Volunteer leader and co-chair of Vertex’s PRIDE Employee Resource Group since 2020, Evan supported the launch and expansion of the annual PRIDE Reverse Mentoring Program, which has created safe spaces for 35+ senior leader mentees and 70+ LGBTQ+ mentors to have meaningful and personal discussions about the experiences of being LGBTQ+, especially in the workplace. He helped sponsor 60+ company-wide events, including featuring transgender and non-binary speakers, sometimes in collaboration with other ERGs to highlight the intersectionality of being LGBTQ+ with different identities such as race and ability. He advocated and helped establish five all-gender bathrooms across three Vertex sites and has advocated for and implemented company-wide education on the importance of gender-inclusive pronouns. These efforts included adopting inclusive pronouns across Vertex’s I.T. platforms, with more than 25% of employees opting to share their pronouns since last year. He also advocated for LGBTQ+ employees to self-identify their gender identity, in order to generate meaningful metrics to track our progress in promoting LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion. Additionally, he helped Vertex provide 20+ sponsorships to external nonprofit LGBTQ+ focused organizations. Outside of Vertex, Evan is the founder of Hanwen Interiors, an interior decorating firm member of the Massachusetts LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce.
