LGBTQIA+ Pride Month 2023

Chris Abraham
Corporate Health & Safety Director | Enthalpy

What does PRIDE month mean to you?

Every Pride Month, I reflect on who I am as a member of the LGBTQ+ Community, my personal growth, and what I can do to challenge myself in the future to promote my community’s visibility within our organization. I have been fortunate to meet and work with numerous incredible employees who identify as LGBTQ+, and the representation and acceptance across the company is something that makes me incredibly proud to be a part of Team Montrose.

What motivations fueled your career path?

I began my career in consulting and was intrigued by the cross-discipline competencies needed to be successful outside of my technical background. The “Seller-Doer” role resonated with my career ambitions and helped me build my confidence and experience. When I transferred to corporate – my “clients” became our hard-working employees. This similar but new perspective on my career path has inspired my interest in organizational development and finding solutions to improve our safety culture continuously.

What’s an important lesson you’ve learned and how has it proven invaluable?

Always consider another person’s perspective in a situation. You may have had an unfavorable interaction with someone or misunderstood something they communicated, which could make you feel frustrated or challenged. Breathe, take a step back, and consider their perspective… are there any internal or external influences affecting them? Understanding another person’s perspective, or what may affect their day-to-day responsibilities, help you develop a unique, collaborative, and positive approach to working together successfully.

What does PRIDE month mean to you?

It’s important to remember that even in 2023, there are many groups of people who remain marginalized. It’s refreshing to know that I can work in an environment where my orientation has no bearing on how I am viewed by my peers or how I am treated overall. Pride Month is a step in a positive direction of understanding that we are all humans despite our differences.

What motivations fueled your career path?

Happiness and fulfillment are important. Without those two things, a job can feel like a burden. I’m grateful that I genuinely enjoy what I do and can feel the impact I have on what we do here.

What’s an important lesson you’ve learned and how has it proven invaluable?

If you do not love and care for yourself, you cannot provide love and care for others. One of the best decisions I have ever made in my life was the decision to take care of myself – both physically and mentally. The rewards are immeasurable.

What do you like best about Montrose?

Hands down, it’s the people I have the opportunity to work with daily. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of colleagues to pursue our company’s mission.

Crystal Gibson
Sample Receiving Group Lead | Enthalpy

Guerry Kim
Laboratory Technician IV | Enthalpy

What does Pride month mean to you?

It’s a month to commemorate our communal efforts and how, through community, individuals can shine. Just remember that you have a community.

How did you find your way to where you are today at MEG?

I made an effort to learn things about test methods and analysis methods, even though it wasn’t necessarily in the purview of my work.

What are your favorite parts of your job?

Talking to the geologists.

What do you do for fun?

I’m a gamer and a gardener. Occasionally, you’ll see me in WeHo.

What does PRIDE month mean to you?

For me, Pride represents a connection to a larger community of queer people, both around the world and throughout history. It’s a reminder of the people who had to fight against oppression and helped create the more accepting world we have today.

Who (in general) inspires you the most and why?

On an aspirational level, Delegate Danica Roem of Virginia and Representative Zooey Zephyr of Montana inspire me as transgender women who are unafraid to stand up and represent people like me in their state legislatures. On a personal level, my girlfriend Cecilia, who gives me the courage to be myself every day.

What’s an important lesson you’ve learned and how has it proven invaluable?

Don’t wait to live your life because of others’ expectations. It’s a piece of advice I gave to others a long time before I really listened to it myself. I spent years waiting for the perfect opportunity to “come out” in public. It was only once I stopped planning and just acted that I realized how much happier I could be living authentically as who I am.

What do you like best about Montrose?

I like the people around me; my team members are all very helpful and fun to work with! Their kindness and support are why I felt comfortable coming out as transgender.

Faith Durrette
Laboratory Technician | Enthalpy

Montrose Reflections: A note from Margaret Dunbar
Vice President, Marketing MEG DFI Task Force member

During the month of PRIDE, we have the opportunity to recognize the amazing individuals who encompass the LGBTQIA+ community and mark celebrations of inclusion and acceptance, as well as defiance against oppression.

I’ve always considered myself an ally for the LGBTQ+ community, and I love the fundamental messages that PRIDE represents togetherness, tolerance, and acceptance. The idea that Love is Love. Since becoming a stepmom to a wonderful, proudly queer young man, however, PRIDE month has become both a time of celebration and reflection on my ongoing commitment to show up for my family, friends, and colleagues.

In my reflections this year regarding that commitment and what it means to be an ally, I realized that my stepson Will has become my biggest inspiration. He pushes me to do better – to be better – every day. His ready acceptance of his friends’ identities; his open affirmation of their explorations; and his unwavering support whenever his friends and family need a listening ear is the embodiment of that PRIDE spirit to me. Will knows who he is and isn’t afraid to be his authentic self, which is awesome. He also motivates me to do everything I can to ensure he has a fair and equal opportunity to live a journey full of love, not hate; full of passion and joy, not fear and violence; and full of open possibilities, not closed doors.

To me, that’s also what’s so amazing about PRIDE – seeing so many folx both local and around the world celebrating loud and proud, and marking a commitment to creating a world in which all my loved ones have the opportunity to be who they are and feel supported. That demonstration of support, of tolerance and acceptance, from my experience, has been especially important and meaningful for my friends, and I am mindful of how I continue to show up, in big and small ways – both during PRIDE month and throughout the year.

Whether it’s cheering on my friend Zee as he throws the opening pitch at Twins’ PRIDE night, helping my friend Alison on her quest to find a kick-ass job in an inclusive work environment, supporting my friend Jessica’s right to exist as an amazing trans woman with arguably the best Wonder Woman cosplay, donating in support of my friend Chris’ participation in charity rides to benefit HIV/AIDS organizations, celebrating the love of our friends Joe and Ben on their wedding day, being that listening ear for loved ones who entrusted me with their stories, or using pronouns myself…and making sure to ask others for their preferred pronouns, I look at how I can stand up for folx and provide support and encouragement.

PRIDE is a time for celebrating the LGBTQ+ community; it’s also a time to remember the very real, painful struggles regarding basic human rights and questions of access that LGBTQ+ folx still face today. Moreover, PRIDE month can serve as a reminder that we can continue to learn from one other and work together for better policies and programs that are supportive and inclusive – that by coming together and practicing tolerance and acceptance, we can commit to creating safe and caring spaces for our many amazing colleagues and loved ones in the LGBTQ+ community.