As a multicultural, user-experience researcher for Fortune 500 companies and tech giants like Google and Amazon, Amber Fields was often the only Black person in the room.
The Louisville native found herself unconsciously code switching before she even knew it was a term. Code switching is the modifying of one's behavior, appearance, etc., to adapt to different sociocultural norms. It became second nature, Fields said, as she often relied on data to tell stories about her research so she'd receive less pushback about the words she used.
It was exhausting — and isolating — not to have access to peers with whom Fields could share her experiences.
"I thought, 'Where are the rest of us? There has to be more,'" she said. "I just wanted to connect with other people that look like me, and that maybe also had similar experiences as I have so I didn't feel so alone."
That simple desire to have a network of Black tech professionals in her field eventually morphed into a business opportunity in the form of Vogt Award-winning startup Black UX Labs.
Fields, who spent much of her professional career in Nashville, Tennessee, Los Angeles and New York, moved back to Louisville right before the coronavirus pandemic took hold last year. She had been building that network of her peers via social media and held her first Black UX happy hour in her parents' basement in April 2020.
Out of that initial happy hour, more and more professionals started hearing about Fields' efforts to bring together the Black UX community. Companies caught wind, too.
"These happy hours started to include hiring managers and I was like, 'Ding, ding, ding!" she said. "I literally turned it into Black UX Labs, where we are the advocates of the Black UX community by connecting those individuals to hiring managers looking to make a change in their social structure within their companies."
Fields saw an opportunity to develop two customer segments within Black UX Labs, one focused on Black professionals looking for connections, training and a safe space to talk about their experiences, and then a second for hiring managers looking for diverse talent.
"I'm a senior UX researcher now, and I just wanted to see more of us in decision-making roles and budget-holding roles," she said. "Roles where we can actually be impactful, where we can be more than just the worker bees and also be the thought leaders and the ones to come up with the concepts and the ideas. I wasn't seeing a lot of us in those roles, so I'm starting by saying, 'I want to see Black feet in the C-suite.'"
You can read more from Fields in the Q&A below:
You left Louisville to pursue creative opportunities you couldn’t find here. What influenced your decision to come back, when you could have started your company anywhere? I felt like the people of Louisville and the Black community of Louisville deserved the same access and exposure to high paying tech jobs and training as I had experienced. In the words of one of my other entrepreneurial friends, Chris Hudson, CEO of Life's Journey Clothing, "Start Local, Finish Global."
What’s it been like building networks and community in the midst of the pandemic? Video conferencing and social media have been my greatest tools for networking in the midst of a pandemic. I wasn't intimidated to use what options I had available. People were craving connections while in lockdown, Black UX Labs, created a safe space for tech professionals to connect, create and prosper both personally and professionally.
How will Black UX Labs get more Black and Brown professionals in thought leadership positions? Black UX Labs will get more Black and Brown professionals in thought leadership positions by offering access to mid- to senior-talent, training of junior talent and partnership to events where Black and Brown professionals showcase their skillsets.
Who do you turn to most often for advice? My Story Louisville community! The expertise, compassion and overall sense of belonging among the Story Louisville entrepreneurs and founders is endless. Natalia Bishop and Lauren VanCleave are bomb.com women to know!
What is the biggest challenge you’re facing while working to scale your company? Funding from people who believe in the Black UX Labs mission, "getting more black feet in the C-suite." We need funding to continue to refine our products and hire operational and tech professionals to manage community and client growth. We are excited to work with business accelerators who believe in advancing Black and Brown founders as we are!
What’s one takeaway from your experience working for big tech companies like Google and Amazon? There's ALWAYS a space for people like me to make a major impact in product development, data analysis and consumer growth and retention. Having a clear and concise point of view took me further than knowing a little about a lot of things.
You mentioned discussions of mental health in Black UX’s network — where do you think employers could most improve on when it comes to protecting Black and Brown employees’ mental/emotional wellbeing in the workplace? By partnering and investing in platforms that speak directly to the frustrations and confusions of Black and Brown professionals during the full life cycle of employment. For example, someone may need access to mental health services as it pertains to overcoming imposter syndrome, exhaustion around code switching, and advocating for promotion. These services are needed from the hiring process, to onboarding, to mid-year reviews and career advancement conversations.
