Her Story
About Destinie
Destinie Harris has been in the airline industry for three years, currently working at American Airlines in airport technology with a focus on biometrics. Her work includes the biometric exit program for international departures, processing passengers through customs and border protection databases, and the TSA PreCheck touchless ID program, which enables biometric processing at security checkpoints without an ID or boarding pass. She previously spent a year in the airline's loyalty program after transitioning from four years in financial services where she performed product ownership and automation work.
She earned a bachelor's degree in information technology in 2018 with concentrations in cybersecurity and web design. She holds several product owner certifications including PSPO, CSPO, SAFE Popm version 6, and an AI certification. She is currently pursuing an MBA focused in product management.
Her most notable professional achievement is building out the Touchless ID program at American Airlines from its beginning, expanding it feature by feature to serve millions of customers. She belongs to the Black Professionals Network and Generation Now business resource groups at her company, serves as secretary on the board of her alumni association's local Dallas chapter, and is a member of OBAP.
Destinie attributes her success to having drive and leaning on community and advocates rather than achieving it alone. She values collaboration, a leader mindset, and maintaining transparency by being herself without minimizing her personality or code switching. She advises young women entering the field that literally anything is possible and emphasizes that building community through trusted advisors is more important than networking alone.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Destinie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to having drive and leaning on other people to help. You have to want to be in particular spaces, and it's irresponsible to say you got here by yourself. Community and people in your corner who back you or advocate are critical.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Building a community is really important. Networking is key but building community is bigger. These are trusted advisors who will speak on your behalf, people you feel safe talking through conflict or needing advice. It makes coming to work more exciting and bearable during turbulent times, and gives the most comfort when climbing the corporate ladder.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I am in places that I've never even known existed. Literally anything is possible.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Specifically for biometrics in aviation, lots of things are mandated from the government or agencies. There's not a lot of room to do innovation beyond what the industry and governments have dictated as roadmaps. There's always a good way to innovate how things are done but we're kind of told here are the things.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Collaboration and a leader mindset are important. It's also important to give a transparent view into who I am so I don't have to minimize myself or do any code switching. We're conditioned to be in a box but I want to be myself in every role.
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