Dimensions of Diversity - Passion for Helping People Turns to PRIDE

Christin Anniannis is passionate about helping people. As Director of Health & Safety at Trane Technologies, she was part of the team who spearheading the efforts to keep our people safe amid the Coronavirus pandemic. And for 10 years before that, she’d been working to make sure team members in our manufacturing plants return home safely each day.

Her passion for helping people also includes creating an inclusive culture at work—so people feel safe to show up with their whole, authentic selves. For Christin, that required some courage and the decision to step outside her comfort zone. It started when she was approached to join the steering committee of PRIDE, our Employee Resource Group (ERG) for people who identify as LGBTQ and their allies.

“I came up through other manufacturing companies and experienced the struggle of feeling like I couldn’t be my authentic self at work,” Christin said. “I spent those early years worrying that, if I openly identified as a lesbian, the work I did to promote safety and well-being would get lost.

“Identifying as LGBTQ is just a small part of who we are, yet some of us fear that’s the only part people will identify with. I don’t want people to struggle with this like I did early in my career—and at Trane Technologies, I’m proud to say that they don’t have to.”

A great journey

In case you’re still wondering, Christin did join the PRIDE ERG steering committee, and in 2017 she became co-chair.

And what has it been like?

“I’ve found that the more you share your authentic self, the more comfortable you get and the more open you can be,” she said. “Things just start to flow.”

Dimensions of Diversity

Christin is a daughter, sister, mother, wife and aunt, and celebrates her Italian heritage by passing down traditions and recipes. She’s also a self-proclaimed sports nut: She played college basketball at West Virginia University, where she met Tonia, who played soccer there.

“Sports and exercise are still part of my life,” Christin said. “I think a life filled with sports has made me very competitive, a team player, able to learn lessons from winning and losing, and able to relate to others. The lessons I’ve learned in sports have translated to the professional world, too.”