networks. What prevents the pipeline from becoming more diverse?
Primarily STEM-focused
Many programs providing POC females a road into tech are focused on STEM rather than product
Expensive programs
Existing bootcamps often cater to adults who are already highly educated and make enough to pay high price tags
Unclear paths
Early-career folks know of opportunities in big tech or startups, but careers in social impact are often unknown
Who’s behind it?
SARAH LIN (she/her)
Founder and Executive Director
Sarah is a product designer and strategist for social impact organizations, specializing in building equitable design processes and teams. She believes language and culture are important factors in communication and speaks English, Spanish, French, and Mandarin. Sarah previously led design at Google and Microsoft and was the founding designer at Benchling.
ARNELLE SAMBILE (she/her)
Education Development Lead
Arnelle is a UX Designer at PowerMyLearning. Arnelle is committed to training designers who are mindful of how power, privilege, and oppression shape design. Previously, Arnelle was an educator and educational researcher where she worked to understand the role of identity in product development and support folks of color breaking into tech.
MARIANA ALVARADO (mariana/they)
Community Growth
Mariana (they/them) is an independent design and research consultant focusing on social impact. Mariana’s work has supported small and large organizations in re-entry justice, emergency housing, community art spaces, and has helped with digital and design strategies for women of color running for office. Mariana is committed to elevating other marginalized people in design.
DARA HARTLEY (she/her)
Creative
Dara is an Innovation Lead at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a UX researcher, designer, educator, and maker. She loves to teach and facilitate engaging student-centered classes and workshops. Prior, Dara was an educator within the NYC Department of Education, working primarily with English Language Learners and students of color.
KATHY BUI (she/her)
Design Operations
Kathy is a designer passionate about creating intentional experiences for people through an empathetic, thoughtful, and research driven approach. She is currently based in Seattle as a UX designer at the University of Washington. Kathy values community and is committed to uplifting other folks in design
Some definitions and resources!
Language is beautiful and necessary, but not always adequately encompassing. Here are some definitions for ourselves, to be updated when needed!
POC
We have gone with the term “POC,” meaning “People of Color,” as our mission focuses equally on all people of color. While this conversation is constantly evolving, you can check out Why the term “BiPOC” is so complicated, explained by linguists if you’re interested in the history!
Gender Expansive
Gender is personal to an individuals' experience of themself. We prefer to use the term gender expansive, as it widens the scope of gender more effectively. Gender Spectrum defines it as "an umbrella term used for individuals who broaden their own culture’s commonly held definitions of gender, including expectations for its expression, identities, roles, and/or other perceived gender norms." Learn more about gender at The Trevor Project and Planned Parenthood.
Product
“Product” here refers specifically to product work in technology, which includes but is not limited to:
Product design
Product research
Product management