Marv has recently joined Optum but that didn’t stop him from putting Pride at the center of his organizational advocacy. In a matter of months, he has been instrumental in setting up Optum’s DEI Council and Pride Chapter Networks in all of Optum’s locations in the Philippines. He has driven changes in the company’s policies on dress code and gender preference restrooms and promoted the company’s same-gender/domestic partner insurance coverage. As Talent Development lead, he not only re-launched SOGIE education across the country but embedded it in the new manager program of the company making the subject part of Optum’s New Manager Development journey. Marv continues to partner with external organizations advocating for LGBT+ inclusion in the Philippines, and through Pride@Tech, a community he co-founded, partnered with Propel’s award-winning initiative ReTold with Pride, aimed at increasing representation in stories we tell. His involvement in the academe has also made him a staple resource speaker for introducing DEI to undergraduates in a Jesuit institution as well as volunteering and promoting the gender hub of Ateneo De Manila University where he currently teaches part-time.
