Shipping features & building belonging
At Facebook, I worked on the Stories ecosystem. I built features that improved how people expressed themselves and stayed safe. In parallel, I helped reactivate and scale the Black Design community through programs that supported belonging, growth, and long-term retention.
Role: Product Designer (Stories) + Community / Program Leadership (Black Design)
Scope: Stories creation + interaction + integrity; Project Onyx initiatives; Oasis; Aperture research
Partners: Product, Engineering, Research, Design + cross-org community leaders
The work I’m most proud of at Facebook wasn’t a feature. It was what I helped build for the culture.
Being “the only” in the room changes how you move. It can quietly drain confidence, stall growth, and push great people out.
My goal wasn’t just community, it was sustained belonging and upward mobility for Black creatives. Project Onyx was my way of building that: programs designed to strengthen the environment we were working inside, not only emotionally, but structurally.
As the community strengthened, the work expanded into practical programs. The Culture & Diversity Panel pushed culturally relevant perspectives earlier in the product cycle, while REPRESENTation spotlighted Black creative leaders. We built the pipeline through Creative L.E.N.S., clarified mobility with Ladder Up, strengthened onboarding and knowledge sharing, and created an investing group focused on ownership and long-term growth.
Culture isn’t a perk. It’s nourishment. Protection. Mentorship. Access. The hand on your shoulder. The difference between “you can be here” and “you can become here.”
I’m proud of what we built, not because it made noise, but because it made room.
_