Evelyn “Ella” Pérez-Albino on Working as a Lawyer in Tech

Evelyn “Ella” Pérez-Albino is an associate general counsel in labor and employment at The Trade Desk. Before that she served as an associate general counsel at Meta, advising on all workstreams impacting global company-wide DEI and HR strategy. Throughout her career, Pérez-Albino has championed first-generation professionals of color, so much so that she founded Ella Elevates to support the career advancement of professionals of color in the corporate space. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New York City’s Washington Heights, she still lives in New York with her husband and two kids.

As part of our Tech Chingonas package, Pérez-Albino shares what her mother thinks of her career, what she does to decompress at the end of the workday, and what she thinks of AI. Get to know her journey below.

What inspired you to get into tech?
Over the course of my career as a labor and employment lawyer, I really enjoyed helping my clients thoughtfully and successfully execute their diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies, and when the opportunity to do just that at a global scale at Meta opened up, I knew I couldn’t pass it up. Once there, I really appreciated the fast-paced environment and building relationships with cross-functional partners and knew that I wanted to continue working in an industry that would allow me to really leverage my communication skills and valued innovation and creative problem-solving.

What does a typical workday look like for you?
To date, I’m happy to say no two days really look the same. As an in-house attorney, you are your client’s go-to for all sorts of issues that might come up during the day. You can go from playing therapist and trusted confidant to advocate and bulldog, all in the same hour.

Typically, my days involve fielding unexpected calls from my internal clients on anything from implementing a new global HR initiative to developing a plan to ensure the company complies with a new law to conducting an investigation in between meetings with outside counsel, representing my company on litigation matters for updates on open cases, negotiating with opposing counsel on a settlement agreement, and reviewing a contract for an executive search firm engagement. And probably, all before noon!

What do you do to decompress at the end of a workday?
Ugh, it’s a lot of trial and error, and I won’t pretend to be great at it. But I try to be intentional about creating or finding moments, big or small, that make my heart smile. Some days, it’s a dance party with my kids, catching up with a dear friend, chatting with hubby over a glass of wine, or my favorite — mindlessly zoning out with Netflix and snacks!

How did your parents feel about you pursuing a career in tech?
I don’t know that Mami really even recognizes that I’m “in tech.” She is solely Spanish-speaking and emigrated from the Dominican Republic to the US to help her family instead of attending college. She is fiercely hardworking; she worked factory and domestic jobs to raise me as a single mom and make sure I had every opportunity at my disposal. As I grew, I started navigating spaces completely unfamiliar to Mami, be it college in the US or corporate America. Once I became an employment attorney, the industry I found myself in seemed somewhat of a secondary consideration, so Mami’s biggest concern was simply ensuring the role was “seguro” and stable. (Not that it’s worked much, because I got into aviation on the brink of a global pandemic and went into tech right before massive layoffs started happening! But that’s how I got to add “crisis management” to my résumé.) Though I suppose it helped that when I joined Meta, then Facebook, she at least knew of the company and could tell people I worked at “Faibu.” I think that’s a common experience for those of us from immigrant backgrounds — we often bounce between two or more worlds that know very little about each other. As I continue my journey as an employment lawyer in tech, now just getting started at The Trade Desk, she’s happy to see me excited about a new role and energized about all the cool things I’m working on at an awesome company.

How do you practice self-care?
The biggest thing is I try to extend myself grace and be as kind to myself as I try to be to others. Sometimes — though not all the time! — that can be more powerful than a manicure.

What are you reading or watching right now?
I just finished binge-watching “Suits” and reading “Financially Lit!” by Jannese Torres.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve experienced being a Latina working in tech?
Working in global companies, I’ve really appreciated the opportunity to connect and work with other Latin colleagues around the globe, and even getting to use my Spanish at work and having other colleagues on the Zoom dialing in from Brazil respond in Portuguese.

What do you love and hate the most about AI?
AI can be an amazing tool that can really help you save time on day-to-day starter tasks, and it can come in handy to get you brainstorming and get those creative juices flowing. That said, when relied upon too heavily, it can actually make things harder! It doesn’t always work as expected and things can get complicated quickly when you are left having to fix or sort through bad outputs. But as a lawyer, I suppose what I hate the most is that AI can perpetuate the same unconscious biases we encounter in real life unless we are intentional about mitigating those risks. Also, I hate to see people using AI without being mindful of all the consequences.

Johanna Ferreira is the content director for PS Juntos. With more than 10 years of experience, Johanna focuses on how intersectional identities are a central part of Latine culture. Previously, she spent close to three years as the deputy editor at HipLatina, and she has freelanced for numerous outlets including Refinery29, Oprah magazine, Allure, InStyle, and Well+Good. She has also moderated and spoken on numerous panels on Latine identity.

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