Championing change: A Q&A with the leader of AWS’s Global Inclusion Ambassadors

As a gay man with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Nigel Moralee describes revealing his identity as two separate coming-out stories.

“Before I came out, I was deeply ashamed of who I was because I felt like society didn’t accept me,” Moralee said. “On top of my queerness, my neurodivergent identity is considered a ‘disability,’ I’ve flipped the script and now use these experiences to champion ID&E.”

Moralee, a senior ID&E business partner for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) at AWS, has used his personal and professional challenges to chart his career path. His experiences also inspire him to give back, hence his work as the program leader of AWS’s Global Inclusion Ambassadors, where thousands of employees around the world volunteer their time to grow ID&E through advocacy, education, and empowerment.

“Every day, the Global Inclusion Ambassadors teach others to create safe spaces where we can learn, grow, and support people like me in the workplace,’ Moralee said.

Life at AWS met with Moralee to chat about his background and the AWS Global Inclusion Ambassadors' work to make AWS more inclusive for anyone who’s ever felt like they didn’t belong. Read our Q&A below to learn more.

Collaborating with colleagues and stakeholders with diverse backgrounds is fundamental to our approach. We believe that diverse perspectives lead to better outcomes. We have more than 12,000 Inclusion Ambassadors with more than 60+ Inclusion chapters globally. These Inclusion Ambassadors represent different countries, regions, religions, cultures, identities, experiences, and challenges.

It is imperative that we consider unique ideas and experiences while designing any new initiative, and always keep an open space to actively listen and engage the right stakeholders. We recently ran a survey to understand the program’s successes and opportunities. The feedback helped us implement new strategies that have led to a 32 percent increase in month-over-month engagement among our Ambassadors. We’re also launching the Global Inclusion Ambassador Leadership Summit this month, where we have invited more than 130 Inclusion Ambassador chapter leaders to come together under a theme of inspire, activate, and learn.

Inclusion Ambassadors work closely with the business to learn the best ways to support their teams, communities, and customers. With AWS operating across so many different types of industries, we’re always considering the business structure, customer needs, inclusion challenges, and ways to measure our impacts.

Inclusion Ambassadors, in partnership with the ID&E business partners, have come out with a lot of new initiatives and practices with focuses spanning Black women in tech, women in leadership, inclusive leadership practices, transgender awareness, mental health forums, and many others. Being customer-obsessed, our first step was to pulse-check the program in 2022 within our Inclusion Ambassador community, and we launched "voice of the customer" feedback workshops with ID&E business partners to better understand challenges and best practices. Based on insights from the feedback, we established four goals for our Global Inclusion Ambassador Program in 2023: simplify, activate and engage, grow, and celebrate.  

I envision the Ambassadors leading an evolution by fostering a culture where inclusion is a way of life at AWS. In this evolution, I see myself playing a role in mentoring and guiding the next generation of Inclusion Ambassadors, sharing best practices, and advocating for meaningful changes in policies and practices.

To become unofficial inclusion ambassadors within a workspace, you can:

• Actively listen to colleagues from diverse backgrounds and amplify their voices.
• Educate themselves about ID&E issues and engage in conversations about these topics.
• Advocate for inclusive practices and policies within their teams.
• Support Affinity Groups and employee resource groups that promote diversity and inclusion.
• Mentor and sponsor colleagues from underrepresented groups to help them advance in their careers.

I'd like current and future AWS employees to know that our Inclusion Ambassadors and our AWS ID&E efforts are focused on creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to bring their whole selves to work. We encourage everyone to get involved, share their ideas, and actively participate in creating a more inclusive AWS. Together, we can make a meaningful impact on the future of our organization and the tech industry as a whole.