One Cadence: From Idaho to Silicon Valley With Pride
Written by BillieJ, Community Member
Recently, I traveled from my hometown and remote work location in southeast Idaho to participate with fellow Cadence employees in the Silicon Valley Pride Parade. Although I have attended a handful of large-scale Pride events in Seattle, Denver, Boston, and Salt Lake City over the years, I have never marched in one—and I have never attended a Pride with professional colleagues.
Cheers to Cadence for these blissful milestones!
When I graduated from Idaho State years ago, I wanted to move to Silicon Valley, Seattle, or Portland, where I’d be free to live more openly. I am an only child, however, and with my mom only having a few years left to live, it was important that I stay close. I got a great job at a local semiconductor manufacturer and fell in love with mountain biking. As my career grew in a place where the commute between home, office, and the trails was mere minutes, my childhood home in Idaho simply became my home. When my mom passed away, my community and coworkers became my family.
Cadence Culture
In a 20-year career that’s spanned digital test, design, and marketing, I’ve tackled a lot of technical and organizational challenges. Through serendipitous timing and a solid networking connection, I joined Cadence in February of this past year.
To combat the sense of isolation that can develop while working remotely, I’ve joined a couple of Cadence’s Employee Resource Groups and paid keen attention to company communications pertaining to my areas of interest involving the LGBTQ+ community, STEM education and outreach, and volunteer opportunities. In the realms of community involvement and professional engagement, I am deeply motivated by the mantra: Be the kind of adult you needed as a child.
Growing up in somewhat rural Idaho, I would have benefited greatly from seeing other women and LGBTQ+ people succeeding in technical careers, participating in community endeavors, and simply being happy contributors to society. During this past Pride Month in June, I saw that the Cadence Giving Foundation donated to The Trevor Project, an organization dedicated to suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth, and that the LGBTQ+ Inclusion Group would be a sponsor of Silicon Valley Pride and take part in San Jose’s downtown Pride Parade. I told my wife we had to go!
Cadence Pride
Employees from across the Cadence organization came out in support. We had representation from engineering, marketing, legal, program management, human resources, and customer support. We had our spouses, friends, kids, and kids’ friends. We had managers, directors, and executives—oh my!
Teens blasted bubbles while we waved and walked. Along with our smiles, we shared umbrellas and sunglasses with paradegoers—all were perfect for the sunny San Jose day.
As we lined up and waited for the parade to start, I made an effort to introduce myself and talk with the young people in attendance because that’s what I craved at their age—to be seen and included, to be treated like I belonged, and to grasp that no matter what my current situation might be, I can always contribute and have a place in this world.
In a nutshell, that’s what Silicon Valley Pride was about this past weekend—including one another, fostering a sense of belonging, and celebrating our unique contributions to this world. With my career changes in this past year entailing remote work along with everything encompassed in a new role at a new company, it’s like those messages were directed right at me.
I love that I got to hear those messages and experience it all as a Cadence employee with other Cadence employees. After enjoying the day and reliving moments through everyone's festive photos...it's time to get back to work!
