Humans of BuzzFeed

Annie Yu Senior Learning Specialist New York, NY

The funny thing about learning is that most people actually know what to do but because the situation may be naturally tough or it's their first-time, they're scared to do it on their own. It's amazing to see how a little bit of support can go along way. After a class or coaching session, it's extremely rewarding to see and hear how people feel like they can do anything. You can actually feel the energy change and people walk out taller. We all need a little nudge every now and then.

Danielle Boris Research Coordinator New York, NY

Growing up, my grandpa always told me to "do what you love and you will never work a day in your life." I went into my first job search with that mentality. I didn't want to work somewhere just to eventually climb the corporate ladder. I wanted a job that got me excited to wake up in the morning; one where I am consistently challenged and constantly learning. While most of the people I knew at school took the first jobs that came to them, I tried to hold out for that position that I knew I would be filled with learning opportunities and great people that I would never want to leave. I have definitely found that in BuzzFeed.

Gabi Deveaux Senior Director of Corporate Real Estate and Facilities New York, NY

The diversity here is amazing; these are the most eclectic mix of people I’ve ever worked with. It’s a real melting pot. When we were building out our new office space here, I asked people for some components of things they wanted in the office. I would say one of the biggest things people wanted was gender neutral bathrooms. To accommodate, we went ahead and added 4 gender neutral bathrooms because it was so important to the people.

Jesus Ward

IT Specialist

New York, NY

“The best part of my job is the people. I have the pleasure to work with a very fun and smart group and get to enable the BuzzFeed community with knowledge and wisdom to get their jobs done."

Rafa Farihah

News Video Intern

New York, NY

In this day and age, whenever I tell someone I want to be a journalist or reporter, they think its really fascinating that a Muslim woman is entering this field. With all of the islamophobia that still exists today, people think it is unsafe for me to go into journalism. If anything, it makes me more motivated to become an unbiased reporter to tell the news as it is.

Some people think immigrant minorities are trying to take their jobs. Especially with Muslims--people are scared of us because they think we're going to do something harmful to them. But having the opportunity to be able to make videos or even be in videos means a lot to the Muslim community--they're proud of me. People say things like, "we've never seen a hijabi on BuzzFeed," and it makes me really proud to represent. This is my opportunity to represent and change the face of my religion, Islam, to the world.

Jesse Barlowe

Product Insights Coordinator

New York, NY

Zeena Halepota

Client Services Manager

New York, NY                                                                         

Right now, most of my friends from college are doing amazing things. It's making me feel like, "oh my god, I'm not doing the same things as them, they're basically living their dreams right now.” For example, I'm not moving to Europe to go on tour with a major recording artist, and I'm not moving to Paris to represent and lead a team for my company. While I'm not doing as amazing things that are putting my name out there, I'm doing really well with my own goals.

You can't really compare yourself to others, you have to celebrate your own goals. I think for me, when I was younger I always thought that I had to be as good as my friends and my siblings, but really, you should just compete with yourself. That's the only thing that's going to get your far, and you can't compete with everyone else.

Working here offers so many opportunities, and I have to put things in perspective--I have to remember that I have things that people would die to have too.

Claudia Restrepo Video Producer Los Angeles, CA

How often had you dealt with the reality of being a person of color?

“I feel like I’m always walking the line of ‘I’m not just this, I’m not just Latina’ but I would say a lot of the professional steps I’ve taken have been enabled in part by being Latina. It’s this weird push-and-pull of ‘I’m not just this thing’ but also ‘yes I am this thing’ as it could get me into your diversity program or college scholarship.”

What’s it like working on “Pero Like”?

“It’s really exciting to be on the ground floor of it. There’s so many different types of identities inside of the Latino community and on my team. I grew up in a very white suburban area. I’m always asking myself, ‘Am I Latino enough?’ The rest of the world tells you you aren’t white enough, so it’s hard to feel like you don’t fit into what the ideal Latino is. It’s been very cathartic, to say I am enough, I do have a voice to share.”

What has been a mind breaking insight?

“You’re only as good as your last project, which has been a major adjusting since coming to BuzzFeed. You write a script and you give your whole life to it for a while. And here, you’re as good as the last two videos you’ve done, which pushes you to accomplish more. I’ve never been good at the numbers game; I’m much more interested in the execution of things, how it looks, how it resonated with someone, and lot of projects that are experimental or speak to marginalized voices just aren’t going to have the numbers, but it’s important to have that outlet.”

Essence Gant Beauty Editor New York City, NY

“I hope [the beauty industry] will just be diverse without having to announce it. I want diversity to be the normal thing. Right now it's like... oh, this magazine did this spread and it had so many different models all from different backgrounds and it's such a big deal that they're trying. It's a big deal because you never see it. I hope in five to ten years it's just normal because it shouldn't be a big deal. I hate when I watch award shows and certain celebrities are like the first to get in an award in something— it's 2016, you should not be the first! The first asian woman. The first black woman. The first latino woman or man to receive an award, be on the cover of a certain magazine, or be the face of a beauty campaign. There shouldn't be any more firsts. And it's like, good for the individual person for accomplishing that, but it also speaks to the larger issue of what's really happening.

My hope is that diversity is just common and people just do it because they should, and they're not awarded for it; it's not ground breaking. Like no, you're just being a good human being and not being racist.”

Gabi D’Addario Senior Manager, Global Video Adaptation Los Angeles, CA

“I’m starting to feel like the whole point of getting an education is not so much the stuff that you learn, because you forget it, you know? The facts you forget. But it’s more about knowing you have the capacity to learn things, and getting through it, just going through the experience of something that’s difficult. And sometimes you wonder why you’re there and you’re not sure if it’s always going to serve you...but knowing that you can do it is ultimately the reward it gives you. So while it’s not the same thing as running a marathon, it’s not physical, there is an element of endurance that you need to get through school and to get a job and survive in the workplace. I loved the school that I went to, and I’m proud that I got there and that I made it through.”

Quinta Brunson Development Producer Los Angeles, CA

“I think the reason why I like sharable media and sharable comedy so much is because I was always looking to reach other cultures when I was growing up. It was just enticing to me to find out what other people of other cultures were about and what they found interesting or funny. One of the earliest memories I have is when I was 5 and meeting a white kid for the first time and just enjoying her company. And I remember our families didn’t really want us to talk to each other, but her and I got along so well and I knew that was important. Even at such a young age I knew that was an important thing. I was a dancer for a long time and I would go to dance camp and be around Asian kids, Latin American kids, white kids, all kinds of kids. And our common thread at that point was dance, that was the reason we were all there. 

So, I think from an early age I’ve been interested in comedy that reaches a lot of people more than just comedy for the sake of being funny. It’s so easy to make a joke about a Kardashian or a Trump, I could do that in a second. But I don’t want to do that. I want to make a good piece of work that pushes culture forward.”

Michelle Fleischer Learning Specialist New York, NY

“I have an awesome job where I get to work with everyone in the organization, not just NY where I am based at but with BuzzFeeders from Europe to Australia. What I love about working at BuzzFeed is that everyone is so excited to learn. All of our sessions are optional and we have waitlists! That was one of my “oh my gosh” moments that what I'm doing is making an impact. I try to make all of the sessions as fun as possible. It's like being a teacher. We play Jeopardy in one of our new hire sessions and people love it!"

“Everyday I look in the bathroom, I cannot believe that I'm pregnant and due any day. I am very excited for this new phase of my life and totally scared but working keeps me distracted. It's a very flexible work environment and everyone has been extremely supportive. I'm really excited for this chapter of my life.”

Nabiha Syed Assistant General Counsel New York, NY

“So there is a video in the 7th circuit, Illinois, about, uh, involving… footage of a cell. In this cell there is only supposed to be one person. But for whatever reason— prison overcrowding— they put three people in that cell. Two of them were brothers that were in there for violent assault, and they were left unsupervised… and they managed to EAT the other person. Rip him limb to limb, and eat his organs.

And somehow no one saw what was going on. It was prison! Imagine, you have no instruments, you have no nothing, you have no knives. How are you going to eat a person?

That doesn’t happen in one second. That is a long process, and in this whole process no one realized that a. dude. is. being. eaten.

So the family of the dude— of the eaten party, is suing, saying ‘Hey Department of Corrections, what the hell happened?’

And Prison Legal News is covering this to say ‘We want to understand. Did a guard ever walk by?’ Because the footage would show if a guard walked by, if they ignored it, if the guy called out for help. But the DOC wanted to do all of this in private. They wanted no coverage, no nothing. The public wouldn’t know.

So we filed a suit to try to get them the footage. 

We lost. We didn’t win. The court said that the footage was so terrible that it couldn’t be disclosed, and I understand that, but it was a good fight. And Prison Legal News got to make its case to the court, and be in the court reports of what was going on, get access to some of the documents, so they could get a description of the video if not the whole video. Um, but that was one where you sort of realize… the stakes of what’s going on, and also the importance of media as watch-dog. Because the public should know.

It was such an interesting case, even though we lost, and that happens, you know? When you fight the good fight you lose sometimes.”

Jina Moore Global Women’s Rights Reporter Nairobi, Kenya

“People used to say to me, ‘Oh, Jina’s a gender reporter.’ And I would be like What? No, I’m not…

I have always been interested in people on whom power is enacted. Much more so than the people in power. There’s a lot of correspondents, in Africa in particular, who do really good work looking at the political dynamics of the continent; who’s in control, and which rebel group is negotiating with whom, and all of that. I was really interested in the people who that affects in the ways that aren’t usually represented in conversations with the UN or other political actors, you know? And it so happens that most of the time those affected people are women.

If there’s a power difference anywhere in the world, it’s usually being enacted against a woman. So there were a lot of women in my stories, that people saw as women’s rights stories— although that’s not how I saw them. I saw them as stories of justice or war. So I had this slow evolution into understanding that I am also a gender reporter and women’s rights reporter.”

You’ve written stories about women all over Africa, as well as Cambodia, Germany, and Sweden. Is there a story you have yet to cover that you’re really interested in?

“I really want to go to Afghanistan and take a hard look on the ground at the advances for women’s rights that everyone says has happened. I’m really interested in being like… All right, if you look around and you talk to these people; what worked, what didn’t, and also are we, Americans, the right people to champion the cause? Does it really help Afghan women to have an American Secretary of State or President being out there saying ‘this is how it should be’ for Afghan women?' That could have adverse consequences too. It's an open and interesting question.

I was in eastern Congo five or six years ago at this public forum. These school kids had done a cartoon, like a comic book almost, on girls’ access to school and why it’s important. They were unveiling it to the community and they were like fifteen or something and really excited. And there were three or four community leaders in this town who got up and said, ‘Oh well you know… this is this feminism thing, and it’s this western agenda and we don’t want it 'perverting' our Congolese values, so…’

So you have to be careful. And that's true everywhere in the world, even in the U.S. How do you best stand in solidarity with people who are affected by the change that you care about? That’s the animating question of privilege. I think that’s a really interesting and really rich place to report from.”

Jason Sweeten Senior Creative Producer New York, NY

"I’m working on a sketch that uses a game show buzzer. But my director was like ‘You need a louder one!’ I've been trying. Now I own all of these buzzers, but none of them are loud enough. I almost bought a doorbell, but it wouldn’t make the right rejection sound. Sorry, this has nothing to do with BuzzFeed."

Ochi Scobie Director of Real Estate Los Angeles, CA

“When we were filming The Muppets one day here at BuzzFeed, I had my daughter come in towards the end of the day. They gravitated towards her because she was a kid and we were done filming, and they were talking to her and interacting with her and it was super sweet. And then I turned around and every single person in the office was watching. They were, like, having their childhood dreams fulfilled through her, and it was just a really special moment for me to have with the entire office.

When you’re a parent, sometimes it’s day by day, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute thinking. But when I take a step back, I am really proud of the family I’ve made and the moments that we have together, and this life I’ve built. It feels true to who I am. To be happy at the place you are in your life, that’s something that you work towards when you’re younger. And I feel like I am in a really good place, and I’m proud of that.”

Michelle Khare Junior Video Producer Los Angeles, CA 

“My trip to India came about because my grandfather passed away very unexpectedly. My family needed to go to perform the last rites at the Ganges. Prior to this trip I have never been to India. Growing up being mixed race and not seeing my interests, my mixed culture family being portrayed in media was very difficult and isolating for me. Going to India allowed me to fully understand a part of me that I could not understand before. There were particular things about India that were amazing, it’s similar to being born on Mars and then shipped to Earth and I am seeing Mars for the very first time. I had not fully expressed and embraced who I am until this trip and I am so thankful for that. It was an incredible way to honor my grandfather and also reconnect with my roots, helping me solidify what my personal goals in life are.”

  “I want to be able to give the young generation a voice who are struggling with identity whether it is race based, being multi-cultural or having body image issues. I want them to feel accepted and not alone. I want you to know that no matter what your skin looks like, no matter where you are from, no matter the hardships you have been through, these things make you different, unique, beautiful and special and there is absolutely no reason why those elements can’t be your greatest strengths. I encourage you to get out of your comfort zones and embrace those things that you fear the most, love them and accept them as you only live once!”