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Every month, KSWELI features a panel of alumni to discuss their experiences as women and leaders in the entrepreneurial world. For February's EmpowHER Hour, speakers Erica D’Eramo and Indra Gutierrez indulged students with tools and conversation about authenticity and leadership within the workplace - even when it doesn’t seem possible.
Erica D’Eramo has dedicated her work to equity and inclusion in the corporate world. In 2016, she founded Two Piers Consulting: a consulting organization that supports under-represented communities in the workplace by providing strategies to integrate diversity, inclusivity, and equity in companies. Indra Guiterrez, President of Guitier, oversees multi-billion dollar projects and leads a Women’s Network aiming to support and empower female leaders in the construction industry.
D’Eramo and Guitierrez both shared their experiences of being leaders as women in male-dominated spaces, and are truly trailblazers by creating the change they wanted to see. The session sparked conversation on what it means to be authentic and offered ways to maintain that authenticity in challenging spaces within roles of leadership. D’Eramo provided interactive, thought-provoking questions making students really think about how they feel, what they value, the future they see for themselves, and what impact they want to make as leaders.
Finding one’s authentic self relies on one’s values, self-awareness, and ability to be present - things that aren’t always possible. However, when spaces are made with diversity in mind, psychologically safe environments can exist where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
D’Eramo and Guitierrez set the bar for leadership in its many forms while remaining their authentic selves, maintaining their values, and providing other women with the opportunities to do the same.
About The Author:
Olivia Marbury'25
EmBOLDen Committee