Starting any new job inevitably brings with it many uncertainties. If there was one thing Michael Levey knew without a doubt, it was that from day one on the job, he would be unapologetically transparent about who he was and, more importantly: whom he loved.

“I came in on my first day in 2004 and brought photographs of my soon-to-be husband, Chip, to put on my desk,” said Michael, Supervisor of Records and Information Management based in Cayce, South Carolina. “It was very intentional and very deliberate.”

Reflecting on workplace culture at a previous employer 20 years ago, Michael describes the exhausting nature of hiding his true self in the office and how he’d often left water cooler conversations feeling “disingenuous.”

“But a lot has changed since then. Now, I feel very comfortable sharing attributes about myself that everyone else does. I am who I am, and it’s remarkable and unremarkable in this right.”

Currently, Michael serves as the collaboration lead on Dominion Energy’s East chapter of the PRIDE employee resource group (ERG). He says he felt compelled to offer himself as a resource to colleagues, especially younger co-workers, who may be having trouble determining how to come out at work.

“We want to be authentic and bring our whole selves to the office,” said Michael. “So really, the focus is on how that will improve the bottom line and the work product we’re able to provide to our communities and customers.”

Michael advises anyone struggling to be who they are outside of closed doors to “take small steps and be deliberate.”

After coming out at work, Michael describes an incredible sense of relief and the joy he felt bringing his husband to work events and sharing those experiences with his co-workers.

“My husband is the most supportive person in my life,” says Michael. “I think there is a common language and shared values with my colleagues in the workplace.”