In 2017, E.C. Pizarro III listened as Angelica Ross presented about TransTech Social Enterprises, an incubator to build and promote transgender talent in technology fields. He approached her afterward, volunteering to design artwork for TransTech.
Now, four years later, he's running the organization. As Ross focuses on acting and other projects after starring in Pose and American Horror Story, she transferred her leadership of TransTech to Pizarro in October.
"You couldn't have told me that I'd become interim executive director of TransTech," Pizarro said. "I know that being able to show up as my full self unlocked a level of leadership in me and expanded my mind behind just being a brand designer."
Before TransTech, Pizarro was stealth, hiding his trans identity as he worked corporate jobs. As a Black Puerto Rican trans man, Pizarro said it felt incredibly powerful when he could safely embrace all his identities in the work he did. That confidence came through TransTech, he said.
So Pizarro doesn't take his new title lightly. He said it's rare to see faces like his leading an organization.
"Whatever I do, I want it to be for the community," he said. "Because it's not about me. I'm just a vessel. But I also understand the power of my intersectional identities, sitting in this seat."