Honoring veterans: Michelle Berrett's journey of authenticity at Pfizer

I am Michelle Berrett, a Sr. Automation Technician at Pfizer based in Kansas. My role involves ensuring that the automated systems at our manufacturing site produce lifesaving medicines as designed and maintaining compliance to ensure patients receive the correct dosage every time. I founded and lead Pfizer’s local chapter of the Out Pfizer Employee Network (OPEN) Colleague Resource Group (CRG) as well as our Gender Diverse Colleague Community, which includes members who are transgender and those who deeply care about the transgender community.

I am currently on a secondment as the Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Enterprise Partnership Marketing Manager. In my past professional experience, I proudly served in the United States Air Force on active duty for six years, including deployment to Qatar and Kyrgyzstan.

During my active duty, I fought for people’s freedom and rights, allowing and protecting others’ freedoms, including the ability to live their lives authentically, even though I could not live authentically myself. Initially, I was skeptical about living authentically at Pfizer, but over time, I realized that Pfizer not only talks the talk in regard to their company value of equity, but walks the walk. I have been provided ample health and medical benefits that have supported not only myself, but my family's needs, as well as receiving steadfast support from leaders at all levels. I have now been living as my authentic self for over two years in all aspects of my life, which has brought me immense joy. I founded my OPEN CRG chapter with a mission statement striving for colleagues to live authentically in all aspects of their lives as well.

Before founding the McPherson chapter of OPEN CRG, I helped establish the Veterans in Pfizer (VIP) CRG as the first CRG at our manufacturing site and have been highly active with VIP ever since. Together, our OPEN and VIP chapters have partnered and collaborated to make Pfizer an amazing workplace for our colleagues and communities. Two events and programs I am most proud of are setting American flags at veterans’ gravesites at the city’s cemetery during Memorial Day and preparing and serving a Veterans Day steak dinner to my fellow veterans at the American Legion.

During Suicide Prevention Week, the VIP and OPEN CRG hosted an intersectional lunch and learn event about suicide awareness as both the LGBTQIA+ and veteran communities face a disproportionate rate of suicide due to the challenges and issues associated with transitioning in their lives, mental health conditions, social isolation, discrimination, and more. Via interactive presentations and engaging conversation, we discussed the impacts of suicide in our communities and preventative measures and support. A recommendation emerged from the event to create a poster with mental health resources available to colleagues, which was eventually taken to the site leader and ultimately resulted in a poster campaign that hangs around the site in both public and private spaces.

Both the military veterans and LGBTQIA+ communities are rich in diversity and have many commonalities. The diversity within these communities has required its members to develop well-rounded soft skills to accomplish missions and survive. For LGBTQIA+ veterans, the intersectionality of these groups compounds the effects of the skills they have gained from coping with the challenges of being in these communities. By continuing to embrace the diversity of the veteran and LGBTQIA+ communities, Pfizer continues to unleash the power of these communities, enabling them to help make breakthroughs that change patients’ lives.