Shannon Rodriguez, Senior Associate, Human Resources Director
Teyana Chin, Senior Associate, Office Manager, Co-Founder of FXMosaic
Chelsea Crisafulli, Architect, Co-Chair of FXWomxn
Martin Scott, Architect, Co-Chair of FXOne

Interview Description
FXCollaborative established their formal Employee Resource Group (ERG) program in 2013 with the goals of promoting inclusion, supporting professional growth, and leading outreach initiatives to increase education and diversity. ERGs are voluntary, employee-led, and firm-recognized affinity groups for women, the LGBTQ+ community, and people of color. Ranging in size, with differing levels of financial and resource support from the office, they provide a more democratic forum for conversation, and a platform for initiatives promoting justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI).

In this Deep Dive webinar, Shannon, Teyana, Chelsea, and Martin share lessons learned from FXCollaborative’s ERG journey, insights into the structure and elements of their program, and thoughts on where their work is headed in the future.

Speaker Bios

Shannon Rodriguez, Human Resources Director
Shannon Rodriguez joined FXCollaborative in 2005 and is the ﬁrm’s Human Resource Director. She was promoted to Associate in 2014, Senior Associate in 2016 and to her current role in 2019. With over 15 years of experience, she is responsible for performance management, mentoring and training programs, employee relations, recruiting, stafﬁng, and beneﬁts administration.

Shannon is also responsible for the ﬁrm’s internship program providing opportunities to students from diverse backgrounds and has been instrumental in helping to establish FXCollaborative’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and is an advocate for all employees. She holds a Legal Studies degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Teyana Chin, Senior Associate, Office Manager, Co-Founder of FXMosaic
Teyana has been with FXCollaborative for over 15 years. Along with her responsibilities as Ofﬁce Manager and co-founder of FXMosaic, Teyana is instrumental in programs that provide professional education and training to design ﬁ rm personnel. Thanks to her ability to articulate a vision—as well as provide effective guidance and management of resources—Teyana is often invited to speak at inner city schools to inform, inspire, and support teens in reaching their life goals.

Teyana holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Brooklyn College.

Chelsea Crisafulli, Architect, Co-Chair of FXWomxn
Chelsea Crisafulli, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, is an architect at FXCollaborative and co-chair of FXWomxn, the ﬁrm’s employee resource group focused on supporting professional growth and leadership development for womxn by promoting the voice and perspective of womxn within FXCollaborative. Chelsea has experience with a wide range of typologies. She thrives on constraints as a way to formulate her design approach, and values the multidisciplinary nature of our workplace as a way to broaden our design thinking.

Chelsea holds a Master of Architecture degree from Parsons the New School for Design, and is a registered architect in New York.

Martin Scott, Architect, Co-Chair of FXOne
Martin is an architect with over nine years of experience on hospitality, exhibition, educational, commercial, residential, and planning projects, with significant experience throughout all phases of work—from conception to construction completion. Martin earned his Bachelor of Design in Architecture and Master of Architecture from Deakin University in Australia and is a registered architect in the United Kingdom.

Hailing from rural Tasmania, Martin was raised on a country farm among nature, and considers his roots to be forever tied to that place. Martin’s connection to the natural world is displayed in his understanding of nature’s significance in architecture as he designs with respect to the surrounding context, what was there before, and what ties it to the site. His international background and work on four continents allows him to recognize the huge role that culture and diversity play in influencing architecture across different regions and disciplines, which results in a richer, continuously-evolving architecture.

Interview Summary

01:26 What is an ERG?
01:35 Definition & Description of FXC ERG Programs

02:33 How did ERG's get started at FXCollaborative and how have they evolved?
02:40 First ERG: FXWomxn

05:30 Can you introduce us to the other two ERG's and how they started?
05:38 Introduction to FXOne & FXMosaic

07:03 What are some lessons learned?
07:16 Support and Participation from Leadership
08:00 Be Open and Inclusive

08:10 Are these groups open to everyone in the office?
08:25 Open to Everyone

08:47 As a white, straight male, what is my role in these groups?
09:05 Listen, Be an Ally
09:45 Power in Numbers

10:13 How do you measure the success of these groups?
10:26 Opportunities for Training, Changes in Recruiting
11:40 Charts: HR Data on Gender and Ethnicity

FXWOMXN
13:55 Who is involved and what are you focused on inside and outside the office?
14:19 Mission Statement
15:28 Areas of Focus: Professional Development, Speakers, Wellness
15:53 Programming Focused on Womxn Impactful to All
17:35 Establishing Mission Statement and Goals

18:57 How long was FXWomxn informal?
19:25 Formalization Coincided with #metoo Movement
19:46 ERG's Evolve with Current Events
21:28 Tangible Results: Partnering with External Organizations

22:31 It sounds like ERGs were good infrastructure to help the firm cope with and respond to all the happenings in 2020.
22:50 Supporting Colleagues Remotely

23:45 How is the ERG responding to the disproportionate impact of the recession on women?
24:02 Staying Connected and Engaged

25:10 Have there been policy changes as a result of the ERG’s existence?|
25:15 Implementing the Flex Policy

26:26 What has the FXWomxn ERG meant to you personally and professionally?
26:32 Social Justice Work
27:50 Leadership Opportunities

FXONE
29:35 Tell us about FXOne?
29:49 Mission Statement
30:20 Backstory

32:25 What is some of the programming inside and outside the firm?
32:35 Panels, Discussions, Pride Month, Art Exhibits

33:42 Can you tell us more about the firm's involvement with the Pride march?
33:50 High Participation in First Pride March

34:38 What has the FXOne ERG meant to you personally and professionally?
34:47 Not Hiding Your Identity
36:40 Developing Professional Skills & Confidence

37:23 It sounds like you weren't able to be out in previous jobs and this allowed you to be.
37:38 Recovering from Homophobic Professional Environments
38:40 Open Group Eases Pressure
39:06 Signaling Inclusion: Pronouns, Bathrooms, Guidelines for Gender Transition

40:35 Can you tell us more about the Build Out Alliance?
40:42 Nonprofit Group Involving Multiple AEC Firms

42:50 There are lots of places to make change, how do each of the ERGs think about prioritizing efforts?
43:10 Collaboration Between ERG's: Resume & Interview Workshops

FXMOSAIC
44:13 How did FXMosaic get started?
45:30 Mission & Backstory
47:00 Diversity Eat-and-Greet Potlucks
47:38 Focus 1: Representation
48:17 Blind Intern Hiring Process
49:42 JEDI Task Force: Ensuring Fair Promotion Process
50:44 Focus 2: Outreach & Pipeline
51:10 Reach Out to Students of All Ages
52:03 Focus 3: Awareness
52:12 Discussions Around Current Racial Climate
52:20 June 2020 Events Increased Momentum
53:17 Focus 4: Education
53:20 Three Part Lecture Series on Race
55:04 Focus 5: Building Key Industry & Institutional Relationships
55:30 Focus 6: Accountability
55:33 Holding Ourselves and External Organizations Accountable
56:00 Efforts to Collaborate with All ERG's

Q+A
57:30 Do you find it difficult to establish a safe space when people not of that group's identity attend the meetings?
58:16 Importance of Allies
59:17 Respect and Listening
1:00:27 Spreading Your Message

1:01:30 How do you formalize an ERG? Have you ever turned down a group?
1:01:45 Small Groups to Address Needs of Firm and Industry
1:03:02 Model of Existing Workgroups: Mission, Goals, Initiatives
1:04:52 Workgroups and ERG's Collaborate

1:05:55 Do your ERGs have an annual budget allocated to them?
1:06:55 Annual Budget Allocations
1:07:45 Specific Budget Planning

1:09:40 Are there minimum expectations of an ERG to remain supported by the firm?
1:10:18 ERGs Highly Motivated to Create Change

1:12:42 How do you get an ERG off the ground when there are very few base members versus observers?
1:13:20 Providing the Space
1:15:02 Starting the Conversation
1:17:00 Unconscious Bias Training Increased Understanding

1:18:35 Do you have recommendations for how to build interest and attendance at these work groups meetings?
1:19:40 Initiatives and Programs
1:21:16 Partner with Other Firms/ERGs

Lightning Q's
1:22:00 Are ERG co-chairs financial compensated?
1:22:24 On average how much time do ERG leaders commit to this work?
1:22:50 Do the ERGs have charters?
1:23:40 Is there a job number for timesheets? Is this paid time for co-chairs?

Read the Collaborative Notes

Members of our team and the KA Connect community took collaborative notes during this Deep Dive using Google Docs. Collaborative note-taking helped us summarize key takeaways, collect related links, and will provide us with a quick reference when we return to this topic in the future. We've found the notes quite useful so far and hope you will as well.

Read Notes