Jahromi, Ortiz & Powell: Authenticity Advocates

Christina Cannady | Photographer

By Christina Cannady

Andrew Ortiz is two weeks into his new role as the Beaumont Area Public & Government Affairs advisor for Exxon Mobil. He is also a member of the LGBT Employee Resource group, or Pride group at Exxon. His colleagues who joined him in the Zoom call on March 18, Kanithea Powell who represents the law department and Rod Jahromi from the fuels/lubricants division, are also members in the Pride group.

Powell has been with Exxon for about 14 years, but she is also an award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, and director, as well as a published, award-winning author.

Jahromi has been with Exxon for the last 13 years and serves as the Global Procurement Manager in fuels vertical and marketing. He said Exxon spends around $1 billion yearly promoting their brand worldwide with an emphasis on diverse representation.

Ortiz highlighted how important it is for businesses and corporations to have accurate and diverse representation within the media. The idea of “respecting the human” was carried throughout the conversation and topics.

Jahromi explained what its like being gay in the workplace and praises the evolution of acceptance he has seen over the years. Before gay marriage was legalized or there was significant representation of LGBT persons on TV, it was common to hear gay jokes and there was no professional standard of “coming out” in the workplace.

He supported Pride but more so in the background. He casually let coworkers know his sexual orientation, but it wasn’t a huge ordeal. He said being gay should not prevent someone from moving up the hierarchy of the workplace. His thought process for when he had to come out to a crowd of 500 people for a Pride event was that if he couldn’t do it now then what kind of example would he be setting for younger people who are hesitant about coming out in the workplace or coming out in general? Being comfortable and confident about yourself is important for shining and doing well at work and life.

Powell has always shown up as herself. Although it took her a long time to become comfortable with herself, she saw that it was ultimately for the better. You will face opposition, but Powell said to understand that is their own issue. A person who is authentically themselves are free in spirit and able to fully put themselves into the world. In both the law world and the arts world, as she explained, there are lots of big egos in the room but as long as you know yourself and what you stand for, authenticity will open doors.

Powell emphasized how progression is not difficult, but a choice. You make the choice everyday to make progress and be kind, respectful and authentically inclusive.

Jahromi explained how representation is important all the time, not just during dedicated honorary timeframes such as Pride Month or Black History Month. People should be able to see themselves accurately represented in media or marketing all the time. Diversity is becoming more and more mandatory and essentially required in many corporations or organizations.

Jahromi, Ortiz and Powell were quite the dynamic trio. All three of them can be described as “authenticity advocates.” The importance of discovering your own story and being your truest self is essential to fully enjoy and reap the benefits of both life and work.

I agree with and resonate with the trio’s message. As someone who sees sexuality as a spectrum and doesn’t like labels, it was refreshing to have these inclusive keynote speakers in our Gender Race & Media class. I am in the process of discovering my own principals and passions. I don’t know what I want to do after graduation, but I do know I would like to be my truest self wherever I end up, and have a community around me who is also authentically themselves.