Crystal Sincoff was pretty clear about her next career move after burning out working in the hospitality industry. She wanted to work for a woman-founded company in a position that allowed for professional growth.
She found both at Zapproved, which makes software for the legal industry and was co-founded and is still led by CEO Monica Enand.
“All my managers at Zapproved have been women. Amazing women. I had two LGBTQ+ people in my immediate group working with me. They lived their lives and were being themselves,” she said. “This idea of belonging and wanting to be sure that folks knew this is what we are about,” was evident at the company.
She started as an office administrator in July 2014 when Zapproved only employed a couple dozen people. Today, the company employs 150 and Sincoff heads up workplace experience and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. She is also a board member for PDX Women in Tech and an active member of various DEI organizations in town.
As a Mexican LGBTQ+ woman, she said in many ways she's been doing DEI work all her life. She recalls writing a column for her hometown newspaper discussing racism at her high school and speaking up when she heard racist or sexist comments.
“This has been a core passion of mine,” she said, noting that the work is more formal now that she has certifications and training. “Zapproved is going to continue to have this as part of who they are and this is part of who I am as well.”
Zapproved hosts regular speaker series with local and national DEI experts that allow employees and community members to have frank discussions and to learn together. The most recent featured Carrie Fuentes, with Resolutions Northwest, who offered actionable steps on how to create a personal racial equity roadmap.
Sincoff has been instrumental in building an onboarding system that puts Zapproved's commitment to DEI front and center. Every new hire receives training on the history of racist language, the importance of using appropriate pronouns and on microaggressions.
Feedback on the training has been generally positive, Sincoff said, though it has also sparked some difficult conversations about tolerance. Those conversation, though, allow Sincoff to make clear that intolerance of any kind won't be tolerated. She is especially proud that some transgender Zapproved employees have felt safe enough at the company to transition.
“At Zapproved, we are rooted in our core values of ‘Be Real’ and ‘Be Inclusive,’” said CEO Enand. “Crystal's leadership of our inclusivity work not only embodies these values, but elevates them for the greater good of the community. She has worked tirelessly to create an environment of psychological safety where our team can strive to be their most authentic selves and feel like they are truly accepted and belong. This has not only allowed us to keep and attract some of the best talent in the industry, but has become a model for the positive impact that DE&I can have on a business.”
The work, for Sincoff, is deeply personal. She worries about her nephew who is half Chinese and lives in a red state, and for her wife, who is Filipina with dark skin and who faces racism that she herself, who is lighter skinned, doesn’t.
“We’ve been married since 2014. When we leave this city, we think about whether we can hold hands. Or how do we interact with each other when we leave our safe space,” she said. “I really want my family to live safely and live their lives without worry. That is what drives me.”
With renewed attacks on civil rights across the country, Sincoff said it can feel like DEI work is one step forward and two steps back. But that hasn't diminished her passion.
“I was doing a training a couple years ago and someone was from a country where being LGBTQ+ was illegal, in fact it was a death sentence if you were found out. He had never been able to discuss trans rights. He was going to go home and talk to his family about what he had learned,” she said. “No matter how slow this work is, I feel like I am making a difference. There is a ripple effect and it’s reaching more than that one person. I think about that when I feel like nothing is changing.”
