Cynthia Bryant portrait
Video

“If there's a family issue…you have
enough grace to be able to take care of it.”

After balancing work and caring for her son as he dealt with challenges to his eyesight, Cynthia Bryant activated her courage. Now, she strives to manage her team with grace, strength, and truth in moments where they are also balancing family life and career.
Tosh Hudson Portrait
Video

“What makes me unique really does come
back to this idea of chosen family.”

With an appreciation of chosen families and defining relationships on our own terms, Tosh Hudson, director at Microsoft, shares his lifestyle of ethical nonmonogamy and champions nontraditional ways of connecting with people.
Athena Chang portrait
Video

“I think that's what makes us family, right?
You do not forget your roots.”

Inspired by her son, Athena Chang navigates her career and motherhood with empathy and resilience. Marked by familial support and the importance of cultural preservation as she raises her own family, she shares a deep connection with her clients.

Explore More

At Microsoft, we believe different perspectives lead to a brighter future. Discover stories of innovation and inspiration from Microsoft employees and artists.
Video

Passing down treasures

There are some keepsakes that get passed through the generations of a family. Cynthia Bryant presents us with some of hers, as well as ones that she may end up passing down herself.

Video

Art of cherishing memories

Sometimes our possessions remind us of our favorite places or home. Athena Chang shares the items that take her back to Taiwan, Prague, and New York.

Video

Tosh’s journey through time

There are artifacts in our lives that represent how we connect to the world around us. Tosh Hudson shares how journaling, music, and plants, for him, represent a willingness to release, learn, and grow.

More stories

Discover more from the families community. Meet the people behind Microsoft and the stories they bring to our everyday work.
Tash Bettridge portrait Category: Article

A path with many lanes

Through years of juggling her studies, part-time jobs, and motherhood, Customer Success Account Manager Tash Bettridge managed to find her place in tech— and has made it her mission to help other women do the same.

Category: Article

Finding belonging through allyship

As a parent of adopted children and a member of multiple communities, Senior Product Marketing Manager Tyler Mays-Childers says he’s able to find deeper connections through allyship.
Category: Article

Lessons on fatherhood and resilience from my Sikh upbringing

Senior Customer Engineer Davinder Pal Singh channels the teachings from his faith and family life into meaningful representation of Sikhism in tech.
Illustration for Families Community
Category: Animated Video

Master of messiness

As a mom and a tech leader, Elaine Chang has learned to embrace the chaos and put her “octopus mind” to work in service of innovation, at work and at home. Illustrated by Niege Borges.
Portrait of Dan Te Whenua Walker Category: Article

I am my marae, my marae is me – “Ko au te marae, ko te marae ko au”

For Senior Channel Sales Manager Dan Te Whenua Walker, connecting with the local Māori community allowed him to bridge the two worlds of his dual heritage, Māori and Pākehā.

Category: Article

Making space

With a background more in humans than in technology, Seattle-based Community Manager Naomi Boyd helps steer cultural transformation for Microsoft’s Advertising team in her everyday interactions.
Category: Video

Citizen of the world

Sandra Valle is originally from Mexico, living in Estonia, and managing orientation for new employees from all over the world. Explore how her experience embracing new cultures prepared her to face challenges head-on in her animated story by artist Niege Borges.
Sascha portrait Category: Article

Rethinking remote

During the pandemic, Experience Lead Sascha Ackermann and his team set out to make meetings and events more inclusive, for both remote and on-site teams. The result was Microsoft’s first hybrid event room.
Portrait of Sam Category: Article

Keeper of stories

Product Marketing Manager Samuel Briscoe leverages his unique upbringing and multicultural heritage to challenge biases and drive change on the sustainability front.

Joseph portrait Category: Article

Great expectations

When Colombian-born Joseph Sefair interviewed at Microsoft fresh out of graduate school, he was not expecting to get the job. Twenty-two years later, he continues to advocate for recruiting people from around the globe.
Lisa Huang-North portrait Category: Article

Showing up and taking action

Microsoft Security Senior Product Manager and entrepreneur Lisa Huang-North pulls from her multicultural upbringing to foster community for people who identify as Asian American and Pacific Islander.
Estefania (Fany) Canosa portrait Category: Article

Balancing career, motherhood, and personal purpose

HR Business Partner and mom of two, Estefania (Fany) Canosa advocates for women taking on new challenges both in the workplace and on the homefront.
Amulya portrait Category: Article

Lessons from childhood on embracing change

For Project Manager Amulya Gupta, growing up in an army family shaped her approach to creating more opportunities for women in tech.
Animated Story

Personal tech

For Pablo Veramendi, director of Audience Evangelism, responsible innovation is more than a professional mandate: it’s part of his job as a dad. Illustrated by Phoenix Owens.

Accountable for progress

Responsibility and accountability require action, not just promises. We leverage our platform to improve lived experiences at Microsoft and beyond—exercising the same commitment we bring to all we do.

Inclusive benefits

We recognize that families come in all forms. Our benefits include paid parental leave regardless of gender, comprehensive health and wellness benefits, enhanced fertility benefits, and subsidized backup care.

Informed approach

We believe that caregiving—including eldercare and parenting through adoption and fostering—are gender-neutral activities. Recognizing family caregiving as part of any employee’s life is also part of our commitment to advance gender equity.

Intentional flexibility

At Microsoft, there are as many ways of working as there are employees. We value flexibility as part of our hybrid workplace, supporting employees in the ways they work best.

Investing in access

We extended our existing limited travel benefit for medical services that are covered in US health plans but where access to care is limited—including for abortion and gender-affirming care.

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