Ada Sorey is a Data Entry Specialist, team leader, and co-lead of Queerate, Zulily’s LGBTQ+ Team Member Resource Group (TMRG). Queerate aims to represent anyone who identifies as part of the Queer community, anyone questioning their sexuality or gender identity, and all allies. Ada recently sat down with us to share her story and how she strives to ensure an inclusive culture and make a positive impact daily.

Tell us a little about your role at Zulily.

I started with Zulily as a temp and was one of the first data entry specialists. We upload vendor inventory into the system and upload images for buyer’s events, these are what you see on Zulily.com. During my time here, I’ve supported so many individual departments including junior’s clothing, the former vendor onboarding team (now called sourcing), the women’s merch team, and more! Now data entry specialists are our own team, work is pooled, and we support various groups; on any given day I could be supporting departments like shoes, consumables, toys and baby gear, but the list goes on.

Never a dull moment! What inspires you about working here?

I love connecting with each of my team members and learning more about them. One way we get to know each other is in our weekly meetings. Before and during our meeting, I’ll ask the team fun questions about themselves. In our meeting deck, I’ll include fun facts relating to the questions I’ve asked. This is a regular part of our meetings. It’s really great when team members who are generally quieter contribute to this activity and makes me feel like I’ve created a safe space for them.

Have any more tips for engaging teams?

Try to find small opportunities for your team to look forward to doing together. Keep in mind not everyone wants to participate and that’s okay! It’s important to find different ways for each team member to engage, so we try to be creative and vary our approaches. A cool thing we did recently was to create and mail handmade cards to a person on our team; just a random act of kindness that would brighten their day. My advice is to think outside the box. Figure out activities team members can do on their own time but that can be shared with the entire team when completed.

You recently won Zulily’s Leading with Purpose award, congratulations! How has your achievement helped support our teams and Zulily?

I received the award for demonstrating Drive Progress, Act with Empathy, and Embrace the Future. Since we have been working remote, I wanted to find a way to help our team feel more connected. Every week I spend time thoughtfully creating questions and activities people want to participate in and that require minimum effort. This has helped us learn more about each other and has given us a sense of belonging which in turn has helped us work better as team.

Which of Our Principles resonate most with you, and why?

Two principles—Act with Empathy and Be Brave. I really care about the people on my team. For me, it’s important to create a safe space where people can be themselves. I always want to make sure I’m open to other points of view and diverse perspectives. Also, every person on my team would tell you I say what I think and have no problem asking tough questions of our leaders that others sometimes aren’t comfortable asking. Often, I serve as a voice for others.

Thanks for helping to create an inclusive workplace. On that topic, do you participate in any of our Team Member Resource Groups (TMRGs)? And how can team members get involved?

As much as time permits, I participate in SQUID, which supports team members with disabilities, and Color Outside the Lines, which supports team members of color. I’m also a co-lead of Queerate which is our LBGTQ+ TMRG. I feel most passionate about Queerate and like that I can make a difference. We encourage allies to join us. Joining allows team members to drive their development, to increase their awareness and to help with initiatives that improve our queer community experience overall.

Are there any cool or interesting facts that people may not know about you?

I grew up in West Seattle and, in college, majored in interdisciplinary arts where my focus was on visual arts, and I dabbled in theatre and music. I’m a crazy dog lady who has two dogs that have my heart entirely. I’ve been an avid knitter since 6th grade. And I love trekking in different countries! Recently I hiked two parts of The Camino de Santiago in Spain which was 135 miles and took over 11 days. I’ve also hiked the Wicklow Way in Ireland, which is 75 miles and took me seven days.