Welcoming Elizabeth Gouéti, our new Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
We’re excited to welcome Elizabeth Gouéti to our team as our new Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Elizabeth is a seasoned DEI leader with a passion for leveraging culture and people strategies to enable businesses to succeed. She brings to Thumbtack a broad and unique skill set, having worked as a litigator and DEI leader at companies like NetApp, Pearson Education, and Amazon Web Services developing programming and policies to create more equitable workplaces, enhancing diverse hiring initiatives, and more.
Elizabeth is a proud first-generation American who has lived abroad for extended periods in Colombia, England, and Spain and loves learning new languages and geeking out over cultural nuances (and food!). She’s a mother of two and parent advocate to the autism community.
I chatted with Elizabeth about her new role at Thumbtack and what she’s most excited about as she dives into her new role:
Jelena: What initially sparked your interest in joining Thumbtack?
Elizabeth: I actually discovered Thumbtack during the pandemic. We were living in Colombia and trying to figure out how to do homeschooling. My husband and I used the app to find a chess tutor who turned out to be amazing and taught my son virtually. So I was excited when I heard about the opportunity because I thought it would be wonderful to work with a company that not only supports people managing their homes but also managing their lives.
Jelena: You began your career as a litigator. What led you to a career in DEI?
Elizabeth: I am a very proud first-generation American who grew up in a home with people speaking multiple languages, so I’ve always known the power of difference. I’m also very curious about people and how the particularities of our diverse experiences directly drive culture; it’s one of my superpowers.
When I was an employment litigator, I found myself representing so many people of different backgrounds and I loved it — but I began to recognize that fighting in the courtroom didn’t always lead to the impact I wanted to make. So I joined a very large education management organization, Pearson Education, Inc., and found myself very drawn to the DEI space. I helped launch and support Employee Resource Groups in Pearson’s Orlando office. From there, I got involved in many different aspects such as initiatives to support women in the workplace by looking at promotion rates, and training. Following my time at Pearson, I transitioned fully into roles in the DEI space at Amazon, NetApp and Google’s Tech Equity Program.
DEI is key to driving excellence through people. It’s a space that feels really natural to me, and also a space where I want to continue to grow and learn for a long time.
Jelena: At a high level, what are you most excited to dig into?
Elizabeth: The first thing I’m really excited to dig into is how we think about and drive representation in the organization. As many people know, tech isn’t the most diverse space — whether that’s racially, through gender, or even people who are disabled and neurodivergent. So I’m eager to roll up my sleeves and help define what good representation looks like for our organization, specifically, and how we build an inclusive culture for everyone.
I’m also keen to think about how we are reflecting and driving alignment with our pros — so many of whom have unique backgrounds. Advocating for our communities is quite personal for me because I very much see my family reflected in our pros. My parents came to the United States in the early eighties and my father worked in factories and many of my uncles are blue-collar workers. I think about how my uncles would have absolutely used Thumbtack in the eighties and nineties if it had existed then. I also think about how much my father wanted to start and grow his own business. I’m very aware of the power of making sure that service professionals get the support they need.
Jelena: Which Thumbtack value resonates with you the most?
Elizabeth: “Choose Teamwork” is the one that I absolutely love. When people choose teamwork and intentionally collaborate, it leads to innovation. As a tech company, we want to ensure that we are innovative in our approach and how we look at things from different angles. By virtue of choosing teamwork, we are also choosing to embrace different voices in the room.
Jelena: What’s something most people don’t know about you?
Elizabeth: Maybe that I dream in different languages? I love to travel and I love learning about different people and cultures. My family is very keen on learning different languages — it is a priority for us. My son is currently learning Korean, my husband is learning Mandarin, and my daughter is learning sign language and just got accepted into a fully immersive Spanish program.
Jelena: What is the latest project you hired someone to complete on Thumbtack?
Elizabeth: Two weeks ago, I hired someone to replace this old, dusty fan in my living room. He helped me create a beautiful new one with a lovely, bright light that completely changed the room. He did an excellent job. Five out of five stars!
Jelena: What accomplishment are you most proud of outside of work?
Elizabeth: It sounds super cliche, but honestly, being a mom is beautiful. And amazing. My son is on the autism spectrum and it has been a journey for us as a family. There are some days that it’s super, super tough to be a mother. I have been on my own journey of transformation and acceptance of the changing seasons. So I think that for us as a family, and for me as a mother, helping my son to succeed in different environments where he can have belonging, has been a huge accomplishment. I’m very grateful.
Interested in joining the Thumbtack team? Visit https://careers.thumbtack.com/ to see our open roles
