Lourdes Rodríguez-Morera builds a culture at OneDigital

Lourdes Rodríguez-Morera is a people person, which is appropriate for an individual who works at a company focused on people. “I built my career focusing on law, people, leadership, and culture. At the end, I think you end up where you’re supposed to be. And that’s why I am currently at OneDigital,” says Rodríguez-Morera, director, senior counsel.

Working closely with the SVP of HR, Rodríguez-Morera assists with a variety of issues in labor and employment, managing a diverse team and supporting and maintaining the great culture OneDigital has established. She also oversees outside counsel, one of her many passions. “I love litigation, but I prefer to do it from outside. I am involved in company litigation without having to go to court or directly handle the matter. It’s a perfect balance of what I love,” she explains.

Rodríguez-Morera was fascinated by systems, policy, and human behavior early on. After earning a BA in economics from the University of Puerto Rico, a perfect foundation prior to attending law school, says Rodríguez-Morera, she earned a JD from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico. “I pursued law to understand how the systems were structured and how we can improve them,” she explains.

Rodríguez-Morera moved to the US briefly to attend Tulane and earn an LLM in labor and employment. “It combined my passion for people, fairness, and workplace culture and fit my personality,” says Rodríguez-Morera. Returning to Puerto Rico she worked at Martinez Odell and Calabria for nearly seven years, handling labor and employment matters and gaining experience in litigation. “It gave me great experience working with big businesses,” says Rodríguez-Morera. There she also discovered another subject on her long list of passions: compliance.

In 2008, when the economic recession slowed work for lawyers, she sought opportunities in Washington, DC. Her ability to speak both English and Spanish proved a decided advantage over her competition. She immediately landed a role in a project with Akin Gump, shuttling between the US and Argentina, gaining a new perspective on compliance and US business regulations. With a desire to go in-house, Rodríguez-Morera relocated to Miami, assuming her background in civil and common law and her bilingualism would attract attention from Latin American businesses. After working in private practice and running the legal department at a pension services company, she signed on with OneDigital in 2021.

In addition to advising and collaborating with senior management, Rodríguez-Morera co-chairs the Hispanic ERG, Unidos as One. Organized in 2024, the organization brings Hispanics within the company together to share their stories. “We created a space for the Hispanic community to celebrate our traditions and our holidays. It’s continuous work for me and my colleagues and the leadership of the ERG to create a space for the Hispanic community and to share with everybody in the company about our traditions, music, food, and what we bring to the company.” says Rodríguez-Morera.

Throughout her career, Rodríguez-Morera has sought to coach younger individuals. “I love teaching. I love coaching and helping others,” she says. Now with twenty years of experience in law and business, she guides and learns from those she leads. “I always try to convey the importance of great customer service. This can sound corny, but we have one client, but we serve 5,000+ people. It’s really important that we provide great service to our clients. That’s something I’m proud of,” says Rodríguez-Morera.

Her goal is to foster a culture that’s inclusive, supportive, and collaborative. “Everybody has a voice. Throughout my career, I have worked in companies that have very poor culture. You can tell there are people that are unhappy, people don’t communicate how they feel, people don’t grow, and people leave the company. Now I feel I ended up in a place where I can feel comfortable and be myself. OneDigital is a company that has a great culture. It’s open for everybody,” says Rodríguez-Morera.

Rodríguez-Morera balances executive leadership with motherhood, intentionally preserving her family’s Latino heritage. At home she speaks Spanish with her American Peruvian husband and their daughter, but she is teaching her daughter English, she is fully bilingual. “My culture, my language, my traditions are part of my every day, not only in my house but at work too. Everybody knows that I’m from Puerto Rico. Everybody knows I celebrate XYZ holidays. I’m very proud of the Puerto Rican Christmas traditions that I combine with American traditions; that’s something we must feel proud about and that’s what I’m teaching my daughter. She’s American, born in Miami, but she has Hispanic heritage. She is half Puerto Rican, half Peruvian, and she has been exposed to both cultures growing up,” says Rodríguez-Morera.