For decades, bringing your personal life to the workplace was an unspoken taboo. Now, a new generation of workers is redefining office norms, bringing their full selves to work—and proudly. For members of the LGBTQIA+ community, this can be especially challenging, in particular depending on where in the world they are living and working. Fortunately, many workplaces now offer resource groups for members of diverse communities to encourage openness and provide support.
“In the past, I was very private with my personal life, and now I am more open at work,” says Lyanne Aponte Santiago, a manufacturing specialist and chair of the AML PRIDE employee resource group for Amgen Juncos Puerto Rico site. “After opening myself more at work, I feel the difference in the connection with people there. That's why I also stepped up and took a more active role in the PRIDE leadership team—to make a difference and bring different perspectives to the workplace through conversations and activities.”
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For Aponte Santiago and others, serving on the PRIDE leadership team has not only created a new community for them at work but has also elevated their visibility within the workplace, helping to empower others through representation. “I sit on the board here. I'm a physician and a key opinion leader for leukemia, with a PhD and MBA, and I always raised my flag of pride,” says Dr. Alejandro Arancibia, medical director at Amgen Brazil and Global Heritage communications lead for PRIDE. “So, this is very inspiring for the people here in Brazil—to see a medical director publicly giving presentations in rainbow socks. It makes me very happy to feel seen and to bring this type of representation.”
Even beyond visibility, employee resource groups like PRIDE can effect change locally for members of the LGBTQIA+ community through advocacy work. Myra Coufal, director of Process Development at Amgen Rhode Island and global vice chair of PRIDE, points to work they have done at the corporate level in various areas, such as creating gender-neutral bathrooms and policies around them. And at the industry level, the PRIDE group has championed work to make clinical trials more broadly representative. “We allow each local chapter to have their own flavor of support, but work globally to provide unified messaging and support," Coufal says.
Arancibia, Aponte Santiago, and Coufal have each had their own unique paths to science and are now excited to be supporting other members of the LGBTQIA+ community along their paths.
In our first profile for Pride Month, read on to learn more about Lyanne Aponte Santiago.
Embracing the Self
Lyanne Aponte Santiago grew up in Coamo Puerto Rico with an early interest in understanding the world around her. That drive to learn about her surroundings led her to pursue a chemistry degree at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico. Halfway through her second year of college, she began to research more programs and learned from a professor about biotechnology. It seemed like a great combination of science and medical application, and Aponte Santiago would go on to get bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biotechnology.
Before moving into manufacturing, Aponte Santiago worked in a research lab, refining and purifying antibodies. She then transitioned into biopharmaceutical work, eventually becoming a manufacturing specialist at Amgen’s facilities in Puerto Rico, where she is part of a team that supports operations and continuous improvements. “It’s a lot of problem solving and troubleshooting, seeing where there might be things that aren't working as well as they could or as efficiently in the system, to optimize our processes for creating medicines,” she explains.
Aponte Santiago remembers that when she first started working in industry, she did not share much at work about her personal life. “I did not know how my coworkers would feel and I was not comfortable yet,” she says. “I would then get nervous when they asked about my personal life, like what I was going to do on the weekend or with whom I was going to spend my time.”
Once she arrived at Amgen, she began to be more open. “When I started to be open, I saw the difference with the people around me,” she says. “By being myself, I had a lot less stress and realized ‘hey, it's okay to be me.’ And it's even better. I am more happy.”
Aponte Santiago says that if she could go back in time 10 years, she would not believe where she is now, as a PRIDE chair, helping to support others in the LGBTQIA+ community. “At that time, I was even afraid to tell my best friend I was in a relationship with a girl,” she says. “And now, I am in a leadership role, helping to inspire others both within and outside of the PRIDE community. Helping even one person is a very fulfilling experience.”
Next in our Pride Month series, read about Dr. Alejandro Arancibia’s path in science.