Evidence before self-judgment
Your track record deserves to be examined before doubt gets to interpret it.
About Ricardo · Founder of QARETE
On stage, I was fully myself. At work, I made myself smaller.
Dance has run through my life for thirty years. Ballet Folklórico took me to Carnegie Hall and two Olympic Games, into classrooms as a teacher, and alongside every chapter of my career, including fifteen years at Fidelity. On stage, I felt free and joyful. Off it, I shrank.
I kept those parts of my life in separate boxes. At work, connection seemed to run on sports talk and family stories, and neither was mine. I assumed my culture, my art, and my years on stage had no place in a conference room. I was wrong. They were the foundation of how I lead.
The shift came at Fidelity, when the company recognized me as an “I Am Fidelity” honoree. It made something click: the parts of me I’d kept separate weren’t a liability. They were the point. I started bringing them to work. I learned to be confident while nervous, to translate the language of rehearsal into project plans, and to break complex work into steps a newcomer could follow. QARETE exists to help you do the same: turn everything you’ve lived into career power, without becoming someone else first.
Ricardo Cruz, Founder of QARETE and creator of the QVANT Method™.
Own your story. Make your value visible. Open your next door.
The life behind the work
Every room I’ve stood in taught me something I coach today.
Before QARETE, there was a stage, a classroom, a Pride board, and fifteen years inside a Fortune 500 company. Each one shaped how I work with clients.
The stage
The stage taught me the difference between performing and excelling.
I danced Ballet Folklórico semi-professionally for thirty years. I trained at Ballet México Folklórico, one of Mexico’s most celebrated studios, and performed at Carnegie Hall and at the Sydney and London Olympic Games. Dancing taught me that a fall doesn’t define a performance; how you recover does. It taught me that small details are what make excellence visible, and that joy is a discipline, whether it’s a midnight dress rehearsal or a project in crunch time. Most of all, it taught me that nobody is a star when the ensemble falters. We were better because we made each other better.
The classroom
Teaching people where they are.
I taught with my dance company, Baila Baila, and through community programs like Citizen Schools. My students ranged from elementary schoolers to adults learning the art later in life. Every group arrived with different needs, so every lesson had to meet them there. The best moment was always the same: watching a student do something they hadn’t believed they could do.
“Thank you for teaching the dance to me. It is really fun! Also, thank you for boosting my confidence. Whenever you would compliment what I was doing, that helped my confidence a lot.”
That note still describes what I do better than anything I could write. Someone was capable, and specific recognition helped them see it. I do the same work now, one career at a time.
The community
Committed long before QARETE.
In Albuquerque, I served as treasurer on the board of Albuquerque Pride and helped build the structure that let the organization grow its reach across New Mexico. As Mr. New Mexico Pride in 2013, I raised more than $5,000 for the Albuquerque Pride scholarship fund. I also served as Marquis in the Imperial Sovereign Court of New Mexico, part of the International Court System, which showed me how far our community reaches across borders. That is where QARETE’s core belief comes from: no one rises alone, and lifting each other up is part of the work.
Memberships & affiliations
Active in the organizations strengthening LGBTQ+ leadership.
QARETE takes part in professional coaching and business communities built by and for LGBTQ+ people.
Gay Coaches Alliance
Member · Listed coach
A community of gay and queer coaches. Ricardo's coach profile is listed in its directory.
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Hey Famm
Member
Hey Famm is on a mission to power the LGBTQ+ economy by helping millions of queer professionals connect, grow, and generate billions in value.
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Indy Rainbow Chamber of Commerce
Member
Central Indiana's LGBTQ+ chamber of commerce, connecting LGBTQ+ and allied businesses and professionals.
Visit Indy Rainbow Chamber of Commerce (opens in a new tab)
Out Professionals
Supporting Business
Out Professionals is dedicated to advancing the careers of LGBTQ+ professionals by creating meaningful networking events and other career-building and life-enriching programming.
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The career
Where it all came together.
I’ve spent more than fifteen years at Fidelity Investments leading complex benefits implementations for enterprise clients. Being named an “I Am Fidelity” honoree felt bigger than me. For the first time, I saw that who I am had been part of my results all along. Later, I received the President’s Award, the company’s top recognition, for delivering excellence to clients on critical work. I didn’t earn it by becoming someone else. I earned it by being myself and holding a high standard.
The belief behind the work
Your difference is not a deficit to correct.
You don’t need to borrow someone else’s stories, copy someone else’s leadership style, or sand down the parts of yourself the workplace hasn’t learned to recognize. The experiences you’ve kept in a separate box may be the strongest evidence you have. You need a way to make that value visible, credible, and actionable.
Visibility without performing
Being understood does not require becoming louder, less queer, or less yourself.
Power with context
Workplace relationships and structural bias belong in the strategy, not in a footnote.
Action with choice
A next move is deliberate, timed, and yours to make—not another demand to prove yourself.
FAQ
About the work
What experience does Ricardo bring?
Ricardo brings more than fifteen years at Fidelity Investments, where he received the President's Award, along with years of teaching and LGBTQ+ community leadership. The QVANT Method™ draws on all three.
Why does QARETE focus on LGBTQ+ professionals?
Because workplace recognition is not neutral. Self-editing, disclosure decisions, cultural familiarity, and structural bias can change how contribution is seen. QARETE addresses that reality without treating it as the client’s fault.
Is QARETE therapy?
No. QARETE is practical, identity-aware career coaching and execution strategy. It is not therapy, generic career advice, or inspiration without action.
See how this experience shapes LGBTQ+ career coaching at QARETE.