Celebrating Pride at Charles River: LGBTQ+ Employees Share Their Stories

Tara Robidoux, Operations Manager, Explora BioLabs

Pronouns: she/they

Tara Robidoux became interested in a science career during her high school years in Worcester, when she decided to do an animal tech internship at a local university. Around the same time the seeds of her vocation were being sown, Tara was also dealing with the after-effects of her decision to come out of the closet. The decision was freeing, but she also faced ridicule. “In school, I was bullied a bit, as one of the first students to … be open about myself,” recall Tara. “It was really challenging, but I didn’t want to be closeted, as it was really stressful, and was taking a toll on my mental health.

Tara weathered this storm but has never forgotten what it felt like. As she forged forward, building a career first in bench science—one of her specialties was mouse breeding colony management —and later vivarium management, she occasionally found herself on the receiving end of hurtful words and actions. “In my working career, I have worked with people who were outwardly homophobic, and it was scary at times,” says Tara. “I did my best to avoid and try to not engage but that wasn’t always easy. It was also very discouraging when I’d speak up about the way some coworkers would speak to and treat me and I was told ‘that’s just how so-and-so is, try to ignore it.’ I did eventually leave that job and did find that that work culture doesn’t exist everywhere and there are places that do value me as a person and do make everyone feel included.”

Tara recently joined Charles River through its 2022 acquisition of San Diego-based Explora BioLabs, which offers contract vivarium operation services. She is passionate about animals and management, a perfect combination for what she does now. For people within the LGBTQ+ community pondering whether to come out she is encouraging as long as they feel safe to do so. “Coming out is a different experience for everyone, so just because someone may have had a bad experience, doesn’t mean you will,” says Tara. “I am thankful that my family and most of my friends were very accepting of me and that made things easier. There will always be hateful people in this world, and I almost feel pity for them for holding onto such unnecessary hate and anger.”