If mastering the art of transition was a person, it would be Brooke Pearson. An undergraduate alum of Azusa Pacific University, Brooke majored in communication and eventually earned a master’s degree in international policy and practice from George Washington University. While this isn’t the road most travel into tech, she didn’t let a nontraditional route stop her pursuit of entering the industry. “When I initially moved to Silicon Valley, I felt really like a fish out of water,” says Brooke. “I hadn’t gotten my MBA from some elite university.” However, imposter syndrome didn’t prevail. Today, Brooke is a Program Manager for the Privacy Sandbox program with Google Chrome.

Brooke leveraged her expertise as a program manager for the government to determine how her skills would transfer into this new space. After talking with colleagues who were already in the tech industry, Brooke realized she possessed the skills to be successful. All it took was reframing her resume to realize she was perfectly qualified for the jobs she was pursuing. Authenticity was Brooke’s way in, and it’s been the guiding force throughout her career.

“I found myself really leaning into Black employee resource groups within tech. Frankly, it’s been a lifeline of mine to be able to connect with other people across the company.” Brooke uses these groups to mitigate the isolated feelings of being the only Black person on the team; now she has a community and is working to change the narrative around the lack of diversity in tech. More recently, companies have invested in developing pipelines that reach as far back as kindergarten to align young students with the path toward tech. Brooke’s experience proves there’s not one correct way to enter tech, and she encourages companies and hiring managers to tap into Black practitioners who may just need assistance translating their skills.

Learn more about Brooke’s journey and the impact she is making on privacy and security.

This editorial is brought to you in partnership with Google.