Celebrating nCino's Employee Resource Groups: Mi Gente

nCino’s newest ERG, Mi Gente was founded in 2021 by Edwin Estrada and Alejandra O’Malley and chartered in 2022. Mi Gente’s mission is to build a space that creates belonging regardless of how you identify, where you’re from, or what language you speak and to support the empowerment, enrichment, advancement, and recruitment of Latinx, Hispanic, and Basque nCino employees. Aiming to bring cultural awareness and education to members and the broader nCino team, membership is open to all employees. “Mi Gente” translates to “my people,” with the hope being to create a community where members can enter a space and think “These are my people!”

“I started nCino as an intern in June 2021,” says now full-time Associate Software Engineer Alejandra O’Malley. “I wanted to find a group that shared experiences and backgrounds similar to my own. I was surprised to learn there wasn't yet a space specifically for Hispanic, Latinx, and Basque employees. When I voiced my interest in creating one, I was connected with Edwin, and within a week, we had a plan in place to charter Mi Gente.”

Mi Gente works with nCino senior leadership to assist in the recruiting, retention, and promotion of the Latinx, Hispanic, and Basque employee population, as well as to educate fellow employees on causes and celebrate events important to these cultures. The group act as liaisons to bring Latinx, Hispanic, and Basque cultural awareness to the nCino employee body, as well as the leadership team. Outside of the company, they participate in community service opportunities and outreach programs to help minorities and underserved populations within the Wilmington community.

“Mi Gente has provided me, and many others, with the opportunity to express our unique cultures and celebrate diversity at nCino,” says Associate Software Engineer, Felipe Orrego. “It's so important to feel represented, and I'm grateful to be part of a company that understands this.”

Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from September 15 to October 15. Celebration begins on September 15 in honor of the anniversary of the independence for Latin America countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile observe their independence days on September 16 and 18, respectively. On Día de la Raza, which falls on October 12 (Columbus Day), many Spanish-speaking countries honor the cultures that were conquered by European explorers and fell under European colonization.

• Hispanic: refers to Spanish-speaking people who are from, or descended from, Spanish-speaking countries. Hispanic includes Spain, but does not include Brazil. Hispanic is more focused on the language spoken rather than country of origin.

• Latino/a: refers to people from Latin American countries, including Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Latino includes Brazil but does not include Spain. Latino is more focused on the country a person is from rather than the language they speak.

• Latinx: a gender-neutral form of Latino and/or Latina

• Basque: refers to people who trace their heritage to the Southwestern European region straddling the Pyrenees mountains between modern-day Spain and France. The Basque people speak Euskara, a language unrelated to any other existing world language.

The Wilmington chapter of the group plans to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month by sponsoring a Beach Cleanup event at Wrightsville Beach, followed by a breakfast at Los Portales, a local favorite.

They will also be hosting the third edition of En La Mesa (At the Table), which will feature presentations and in-person food tastings of traditional and popular cuisine from various Hispanic cultures and catering from various local Latino-owned businesses. Each speaker will share their heritage through stories of the foods they grew up cooking and enjoying as family, preparing their dish of choice in real time while explaining the cultural significance and sharing familial history and associated memories.

Earlier this year, Mi Gente hosted a Mexican Conchas Morning in nCino Headquarters’ Bitty and Beau’s café. Employees and affinity group members were invited to share concha pastries from Wilmington’s Los Portales with their morning coffee.

“Mi Gente means a lot to me and others like me because it shows Latinx, Hispanic, and Basque employees that we are important, recognized and represented,” says Edwin Estrada, Product Manager. “If we can gather around shared experiences through Mi Gente, we can build enough empathy between us so that we can even begin to talk about all the more complex issues we face, like racism, immigration and inequality.”