Tell us about yourself and your role at Revamp.

Hi, my name is Sean Murphy. I'm a design engineer on the PV/BESS team here at Revamp. I've been here for almost a year, and I'm based in Brooklyn, New York.

What initially drew you to Revamp?

I was initially drawn to Revamp by its reputation. I had a former intern get a job here and speak highly of it. So, when I started a job search and wanted a little bit of location flexibility, it was kind of a natural fit. I'm really glad that things lined up the way they did.

One of the ways that I have shown up as my true self in this environment is, in a past life, I was a mime. In getting used to the full remote environment, sometimes on calls, I would kind of make a box around myself. And instead of getting from leadership and management, "What are you doing?" I got, "Oh, my gosh, you have to demonstrate that on the whole company All Hands call, which was kind of a strange way to feel affirmed and welcomed, but it was really great, and I had a great time. And it's kind of part of my whole deal.

Can you share a moment at Revamp when you felt especially seen or valued as a member of the LGBTQ+ community?

One of my fun, particularly queer experiences here revolves around being able to visit the bay. I had never gone to San Francisco or Oakland before I took this job. It's a really storied place with a lot of queer history, and I relish the opportunity to visit when I can. This most recent time that I went, our visit lined up with Oaklash, which is a big, popular, annual Oakland drag festival, which is totally up my alley and the kind of thing that I would go to in New York or formerly in Boston.

For that week, I was visiting with some other coworkers on my team that I had interacted with a lot virtually but was just meeting in person, and I felt totally comfortable and at ease saying, "Hey, I'm definitely going to go to this. I think that you would have a good time if you would like to," and we all had a really fun night out together and got to kind of like cultural exchange of, what's the scene like in your city? Do you go, what's there, what's fun? And I got to share something that I love.

What are you reflecting on during Pride Month this year?

This pride, one of the things that I'm thinking about and reflecting on, is the idea of coming out, not just as identifying oneself, but as a kind of coming in and joining something. Especially at a time when trans people's rights are being stripped away, and the government is cutting funding for HIV research that is really critical to the well-being of queer people. I think step zero for any sort of political action or community love is understanding the community around us, and it starts with stepping outside of your house. Whether it's to a bar, to a dance party, to a drag show, to a political organization, to a book club, to a supper club, to the shelter, whatever it is. I'm reflecting on coming out as, where are you coming out to?

If you could tell your younger self one thing about navigating the workplace as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, what would it be?

I think back to myself and my impression of the world in college at the beginning of my career, studying civil engineering. I think at the time, I had a conception of engineering, and especially the construction world, being kind of macho and masculine in a way that I wouldn't fit into, and I was kind of paralyzed by that idea.

What I found in my career is certainly those people exist, and a small handful of companies do exist with a strong, macho man culture. But no matter what profession industry you pursue, there will be queer people and allies in the workforce who are looking out for you and want you to succeed.

I'm proud to do the work I do every day, and I'm proud to show up to do it as an openly queer person. Happy Pride!