Speakers
Subject To Change
Ibilola Amao, Ph.D.
Executive Consultant, Lonadek Global Services
Dr. Ibilola Amao is the Principal Consultant of Lonadek Global Services (See: https://www.lonadek.com). Lonadek is a multi-award-winning, women-owned, ISO: 9001: 2015 Engineering Technology and Information Management Company. Lonadek builds capacity, capability and competence of STEM talent to deliver value through the democratization of technology in the Energy, Power, Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Oil and Gas Since establishment in 1991, Lonadek has trained over 5,000 Engineers and empowered over 100,000 STEM Talent. Lonadek is currently collaborating with Microsoft, LinkedIn and GitHub to digitally empower over 10,000 STEMpreneurs and TECHpreneurs in Africa. We focus on Human Capital Development Initiatives (HCDIs) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities.
Ibilola is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, Energy Institute (EI) UK, Nigeria Academy of Engineering and Nigerian Society of Engineers. She is an EI International Energy Week Board Member, Member of the panel of judges for the Royal Academy of Engineering UK Africa Prize as well as the EI Annual Awards. Ibilola is a Co-Founder of the Women In Energy Network (WIEN), a council member of WEConnet International, Nigeria and provides Engineering Technology Expertise on boards.
Ibilola is a 2021 WEConnect Rise To The Challenge Engineering Sector Awardee, 2020 C3E International Energy Women of Distinction Awardee, Forbes Rising Star 2019, Vital Voices VV100 Fellow, an International Women Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Awardee and a 2016 Energy Institute Champion. She mentors STEMpreneurs and TECHpreneurs. As a Vital Voices VV GROW, VV100, GAP 2017 fellow and WeConnect International certified member she is involved in Girls in STEM and Women in Entrepreneurship activities with WimBiz. Ibilola pays it forward for national development and socio- economic transformation.
Shellye Archambeau
Author, Board Director, and Speaker
It is my pleasure to introduce Shellye Archambeau, the former CEO of MetricStream, who Reid Hoffman, the co-founder and former Executive Chairman of LinkedIn, describes as the woman who pulled off the most incredible Silicon Valley turnaround you never heard of.
Archambeau currently sits on the boards of Verizon, Roper Technologies and Okta. She advises Arizona State University, and Forbes Ignite as well as growing startups. She is regularly named on Who's Who lists in technology and is the protagonist of the Harvard Business School Case Study: Becoming a CEO.
She is the author of Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers and Create Success on Your Own Terms. A book that will inspire you and provide the tools to enable you to fight the battles, make the tradeoffs and create the life you want.
In her spare time she is a Forbes contributor, runs a gourmet dinner club and writes a blog that provides career advice, insight and other musings from her career (https://shellye.com).
Tosin Arowojolu, P.E.
Network Advocate, WITI Bahrain
Tosin Arowojolu is a professional civil engineer who moved from the United States to Bahrain in 2009. She is a certified leadership coach, speaker, and trainer and DISC behavioral analysis consultant with the John Maxwell Group. She is the CEO of Leadership Excel Consultancy, a company focused on delivering bespoke leadership and communication strategies for building cohesive and productive high-performance teams. As well, Tosin is the current president of the Lioness Club, a branch of the Lions Club of Riffa; and past president of the American Women's Association of Bahrain (AWA), with over 200+ members with more than 40 nationalities. During her term as President of the AWA, the association became the first non-Bahraini NGO to receive a grant for the award-winning Bahrain Quilt Project. Tosin is an active member of several organizations including the American Chamber of Commerce Bahrain, Bahrain Business Women's Society, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce, Bahrain Society of Engineers, Bahrain Society of Training and Development, Lions International, Migrant Workers Protection Society, Toastmasters International. Her passion is to inspire positive life transformation, and she is dedicated to equipping and leading others to achieve their personal and professional goals.
TeNita Ballard
Senior Project Manager, Intel
TeNita Ballard is a Senior Project Manager for GDIS at Intel. She joined Intel in February 2021 as Global Supply Chain's Diversity Business Partner. Quickly after joining the team she partnered with key stakeholders to create Supply Chain's Diversity and Inclusion SharePoint site, was BHR D&I's point of contact for XLT's Authentic Leadership Pilot, presented Intel's D&I story at Modern Health's Juneteenth Panel, provided Supply Chain's African American Resource Group A3iS with the resources and support to get the data they needed to grow their initiatives.
In 2013, TeNita's dedication to relationship building and community outreach inspired her to lead the group responsible for the creation and launch of DIRECTV's first African American employee resource group. BAALANCE (Building African American Leaders and Navigating the Company Experience) launched in January 2014 and quickly became known for providing access to influential African Americans at on-site networking events.
With the DIRECTV and AT&T merger, BAALANCE merged into Community NETwork, which is AT&T's African American Employee Resource Group. She served as the Community NETwork Los Angeles Chapter President and Vice President for the past 3 years.
TeNita received her B.A. in Psychology from Cal State Long Beach and her Master of Business Administration from Keller Graduate School of Management. TeNita also held a full-time HR position at Coca-Cola Bottling Company Los Angeles while pursuing her BA and a full-time position at DIRECTV while pursuing her MBA.
Aditi Banerjee, Ph.D.
Vice President, Aerospace, Defense & Manufacturing, DXC Technology
Dr. Aditi Banerjee is responsible for driving P&L, business growth, and delivering excellence for her customers for Aerospace, Defense, and Manufacturing business in AMS. She is a member of America's Leadership team at DXC Technology. Aditi was Managing Director at Accenture where she served as the Global Lead for the company’s Cloud First and Industry X business. She drove strategic enablement of Digital Transformation across priority markets and clients. Prior to Accenture, Aditi was Vice President of Digital and Internet of Things business in HCL America. Prior to HCL, she led the Engineering Services business for Lifesciences, Healthcare, and Semiconductor industries at Infosys Limited. Aditi started her career at Texas Instruments where she served in key Global leadership roles in Security, Quality, Product Innovation, and Marketing. Aditi received her Ph.D. in Material Science and Engineering from North Carolina State University, M.S. from Penn State University, and MBA from Southern Methodist University. She holds three Patents, has co-authored multiple publications, and is a member of the Advisory board of Women in Technology International.
Anita Battle
Equinix
Anita Battle brings thought leadership and passion for inclusion, equity and social justice to her life. As the Sr. Manager of Equity Programs at Equinix, her broad role includes driving corporate equity strategies, facilitating D&I workshops, moderating conversations, and leading mentorship programs. She is also one of the founding members of the Equinix BlackConnect ERG.
Anita's charter includes creating pathways to ensure that our often-overlooked communities are valued, seen, and heard. With initiatives that bring business value, Anita has influenced or curated several initiatives - including representation, inclusive language, mentorship programs, mental health campaigns, and career development programs. Her cross-functional collaborations include alliances with executives who can model change.
Achievement is does not replace purpose and Anita is keenly aware that her work is purposeful and relevant. Her work has significant scale and impact on the business and individuals. Her focus is on shifting others to develop a wider view of humanity; this ultimately results in greater inclusion. Her commitment to elevate the excluded and overlooked, creates environments that drive inclusion & equity, and shift others to default to humanity.
Anita is a member of the WITI, Global Alliance for Inclusion, a delegate in CEO Action for Racial Equality, and she is a volunteer speaker & mentor for Dress for Success San Francisco . Recognitions include Linkedin Inclusive Lab Top Inclusive Leader, a panelist at the 2022 Social Equity Leadership Conference and the 2022 National Diversity & Leadership Conference.
Anita lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She loves music, dancing, reading, and cooking; is an avid traveler and sports and theatre enthusiast.
Ngozi Bell
Partner, Trans-Sahara Investment Corporation
Ngozi Bell is a partner at Trans-Sahara Investment Corporation, a Private Equity and Business Development Consulting Company. Prior to that, she was the appointee for regulatory affairs for the Mid-Atlantic States, with the United States Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy. As a corporate strategist and motivational team builder with vast trans-Atlantic experience, Ngozi Bell has a Physics degree (University of Port Harcourt) and an electrical engineering degree (Florida State/Florida A&M University), Ngozi launched her career in telecommunications (AT&T, Lucent, and Agere Systems) and today specializes in venture capital strategies, technology strategies, new business development, and business growth and rescue. As Director at Lucent Microelectronics, Agere Systems and LSI Corporation in Allentown, PA, Ngozi was responsible for designing and executing the long-term business and strategic direction of semiconductor communications wired and wireless applications. In addition, Ngozi is the Co-Founder of the African Leadership Alliance, and Founder of Entrepreneurship University, Diaspora Bell, Miranet LLC, Womenshistorymonth-LehighValley, and a Board Member of the Lincoln Leadership Academy, the Women Empowerment Project, Association of Women In Science S2M, and the Association of African NGOs. Prior to public service, Ngozi was Vice President, Birchmere Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm with $160M to $250 Million under management.
Okezue Bell
CEO & Co-Founder, Fidutam & Co.
Okezue Bell is a machine learning and robotics developer, as well as an applied biology R&D scientist. At 15, Okezue is collaborating at IBM with an MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab Fellow and assembling and leading a team at IBM to develop a machine learning app to enhance agriculture in developing, and study medical images using computer vision. He's also working at Hanson Robotics, helping to design new prosthetic systems for Sophia, an ultra-human-like robot, and is supported by a rehabilitation and neuroengineering lab at UPitt and neuroscience company OpenBCI to design and build a brain-controlled prosthetic, among other brain and bio electrically-controlled devices. He's also worked at six biotech companies, developing and advising on producing protein using genetic engineering methods, which includes getting help from the CEO of unicorn company Eat JUST, and joining a sustainability, health, and advisory board alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. He also researches genetics weekly at the Cohn Lab at SickKids Hospital. As a member of the human accelerator, The Knowledge Society (TKS), Okezue has been able to consult for the United Nations and the Pathcheck Foundation. He's the co-founder of an early-stage blockchain security called Fidutam, which was named top 10% of all winter startup applicants by Y-Combinator. Aside from his work experiences, Okezue frequently engages in workshops, networking opportunities, and conferences, having spoken at 4+ international events, and been spotlighted in articles such as Forbes; he also has a blog with nearly 100 articles, writes research papers, and films videos. He's constantly looking for new work opportunities, ways to help others, and outlets to share his ideas!
Rick Botelho
Founder of #EquityMoonshot, #UniteEquityMuses
Dr. Rick Botelho is a practicing Family Physician and Professor of Family Medicine, now turned social innovator. He has been a lifelong advocate for equity. He is working on forthcoming book entitled, #EquityMoonshot: Co-design an equitable, regenerative and sustainable future to benefit all. This book will be based on a LinkedIn newsletter:#EquityMoonshot. He is launching an EquityMoonshot learning academy in 2023.
This #UniteEquityMuses movement is a a "trainer the trainers" model that enable change agents and leaders to become equity muses. Equity muses are a new archetype: part magician, part holy fool, and part jester. Equity muses ask big hairy audacious questions about how to open, inspire and align our mindsets needed to co-create a fair, free and flourishing future.
Kalina Bryant
Founder and CEO, UnapologeTECH
Kalina Bryant is the Founder and CEO of UnapologeTECH, a professional training, and coaching firm dedicated to bettering corporations' customer growth engine, building up diverse talent, and creating inclusive communities at scale. A 2022 Forbes 30 under 30 Honoree, community curator, and public speaker, Kalina has helped companies like Adobe (Formerly Marketo), Anaplan, Talkdesk, and Signifyd generate millions of dollars in revenue through marketing and customer experience strategies.
Well-known as an innovative marketing and customer experience leader in Silicon Valley, she has been featured in publications like Forbes, Afro Tech, and Urban Magazine for her innovative approach to finding success in Silicon Valley. Tapped by high-growth Enterprise SaaS Technology companies to curate programs that illuminate the voices of the company's most strategic and valuable customers, Kalina uses a relationship-driven playbook to design engagement models for senior leadership and customer-facing teams to utilize. With a goal to build genuine executive-level partnerships, gain valuable feedback, content, and product insights, and generate customer success stories and long-term, external-facing advocates, Kalina focuses on building communities that turn members into partners, with a focus on driving growth and awareness.
Kalina is passionate about driving diversity, inclusion, and equity in corporations and advocating for underrepresented groups. In parallel with developing DEI strategies and employee resource groups for corporations, she runs an online community, UnapologeTECH Circle, designed to educate and uplift women of color in the technology arena. She also hosts the UnapologeTECH podcast that amplifies and teaches women of color how to find success in business and educates listeners on how to be allies, ranking as a top 15 podcast worldwide for women in tech.
Amanda Clarke
Director, Cybersecurity & IT Programs and Chief of Staff, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.
Liz Dubelman
Executive Editor, WITI
Liz Dubelman is currently a partner at Column Agency, specializing in content marketing. She is the founder of VidLit.com, a site dedicated to connecting authors to their audiences using social media and artist communities. She has conceived and executed 400 marketing/promotion campaigns. Ms. Dubelman is also Chief of Content and Strategic Partnerships for NOBLE PROFIT / B FLOW, where her main focus is illustrating the story of decentralizing sustainable business and investment. Previously she was VP, Production and Programming for Jib Jab Media. Ms. Dubelman is also the co-editor of "What Was I Thinking? 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories," which she promoted by creating the holiday Come To Your Senses Day, or C2YSD. Her pre-digital career included ten years in television and film production, and won her two Emmys, one as a producer and one as a director. She also teaches senior citizens how to use their devices to perform seemingly simple tasks (e.g., sending pictures to grandchildren, setting up Netflix queues, downloading e-books, calling an Uber, optimizing use of iPhones and iPads) under her moniker, Digital Daughter. Ms. Dubelman is a graduate of Hampshire College.
Winifred Ereyi
Head, WITI Africa
Winifred Ereyi is a John Maxwell Certified Speaker, Coach, Leadership Trainer, and Facilitator. She holds a double-major Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering (Summa Cum Laude) and a Master's in Telecommunications and Systems Engineering (Distinction). Winifred has worked in the Oil and Gas Sector and in Telecommunications, and is passionate about STEM Education and PeaceBuilding. She is the founder of ThinkSTEM Foundation, a subsidiary of eWirecommunications, which seeks to increase the number of girls pursuing and thriving in STEM careers by connecting girls with an inspiring community and accessible resources that can help them conquer common barriers to entry, retention, and promotion. ThinkSTEM creates a pipeline of minority women in STEM that will impact the society, contribute to innovation, and become part of the next generation economic workforce. The motto is Strong Girls, Strong Minds, Strong World. In addition, ThinkSTEM provides Coaching, Advocacy, Leadership Training, Mentoring, SAT Preparation, College Essay Review, Letter of Recommendation, College Search, and Scholarship searches.
Ashley Feltner
Lead Writer, WITI GCR 2.0
Ashley is a writer, an artist, and an ideator who places storytelling into her process for bringing sales and marketing ideas to life. Her background includes 20 years of recruiting, training, content development, and ERG leadership within highly matrixed organizations. This experience and these relationships produced a unique perspective, building on her capacity to authentically connect with individuals from all walks of life.
With the desire to place a little humanity into the digital experience, Ashley believes that words do matter, a little empathy goes a long way, and having a purpose in life is imperative. She and her husband Gabe live in Nashville, TN with two very active teenage daughters and two very lazy field spaniels. You may connect with Ashley on LinkedIn or Instagram.
Sandy Grigsby
Founder, Briofive
A pioneer in the field of self-image and personal mastery, Sandy Grigsby has worked with Fortune 1000 Executives to take their success to greater heights. Sandy has over 20 years of experience in web design, personal branding photography, and commercial modeling - having worked with companies such as Apple, T-Mobile, and Sony.
Her extensive experience in front of and behind the camera, combined with her web design background have allowed her to deeply understand the connection between personas and success. She has discovered that by taking control of one's self-image, there is no limit to the level of opportunities available.
Sandy is a TEDx speaker, Confidence Catalyst®, Self-Image Expert, and the Founder of Briofive, a personal branding studio focused on self-image and online presence. Sandy is the "go-to" personal brand image consultant for celebrities, politicians, CEOs, world-renowned speakers, and best-selling authors. She has x-ray vision to see who you really are, so you can show your inner rockstar, land more deals, and achieve more in all areas of your life!
Nazenin Gure
Research Assistant, Beykent University
She is Research Assistant at Department of Mechanical Engineering, Beykent University and CEO of ENHAS R&D Energy Systems LLC, Istanbul, Turkey. Her B.Sc. is in Environmental Engineering, B.Sc and M.Sc in Mechanical Engineering. She is a PhD. candidate in Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department in Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Her M.Sc. scholarship is supported by Scientific and Technological ResearchCouncil of Turkey. Her start-up project is selected for Technological Entrepreneurship Industry Support, funded by Ministry of Science, Industry, and Technology (MoSIT). Her M.Sc. Thesis on Energy Harvesting is published by USA's leading piezoelectric company: Mide Technology and PIEZO. She contributed as CTO of ENLIL project, which has International Theme Award in Climate Launchpad, Edinburg, UK. She has 8 National Awards including Turkish Economy Bank's 3rd Place.
Her research area are clean/green/sustainable energy, energy economy, climate change, climate change effects on economy, energy harvesting systems, renewable energy, piezoelectricity, biomedical devices and blockchain solutions. She participated hackathons such as MIT Beat The Pandemic II, EUvsVirus Pan-European, Florida Sunshine Hackathon (selected for Silicon Valley) and Facebook F8 Refresh.
She is the board member of Turkish Society of Patent Action. Her recent study presented at IEECP'21 (Silicon Valley, CA, USA). Recently, she performed as Moderator, presented her findings as “honorable invited speaker” in Albedo Meetings, Munich, GERMANY and announced as scholarship winner for ClimateTech by MIT Technology Review.
Dorcia Jolliff
Vice President, Chief Information Officer & Digital Transformation Executive, Lockheed Martin RMS
Dorcia Jolliff is the VP, Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Digital Transformation Executive (DTE) at Lockheed Martin Rotary & Mission Systems (RMS). As Lockheed Martin RMS CIO and DTE, she leads a team of professionals committed to implementing digital technologies and support services for mission success and competitive advantage. Dorcia is recognized as a transformational leader at Lockheed Martin and has held multiple leadership positions. Prior to her current role, she was the CIO of the Lockheed Martin Space business.
Dorcia is a two-time Black Engineer of the Year Award winner and was named a member of the exclusive WeQual Club as a Finalist in the Technological Impact category of WeQual The Americas 2021. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering, a Master’s degree in Computer Systems Engineering and a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in Organizational Behavior. She and her husband live in Colorado with their three children.
Dawn Jones
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (CDIO) and Vice President of Social Impact, Intel
Dawn Jones is Intel Corporation's Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (CDIO) and Vice President of Social Impact. In this role, she leads Intel's global diversity and inclusion (D&I) strategy, the Intel Foundation and Philanthropy, the company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) work. In addition, she oversees Intel's investments and programs for positive global impact, including convening industry partners to create a more inclusive, equitable and responsible workplace and society.
Dawn's philosophy that leadership is driven from any seat has propelled her 25-year career at Intel from Administrative Assistant to Public Affairs Manager of community and education investments to CDIO. Most recently, Dawn was Global Director of Policy, Strategy and Partnerships, responsible for Intel's D&I policy, strategy, communications, external alliances and stakeholder engagement.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast journalism from Arizona State University and a Master of Science in communications management from Syracuse University.
Todd Kackley
VP and CIO, Textron
Todd Kackley was named executive vice president and chief information officer (CIO) for Bell in January 2020 and is a member of the Bell executive leadership team (ELT). He is responsible for developing and executing a high- performance information technology (IT) and digital strategy, ensuring business systems, infrastructure, cybersecurity and development capabilities are aligned for the needs of the business today and in the future.
Previously, Todd worked at Textron Systems as part of their ELT as vice president and CIO leading the digital transformation of manufacturing and engineering. Todd championed enterprise organizational transformation to enable common processes and systems.
Todd spent a portion of his early Textron career as part of the Bell IT leadership team as director of IT business process integration. He was also a director of IT at Textron, overseeing the enterprise SAP Center of Excellence.
Before joining Textron, Todd held various leadership positions during his 18-year career in both consulting and working for companies. He focused on IT strategy and enterprise system implementations both in the United States and internationally.
Todd earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan and his bachelor's degree in business administration from Baker College. He also completed Textron's Senior Executive Leadership Programs at Duke University and the University of North Carolina.
Todd currently serves on the governing body of the Washington D.C. Evanta CIO Forum.
Liz H Kelly
Founder, Goody PR
Liz H. Kelly is Goody PR Founder, Award-Winning Author of "8-Second PR: New Public Relations Crash Course" (2nd Edition, Feb 2022), Podcast Host (8-Second Branding), Speaker and Goody Business Book Awards Founder.
After working as an executive at Paramount Pictures, myspace, Sprint PCS, and LA startups, Kelly decided to start Goody PR.
Based on 15+ years of marketing experience, Kelly is passionate about magnifying brands, experts and small businesses through timely public relations campaigns with a WOW Story.
Kelly's booked thousands of media interviews for clients, including the TODAY Show, Pioneer PBS Postcards, CNN, FOX Business, BBC World News, NPR, and in TIME, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune and on hundreds of podcasts.
Kelly is a Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business alumni from Baltimore, Maryland, loves photography (don't ask how many photos are on her phone), and is an autism advocate. Follow @LizHKelly @8SecondPR or visit https://goodypr.com
Marianne Kirkland
Information Technology Manager, Tech Data
Moving across the globe as a shy 4th grader from Egypt to the United States, Marianne learned at very young age to be agile, to learn, to adapt, and to grow from all life's experiences. It was no doubt her strong family values that fostered her determination and strength to live, learn, and succeed in a whole new world.
Marianne's intelligence and determination were made obvious when as a 15-year-old a middle school student, she leapt straight into the role as a college freshman: being recognized by the state of Connecticut as the youngest student to enter college. As her life experience and education grew, she realized that she loved technology and leadership.
Following her passion for technology, Marianne earned an MIS degree at Central Connecticut State University, and then took her leadership skills and knowledge of technology to serve in a variety of roles within the world of Information Technology for the past 20 years. Having succeeded as a Developer, Programmer Analyst, Team Lead, Senior Product Owner and Corporate Vice President, she eventually landed at Tech Data, where she currently serves as an IT Manager. She is a results-driven servant leader, driven to boost revenues, while cutting company costs through innovative management techniques.
Carolyn Leighton
Founder/Chairwoman, WITI
Carolyn Leighton founded WITI in 1989 as a worldwide e-mail network for women in all technology sectors. At the time WITI was established, Ms. Leighton was President of Criterion Research, a research consulting firm for the high tech industry which she founded in 1984, as well as chair of the Core Competency Database Project at Stanford University. Due to Ms. Leighton's leadership and vision, WITI has grown to be the premiere brand and worldwide organization dedicated to empowering women worldwide to achieve unimagined possibilities and transformations through technology, leadership and economic prosperity. Ms. Leighton has 35 years of experience as an educator and entrepreneur. In addition to WITI, she founded four start-ups in the high-tech, legal sectors and, most recently, the pet industry. She attended the University of Michigan and has a bachelor's degree in human development from Pacific Oaks College. Ms. Leighton has received numerous accolades, twice named as one of the "Top 100 Women in Computing." More recently, she was named one of Fast Company Magazine's "Most Influential Women in Technology."
David Leighton
Co-Founder and President, WITI
David Leighton is Co-founder and President of WITI - Women in Technology International, a global organization founded in 1989. WITI is the premier organization for women who consider technology central to their careers, businesses, and personal lives. David is a creative, highly motivated relationship builder, with a strong network that covers multiple Industries. Additionally, he has launched and led several start-up companies. He was formerly Chairman of Risk Analysis Group, a security strategies firm specializing in Integrated Risk Management, the enterprise-wide application of business principles that protects and streamlines organizations. He is also the founder of Criterion Research, an executive search firm that locates highly specialized technologists and executives for internet, software, semiconductor companies, and venture capital firms. David worked closely with the executive team at Borland International from 1989 to 1994, helping the firm grow to the #2 software company in the world. He also did key searches for Transmeta as they were transforming the way chips were built, as well as for Mark Benioff's last project at Oracle before he started Salesforce. David also co-founded Webolution, an Internet infrastructure and custom web-presence consulting firm whose clients include Sun Microsystems, Paramount Pictures, and Intel.
Carolina Mazo-Molina
Experienced researcher with multidisciplinary expertise across microbiology, molecular biology, and plant pathology. Actively looking for job opportunities in plant biotechnology and microbe engineering.
My research interests include plant-microbe interactions and their application to agriculture. My expertise in diverse projects has provided me with the opportunity to translate in vitro molecular biology skills into applied biology from the greenhouse to the field.
Outside the lab, I am engaged in mentoring junior scientists in science outreach activities in the United States and Colombia. This has given a great opportunity to cultivate my leadership and communication skills.
Sharon Melnick, Ph.D.
Founder, Next Level Leader
Sharon Melnick, PhD is a leading expert on women’s leadership, power, and resilience.
Her approaches are informed by 10 years of Psychology research at Harvard Medical School. She has coached/ trained 40,000 professionals at over 50 Fortune 500 companies and numerous start-ups and women-led companies. Her presentations have created buzz at over 200 conferences worldwide (including presenting at the White House, West Point, and the United Nations).
Her new book about how women can use their power to advance their career and end disrespect is titled In Your Power: React Less, Regain Control, Raise Others, available now for pre-order. She is also the best-selling author of Success under Stress: Powerful Tools to Stay Calm, Confident, and Productive when the Pressure’s On.
She is a sought after Executive Coach for women executives and entrepreneurs who are vision holders and results drivers - she helps them influence to bring others along in their vision, prevent burnout, and overcome second-guessing. She has been selected as a Marshall Goldsmith Top 100 Coach worldwide.
Dr. Melnick is a passionate advocate for the impact, ascension, and wealth-building of multicultural women. She is the Founder of the Next Level Leader initiative which has a 92% success rate at advancing and retaining high potential female talent in weeks, not months or years.
Kim Meninger
Executive Coach, Your Career Success
Kim Meninger is an executive coach, TEDx speaker and host of the Impostor Syndrome Files podcast. She helps individuals/organizations to understand and embrace the human experience at work to reach their full leadership potential. Kim has coached hundreds of clients and has presented on career advancement and leadership topics to corporate, non-profit and academic audiences. She leverages her psychology degree, MBA and over a decade of experience as a high-tech leader to empower professionals to lead themselves and others more effectively. Kim is especially passionate about helping women and members of other historically marginalized groups to become more confident, visible and influential leaders.
Kim has a BA in psychology and an MBA from Boston College. She is an ICF Professional Certified Coach and CCE Board Certified Coach with certifications in confidence, career, executive and leadership development coaching. Kim also holds a certificate in Executive Leadership from Cornell University.
Lisa Napoli
Writer | Broadcaster | Public Speaker
Over the last dozen years, I've written four books on a wide range of topics-from the dawn of democratic rule (and media) in the Kingdom of Bhutan, to a famous fast-food philanthropist, to the (unauthorized) origin stories of two of the most iconic media outlets in American history.
Before escaping daily journalism, I worked at a variety of news outlets (some of which no longer exist) including the New York Times CyberTimes, MSNBC, and the public radio show Marketplace, covering everything from presidential campaigns, artists in Los Angeles, the Waco hostage standoff, an outdoor hacker convention, and the then-emerging culture of the Internet and digital technology. Among my most unusual jobs has been as a producer at a pre-Internet home shopping network in New York called Q2.
Dr. Krystal Rawls
Workforce Analyst, California State University-Dominguez Hills
Krystal Rawls is an entrepreneur turned educator and author with more than twenty years of progressive management experience and repeated success in developing project initiatives, directing project plans, and achieving performance targets. Krystal, owner of Lekindracy group, LLC, is a recognized voice in workforce development practices. She is featured in ‘Growing Fairly: How to build opportunity and equity in workforce development’ and consults with Women in Technology International to inform equitable hiring practices in the technology industry. As an advocate and developer of innovative technologies she works with the Open Skills Network to engage in national skill building conversations and is a member of the RHETTA eTRUC Workforce Development Advisory Council (WDAC) to ensure the needs of the community and future workers are represented in the development of an electric truck charging station corridor in key trucking lanes. Dr. Rawls is committed to developing partnerships that help innovative tech organizations operationalize their talent pipeline diversification initiatives.
Ken Rutkowski
Founder, METAL
Ken Rutkowski is considered one of the most connected individuals in the world as a well-known Business Talk Radio personality, an innovative strategist, and a business futurist. Ken is widely regarded as one of the foremost authorities on emerging business technologies, New Media, the Digital Economy, and Connection.
In the 1990s, he created and hosted the first podcast on Mark Cuban's first internet radio platform. Ken has interviewed over 20.000 high profiled executives, as was the host "Business Rockstars," America's #1 Business Radio Talk Show, which aired in over 300 US markets. Ranked in the top 1% of Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, Ken has had over one million listeners globally. He has been honored with knighthood, by The Royal Order of Constantine The Great and Saint Helen, for his contribution to society.
Ken is the founder of METAL, a community focused on media, entertainment, technology, artists, and leadership. METAL's mission is to connect and inspire business and thought leaders to achieve greater levels of success while working together to improve the world through business, arts, and technology. Collaboration of METAL members have allowed them to close billions of dollars in deal flow each year.
Ken Sky
International Audience Engagement Expert
Ken specializes in creating three dimensional interactive experiences online and in person. With a background as a professional magician, speaker, coach and virtual event producer, Ken offers a unique ability to combine multiple skillsets to enhance any event.
Ian Slade
Founder/CEO, IT Consulting Group LLC
Ian Slade is a Healthcare Executive Consultant & Transformation Specialist. He is passionate about helping clients drastically improve patient care through Emerging Technologies.
He has extensive consulting experience in Asia, North America, and Europe. He teaches project management and the physician informatics fellowship at University of California in Los Angeles.
He has completed Economics and AI graduate programs from MIT and Stanford. He also has Master’s Degrees in Psychology and Business, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing.
Ian also co-founded HPMA, Healthcare Project Management Association. This digital platform is dedicated to improving Healthcare globally through better execution of projects. Currently, there are 2,000+ members from more than 50 countries.
He has multiple national and international awards that includes HIMSS Global Advocate of the year 2022, IFAH Visionary 2021 and Healthcare Tech AI Award 2021 to name a few.
David Harry Stewart
Founder, Ageist
David Harry Stewart is the founder and the face of AGEIST. He is a passionate champion of the modern 50+ lifestyle, and a leading authority on the mindset and aspirations that drive this demographic. (There are 108.7 million Americans over 50)
David brings science to life through his Superage® message. Delivering the cutting edge data of world-renowned scientists, doctors and cultural icons, he demystifies the science and turns it into actionable steps you can easily take to increase your health and enjoy an active, authentic lifestyle.
His unique and aspirational POV is frequently sought after by major media publications including: The WSJ, The Times of London, CNN, South China Morning Post, Forbes and Fortune. He also consults for a wide range of Fortune 500 brands and businesses.
An entertaining and action-oriented speaker, David delivers keynote messaging to audiences both large and small. Before launching AGEIST, he was an award-winning photographer, whose work includes multiple magazine covers and global advertising campaigns.
Jennifer Sullivan
President, memBrain LLC
Jennifer B. Sullivan has made a career out of knowing what’s next in pop culture and emerging technologies. An award-winning brand visionary and futurist, Jennifer is currently president of Los Angeles-based marketing innovation company memBrain LLC where she advises some of the world's largest brands including Intel, Logitech, ASUS, and McDonald's. Jennifer’s programs have ranged for multi-million dollar promotional marketing campaigns to branded content and collaborations with talent including will.i.am, Demi Lovato, Gal Gadot, Kenny Scharf, Jamie Oliver, Jaden and Willow Smith, and Annie Leibovitz. Her 20-year career spans all aspects of marketing, bringing together the worlds of music, art, and fashion with technology, consumer products, and retail experiences. Jennifer created and serves an Editor-in-Chief of memBrain's monthly music magazine, "The STORM Report, " identifying and tracking emerging music artists and industry trends. A passionate advocate for young talent, Jennifer is an active mentor for Women in Toys, Entertainment, and Licensing (WIT).
Mica Syjuco
Director, Technology Leadership, Avanade
Mica Syjuco is the Industry Network Director for Agile and DevOps at Women in Technology International (WITI). She is also the Global Agile Capability and Delivery Director at multinational company Avanade, the joint venture between Microsoft and Accenture. She was the first woman to take on the role of Global Head of DevOps and Agile Coaching at the organization as well. For over 17 years, Mica has led the successful delivery of complex product development for multiple clients -- some of which are counted among the biggest companies in the world (Fortune 500). She has a strong expertise in implementing and leading both Traditional and Agile / Scrum based development and delivery processes supporting distributed teams on medium to large-scale .NET based enterprise projects.
Mica graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Information Technology and completed Wharton Executive Education's Leadership and Management Certificate Program. She is based in Chicago, and works with teams located across the globe -- from North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. She is a Professional Scrum Trainer (PST), Professional Scrum Master, Professional Scrum Developer, Professional Scrum Product Owner, Professional Agile Leader, and certified in Scaled Professional Scrum, Professional Scrum with Kanban, and Professional Scrum with User Experience. She is also a Certified SAFe Program Consultant (SPC) and certified in Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Carolyn Turbyfill, Ph.D.
Entrepreneur in Residence, WITI
Dr. Carolyn Turbyfill is a Technical Executive with 30+ years of experience in Security, Risk Management, Enterprise Products and Services. She has managed teams that built leading-edge products, including: * The first database benchmark using experimental design techniques, the Wisconsin Benchmark which won the VLDB Best Paper Award; * One of the first wireless LANs with radio, antenna, and IP Layer encryption at Sun Microsystems; * The first Firewall Appliance, the Sun Microsystems SunScreen SPF 100, which also included a certificate authority and one of the first commercial IP Layer VPNs, SKIP, which won the LAN Magazine Product of the year Award; - The first round-trip email marketing system with interactive Java applets that was a precursor to PayPal at Messagemedia; * The first Managed Security Service at Counterpane Internet Security; - The first virtualized automated test environments for application stacks, the StackSafe Test Center, which won an ITIL Pink Elephant award. Dr. Turbyfill was the first member of WITI in Silicon Valley and is a member of the WITI Hall of Fame. She is currently spearheading a Future of Work initiative as an Entrepreneur in Residence at WITI. She is an alumna of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; the University of Wisconsin at Madison; and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Susan Wu
Outbound Product Manager, Google Cloud
Susan is an Outbound Product Manager at Google Cloud and co-author of Wiley's Container Network Security for Dummies, Service Mesh for Dummies and Network Automation for Dummies books. She previously led product and technical marketing roles at Sun/Oracle, Canonical, Docker, Citrix, Midokura (SDN startup now part of Sony Group), VMware NSX and Tanzu Service Mesh. She is a frequent speaker at conferences such as OSCON, Open Source Summit, Container World, Interop, Open Networking Summit and VMworld. Follow Susan on Twitter @susanwu88 and on Github.com/susanwu88