Dominican Republic
Pabel Martinez
Episode 40: An Afro-latino’s experience in Tech
Meet Pabel Martinez, a former Tech executive whose mission is to redefine professionalism by scaling the representation he wished he had earlier in his career. Pabel was born in NYC to Dominican parents and grew up in the projects on the Upper West Side. He was raised by his Abuela who helped him develop a sense of belonging with the Dominican community by teaching him Spanish since he was born.
He graduated with a degree in Economics from Northeastern University and upon graduation entered the Tech field. Not only that, but he worked in tech for ca. 10 years at companies such as Facebook and TikTok, and most recently, he became an entrepreneur and the owner of Plurawl.
We covered a range of topics in this conversation, including how affirmative action helped him get to College, the difference between inclusion vs. assimilation, and how he aims to be the generation that eliminates code-switching by redefining what a “Professional” looks like.
Pabel has accessed a level of courage and vulnerability that we have not seen before, and he is using his experiences to empower the Latinx community to advocate for themselves while being their authentic selves.
Check out Pabel’s podcast ¿Quién Tú Eres? here: https://open.spotify.com/show/7pd710FIKFb89FtIuurdyI
Dominican Republic