Alumni Spotlight: Gary Cooper, LT'18, Amazon

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Tell us a little about who you are and what you do at Amazon.

I’m a straight, cis, currently able-bodied, white man. (I think it’s important to ground that perspective in the way I operate and experience the world.) I’m married with two kids. My role at Amazon, and more broadly, is focused on driving an inclusion where equity is the outcome. The team I’m on seeks to build awareness of the systemic reasons for inequities and develop resilience to change those systems.

As a white person in DEI, my fundamental role is to disrupt the systems from which I benefit. As companies make statements about Black Lives Matter or communicate that the inequitable treatment of Black people (BIPOC communities) is unacceptable, my role, within my sphere of influence, is to hold leadership accountable to put statements into action. If that’s not happening, then I’m taking up too much space. I’m not special. I’ve been fortunate to engage with and learn from folks who continue to push my work and challenge me when I fall short.

What motivated you to participate in LT?
When I decided to apply for LT, I felt like I had a strong handle on how race and racism dictate outcomes for various communities. However, I knew I had gaps and, whatever I did know, existed in academic theory or in the abstract. Additionally, I wanted to shift my career into an equity-focused role, and I did not have a good handle on what that transition might look like or what type of roles existed within private, public, or nonprofit organizations.

A good friend and co-worker had gone through LT a few years earlier and pushed me to consider it. The more I researched it, the clearer it became that LT was the right next step. Not only would it allow me a chance to assess how to make my next career move, it would provide the life-changing opportunity to be in the same room with Puget Sound leaders who would challenge me. I would get to witness, first-hand, what challenging the system looked like in practice.

You’ve changed roles at Amazon since participating in LT. Can you tell us how, if at all, LT influenced that shift? Can you tell us how you apply what you learned in LT to your current role?

As mentioned above, I came to LT with the mindset that a change was needed. LT provided me with a new set of skills and perspectives through which to make that change. While I was, and continue to be, a voracious reader of and listen to the voices from communities most impacted by white, patriarchal supremacy, there were ways I still fell back into centering the traditional leader when it came to making changes. I would still look up a corporate ladder and see those at the top with the authoritative voice. LT fundamentally changed that.

“Certainly, our Challenge Days and the speakers provided a level of growth. But it was in those small table discussions, project group work, calls, social hours, and car rides which dramatically impacted the humility needed to grow and put into practice the learnings.”

There is one moment that continues to standout. During one of our Challenge Days, a corporate leader was discussing unintended consequences. Wyking Garrett was on the same panel and he pushed back on the concept of unintended consequences. Garrett emphasized that as an individual the outcomes of decisions may not have been intentional, but the system being discussed always intended for those outcomes to take place. That moment solidified impact over intent. It forced me to acknowledge how many times I let the language of unintended consequences go uninterrupted. That moment sits with me in every decision in my work and social sphere. I must be willing to put into action the call for equity, no matter the personal cost.

Are there articles or resources you’d like the LT community to read?

If you have a story or perspective you would like to share with the LT community, email Megan.

Featured AlumniMegan Rudolph