“Inclusive Future”

Astrid Benedetto

Chinese | Golden Valley, MN | she/her/hers | Private

Back in early March 2020, when the pandemic was just making the headlines, I was walking in the skyways leaving the office. I was deep in my thoughts and suddenly heard this loud thumping noise. I looked up and saw a woman stomping and shouting. I looked around, thinking she was addressing someone else, but there were a few other people around me paying her no attention. It dawned on me that she was in fact addressing me. She was stomping and shooing me away like I’m some kind of a wild animal. It all happened so fast, and in that moment, I just walked away, out of her path.

With each step I took, my brain started to process what happened. By the time I got to my car, I was angry. I was frustrated. I was sad. Mostly, I was disappointed in myself that I didn’t do or say anything to her. During my drive home, I replayed the incident over and over in my head, trying to figure out what I could have done differently in that moment. Honestly, I was caught off guard and don’t know how to react. During any workweek, the downtown Minneapolis skyway system is filled with business people. I would never have expected to walk into a situation like that in downtown Minneapolis.

This happened at the beginning of the pandemic and I hadn’t yet connected the dots that Asians were being blamed for the pandemic. That situation was one of many happening all over the country. It’s sad. It’s happening. It’s the reality for many Asians in this country.

I work as a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practitioner. When your work intersects with who you are, it can be very heavy. While DEI is the most rewarding work I’ve done, at times I’ve felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. There is still so much hate and ignorance out there, but this was one of many experiences that continue to validate that I’m in the right profession.

Astrid Benedetto (she/her/hers) is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Strategy Manager at U.S. Bank. She leads the strategy for the Asian, Disability and Native American employee segments.  In her role she drives the strategic alignment for talent development and retention of these segments. She also leads several Business Resource Group chapters responsible for developing best-in-class employee group programming to build deeper and broader relationships internally and externally with community partners.  

Prior to joining U.S. Bank, Astrid was a project manager for the internal audit team at Target Corporation. She is also an entrepreneur of an events marketplace startup in Minneapolis called Picabash, and served as Program and Hospitality Director for Women Entrepreneurs of Minnesota (WeMN). She started her career at Archer Daniels Midland as an accountant.