Staying True to Your Cultural Identity

Renee Rosales O’Hare, she/her

Renee O’Hare is the Director of Offering delivery, leading a business analyst team and has been with Autodesk for 28 years. Business analysts add value to Strategic Programs by driving business requirements to program objectives while working with engineering to ensure successful launch. She is a 1^st generation US citizen and is proud to have her roots tied to Central America & California. She spends her free time with her family & friends as well as cheering on 49ers, Warriors & Giants.

Michele Castro

Michele studied Public and Finance Administration; however, she never acted in such an area. Fascinated with social and political matters, she loves working with services. At Autodesk, she started as Channel Specialist, then Client Services, and now she is part of the Digital Inside Sales team. From Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, singer and guitarist Michele is proud to say she was born and grew up in the Rocinha favela, where she draws much of her musical motivation and appreciation. While she draws inspiration from several artists, Elis Regina and Rosa Passos have influenced her work the most. Her vocal repertoire includes Samba, Bossa Nova, Brazilian Pop & Rock, MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira), Choro, and Forró, but she also plays various Brazilian percussion instruments. Michele loves exploring the Colorado music scene and sharing her culture and music with a new public.

Mariluz Blandon

Mariluz has been a human resources practitioner for nearly twenty years specializing in diversity, equity and inclusion and organizational development. She has worked in a variety of industries including finance, healthcare, tech, non-profit, and consulting. Mariluz attended the City University of New York, where she earned a Bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Studies, with a concentration in History, Politics, and Society. She did this as a working adult and is proud of it. Most recently, Mariluz participated in seminar on Human Rights at the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law where she obtained a certificate in international human rights. Mariluz intends on attending law school as the next phase of her academic and professional journey. She was born and raised in Rhode Island and holds dual citizenship in the United States and Colombia, where her parents emigrated from. Mariluz believes that while her professional experience and credentials allow her to work in the DE+I space, her life experiences as a woman of color, daughter of immigrants, and Afro Latina are what make her most qualified to perform the work of advocating for human rights in the context of the workplace. She lives in Fort Greene Brooklyn but don’t expect her to root for New York sports. Mariluz says she is a New England girl through and through. Go Celtics! Go Red Sox!

Anastasia Rab

I'm an Account Executive passionate about helping companies take actionable steps to tackle their gender parity and inclusion problems. I enjoy working with clients that are ready to marry their rhetoric with results.

Before starting at PowerToFly, I worked at the Council of Europe in France, the Global Women’s Leadership Initiative in Romania, and the Athena Leadership Center at Barnard College. I'm a graduate of Barnard, the women's college of Columbia University, where I earned a degree in Political Science with a minor in French.

I serve as Secretary at Razom for Ukraine, a non-profit that grows entrepreneurship and increases civic engagement in Ukraine.