Hispanic Heritage Month

Latinx ERG Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month.

Hispanic Heritage Month takes place from September 15 through October 15, and celebrates the achievements and contributions that Hispanic Americans have made in the United States. We sat down with members of Teva’s Latinx Employee Resource Group (ERG) to learn more about the mission of the group, their career journeys and perspectives on this notable milestone.

The mission of the ERG is to support the Teva Latinx community’s understanding of the Company’s global business and culture by promoting awareness, mentoring, networking, and leadership.  The ERG’s aim is to foster an inclusive environment that empowers employees.

Meet the members

Dan Ramirez, VP and Head of Global Facilities -- with Teva for 5 years

Executive Sponsor of Latinx ERG

• How do you honor Hispanic Heritage Month? By teaching my daughters about prominent Hispanics (past and present) in a wide range of fields, and especially women, so they know that they too can accomplish anything they set their minds to achieve. Hispanic Heritage month is a great way to remember those that have made an impact on the Hispanic community.
• How did you get your professional start? After graduating from college, I started managing a few facilities for a large security company which gave me a great learning foundation before moving to a company that gave me the opportunity to become a lot more immersed in Facilities Management. From there, my career has been about continuous growth and development.
• Who or what has been the biggest influence on your career in general and/or at Teva? A former manager was a great mentor and taught me a lot about our field of business, strategic thinking and attention to detail. 
• What is the best career advice you ever gave and/or received? Set realistic goals, stay focused, work hard, continue to learn, grow and re-invent yourself.
• Can you describe a particularly memorable achievement at Teva? My biggest achievement at Teva is a continuous one -- building an organization of Facilities professionals and watching how that team continues to support Teva sites and employees daily. Although that work may not get noticed at times, it still brings me pride to know that we are doing our part to make this company successful.
• Why is Teva a great place to grow your career? Teva is still re-building/re-inventing itself. That creates continuous opportunities and it is great to be part of that.
• Fun fact: I enjoy scuba diving and am very passionate about cooking.
• Why did you decide to join the Latinx ERG? I wanted an opportunity to make an impact for Latinos at Teva and to enable Latinos to contribute to our Company’s mission.

Diana Diaz-Lieberman, Senior Manager, Total Rewards – with Teva 18+ months

HR Lead for Latinx ERG

• How do you honor Hispanic Heritage Month? Hispanic Heritage month is a time to honor, reflect, and celebrate the uniqueness of the Latino culture.
• How did you get your professional start? I started my career as an Application Support Analyst in the IT field. After several years, I realized that it wasn’t fulfilling, so I made a career switch into Human Resources.  Since then, I’ve worked in different areas of HR, such as Recruiting, HRIS, Workforce Analytics, and Total Rewards. 
• Who or what has been the biggest influence on your career? I’ve been lucky to have several excellent mentors and managers throughout my career that have believed in me enough to take a chance on me, even when I didn’t necessarily have the right experience that they wanted for a particular position. It taught me the value of looking past just a person’s experience to recognize their potential. 
• What is the best career advice you ever gave and/or received? A former manager gave me the best career advice. He taught me that there’s a time for humility and a time to toot your own horn.  If you don’t proclaim your own accomplishments, no one is going to do it for you. 
• Can you describe most rewarding experience at Teva? The highlight of my career at Teva so far is getting the opportunity to work with such an amazing team of HR professionals. Everyone is very willing and open to listen and to give feedback.  For me, it’s been very rewarding to build these strong and highly effective working relationships.
• Why is Teva a great place to grow your career? The open and friendly culture at Teva makes it very easy to build relationships which can lead to career growth opportunities.
• Fun fact: I’m the first generation of my family to be born in the United States and the first to complete a graduate degree.   
• Why did you decide to join the Latinx ERG? What do you hope to accomplish? I joined the Latinx ERG to create a strong network within Teva to create career opportunities for latino employees and raise awareness of the latino culture.

Georgina Kyriazis, Executive Sales Representative – nearly 3 Years at Teva

Latinx ERG Co-Lead

• Why did you decide to join the Latinx ERG? It is my hope that the Latinx ERG can help to continue to foster a corporate culture of Inclusion & Diversity. The power of Inclusion & Diversity is that it drives innovation, creativity and strategic thinking and problem solving through different perspectives. We must be intentional about building an inclusive culture at Teva where people feel valued and heard. We also serve a diverse community of patients and providers and as a company our work force should be reflective of that. Diverse groups of employees pull from a wider range of experiences, sources and insights and as a result are able to make informed decisions which can lead to improved results that will better address the communities we serve.
• My inspiration: I get my strong work ethic from my Dad and my love of learning from my Mom. My diverse cultural background has inspired me professionally and personally. My Father was born in Greece and was a Regional Sales Manager in Silicon Valley. His exceptional work ethic is where I derived my dedication to bringing my best at work. My Mom is a strong, driven and intelligent Latina. She is a retired school teacher and speaks three languages: English, Spanish and French.
• Proudest Teva achievement: Last year I climbed 40 spots in the rankings in just two-months and won President’s Club in 2019. Being called up to the stage to be recognized for this honor was an awesome experience.
• Fun fact: I love taking Bachata and Salsa dance classes on the weekends as it is a fun, cardio work out and I love the music.

Carlos M. Tafur, MD. Senior Medical Director – at Teva for about one year

Latinx ERG Co-Lead

• How do you honor Hispanic Heritage Month? We celebrate the histories, cultures, contributions and impact of the people of Latin American cultural or ethnic identity in the U.S.
• How did you get your professional start? My career in Pharmaceutical/Biotech started 16 years ago as a field-based Medical Science Liaison (MSL) in Respiratory. Since then, my career progressed through a variety of roles with greater responsibilities at several major global pharmaceutical companies, including roles in medical affairs and HEOR functions in cardiovascular, respiratory, diabetes and rare diseases.
• Who or what has been the biggest influence on your career? Growing up in Ecuador, my decision to become a medical doctor was driven by the values instilled in me by my faith and my parents. The idea of a profession focused on helping others lead healthier lives, regardless of circumstance, appealed to me and I cannot imagine doing anything else. As a doctor and researcher in the pharmaceutical industry, I have the privilege of collaborating with medical, scientific and advocacy communities in the U.S.
• What is the best career advice you ever gave and/or received? Every person you meet is a potential door to a new opportunity—personally or professionally. Build good bridges even in that just-for-now job, because you never know how they’ll weave into the larger picture of your life
• Why is Teva a great place to grow your career? It provides a great environment for cross-functional collaboration and career growth opportunities.
• When I am not working, I like to: spend time with family and friends, enjoy the outdoors, play golf and ride my motorcycle.
• Why did you decide to join the Latinx ERG? It is important to honor our shared backgrounds and leverage this space to meet and contribute to an inclusive workplace. I am also excited to help Teva become more aware of the Latinx community and how to best engage us.

Lora Agredano Martinez, Executive Sales Specialist, Neuropsych – joined Teva in February

Latinx ERG Member

• How do you honor Hispanic Heritage Month? My family and I reflect on Latinos who have made an impact and are inspiration in the U.S. One person’s perseverance can really make a difference.
• How did you get your professional start? Within the pharmaceutical industry, I’ve had two starts in my career. I started in 1998 with a contract company to gain experience and within a year, I was hired by Wyeth, where I worked until 2002 when I left to raise my kids. Then in 2012, newly divorced, I returned to the workforce at Sanofi after a 10 year absence.
• What is the best career advice you ever gave and/or received? I can attain any goal with determination, education and a positive attitude.
• It may surprise you that: I enjoy adventurous activities like sky diving.
• Fun fact: I was in the intro to Chico and the Man as a toddler.
• Why did you decide to join the Latinx ERG? I joined this ERG to expand my network within Teva, educate Teva about Latinx traditions, culture and how it impacts our company. Also, to help elevate diversity and inclusion within Teva.