Her Story
About Lucia
Lucia Cruz serves as a Program Manager and Operations professional in the government tech field, where she has spent the past five years. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, her role blends operations and program management, involving client meetings, team collaboration, and navigating challenges such as administration changes and government shutdowns. She earned a bachelor's degree in journalism along with a double minor in history and sociology, which she credits with broadening her perspective and enhancing her ability to understand people and government dynamics. Cruz emphasizes ethics and empathy in her work, drawing from her personal values centered on faith, and she advises young women entering the male-dominated field to approach every room with unapologetic confidence to help advance government progress.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Lucia
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received from my first manager after graduating college was to be proud of whatever seat I have at whatever table. It does not matter if I do not think I should be there or if I might not have input; I should soak it in and allow myself to be there because someone else saw something in me that I was not capable of seeing. This has made me more confident in whichever room I am in, willing to contribute even if I am not the smartest person there.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The field is very male-dominated, and as a woman we have to find our place in every place we go because sometimes it is not created for us. I would say to unapologetically go into every room with confidence because the world, especially my field, needs a lot more women that are willing to bring down those barriers. We need more women in tech, more program managers, and more people that will help our government progress.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Some of the biggest challenges have to do with administration change, which makes it hard to know the stability that will come from this field. For opportunities, it is a chance to grow. You learn a lot and often sit at a table where you might not think you belong, but it makes it easy to move forward. The field needs more women and people willing to progress it, with opportunities as a PM, building tech, or on the operations side to make a difference.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my personal life, the most important thing is God. I would not be anywhere I am if it was not for God, as He gives me my intelligence and will to be better each day. For my work, which also comes from God, it is ethics. We have to be empathetic and ethical in the work we do and understand that people come with different perspectives. Whether dealing with internal employees on the operations side, you have to be understanding of situations everyone is going through. Being ethical means accepting that some things are set apart for us to do until we can make a change.
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