Arpa Gonzalez came to Worcester as a 2-year-old from Puerto Rico, making it little surprising she would make celebrating cultural differences a priority. She joined Fallon’s Council of Cultural Competency since its inception two years ago, developing and implementing cultural educational programs for the Worcester company’s roughly 1,200 employees.
Gonzalez, Fallon’s Medicare sales compliance oversight manager and a 10-year employee, played a key role in launching Fallon Tree of Diversity, an interactive company-wide initiative to showcase the many backgrounds of its workforce. She’s helped develop online training materials to teach workers at Fallon, one of the 15 largest employers based in Worcester, about her native Puerto Rico. Gonzalez spreads her talents around, too. She lends her vocal and writing abilities to a local music and video studio open to musical artists and kids with special needs, and she is a parent volunteer at Vernon Hill Elementary School. She’s volunteered at a food pantry at Elm Park Community School, worked with Elm Park students as part of the Mary Keefe After School Art Program in collaboration with the Worcester Art Museum, and pitched in for Working For Worcester, an initiative building playgrounds and recreational space across the city.
Favorite Central Mass. restaurant? Nuestra. It’s owned by my daughter’s aunt Natalie Rodriguez, who’s an entrepreneur and worked hard to bring authentic Puerto Rican food to Worcester.
What career achievement was your hardest? Transitioning into a managerial role. Becoming a manager for employees I worked alongside who were mostly older than me was intimidating. But staying humble and professional allowed me to build healthy and respectful relationships, and I saw many of them progress into leadership roles themselves.
