Speakers
Subject To Change
Kristina Albert
Executive Coach & Leadership Advisor, Leadership Excellence
Kristina Albert is a purpose-driven, certified executive coach, international leadership advisor, and HR professional with a true passion for enhancing the performance of individual executives, teams and organizations. She has worked in multinational organizations in Germany and Switzerland and has a proven track record of delivering high performance in global environments and contributing to people and business development with a personable and engaging leadership style. Her background encompasses a wide range of programs and initiatives for individual development, team building, organization design, culture change, and facilitation. Kristina helps leaders in various points in their career - new hires, individuals taking on challenging new assignments, leaders with management issues, and other kinds of high-potential managers who can benefit from clear and constructive feedback. She helps each client to more accurately assess his or her strengths and development needs and create a specific but realistic action plan to build on identified strengths and areas to improve.
Tina Ambrosini
Success Coach, Creativosity
Tina Ambrosini is a professional development coach who works with purpose-driven individuals, to enable them to break free from limitations, identify their true passions, and create a roadmap for success to thrive in all aspects of their personal and professional lives. Tina offers customized programs to individuals and small businesses that are ready to take action and achieve rapid and profound change. Within SF Bay Area Coaches, she creates and coordinates events outside of monthly gatherings to add value to the membership, connect with the community, raise awareness about the benefits of coaching, and provide ongoing opportunities for members to collaborate with fellow coaches and grow their skill sets.
Beena Ammanath
Founder, Humans For AI
- 232 - Fireside Chat - The Future of Artificial Intelligence
- 234 - Keynote Fireside Chat - Women Harnessing Technology for Climate/Sustainability Challenges
Beena Ammanath is an award-winning senior executive with extensive global experience in artificial intelligence and digital transformation. Currently the AI Managing Director at Deloitte, Beena is also the Founder and CEO of Humans For AI Inc. Her knowledge spans across e-commerce, financial, marketing, telecom, retail, software products, services and industrial domains with companies such as HPE, GE, Thomson Reuters, British Telecom, Bank of America, e*trade, and a number of Silicon Valley startups. She has co-authored the book "AI Transforming Business." A well-recognised thought leader and keynote speaker in the industry, she also serves on the Industrial Advisory Board at Cal Poly College of Engineering and has been a Board Member and Advisor to several startups. Beena has been honored several times for her contributions to tech and for her philanthropic efforts, including UC Berkeley 2018 Woman of the Year in Business Analytics, San Francisco Business Times' 2017 Most Influential Women in Bay Area, WITI's Women in Technology Hall of Fame, and several more. Beena thrives on envisioning and architecting how data, artificial intelligence, and technology in general can make our world a better, easier place to live.
Angela Anderson
Program Mentor, Western Governor's University
Angela Anderson reveres remote learning with an entrepreneurial spirit as both a researcher and practitioner. Starting her career as a Software Engineer designing and developing corporate online banking software for banking systems in the US, Canada, and Europe, she learned how multi-cultural distributed enterprise systems offer opportunity for fruitful social interactions. Later, Angela switched careers to higher education with a passion for unearthing the untapped potential of online education. While earning a doctoral degree in Adult Learning and Technology at Walden University, Angela is focused on investigating the current learning models used in remote learning and how to advance them with emerging innovations and pedagogies.
Tosin Arowojolu, P.E.
Network Advocate, WITI Bahrain
- 412 - AFRICA Track - Engaging Intergenerational African Women in STEM Outreach [1:00-1:30pm WAT]
- 414 - AFRICA Track - Intergenerational STEM Q&A Session [1:30-2:00pm WAT]
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.
Michelle Bailey
- 231 - Michelle Bailey
- 233 - Keynote Panel - Racial Equity Audits Can Change Your Company for the Better -- If You Do It Right
- 313 - APAC Track - CXO Roundtable: The Future of APAC Women in Tech [6:00-6:40pm IST]
- 331 - Keynote Power Talk - The Changing Regulatory Environment of Diversity and Inclusion in Tech
- 337 - Keynote Fireside Chat - How Customer Experience Will Shape the Future of Tech
- 433 - Keynote Fireside Chat - Making Public Policy: How Do You Get Your Voice Heard?
In May 2021, Michelle Bailey became the new Chief Executive Officer of Women in Technology International (WITI), succeeding WITI Founder Carolyn Leighton. Leading WITI's next stage of growth, Michelle will expand the organization's business services to help women, minorities, and technology organizations in realizing a diverse and inclusive workplace. For the past 25 years, Michelle has advised senior technology industry executives, including CEOs and Board members, Chief People Officers, and DE&I VPs. A specialist in emerging and disruptive technologies, she founded and championed diversity and inclusion research and advisory for the technology sector, with an emphasis on under-represented minority employee insight. Most recently, Michelle was Group Vice President and Research Fellow at International Data Corporation (IDC), and previously Chief Research Officer at 451 Research. Her expertise spans Cloud, Digital Infrastructure, Datacenters, AI, Security, and Talent Management & the Human Enterprise. She holds a B.S. (Hons.) in Mathematical Statistics from Monash University, Australia.
Isabella Bain
Creative & Strategic Associate Director, IBM Australia
Bella Bain, Creative & Strategic Associate Director at IBM Australia, was awarded the top 4 for NSW Young Australian of the Year for 2021. Working as a Sales & Creative Associate Director who creates award-winning work with commercial clients, public institutions, and international festivals, Bella's background in design and computing enables her to push both creative and technical boundaries to result in beautiful, innovative solutions that work. Constantly driven by a desire to seek new and exciting opportunities, she is passionate to be a part of designing a world that works with the people who live in it rather than against them. In addition, Bella co-founded design startup Ambient & Co, which creates interactive outdoor light sculptures for festivals such as VIVID Sydney and "I Light Marina Bay" in Singapore. 1000 Cranes was awarded the second best installation following the opera house for VIVID 2018, and the MailboX was awarded top 5 in 2017. Bella was selected to represent Australia in Dragon Boating at the World Championships in Canada in 2015 and Hungary in 2013, coming away with 5 gold medals over these two campaigns. As one of Sydney University's 2018 International Women's Day "Women to Watch" and as a NSW young achiever semi-finalist in both leadership and innovation in 2019 and 2020, Bella continues to seek out international opportunities that embrace diverse design challenges and drive the future of user experience.
Aditi Banerjee, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer, LTIMindtree
Aditi Banerjee is Managing Director at Accenture. Previously, she was Vice President of IoT business at HCL, responsible for Global Business Development in HCL America across Lifesciences, Healthcare, Energy, and Utilities Industries. She has two decades of experience in Sales Leadership in Product and Engineering Services, Semiconductor Product Marketing, and Technology Development. Prior to HCL, Aditi led the Engineering Services business for Lifesciences, Healthcare, Semiconductor, and Railroad industries at Infosys Limited. Earlier, she worked at Texas Instruments (TI) for 17 years in various roles, beginning in Research and Development of Semiconductor Technology and rising to become a worldwide Business Manager for Security and Authentication business. Dr. Banerjee holds three US patents and has authored 13 technical publications. She earned her Ph.D. in Material Science and Engineering from North Carolina State University; M.S. from Pennsylvania State University; and MBA from Southern Methodist University. She is a member of the Advisory Board for Women in Technology International (WITI); Lead Co-Chair of the Engineering and Technology Chapter of International Association of Outsourcing Professionals; and serves an Industry Advisory Board member at Southern Methodist University and at the University of Arkansas.
Jane Barr
Executive Coach , Kinnexion, LLC
Jane Barr is an ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC), Master Facilitator for Regenerating Images in Memory and author of "WiseWoman Leadership.” Her heart is for promoting the growth of women leaders in technology. For 30 years she consulted with the national retail industry leading system, reengineering projects for companies such as CVS, GAP, and REI. Jane knows what it takes to deliver projects on time and on budget, to build strong teams, and to generate business worth millions of dollars. She is an active member of WITI and Corporate Alliance Chair for WITI/Tampa Bay.
Ngozi Bell
Partner, Trans-Sahara Investment Corporation
- 236 - Keynote Panel - Building Your Own Career in Tech: Three Success Stories
- 416 - AFRICA Track - How EduTECH Is Disrupting the Education Landscape in Africa [2:00-2:30pm WAT]
- 418 - AFRICA Track - Eductech Panel Q&A [2:30-3:00pm WAT]
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!
Genevieve Bell, Ph.D.
Director, 3A Institute, Australia National University
Genevieve Bell is the Director of the School of Cybernetics, Director of the 3A Institute (3Ai), Florence Violet McKenzie Chair, and a Distinguished Professor at the Australian National University (ANU) as well as a Vice President and Senior Fellow at Intel Corporation. She is a cultural anthropologist, technologist, and futurist best known for her work at the intersection of cultural practice and technology development. After completing her Ph.D. in cultural anthropology at Stanford University, Genevieve spent 18 years in Silicon Valley helping guide Intel's product development by developing the company's social science and design research capabilities. Genevieve established 3Ai in September 2017 at the ANU in collaboration with CSIRO's Data61, with the mission of building a new branch of engineering to effectively and ethically manage the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on humanity through better design and management of technology. She is also the inaugural appointee to the Florence Violet McKenzie Chair at the ANU, Non-Executive Director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Board, a member of the Prime Minister's National Science and Technology Council, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE), an Officer of the Order of Australia, and in 2020 she was named the first Engelbart Distinguished Fellow by SRI International. She also presented the highly acclaimed ABC Boyer Lectures for 2017, in which she investigated what it means to be human, and Australian, in a digital world.
Mala Bhat
Director, Software Engineering, Dell
Mala Bhat is the Director of Software Engineering at Dell, where she has been heading numerous key initiatives and programs. An Electronics & Communication Engineer with an MBA in Sales & Marketing, Mala has over 22 years of varied industry experience in Research, Product, and Service companies. She started her career in Indian Institute of Science Bangalore as a Project Assistant, and later worked for Sharp and Mphasis before joining Dell. Mala has been with Dell for the past 10 years, during which she has driven two major process transformations, Agile and Pivotal (XP), across multiple teams globally. She also established the technology framework for seamless migration of numerous Dell applications. She has donned multiple roles at Dell including Lead Program Manager, Engineering Manager, and Engineering Leader. Apart from work, Mala is part of many CIO-driven Diversity & Inclusion initiatives and Mentorship programs. She strongly believes that empowering women and providing children with the right education can uplift the community as a whole.
Arundhati Bhattacharya
CEO & Chairperson, Salesforce India
Arundhati Bhattacharya is the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer for Salesforce, India. In her role, Arundhati oversees the growth strategy of the company and plays an integral role in defining Salesforce's relationship with the ecosystem of customers, partners, and community across India. Throughout Arundhati's 40+ years in the financial sector, she has also earned a string of accolades to her name, which include "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women" by Forbes, "Top 50 globally most powerful women in business" and "World's 50 Greatest Leaders" list by Fortune.
Betsy Bluestone
Senior Director, Global Scouting & Partnerships, P&G Ventures
Betsy Bluestone leads Scouting & Partnerships for P&G Ventures. Betsy and the P&G Ventures team partner with entrepreneurs, inventors, and startups to discover and create consumer products, brands, and businesses that solve consumer needs in areas new to P&G. Each P&G Ventures partnership is unique, providing funding and access to P&G's experts, resources, and capabilities to help partners prove their technology and create their brand. Betsy has 20+ years of sales and brand management experience within P&G. She is an experienced business leader with a track record of success across channels, geographies, billion-dollar brands, startups, and acquisitions. She is dedicated to creating a world where all entrepreneurs have equal access to venture-building resources.
Kim Boudreau
Senior Director, Product & Services Strategy, Samsung
Kim Boudreau leads Product Category Management and Strategy Analytics for the Samsung portfolio, in partnership with AT&T. She manages AT&T's Samsung portfolio for both Consumer and Enterprise products and services, including innovation and ideation for expansion of 5G Services and Premium Content with Warner Media and AT&T TV assets. Kim has over 20 years of business and technology experience successfully developing teams in Telecommunications and Electronics industries, including direct functional expertise in P&L management, new product & services development, enterprise business & IT systems, process improvement, software development with Agile, manufacturing and quality. Prior to joining Samsung, she held various positions with Comverge (2 years) and Motorola (15 years), most recently heading Product Management & Quality with launch responsibility for product portfolios supported by global ODM suppliers. Kim holds a Bachelor's degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and is also a certified Quality Master Black Belt. Her most enjoyable roles, in addition to Wife and Mom, are those special opportunities to Mentor and help others - at Samsung, Georgia Tech student programs, or other local programs in the Atlanta area.
Tiffani Bova
Global Customer Growth & Innovation Evangelist, Salesforce
Tiffani Bova is the chief growth evangelist at Salesforce and author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book GROWTH IQ: Get Smarter About the Choices that Will Make or Break Your Business. Tiffani has been named to the latest Thinkers50's list of the world's top management thinkers and is a welcomed guest on Bloomberg, BNN, Cheddar, MSNBC, and Yahoo Finance, among others. She also contributes her thinking to several publications, among them Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Duke Dialogue Review. She is a change-maker whose thought-provoking and forward-thinking insights have made her a frequent guest on a variety of industry-leading podcasts and live broadcasts. As host of What's Next! with Tiffani Bova, she has interviewed a growing number of exceptional humans. Tiffani is a top Twitter influencer in Business Growth, Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, the Future of Work, and Sales. Among other accolades, she was named one of Inc. Magazine's 37 Sales Experts You Need to Follow on Twitter, a Top 100 Women in Tech, and one of the most Powerful and Influential Women in California, according to the National Diversity Council. Prior to working with Salesforce, Tiffani was a sales, marketing, and customer service executive for startups as well as Fortune 500 companies. She left the corporate world and joined Gartner, becoming a Distinguished Analyst and Research Fellow. Tiffani's time on the front lines of sales, marketing, and innovation, combined with her insightful candor, has resulted in a unique perspective that continues to inspire businesses and individuals to get smarter about the choices they make, think forward, and increase their Growth IQ.
Rich Brenner
Founder, TGB Inc
- 245 - Wellbeing Center Workshop - Yoga Nidra Meditation
- 345 - Wellbeing Workshop - Yoga Nidra Meditation
- 445 - Wellbeing Workshop - Yoga Nidra Meditation
Business owner Rich Brenner began his journey into the healing arts, studying Restorative Hypnotherapy, Yoga, Meditation, and Energy and Vibrational therapies before settling on the ancient practice of Yoga Nidra as his specialty. After spending 40 years caring for people in the hospitality business, Rich brings the same compassion and love of people to his work in this practice. He also brings the same tenacity and focus that won accolades for his businesses, Highland Grounds Coffeehouse (Best Coffeehouse LA, LA Weekly), Hugo's Restaurants (Best Small Business award, state of California), and Hugo's Tacos (35 Best Tacos in America, The Daily Meal).
Ope Bukola
Founder & CEO, Kibo School
- 416 - AFRICA Track - How EduTECH Is Disrupting the Education Landscape in Africa [2:00-2:30pm WAT]
- 418 - AFRICA Track - Eductech Panel Q&A [2:30-3:00pm WAT]
Ope Bukola is passionate about building technology that improves access to knowledge and well-being. She is the Founder and CEO of Kibo School, a new online university providing affordable degrees for emerging markets, starting in Sub-Saharan Africa. Kibo's model combines self-directed learning with a community of peers and industry mentors. Previously, Ope was at Google, where she led the Product team for Google Classroom, the flagship software product for K12 teachers and learners. Ope led the development and growth of Classroom, bringing the product to 40M+ monthly users. Prior to Google, she was a product manager at Amplify Education, founded an edtech company, and managed partnerships at CK-12 Foundation, a provider of open-source digital textbooks. Ope is also an angel investor and member of Pipeline Angels, an angel network that serves as the friends and family round for female and femme entrepreneurs who may not already have support at that critical stage. As well, Ope is the founding Board Chair of Black Art Futures Fund, which funds emerging arts organizations that promote and preserve Black arts and culture.
Sarah Campbell
IT Cloud Business Operations, Magellan Health
Sarah S Campbell is a Lead IT Business Operations Specialist at Magellan Health. She is responsible for leading small projects to enhance the internal IT end user experience. She loves the varied responsibilities of her role and is learning and growing more every day. Previously, Sarah worked at Nationwide Insurance, moving her way up from executive admin to portfolio coordinator. She then spent a year at Safelite Autoglass building up the pmo and portfolio space and dabbled in vendor management. Sarah appreciates every opportunity she's been given to prove herself able to gain new skills in a hands-on environment. She holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree from Kent State University - both in Art Education. Sarah loves giving back to the community with various organizations and has mentored a refugee student for 7+ years and counting!
Sheryl-Ann Carscadden
Managing Director, Strategic Partnerships, WITI
Sheryl-Ann Carscadden is currently the Managing Director, Partnerships at Women in Technology International (WITI). She has worked in business and operational excellence at Ethier, and business development and consulting at IBM Global Business Services for the Oil and Gas Sector in Canada. She has also worked for Ernst and Young, Zedi, TELUS, and The Document Company Xerox. Sheryl-Ann has been engaged in a number of voluntary roles which have supported women's leadership, community development, and children's advocacy. In 2008 she was awarded the Governor General's Leadership Award of Canada. Sheryl-Ann attended the University of Alberta along with several Executive Programs since, including McGill University in Montreal, IVEY School of Business at Western, the University of Alberta Executive Development Program, and The Executive Leadership Program and Global Energy Forum at Harvard.
Mariana Castro
Vice President, Sales, Marketing & Operations, Latin America, Microsoft
As vice president of sales, marketing, and operations for Latin America, Mariana focuses on driving Microsoft's business strategies and objectives to promote digital transformation and AI adoption throughout the region. She works with more than 2,000 employees and 80,000 business partners through 35 offices in 21 countries. Mariana has over 25 years of experience at Microsoft. Before her current role, she was the LATAM General Manager for Customer Success. Prior to that, she served as the Managing Executive Officer of Marketing and Operations at Microsoft Japan. Her career in the company began in Microsoft Argentina in 1992. Since then, she has held various roles in Commercial Operations, Sales, and Marketing, with increasing responsibilities at local, regional, and international levels. Mariana holds a BA in Science and Information Technology and a Master's in Business Administration. She has won Microsoft's Top Subsidiary Achievement Award (2015) and the Circle of Excellence Founders Award (2014).
Pengling Chan
Vice President, Application Services, Capital Group Companies
Pengling Chan is a Vice President in Information Technology at the Capital Group Companies. As part of ITG's Client Experience Team, she's responsible for providing technology strategic direction, enablement, and support to North American Client Groups' Sales and Products business areas. Pengling joined Capital Group in 2007 and has played IT leadership roles supporting Private Client Services, Equity Trading, and Integrated Marketing. Starting out her career as a Computer Programmer in China, Pengling has been in the Information Technology industry for 23 years, providing strategic partnership and solutions to enable businesses. She built broad experience in application development, building high-performing global teams, strategic sourcing in Investment Management, Banking and Mortgage industries. Pengling is passionate in empowering women in technology and engaging next generation in STEM. She leads efforts to bring women in IT together to create learning and support networks to advance their careers, and runs a rotational experience program to bring high-potential college graduates into the IT workforce. She served as Co-Program Chair for Women In Technology International's Orange County Network, and actively introduces young girls to STEM. Pengling holds a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in Electronic Engineering.
Karen Cone
Advisory Boards Director, Venture Partner
- 334 - Keynote PowerTalk - The Networking Journey to Success: What Goes Around Comes Around...
- 431 - Keynote Fireside Chat - Ethical AI for Business Growth and Profitability
Karen Cone serves on multiple advisory boards and is a venture partner with the Mastersfund, focused on women founders in technology. She is the former General Manager of Microsoft Worldwide Financial Services, CEO and Board Director of the advisory research firm, TowerGroup, and SVP at Gartner where she also served on the Gartner International Board. Karen has also held executive positions with MasterCard and at IBM where she started her career on the market opening teams in Russia (then the Soviet Union) and China. She has lived and worked in the Americas, EMEA & Asia.
Marian Cook
Digital Transformation Consultant & Educator, 2U
Marian Cook is an expert digital transformation consultant and educator. At 2U, a premier online education company, she is responsible for classes on corporate innovation, leadership, and digital transformation. She also manages a portfolio of online education from top universities, and teaches an executive MBA course on digital transformation at the Illinois Institute of Technology. She has a long executive career in both the private and public sector, including as the head of the Emerging Technology & Innovation team at Slalom Consulting in Chicago, and as Chief Strategy Officer for the Department of Innovation and Technology for the State of Illinois.
Jacqueline Bouvier Copeland, Ph.D.
Founder & CEO, The Women Invested to Save Earth (WISE) Fund
A seasoned Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) leader, executive, board member, and advisor, Dr. Jackie Copeland is the Founder/CEO of The Women Invested to Save Earth Fund (theWISEfund.org), an impact enterprise providing funding for promising underrepresented innovators using technology and other tools for social and environmental justice, especially in Africa, Australia, Brazil , India, USA, and Diasporas. She is also the Founder of Black Philanthropy Month and its Summit series, a 10-year-old global collaboration to celebrate, promote, and elevate Black giving and funding in all its forms every August and year-round. Recognized by the UN and 30 governmental bodies, BPM has now engaged 18 million people. An expert on cultural and ecosystem diversity issues, Jackie is recognized by Congress as a HistoryMaker for her innovative civic contributions, and also recognized as one of world's Top 100 Philanthropy Leaders by the advocacy group, Philanthropy Unbound. Trained as an anthropologist and urban designer, she creates effective equity, impact, and sustainability strategies for global organizations and movements. An avid innovator and volunteer, Jackie created Reunity, a women's philanthropy network now part of The WISE Fund (reunity.net) and the initial design of My Brothers Keeper, an Obama Administration legacy initiative. Currently she serves on the board of advisors for Uncharted Power, an energy technology company.
Andrei Coso
Director of Partnerships, Northeastern University
Andrei is Northeastern University's Director of Partnerships in the San Francisco Bay area, where he focuses on building multi-threaded relationships with industry partners that both solve company talent needs and open up opportunities for Northeastern students. Previously, Andrei was an early member of the partnerships team at Udacity, a venture-backed education startup that teaches industry-relevant skills online. While there, he built partnerships to co-develop cutting-edge skills-based curriculum, raised millions in scholarships in funding, and built talent pipelines working alongside some of the most innovative companies in the world including NVIDIA, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and IBM. Before discovering his interest in tackling the skills gap at the intersection of education and industry, Andrei was a management consultant and corporate strategist.
Pamela Coukos, J.D., Ph.D.
CEO & Co-Founder, Working IDEAL
Pam Coukos is the CEO and co-founder of Working IDEAL, and is a nationally recognized expert on pay equity and gender and racial equity, and the research on factors that drive successful and unsuccessful responses to workplace discrimination. She has assessed data and policies at large and small companies, local governments and education, labor and nonprofit organizations. Pam is a former Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, where she provided strategic guidance on the agency's enforcement and outreach programs, and led the development of new investigative guidelines to assess federal contractor pay systems and practices for potential sex and race discrimination. Her career spans civil rights litigation, research, policy analysis, teaching and training, and advocacy - and the government, private and nonprofit sectors. She holds a law degree from Harvard and a Ph.D. in sociolegal studies from the University of California at Berkeley.
Gargi Dasgupta
Director, IBM Research/India & CTO, IBM India and South Asia, IBM
Gargi B. Dasgupta is the Director for IBM Research in India and the CTO for IBM India/South Asia. In her role as Director, Gargi is responsible for establishing and executing the technical agenda of IBM's India Research Lab in collaboration with IBM's worldwide research labs and business units. In her role as CTO, Gargi is responsible for representing and communicating IBM's overall technical vision and strategy with key stakeholders across the India/South Asia ecosystem - from developers and start-ups to key clients, analysts, media, and industry experts. Gargi has been with IBM since 2004 when she joined as a Research Staff Member. In 2019, Gargi was recognized as one of IBM's Distinguished Engineers for her exemplary technological achievements. She was recognized as one of the most powerful women in business by Fortune India in 2019, one of top women technologists by Economic Times 2020, and one of the most powerful women in business by Business Today 2020. Gargi is an ACM Distinguished Speaker and an alumna of Jadavpur University, Kolkata and University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Jennifer "JJ" Davis
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Dell Technologies
A seasoned leader with 20+ years of experience, JJ Davis oversees all aspects of Global Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility for Dell Technologies. In this role, she works closely with the Investor Relations and Government Affairs organizations to lead the corporate affairs strategy and foster alignment and advocacy across the diverse stakeholder landscape for the company. Her global team includes media relations, analyst relations, executive communications, team member communications, sales and partner communications, influencer relations, social media, direct giving and sustainability. As well, in 2010 she founded the company's marquee women's program, the Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network, to support women entrepreneurs' success worldwide. JJ started her public relations and public affairs career at the Arkansas Office of the Governor and has held various communications leadership roles for both corporations and agencies nationwide. She is the proud Mom of three boys, wife of a third-generation entrepreneur, and is active in the family foundation, The Aimee Melissa Davis Memorial Scholarship, which supports graduating seniors with Juvenile Diabetes. A graduate of the University of Arkansas, JJ is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society and a board member of the Dell Technologies Political Action Committee.
Suzanne De Silva
Head of Product Strategy & Marketing, Samsung
Suzanne De Silva is a mobile industry veteran working at the intersection of technology, data, and marketing to bring to market products that consumers love. She spent the first decade of her career at Samsung leading the teams that helped create the best smartphones enjoyed by nearly a billion consumers. Suzanne believes that innovation is found at the intersection of two disparate disciplines. In that spirit, she is kicking off the next phase of her career at Samsung on the mobile marketing team where she will leverage her product and data science expertise to build Samsung's first Growth Strategy team. In her new role Suzanne will focus on helping increase conversion through precision marketing.
Supria Dhanda
Vice President & Country Manager, Western Digital India
As the Vice President and Country Manager of Western Digital India, Supria Dhanda leads India's strategic charter and its expansion, key Customer Relationships, Government Relations, growth of Research and Development capability, Board of Director in Member companies and serves as the spokesperson for the corporate brand in India. Prior to her roles at Western Digital, she has worked with leading technology companies including General Electric, Alcatel-Lucent, and SanDisk, and has enjoyed being an Entrepreneur as well. Supria is fascinated by the potential of technology to solve some of our society's biggest challenges. She is an entrepreneur at heart, who loves new ideas that ignite a spark and carry the promise of changing the world. Being a strong advocate of Equality and Inclusiveness at the workplace, she believes that women are meant to have a seat at the table and make their voices heard. During her leadership, Western Digital has been recognised as one of the top 100 Best Companies to work for Women in India by Working Mother and Avtar in 2016 and 2019. Outside work, Supria is an Executive coach, passionate about people development and bringing out the best in them.
Laura DiMille
Director, Global & Regional Events, WITI
In December 2019, Laura DiMille embarked on a remarkable new career path working with the extraordinary WITI (Women in Technology International) Team, working remotely as their Speaker Manager for the 2020 WITI Summit. She was promoted to managing WITI's Global and Regional events. Laura is also a passionate global and community advocate for suicide prevention/postvention, community outreach mental health, and is an active Council Member for the San Luis Obispo County Suicide Prevention Council.
Heather Dowdy
Global Accessibility Skilling Lead, Microsoft
With more than a decade of experience developing and demonstrating accessible technology in mobile, web, and artificial intelligence, Heather Dowdy is passionate about connecting the dots across disability, race, and tech. She currently manages Accessibility Skilling at Microsoft, with a focus on making the future of work more inclusive. Heather is responsible for the global partnership strategy to scale skilling opportunities that lead to employment for people with disabilities. Before relocating to Redmond, she was the Senior Product Manager of Accessibility Engineering at Motorola Mobility in Chicago. Heather has served as Chair of the Accessibility Working Group (AWG) of the Mobile Manufacturers' Forum (MMF) and Chair of the Board of Directors of the World Institute on Disability (WID). As the oldest daughter of Deaf parents, Heather is fluent in American Sign Language (ASL). She loves using the design thinking process to create solutions that empower marginalized communities and improve usability for everyone. A strong believer in empowering communities through education and benevolence, Heather is the co-founder of Microsoft Ninja Camp and a Board member of Deaf Kids Code, providing STEM leadership training to high school students with disabilities. Heather holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Sicelo Dube
Director & Founder, Elevate Trust
- 412 - AFRICA Track - Engaging Intergenerational African Women in STEM Outreach [1:00-1:30pm WAT]
- 414 - AFRICA Track - Intergenerational STEM Q&A Session [1:30-2:00pm WAT]
Sicelo Dube, a.k.a. STEMLady, is a Mandela Washington Fellow Leader and the current Zimbabwe Science Ambassador. She is a passionate scientist and entrepreneur championing Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) as well as Innovation and Entrepreneurship amongst young people. Her work is aimed at contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals: Quality Education, Industry Innovation, and Infrastructure Development, as well as Gender Equality. Sicelo's work has a deliberate bias towards girl-child empowerment in the STEM field, as she believes that increasing participation of women generates faster income growth and improves livelihood in families. She established the STEMFem network which facilitates the mentoring and nurturing of female students and talented underprivileged girls to help them take up and sustain interest in the STEM field. Sicelo is also the founder of Laboratory Equipment and Chemicals Company (LEC Biotec), a company she started at 23 years of age. Her vision is to fuel a practical approach to teaching Science and Technology in Africa, and thus grow scientists for the future generation. LEC Biotec is also part of the National COVID Task force and involved in distributing medical consumables needed during this pandemic. Sicelo is also the founder of A PLUS Manufacturing, a company which prides itself on environmentally friendly scientific formulation in detergent manufacturing. As well, Sicelo is Co-Founder of Elevate Trust, a youth empowerment foundation which boasts of 87 Innovators Hub Club in rural, urban schools and universities. Elevate Trust's main goal is to advocate for, accelerate, and commercialize innovative ideas and research by STEM students into startup companies. In addition to earning several certificates in entrepreneurship and community development, Sicelo holds an MBA (University of Gloucestershire), an MSc in Applied Microbiology & Biotechnology (National University of Science and Technology, Zim), a BSc in Biological Science and Biochemistry (University of Zimbabwe), and a PDM in HIV/ AIDS (University of Stellenbosch, AFRICA Centre for HIV/AIDS Management, SA).
Clara Durodie
Founder & Executive Chair, Cognitive Finance Group
Clara Durodie is the Founder & Executive Chair of Cognitive Finance Group. Clara is a leading expert and author on governance of artificial intelligence, technology strategy in financial services. Her work is focused on the use of trusted AI for business growth and profitability. She is the founder of Cognitive Finance Group, an international specialist consultancy that advises boards of directors on best practices in the adoption, selection, and implementation of AI-based systems. Clara authored "Decoding AI in Financial Services," the first book to examine the business and governance implications of AI in financial services; as well, it is the first AI in business book authored by a woman as a sole author. Clara also publishes the popular DecodingAI newsletter, the first AI in Business and governance newsletter produced by a woman.
Nikki Ector
Director, ITSD Health Services, LA Care Health Plan
Nikki Ector is a Director, Information Technology Solutions, at LA Care Health Plan in Los Angeles, CA, where she manages the Health Services Domain with Analysts and Developers. Nikki has over 25 years' experience across many industries, technologies, and applications. She started her career fresh out of a Technical School when she was hired as a programmer. Her first mentorship experience was demonstrated by her manager and a senior programmer who supported her interests; she understands the power of mentorship and relationship-building firsthand. This experience was pivotal to her career because not only did she use her coding skills, but she also developed analytical skills and had exposure to every system to support a successful manufacturing company. Nikki started in IT when it was much simpler, and everyone was learning and had to be a generalist to get the job done. She has successfully led teams focused on Operations, Analytics, Development, Testing, Training, and Global Meeting Production. She also has strong Program and Project Management experience. Her background is truly diverse as she has had exposure in many industries, including Manufacturing(varied), Automotive, Health Care, Entertainment (varied), and Non-Profits. Nikki is the mother of three adult children who have benefited from her experiences as well. She enjoys volunteering and mentoring teens and young women for NFTE (Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship) and the Empowher organizations.
Desi Ekstein
Drone Diva Desi, On The Go Video.biz
Desi Ekstein - a female UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) pilot with over 100 flights and a passion to fly and to help others - has a Federal Aviation Administration Section 333 exemption and is currently working on obtaining her sport pilot license. Desi uses her drones for photography and videography. She has written for two UAS Internet sites - Skylabflightsystems.com and DigitalAviators.net - regarding drone safety and awareness. She has owned and operated a successful business for over 20 years. Her "Fly Right" program promotes the value of drones and teaches safety in accordance with current FAA guidelines. Desi also works with Leslie Bates at SheDrones and STEM education.
Anuleka Ellan Saroja
Applied AI Manager, Deloitte
Anu Saroja is an applied AI manager and AI ethics lead at Deloitte. She specializes in applying statistical data analyses to large datasets, which includes data transformation, predictive modeling, and synthesizing inferences into visualization dashboards and reports. She has extensive experience in AML compliance, regulatory reporting, validating CCAR models, predictive modeling, data strategy and development of Automation Solutions. Anu also has deep expertise in customer analytics and market research, developing analytics-based go-to-market strategies and time series modelling for supply chain management. As AI ethics lead she advises teams on operationalizing ethics for enterprises. As a strong advocate for supporting women in AI, she has championed "Leading Conversations in AI" - a monthly meetup series bringing together influential women and AI experts from academia and industry to discuss top of mind AI topics. Anu holds a master's in data science and bachelor's in computer science and engineering.
Hannah Emmons
Social Media Manager & Digital Content Specialist, WITI
Hannah Emmons is the Social Media Marketing Manager at Women in Technology International (WITI). With five years' experience managing B2B social media accounts, Hannah is an expert in audience engagement, analytics, and community optimization. She specializes in establishing unique voices across different social media platforms. As a part of the WITI team, Hannah is focused on branding across all WITI properties that cater to a multi-generational audience. Previously, Hannah managed event partnerships and marketing for a large sports arena and convention center and has deep experience in local community business development working at a Chamber of Commerce. She graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2018 with a major in Public Relations and a minor in Mathematics.
Winifred Ereyi
Head, WITI Africa
- 412 - AFRICA Track - Engaging Intergenerational African Women in STEM Outreach [1:00-1:30pm WAT]
- 414 - AFRICA Track - Intergenerational STEM Q&A Session [1:30-2:00pm WAT]
- 416 - AFRICA Track - How EduTECH Is Disrupting the Education Landscape in Africa [2:00-2:30pm WAT]
- 418 - AFRICA Track - Eductech Panel Q&A [2:30-3:00pm WAT]
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.
Carol Evanoff
CEO, Mapping Your Career Success
Mentored 1,095 proteges and 3,000 employees in 40 years. 36 years in Leadership in Aerospace supporting the deployment of the Trident Missiles including: Engineering, Digital Engineering, Model Based Engineering, Manufacturing, Product Assurance, IT, Calibration, Machining, Composites, Electronics, Chemical Processing, Tooling, Maintenance, Transportation, Warehousing, Human Resources, Safety, Security, Explosive Processing for DoD/DoE with 100% Mission Success. 167 consecutive successful Trident Missile Launches. Currently working for Systems Planning and Analysis on strategic planning for the next 60 years of Trident II D5 Missile.
Marti Evans
Managing Director, Strategic Partnerships, WITI
Marti Evans, Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships at Women in Technology International (WITI), is an innovative technology executive grounded as an Industry 4.0 Digitization and Operational Excellence thought leader. She has worked for Fortune 50 technology companies leading large-scale strategic business transformation pursuits and overseeing their successful implementation. Managing sales teams, cross-functional pursuit teams, delivery teams, and client relationships at all levels, Marti has been noted for her authentic leadership, business acumen, and deep relationships. Her work has taken her from the C-Suites of North America to operational sites in the US, Canada, Chile and Mongolia. As a WITI PowerSource Coach, Marti brings tools, methodologies, and human performance understanding to help those women who are following her to bring their A-Game to work each day and reach their highest level of performance.
Julee Everett
Executive Vice President, Business Agility, ClearlyAgile
Julee Everett is the EVP of Business Agility at ClearlyAgile, a transformation organization in Tampa, Florida. She specializes in coaching change and innovation for organizations struggling to re-discover their entrepreneurial DNA, who need to rethink their strategy, or who want to evolve their culture to enable flow and empower people. Julee's work has strong influences from design thinking, business, and product management. Her teachings are rooted in facts and theory, but her approach encourages reflection and action. She is passionate about maximizing others by making abstract concepts real and practical for those on a learning path to agility and innovation. An active leader in community and peer learning spaces, Julee is an organizer of the Agile Alliance Product Management Initiative, the ProductCamp Gulf Coast founder, and the Tampa Bay Product Owner group founder. She is a professional trainer with Scrum.org and is a frequent publisher on Medium and LinkedIn. Julee was recently named one of the LIA 100, an initiative to identify women making significant contributions in Lean and Agile spaces worldwide.
Laura Fontana
Vice President, Innovation Group, Wells Fargo
Laura Fontana is a product strategy lead for the Wells Fargo Innovation Research & Development team. She is responsible for the Distributed Ledger Technology Program, investigating distributed ledger based solutions and identifying opportunities across the enterprise to define a framework and strategy for adoption. With over 20 years of product development experience, Laura joined Wells Fargo in 2008. As part of Digital Payments, she supported the online and mobile transfers & payments services, working on many digital transformational enhancements such as the universal transfers module, the Wachovia integration for money movement, and the technical transitions required to adopt online collections and the modern user experience across digital devices. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Laura led the marketing and product development of alternative merchant payment solutions at Blackhawk Network, and online public sector procurement services at Epylon. She also has extensive product development and marketing experience with software development tools, methodologies, and best practices. Laura earned a bachelor's degree in English Literature with a secondary focus in Economics from Stanford University.
Sindhu Gangadharan
Senior Vice President & Managing Director, SAP Labs India
Sindhu Gangadharan holds dual responsibilities at SAP. As a Senior Vice President, she leads the SAP User Enablement unit which provides a consistent, intelligent, and personalized enablement for SAP's entire product portfolio. Sindhu is also the Managing Director of SAP Labs in India, responsible for product development and innovation at SAP's Research & Development facilities in Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Gurgaon. Since Sindhu joined SAP in 1999, she has played a pivotal role in shaping the company's Integration strategy by growing SAP's Integration product portfolio as Head of Product Management for SAP Integration Suite, IoT, and SAP Process Orchestration. She has been instrumental in bringing to life SAP's vision and strategy of Intelligent Enterprise by orchestrating end-to-end process delivery roadmaps. Sindhu also serves on the Board of Directors both at Utah-based Qualtrics International, and Titan Company Ltd. She is a member of the NASSCOM Executive Council and the Steering committee of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce. In March 2021, she was appointed to the Advisory Board of ReLoop by SAP. Sindhu is a passionate advocate of using technology to benefit customers and the society, workplace diversity, and inclusion.
Lia Garvin
Executive Coach & Senior Program Manager, Google
- 352 - Breakout Panel - The Future of Work
- 362 - Coaching Circle - The Transformational Power of Changing Your Perspective
Lia Garvin has almost a decade of experience working in some of the largest and most influential companies in tech including Microsoft, Apple, and Google. As a Senior Program Manager at Google, Lia leverages her leadership coaching and program management skills to examine the challenges holding teams back from doing their best work, and develop programs, workshops, and resources to help foster psychological safety, inclusion, and effective team dynamics. She built the Diversity & Inclusion program for Google's Augmented and Virtual Reality team, mentors and coaches program managers across the company about how to drive impactful and measurable D&I programming, and was recognized by the National Diversity Council as a 2021 DEI Champion. Lia is a certified executive coach, and works with her clients on how to use the power of reframing to achieve the goals they have for their lives and careers. Lia holds a Bachelor's in sociology from UCLA and a Master's in media studies from The New College of California.
Ram Gautam
Director of Engineering, Altais Health
Ram Gautam is Director of Software Engineering at Altais. He is responsible for creating tools, technology, and services that help enhance the patient experience, improve health outcomes, lower the cost of care, and deliver a sense of professional gratification to physicians. This includes strategy development, planning, and technology implementation. Ram also provides dynamic, innovative, and forward-thinking leadership as part of the team actively building Altais eNable. eNable is a next-generation, intelligent end-to-end platform that integrates solutions and unifies people, technology, and data across the healthcare continuum. In prior roles, Ram led a number of digital and claims-related healthcare transformation programs to reduce administrative costs and improve the patient experience.
Ruth Glendinning
Founder, Future Story Lab
Ruth Glendinning is the Founder of Future Story Lab, whose mission is identifying and activating sense-making tools for the unfolding future. The core of her work is building ecosystems of relationships, connections, and creative partnerships in projects that are mapped to real needs in the market, catalyzed by expanding technology and activated by personal relationships. As a natural product of the ecosystems built, Ruth designs and implements platforms and systems to develop, produce, and sustain local wealth. She brings a complex network of connections at the local, national, and global level, all based on trust capital and shared values. Her passion is for inclusion and accessibility, seeking the simple entry point to the complexity of the world, recognizing the patterns of past, present, and future events and weaving them into a complex story with a wide variety of elements leveraging the power of the who, what, where, how & why of what's next. This emerges in many forms including language, underlying architecture of ideas, consumer products, and locally rooted economic engines. Decades of lived experience have culminated in the Anti-Fragile Playbook, a step-by-step guide directed towards investing in the productive capacity of places and populations with historically diminished access to opportunities to build and keep wealth. Financial investment seeds the story, but what's really needed is access to the tools to seed, root, grow, and sustain that wealth locally.
Vatora Godwin
Video Content Producer, Salesforce
Vatora Godwin created her own role as head of video marketing for Trailhead, Salesforce's self-learning platform to empower everyone with the skills needed to succeed in Tech and beyond. A trained videographer and photographer, in her role Vatora creates enablement content that is open to all and elevates heroes within the community with visual storytelling. She also serves as President of Trailhead's Racial Equality and Justice council to build community and increase representation of Black talent in Tech. Outside of Salesforce, she is the founder and owner of her own video production company - Vizzle Productions. As a filmmaker, Vatora has been accepted to nine Film Festivals and is the recipient of the 2020 Emerging Filmmaker award from the Detroit Black Film Festival.
Mark Goulston
Owner, Mark Goulston, M.D., Inc.
Mark Goulston is a board-certified psychiatrist, fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, former assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA NPI, and a former FBI and police hostage negotiation trainer. He is the creator of Theory Y Executive Coaching - which he provides to CEOs, presidents, founders, and entrepreneurs - and is a TEDx and international keynote speaker. He is the creator and developer of Surgical Empathy, a process to help people recover and heal from PTSD, prevent suicide in teenagers and young adults, and help organizations overcome implicit bias. Dr. Goulston is the author or principal author of eight books. He hosts the My Wakeup Call podcast, where he speaks with influencers about their purpose in life and the wakeup calls that led them there. He also is the co-creator and moderator of the multi-honored documentary Stay Alive: An Intimate Conversation About Suicide Prevention. Mark appears frequently as a human psychology and behavior subject-area expert across all media, including news outlets ABC, NBC, CBS, and BBC News, as well as CNN, Today, Oprah, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, Business Insider, Fast Company, Huffington Post, and Westwood One.
Angel Grant
Vice President, Product & Market Strategy, f5 Security
Angel Grant is currently Vice President of Product and Market Strategy at f5 Security. She is a visionary leader with a passion for developing and evangelizing cybersecurity, fraud prevention, and risk management solutions to help make our digital world a safer place. Angel has over 20 years of experience in the cybersecurity, eCommerce, and financial services industries with a background in product development, marketing, and sales. Prior to f5, she held various positions in RSA Security authentication, identity, fraud, risk, and threat intelligence teams. She has influenced many industry initiatives while serving on the FS-ISAC Board, PCI Council Board of Advisors, Federal Reserve Secure Payments Task Force and Nacha's Payments Innovation Alliance Risk, Regulatory and Security Advisory Committees. She is also a prominent diversity evangelist, spokesperson, blogger, and is CISSP certified.
Mai Green
Vice President, Partner Marketing & Communications, Salesforce
Mai Green is the Vice President of Partner Engagement and Communications at Salesforce. She has been with the company for over 10 years where she started as an independent contractor and has since risen through her career by investing in the relationships around her, owning her brand, and leading strategically. In 2016, she created her role, Customer Engagement & Marketing, by setting up a plan that centered on her purpose and advocated for her work. She is an accomplished marketer with a passion for customer success, innovation, and technology, with 20+ years of experience in the entertainment, marketing, and software industries.
Dinis Guarda
Founder, CEO, & Executive Chairman, Ztudium
Dinis Guarda is a writer, artist, academic, B2B2C tech influencer, inventor, and serial entrepreneur. As well, he is a world-renowned thought leader, strategist, futurist; an International Bestselling Author; and a media personality who covers the present and future of business, technology, and society. Dinis is a World Class Leader in multiple fields with a passion to push ideas, action, and technology together to create better solutions, narratives and paths. He specialises in the crossroad between strategy, ideas, business, poetry, and technology - and how 4IR, AI, Fintech, digital transformation, and Blockchain are changing Humanity. With decades of experience, he has worked with new tech, cryptocurrencies, drive ICOs, regulation, compliance, and legal international processes; has created a bank; and been involved in the inception of some of the top 100 digital currencies. Dinis has created various companies such as the Ztudium tech platform - a digital and blockchain startup that created the software Blockimpact (sold to Glance Technologies); he is founder and publisher of intelligenthq.com, hedgethink.com, tokensdna.com and tradersdna.com. He has been working with the likes of UN / UNITAR, UNESCO, European Space Agency, Davos WEF, Philips, Saxo Bank, Mastercard, Barclays, and governments all over the world. He has been a guest lecturer at Copenhagen Business School, Group INSEEC/Monaco University, where he coordinates executive Masters and MBAs. Dinis is ranked as one of the most influential people in Blockchain in the world by Right Relevance as well as being listed in Cointelegraph's Top People In Blockchain and Rise Global's The Artificial Intelligence Power 100.
Suruchi Gupta
Head of 5G Collaboration, Senior Professional, AT&T Account, Networks, Samsung
Suruchi is responsible for Business Development, Solution Sales, and Strategy on Customer Account Team, focusing on expanding Samsung's Network footprint by offering customers Samsung's 5G RAN end to end Network infrastructure. She is the National co-Lead for WISE (Women in Samsung Electronics) Employee Resource Group which has 900+ members across US.
Bea Hackula
President, Africa For Africa Women
- 416 - AFRICA Track - How EduTECH Is Disrupting the Education Landscape in Africa [2:00-2:30pm WAT]
- 418 - AFRICA Track - Eductech Panel Q&A [2:30-3:00pm WAT]
Bea Hackula is the Founder and President of Africa for Africa Women Empowerment NPC. She is also Founder of Women Building our Africa (WBoA) Primary Cooperative Financial Services, which was officially licensed by the Reserve Bank of South Africa in July 2020. As well, Bea is the Founder of ASSERT media which offers an online magazine and virtual coaching and mentorship sessions to empower women leaders and entrepreneurs; she is also the Co-Founder Chair of Women of Africa Arise Forum, which unites women's organizations and professionals across Africa. Bea is a globally respected leader, strategist, and public speaker, especially on leadership and women empowerment related topics. With extensive executive leadership experience from both Public and Private Sectors, she is a transformational leader in action, and a champion of women and youth empowerment - a life coach and a mentor to many. Bea is a Harvard alumnus and studied in various Universities in South Africa including the African Leaders University, Fort Hare. She is a certified John Maxwell Coach and accredited European Foundation Quality Model (EFQM) Facilitator and Assessor, and an Independent training consultant to the National School of Government in South Africa. She has been recognized with numerous awards for her transformational leadership.
Denise Hamilton
Project Director, Race Relay (TM)
Denise Hamilton has over 30 years experience as a writer and producer for television network specials and syndicated programs, as well as stage director. In the area of documentary and broadcast journalism, she was writer and field producer for four internationally-shot documentaries. Prior to moving to Los Angeles she was active in arts administration, serving as a program director at the New York Foundation for the Arts, director of Education Programs for the Roundabout Theatre Company, and a Commissioner with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. Presently Denise teaches documentary filmmaking at the New York Film Academy, Los Angeles campus. Her multimedia theatre piece "Parallax: In Honor of Daisy Bates" is published in the anthology WOMEN HEROES: Six Short Plays, and produced by The Women's Project of the American Place Theatre, New York City. Over the past four years, within her capacity as a Project Director for RACE RELAY (TM) gatherings, Denise has conducted dozens of ongoing community engagement dialogues in Culver City through Common Peace Center for the Advancement of Nonviolence.
Ros Harvey
Founder and Managing Director, The Yield
Ros Harvey is an experienced entrepreneur and executive in technology, particularly the Internet of Things (IoT) and user-centric design. She is committed to creating public good through the innovative use of technology. Since founding Australian agtech company The Yield in 2014, it has become one of the industry's fastest-growing technology success stories, backed by several leading global businesses including Bosch, KPMG, and Microsoft. Ros is passionate about technology playing a role in the sustainable governance of the planet, and is an accomplished speaker on agtech, IoT, converting data to knowledge, and the future of food. She also co-founded the Food Agility Cooperative Research Centre and the Knowledge Economy Institute with Dr. Michael Briers, for which she remains an active non-executive director and strategy advisor, respectively. In 2018, Ros was named one of the Australian Financial Review's 100 most influential women and awarded the emerging leader in technology at the Women's Agenda Leadership Awards.
Roopashree HM
Global Director, Foundation IP & EDA, Texas Instruments
Roopashree began her career with Texas Instruments as a new college graduate, and has worked across multiple domains and held several leadership positions. Roopa has led teams on various aspects of VLSI design including Digital Libraries, High Speed IOs, DDR PHY, High Speed Memories and EDA. She currently leads the Global Foundation IP & EDA teams, where she is responsible for ensuring TI's products have the most competitive IP & Design Tools and Methodologies Roopa is very passionate about technology and leadership development. In 2018, she spearheaded the first Women in Technology Conference, IEEE-WINTECHCON, that brought together industry's top technical minds, and focused on showcasing innovations driven by women across technical fields. At TI, she has been involved in various talent development programs and is currently the Chairperson of TI India Women's Initiative Network. Apart from being a tech enthusiast, Roopa is also an avid reader who enjoys books on history, anthropology & science fiction. She lives in Bangalore with her husband and two kids.
Grant Hume
Executive Vice President, G23 Consulting
Grant Hume is a retired Senior Executive with significant North American and International experience in Tier 1 Sales Organizations. As a Senior Leader he has led sales culture transformations resulting in breakthrough Sales and P&L Performance. He has a proven track record of success of improving the customer experience at the Enterprise, Public Sector, and Mid-Market level. Grant's last role was Executive Vice President at Cable and Wireless Communications in the Caribbean region. Prior to this he served as North American Vice President of Sales for Direct Energy Business Services, Vice President Business Solutions at Telus, preceded by a successful 16-year tenure at Xerox Canada in progressive sales and sales leadership roles. Grant is a strategic thinker with demonstrated success in inspiring, building, and leading high-performing collaborative cross-functional teams through strategic initiatives and cultural change with a high level of vision, employee buy-in, and integrity.
Femi Ibiwoye
CTO, Gradely
- 416 - AFRICA Track - How EduTECH Is Disrupting the Education Landscape in Africa [2:00-2:30pm WAT]
- 418 - AFRICA Track - Eductech Panel Q&A [2:30-3:00pm WAT]
Femi Ibiwoye is Co-Founder and CTO at Gradely, a Nigerian online virtual learning platform offering personalised learning at home and in school for grades KG through 12. In his role, Femi brings two decades of experience growing and leading tech, product & analytics teams, architecting, and building systems to meet evolving education and media industry objectives.
Susan Inouye
Executive Coach
Susan Inouye, executive coach and bestselling author of "Leadership's Perfect Storm: What Millennials Are Teaching Us about Possibilities, Passion and Purpose," has worked with over 600 companies in 40 industries for the past 20 years. Through a "Gift-Centered Approach," integrating mind and body practices, she has created dramatic turnarounds, cultural transformations, increased profitability and enabled executives to live a more balanced and fulfilled life. A recognized expert with millennials, Susan was instrumental in taking a revolutionary method that emerged from this generation into the corporate world. Today Sawubona Leadership (Zulu for "I see you") is used in over 30 countries because of its capacity to unite all generations through their gifts, passions, and purpose. Susan's exceptional results with millennials and their leaders has led to numerous consultations, articles, radio interviews and speaking engagements such as Young President's Organization (YPO), USC Women's Conference, and National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) National Conference. An active member of the community, she was the recipient of The Congressional Award for Contributions to the Community. Susan was named one of the "Top 10 Inspiring Women Rocking the Global Business World" by The Businesswoman Today / Global Woman.
Hannah-Beth Jackson
Founder & CEO, Hannah-Beth Jackson & Associates
Hannah-Beth Jackson is a former California legislator, practicing attorney, educator, and small business owner. From 2012 to 2020, she served in the State Senate, representing nearly one million residents in the 19th Senate District, which includes Santa Barbara County and western Ventura County. From 1998 to 2004, she represented the 35th State Assembly District. During her legislative career, Hannah-Beth served as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and received national recognition as a champion for women's equality. The Huffington Post identified her as one of 11 women in the United States "blazing new trails" in American politics, and she was described as "the state senator shifting California's workplace culture" by The New York Times. Hannah-Beth is the author of the California Fair Pay Act, landmark legislation that strengthens the state's equal pay law; and Senate Bill 826, the first law in the nation that requires publicly-held corporations to include women on their board of directors. She is a joint author of legislation that created the nation's first affirmative consent standard ("Yes Means Yes") for the state's college and university campuses. In response to the #MeToo movement, she authored significant legislation to prevent and respond to sexual harassment. Even as the Trump Administration sought to roll back Title IX protections, she authored legislation to ensure victim-centered processes for responding to sexual harassment and assault on college campuses. In addition, she is the author of laws that strengthened and expanded California's Paid Family Leave program and protect survivors of domestic violence. A champion for the environment, Hannah-Beth is the author of Senate Bill 188, blocking the Trump administration's efforts to expand oil development off the California coast, as well as legislation that strengthened the state's pipeline safety laws, reduced the threat of future oil spills, and capped abandoned oil wells. She has been a leading advocate in the fight against climate change and a strong supporter of developing clean energy sources. She is also the author of the nation's first industry-funded "take back" program for unused medications and needles, leading the way for extended producer responsibility legislation. Among Hannah-Beth's other legislative accomplishments are laws to improve California's wildfire preparedness and response, reduce gun violence, expand services for aging Californians, and support military veterans struggling with mental illness and drug addiction. She is an outspoken advocate for Internet privacy protection and women's reproductive rights.
Kim James
Director, UAV Aerial Works (Pty) Ltd.
Kim James' 20+ years investment banking background in the UK, Hong Kong, and the UAE paved the way for her second career. Her global experience in a highly regulated and structured industry was a great segue into aviation - the world of drones. Currently, Kim is a Director of UAV Aerial Works (a SACAA certified drone operator) and the company's drone security brand, Drone Guards. She is also the regulatory Safety and Security post holder for UAV Aerial Works. Aside from Kim's passion for the industry, among her industry achievements: a chapter in each of the co-authored Amazon #1 best sellers, "Drone Professional 1" and "Drone Professional 2."Kim is also an Executive Committee member of the Commercial Unmanned Aircraft Association of Southern Africa (CUAASA) and a Chairperson for one of the Drone Council South Africa (DCSA) chambers - New Operator Applications.
Janet Janssen
Principal, Sales Consulting & Coaching Services
Janet Janssen is a distinguished Toastmaster International speaker, coach, and trainer. She has provided successful coaching circles with WITI for five years and in her Power Play Purpose business for nine years, helping project managers, leaders, and everyday professionals learn the skills on how to go after what you want in life-career. Her programs include sales and goal achievement strategies and tactics, positive mindset principles, and public speaking and storytelling skills. Her work uses positive psychology, neurolinguist, and practical hands-on practices. She is a member of the Women's Networking Alliance since 2012, Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce Board member, and monthly Strictly Business columnist, at the Press Banner.
Jovita Jenkins
Executive/Leadership Coach, GOOYOW GROUP
- 264 - Coaching Circle: Navigating/Thriving in the Post-Pandemic Workplace
- 352 - Breakout Panel - The Future of Work
Jovita Jenkins is a global executive/leadership coach, peer coaching group facilitator, strategist, author, and speaker. Jovita supports and collaborates with aspiring and seasoned leaders as they come up to speed more quickly in new roles, adapt to rapidly changing global environments, and discover ways to raise their levels of confidence, executive presence, influence, and effectiveness. As a speaker, seminar leader, author, and west coast aerospace "hidden figure," Jovita inspires audiences to shift their mindsets and overcome their success roadblocks.
Renee Jones-Welch, Ph.D.
Founder & CEO, With Kids in Mind Foundation
Renee Jones-Welch, Ph.D., is an accredited resilience coach. Resilience Coaching is a model of life-coaching which teaches individuals to be their own healer and manage traumatic or painful experiences skillfully, leveraging tools and approaches needed to be their best selves. Renee is avid about learning and making life lessons fun and relatable to kids. As a new FAA certified drone pilot, she looks forward to introducing disadvantaged youth to the world of unmanned aerial systems and drones designing STE(A)M skills in and out of school programs. Renee's high energy engages groups in sharing and exploring, always leaving them with practical tools, reflective practices, and ah-ha moments. Renee's most inspiring role to date is that of Grandma to her two granddaughters, Aaryn and Aarys. She is also a children's book author and currently serves as a board of director member for multiple non-profit youth focused organizations and spends time between Chicago and Las Vegas.
Hajara Kabeer Abdulfatah
Founder, Girl in STEM Initiative / Northern Nigeria
- 412 - AFRICA Track - Engaging Intergenerational African Women in STEM Outreach [1:00-1:30pm WAT]
- 414 - AFRICA Track - Intergenerational STEM Q&A Session [1:30-2:00pm WAT]
Born and raised in Nigeria, Hajara Kabeer Abdulfatah is a young Northern Nigerian woman working in STEM. A Petroleum and Gas Engineer by profession, she is passionate about building capacity in energy, environmental sustainability, and low-carbon future. Her aim is to become a Future Energy Leader and acquire skills in the use of energy and econometric models to access the long-term implications of energy and environmental policy decisions on different sectors of the economy. Additionally, Hajara aspires to be a functional part of the paradigm-shifting effort to address net zero challenges. She founded Girl in STEM Initiative to help counter the narrative of Northern Nigerian females being the most educationally disenfranchised. She has coached and trained about 360 talented young girls (and some boys) from government/private primary and secondary school, enabling them to achieve their aspirations of pursuing careers in STEM. She leads an advocacy on #GiveGirlsRoleModels, a movement aimed at normalizing female role models in STEM. Hajara's dedication to STEM advocacy has earned her both International and local recognition as a Global STEM Ambassador. Hajara has received various awards for her work, including the nascent Girl in STEM Leadership Award by SPE Nigeria, STEM Ambassador for Coder in Africa (Coderina), Distinguished Merit Award "Achiever par Excellence" by the Voice of Northern Nigerian Students (VONNIS), and the Price of Peace Award in S.T.E.A.M and the Environment by Federation of International Gender and Human Rights (FIGHR). Utmost is Hajara's powerful determination to encourage and inspire young girls and women to break through the ceiling and make a positive and lasting impact in the world of STEM.
Diana Kelley
Executive Board Member, Cyber Future Foundation & WiCyS
Diana Kelley serves on the boards of Cyber Future Foundation, WiCyS, and The Executive Women’s Forum (EWF). Diana was Cybersecurity Field CTO for Microsoft, Global Executive Security Advisor at IBM Security, GM at Symantec, VP at Burton Group (now Gartner), a Manager at KPMG, CTO and co-founder of SecurityCurve, and Chief vCISO at SaltCybersecurity. Diana’s extensive volunteer work has included serving on the ACM Ethics & Plagiarism Committee, Cybersecurity Committee Advisor at CompTIA, CTO and Board Member at Sightline Security, Advisory Board Chair at WOPLLI Technologies, Advisory Council member Bartlett College of Science and Mathematics, Bridgewater State University, and RSAC US Program Committee. A sought-after keynote speaker, Diana is the host of BrightTALK’s The (Security) Balancing Act, co-author of the books Practical Cybersecurity Architecture and Cryptographic Libraries for Developers; she has been a lecturer at Boston College's Masters program in cybersecurity, the EWF 2020 Executive of the Year and EWF Conference Chair 2021 and 2022, an SCMedia Power Player, and one of Cybersecurity Ventures 100 Fascinating Females Fighting Cybercrime.
Peggy Kilburn
Global Program Director, WITI
Peggy Kilburn is currently the Global Program Director for Women in Technology International (WITI), responsible for program development, speaker recruitment/management, and onsite/virtual operations of WITI's summits and special programs. As well, she is Managing Director for the Women in Technology Hall of Fame Awards, and had previously served in both capacities as an independent contractor to WITI since 2013. A seasoned director of such major conferences as COMDEX, AppleFest, ComNet, Harvard Computer Graphics Week, and Softcon, Peggy was the founding conference director for Macworld Expo and ran it for 14 years, zestfully growing the program to over 100 sessions with 375+ speakers. The company she founded, Peggy Kilburn Conferences & Events (PKCE), developed and administered more than 2,000 programs for such clients as Boston University, CeBIT America, Clasma Events, Customer Engagement Technology World, Harvard University, pulvermedia, Smart Grid Interoperability Panel, SRI International, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. PKCE also provides operations management support for Score Publishing, producers of Project Voice, Digital Book World, and Euphonious. Additionally, since 2015 Peggy has helped the Asheboro, NC community organize The Heart of Christmas Dinner - a free dinner and party on Christmas Day, for anyone alone for the holidays. She is an ardent booster of community theatre, both onstage and behind the scenes; and is eager to pursue a second career as a Voice Over Artist, with a longheld secret ambition to be the voice of a Muppet and/or a Disney cartoon character. Peggy holds a BA in Broadcast Journalism from the University of South Carolina.
Liz Kraninger
Chief Operating Officer, The TCW Group
Liz Kraninger is Chief Operating Officer for TCW. In this role, she oversees several key areas of the firm, including information technology, investment operations, and other corporate functions. Prior to joining TCW in 2021, Liz spent 14 years at PIMCO, where she was most recently Executive Vice President and Head of Client Operations. During her tenure at PIMCO, Liz held some of the most senior roles in operations, having led teams in data management, client servicing technology, and firm-wide strategic alignment. Prior to PIMCO, Liz was Partner and Owner of Kraninger Consulting and Partner and Owner of Techmoney LLC, where she specialized in the implementation of a highly customized global platform for clients. She began her career at Accenture as a technology and business analyst lead for large scale technology deployments for Fortune 500 pharma and biotech companies. Liz earned her BS in Biology from the University of California Los Angeles.
Renessa Boley Layne
Founder, Perfect Work Academy
Renessa Boley Layne is author of the book Fast Lane, Wrong Direction: Insider Secrets to Redesign Your Success. She takes high-achieving women who have grown bored, burned out, or unfulfilled in their current career and helps them create their "Perfect Work" - be it radically changing careers, starting a business, or bringing a big idea to life. Renessa's mission is to equip women everywhere to discover, design, and get highly paid doing work they love! Renessa has appeared as a leading authority on ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX TV affiliates across the country. She has also been featured in publications such as Career Builder, CNN.com, Heart & Soul magazine, and The Washington Post. Renessa holds an Industrial Engineering degree from Stanford University and brings 20 years of corporate and entrepreneurial success to her training. Her skill set ranges from keynotes and facilitation to career and life design coaching.
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
- 221 - Pre-Summit Global Networking!
- 246 - Networking!
- 271 - Speed Networking
- 321 - Global Connecting
- 421 - Global Networking
- 471 - Summit Wrap Up and Speed Networking
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.
Hailey Lennon
Partner, Anderson Kill
Hailey Lennon is a shareholder in Anderson Kill's Technology, Media, and Distributed Systems Group. She is based in California and affiliated with Anderson Kill's Los Angeles office. Hailey is also Regulatory Analyst at Forbes Crypto and Founder of Crypto Connect. Prior to joining Anderson Kill, Hailey was regulatory counsel at leading cryptocurrency platforms Coinbase and bitFlyer. At Coinbase, Hailey helped oversee regulatory relationships with the SEC, CFTC, OFAC, and state regulators. She worked with the New York Department of Financial Services to obtain approvals for new products, services, and digital assets, and managed the organization's Bitlicense and Trust Company supervisory relationships, reporting, and audits. Prior, Hailey helped bitFlyer Japan's expansion into the United States, obtaining money transmitter licenses for 33 states, as well as the coveted New York BitLicense. At bitFlyer, Hailey served as board secretary for the Virtual Commodity Association, a working group seeking to establish an industry-sponsored self-regulatory organization for the cryptocurrency industry. Previously, Hailey was AVP of regulatory compliance at Silvergate Bank.
Oreoluwa Lesi
Founder & Executive Director, W.TEC
- 412 - AFRICA Track - Engaging Intergenerational African Women in STEM Outreach [1:00-1:30pm WAT]
- 414 - AFRICA Track - Intergenerational STEM Q&A Session [1:30-2:00pm WAT]
Oreoluwa Lesi is a STEM & Gender Specialist with over 19 years professional experience. She is also a Nonprofit and Social Entrepreneurship consultant. Oreoluwa speaks and moderates at high-impact conferences and discussions centered around themes closely related to the STEM gender divide, teaching STEM effectively, Nonprofit Sustainability, and principles of Social Entrepreneurship. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Women's Technology Empowerment Centre (W.TEC), a Nigerian nonprofit organisation committed to building a more inclusive technology ecosystem, with the next generation of women technology creators, entrepreneurs, and leaders. Since 2008, W.TEC has encouraged over 31,000 girls and women across Nigeria to pursue STEM careers, and has supported women to use technology confidently to increase their economic power and ability to speak about issues affecting their lives. Oreoluwa is also Director of Patabah Books, a family-owned bookshop in Lagos and the Creator and Host of The Other Room, an interview-style podcast that explores African women's career journeys. She has been recognized as OkayAfrica 100 Women for 2020, One of the 5 Women Who Defined the Nigerian Tech Space in 2019 by Technext.ng, the Her Network Technology Woman of the Year 2018 award, and as one of Leading Ladies Africa's 2018 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria. As well, Oreoluwa is a 2014 Vital Voices Lead Fellow (awarded to emerging and established women leaders across the world), 2013 Ashoka fellow (a network of the world's leading social entrepreneurs), and a recipient of the Anita Borg Change Agent Award (for her commitment to supporting women in computing in Nigeria). She was recognized with a 2014 "Chosen Youth" Leadership Award from LaRoche Foundation and as one of YNaija!'s Top 100 Young People in Technology of 2014 and 2016.
Gene Libov
President, Planet 9 Security Consulting
Gene Libov is a certified Information Security and Compliance professional with over 20 years of experience. As President and Principal Consultant at Planet 9 Inc., Gene has been helping global companies keep their critical information safe and comply with regulations. Prior to establishing Planet 9, Gene was Director of Blue Shield's Security Assurance team. In addition to leading IT and security audits as well as compliance activities, he oversaw internal and third-party security risk management. Gene also worked as a security engineer at the Clorox Company where he managed global infrastructure security, managed security incidents, and deployed enterprise security solutions. Gene received his Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Management with specialization in Cyber Security. He is a Certified Information Security Professional (CISSP).
Sumedha Limaye
General Manager, Xeon Networking Engineering, Intel India
Sumedha Limaye, General Manager of Xeon Networking Engineering at Intel India, did her Electronics & Communication Engineering from IIT-Roorkee and has 27+ years of Industry experience working across companies including Intel, Texas Instruments, CMC & ST. She is currently leading Development programs for Next Gen Server SoC, Networking SoC and 5G ASICs from Intel India. Her experience ranges from building and leading teams to developing differentiated products spanning across SoCs, Digital IPs, CAD/EDA, Design Flows and Process initiatives. Sumedha has led Intel India D&I initiatives; initiated and led the TI India gender diversity forum for multiple years; and has driven multiple other key initiatives within the organization. She has been a panelist in ISA-GHC session on Women in Technology , VLSI2019 and featured in EET & TOI. She is also an ICF Member (Executive/Leadership coach).
Kathy Lomax
Vice President, Office of the CIO, First American Title
Kathy Lomax is Vice President, Office of the CIO at First American Title. In that role she manages the business of IT within the Business Technology Services organization, which includes budget, marketing and communications, training, service desk, organizational change management, portfolio management, IT performance, governance, process, and methodologies. As an IT executive with over 25 years' experience in leading financial services and healthcare, Kathy has led a variety of global teams across IT disciplines including infrastructure, web administration, application quality management, application support, IT finance and vendor management. Prior, Kathy served in roles as Deputy CIO at L. A. Care Health Plan, IT Vice President and Sr. Manager at Capital Group Companies, and as Administrative Director at Loma Linda University Medical Center. Fueling her passion in supporting women, Kathy led the WITI (Women in Technology International) Orange County regional network for four years, earning her a seat on the Global Advisory Board since 2017. Additionally, Kathy has served on the board of SCSIM (Southern California Society of Information Management) since 2018 and is currently serving as Programs Chair.
Dean Lowrie
Founder, Advantage Coaching
Dean Lowrie is recognized as one of Canada's elite coaches. He has worked in elite sport for the past 25 years competing and coaching at every level. Dean is the founder of Advantage Coaching and a certified professional coach, certified personal trainer, and certified nutrition coach. He sits on several committees that focus on coaching and leadership development. An avid reader, Coach Lowrie has read hundreds of books on leadership, success strategies, communication, exercise physiology, and team building, to name a few. With over 20 years working with high-achieving athletes, he has some insightful strategies for both men and women who have lofty goals. In addition to his professional activities, Dean serves as a pro bono advisor to non-profit organizations, working with them to improve operational and financial performance.
Olu Maduka
Chair & Founding Board Member, Women in Energy, Oil & Gas
- 412 - AFRICA Track - Engaging Intergenerational African Women in STEM Outreach [1:00-1:30pm WAT]
- 414 - AFRICA Track - Intergenerational STEM Q&A Session [1:30-2:00pm WAT]
Per her colleagues at Women in Energy, Oil & Gas (WEOG) - of which she is Chairperson and Founding Board member - the indefatigable Mrs. Olu Maduka "came into this world with a game changer destiny."With a B.Sc. in applied physics, Mrs. Maduka passed the Graduateship Examination of the IEE (UK) and then earned an M.Sc. (Engineering) degree from Trinity College, Dublin. She worked briefly in media, then moved to engineering consultancy and became a partner of Leccom Associates. She became the first female fellow of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) in 1974, and currently serves as COREN's first female President. She is also a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, the Nigerian Society of Engineers, and the Nigerian Academy of Engineering. In 1982 she founded the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN). She was made an honorary fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Science Technology in 1987 and Yaba College of Technology in 1988. In 1993, Mrs. Maduka founded Friends of the Environment (FOTE), an innovation which seeks to improve renewable energy, manage wastes, and also empower women. She was honoured as a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2008. In 2014 She was made Chairperson of the Power Sector Group, set up by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In 2016 she became the ninth President - and the first female President - of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering. Mrs. Maduka is the current President of the Ijesha Society.
Rituparna Mandal
General Manager, MediaTek Bangalore
Rituparna Mandal is the General Manager of MediaTek Bangalore. In addition, she is the Director of the Advanced Technology team where she is responsible for foundation IP and advanced CPU designs across MediaTek products. Driven by passion for leadership and innovation, Rituparna started Immensa Semiconductors and created foundation IP portfolio in leading edge technologies across top foundries, as well as worked with several Tier-1 companies to develop custom IP for them. In 2015, Immensa Semiconductors was acquired by MediaTek. Rituparna started her career in Texas Instruments and worked for 15 years across digital circuit design, foundation IP, and flash technology development, where she was responsible for several WW teams. Rituparna believes in creating NextGen leaders through mentoring and enabling them to realize their full potential. Passionate about innovation and differentiation in anything she takes up, she loves brainstorming on new business ideas and is always on the lookout for firing up new ventures. Rituparna is a B. Tech. in Electronics Engineering from Jadavpur University. She has over two decades of experience in the semiconductor industry.
Annie Mathew
Head of Developer Relations, Microsoft APAC
Annie Mathew, Head of Developer Relations at Microsoft APAC, has deep expertise in ecosystem building, strategic partnerships, and solution portfolios on emerging technologies. She has varied experience across Consumer Devices, ITeS, Healthcare, and Manufacturing industries. As part of her current role at Microsoft, Annie grows a vibrant ecosystem of developers across the region to enable innovative solutions on the latest cloud technologies. She is a board member of HIMSS India chapter and leads the Women in Health IT committee with the mission of enabling Healthcare with technology. Annie was a founding board member of Startup Village, India's first telecom incubator; and executive council member of Andhra Pradesh Innovation Council. She was honored by the Chief Minister of Kerala for her work with the Startup ecosystem. As well, Annie has received accolades including the top five nominees for Sthree Shakthi (notable women) award in Science and Technology.
Cyrus Mehri
Co-Founder and Principal, Working IDEAL
Cyrus Mehri, Esq., has developed innovative and effective diversity and inclusion tools across various industries - stemming from groundbreaking employment cases that benefit employers and workers. Currently Principal and Co-Founder of Working IDEAL, he has worked with major companies and leading organizations to develop board diversity and accountability strategies. Cyrus is the originator of the "Rooney Rule" diverse candidate slate requirements that have become best practices.
Kim Meninger
Executive Coach, Your Career Success
- 261 - Coaching Circle - Fight Impostor Syndrome to Boost Your Confidence & Advance Your Career
- 361 - Coaching Circle - Authentic Self-Promotion Strategies to Raise Your Visibility
- 461 - Coaching Circle - Walking the Tightrope: Mastering the Balance between Likability & Respect
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.
Carolina Milanesi
Founder, The Heart of Tech
Carolina Milanesi has over 15 years of experience in the consumer technology industry, most recently as the President and Principal Analyst at Creative Strategies, where since 2016, she has been focusing on a broad range of consumer technologies and services, including those that profoundly impact user behavior in an enterprise context. Her passion for user engagement and user experience drove her to increasingly spend time analyzing the future of work and employee engagement, especially as it relates to collaboration and workflows. In 2019, Carolina founded The Heart of Tech. Her newest endeavor aims to help technology providers with their corporate social responsibility efforts. Two areas are particularly dear to her because of the impact on society: education and diversity and inclusion. Between 2013 and 2016, Carolina was Chief of Research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, where she drove thought leadership research by marrying her deep understanding of global market dynamics with the wealth of data coming from ComTech's longitudinal studies on smartphones and tablets. Prior, Carolina spent 14 years at Gartner, most recently as their Consumer Devices Research VP and Agenda Manager. In this role, she led the forecast and market share teams on smartphones, tablets, and PCs. Carolina is a regular contributor to Forbes, Fast Company, and Italian daily La Stampa. She is often quoted as an industry expert and commentator in publications such as The Financial Times, Bloomberg, The New York Times, NBC News, and others.
Martha Montoya
CEO, Agtools
Martha Montoya is CEO & Founder of Agtools Inc., a Microsoft award-winning Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence company. With over 25 years of worldwide agricultural and supply chain experience, Martha is appointed to the California Board of Agriculture and Food and has served on the worldwide Advisory Board of Women for Walmart. Agtools delivers a market intelligence dashboard, www.ag.tools, that allows farmers and food supply chain stakeholders to make better decisions, increase profits, avoid waste, and impact climate change. Through proprietary algorithms, several industries besides supply chain stakeholders have embraced AGtools, such as banking, insurance, and logistics as they look to streamline losses. Dealing with humble and industrial farmers, government entities, and sophisticated buyers across four continents, Martha's work includes social impact programs.
Leslie Morse
Product Owner, Professional Scrum Community, Scrum.org
Leslie Morse is the Product Owner for the Professional Scrum Community at Scrum.org. This work allows her to maximize her passion for unlocking the creative wisdom of people and leverage her skills in Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC). Prior to joining Scrum.org, Leslie enjoyed a career that included co-founding a digital marketing start-up and working on the Lowe's Home Improvement e-commerce platform. Her agile journey formally started in 2010 and included 9 years in agile coaching and training as well as business leadership for agile consulting organizations. In addition to her responsibilities at Scrum.org she serves on the Women in Agile Org leadership team and is the host of the Women in Agile Podcast.
Page Motes
Head of Global Sustainability, Dell Technologies
Page Motes is the Head of Global Sustainability at Dell Technologies, overseeing the company's strategic vision and goals, as well as stakeholder engagement. This role, and the work of Page's team, includes deep collaboration with internal business groups to advance sustainability programs with long-term value. Other work includes engaging in third-party partnerships to accelerate initiatives and position the company as a thought leader, as well as foster innovation and engagement within Dell Technologies' global enterprise. Programs span across the themes of advancing the circular economy, climate change, and deep engagement in the supply chain. Prior to this role, Page spent 10 years as Sr. Managing Director, Global Ethics & Compliance, overseeing and managing Dell Technologies' ethics strategy and proactive culture of integrity initiatives, including the Code of Conduct, compliance and ethics-related awareness programs and key operational processes for the company. Both roles have been complemented by an additional 15 years in sales and consulting, much within the ethics, compliance, risk and governance space. Page has lectured at The University of Texas at Austin School of Law and McCombs Business School, as well as the University of Colorado at Boulder Law School, Fordham School of Law, and Bentley College. She is a member, and former Board member, of the Young Men's Service League (YMSL) Hill Country Chapter, which engages high school boys to develop a heart for service in their communities.
Keiko Munechika
Co-Founder, Daisuki Coaching
Keiko Munechika is the co-founder of Daisuki Coaching. Being a scientist herself, she is passionate about supporting women/men in the tech/science field to move forward in their careers. She firmly believes that success is 80% psychology and 20% mechanics. For that reason, she works on her clients' mindset as she helps them go from where they are to where they want to be. Keiko holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry and is also a Chief Executive Officer of a technology company (HighRI Optics, Inc.) in the San Francisco/Bay Area. She brings in the on-the-field experience of leadership and management into her coaching. Her private clients include individuals in medicine, science, and technology.
Arya Murali
Vice President, WITI India
- 311 - APAC Track: Welcome and Introduction [5:30-5:35pm IST]
- 316 - APAC Track - Kickstart Your Career with a Bang [7:30-8:15pm IST]
- 411 - APAC Track - Welcome & Introduction [5:30-5:35pm IST]
Arya Murali cares deeply about education, inclusion, and entrepreneurship and presently serves as VP, India at Women in Technology International (WITI), a 30-year-old pioneer in empowering women in technology across the globe. Having been closely associated with women in tech ecosystem in India for over six years, Arya has in the past built a community of 1000+ women in tech as the lead for Google Women Techmakers, Cochin; and impacted 5000+ young women in tech through programs such as the Women in Tech Learning program (wit.rethinkfoundation.in). An engineer by education, Arya is also a TEDx speaker, Jagriti Yatri, and one of the 18 young women to receive the prestigious WeTech Qualcomm Global Scholarship. A prominent proponent of the importance of scholarships and mentorships in empowering women, Arya is the author of an eBook on applying to opportunities (handbook.aryamurali.com), host of the "Writing a Winning Scholarship Application" podcast, and runs Godmothers.in - a personal initiative to support young women.
Rucha Nanavati
Chief Information Officer, Mahindra Group
Rucha Nanavati recently joined Mahindra Group as Chief Information Officer. She is a strong leader with demonstrated global experience in enabling business strategies through technology solutions. Rucha has led successful digital transformations in multiple industries including hightech, retail, and manufacturing. She is adept at developing and directing large global, cross-functional teams that deliver high-value, transformational initiatives. Rucha's previous experience includes various technology roles at Albertson's Companies, Motorola, and PriceWaterHouseCoopers.
Stephanie Ockerman
Founder, Professional Scrum Trainer, Agility Coach, Agile Socks
Stephanie Ockerman is the founder of Agile Socks LLC, an agility training and enablement business whose mission is to inspire, empower, and enable teams and organizations to confidently navigate complexity and uncertainty, so all can thrive in a constantly changing world. Stephanie is passionate about creating accessible, yet powerful, online courses and in-depth transformational experiences that help Scrum Masters fully step into their leadership. She brings more than 15 years of experience delivering valuable products and services as a Scrum Master, Project Manager, Team Member, Professional Scrum Trainer, and Co-Active Coach. Stephanie is the co-author of the book, Mastering Professional Scrum (Addison-Wesley Professional, 2019, with Simon Reindl).
Victor Olatunde
Founder & CEO, Tribinnov
- 416 - AFRICA Track - How EduTECH Is Disrupting the Education Landscape in Africa [2:00-2:30pm WAT]
- 418 - AFRICA Track - Eductech Panel Q&A [2:30-3:00pm WAT]
Victor Olatunde is Founder of Classiver, Tech Business School, and Tribinnov Africa. With 13 years cumulative experience, Victor has built products and businesses across several industries, including Food, Agriculture, Energy, Logistics, Hardware Technology, Fintech (loans and investments), Edtech, and more, serving over 180,000 users across West and East Africa. This has enabled him to see significant interconnectivity between education and several other industries, and helped him develop unique solutions and ideas that will substantially aid Education within the African continent.
Lynette Owens
Founder & Global Director, Internet Safety for Kids & Families, Trend Micro
Lynette Owens is the Founder and Global Director of Trend Micro's Internet Safety for Kids and Families program with the mission of helping kids around the world become great digital citizens. Founded in 2008, the program has now reached over 2.8 million students, parents, and teachers in 20 countries. With over 25 years of experience in the technology industry, Lynette regularly speaks, blogs, and works with communities and school districts around the world. She has helped build a global force of hundreds of employee volunteers and a network of collaborations with NGOs, technology companies, schools, government, and law enforcement organizations to make online safety, digital citizenship, and media literacy education a priority for every child. Lynette holds a B.S. from Boston College and an M.B.A from the University of California at Berkeley. She is a board member of the National Association of Media Literacy Education, and serves on the advisory boards of INHOPE, The Digital Wellness Lab, and U.S. Safer Internet Day. She is a mother of two, wife of one, tireless pro-youth, pro-tech advocate and believer that the impact of technology on society is completely in our hands.
Sheilah Pacete
Vice President, Social Media Marketing & Communications, WITI
Sheilah Pacete is the Vice President of Social Media Marketing and Communications for Women in Technology International (WITI). She is responsible for the look and feel of WITI's corporate brand on its global and national channels. She ensures WITI's voice remains authentic and true to its core of ethics. Sheilah has also been the voice behind the scenes for various social media and digital marketing campaigns with celebrity A-listers including Jenny McCarthy and Cheryl Burke from Dancing with the Stars. She advises various brands, entrepreneurs, and small businesses on how to establish and grow their digital audiences and stages. Prior to her decade-long career in social media and digital marketing, Sheilah was an executive TV producer working for major networks such as NBC, E! Entertainment Television, Warner Bros. Television, and many other media corporations.
Yubin Park
Consultant Community Manager, Meetspecs
Yubin Park is a lifelong learner on a mission in using Blockchain technology to achieve a decentralized, equitable, and sustainable world. Through her Blockchain.Learn blog, she has since made it a mission to make global impacts by disrupting the current centralized systems. Yubin loves blockchain because of what it enables, not because of the technology itself.
Manuela Pauer
Career & Leadership Coach, Pauer Coaching
Manuela Pauer is a Career and Leadership Coach in Silicon Valley. She works with professional women in their mid-career who are craving more meaning, fulfillment, and happiness. Through her signature "Create a Career and Life You Love" program, she helps them uncover their purpose, passions, and strengths and clearly define what they want to do, so they can create a fulfilling career and life they love. Manuela has over 20 years of experience in helping professionals thrive in their life and career. She is an ICF-certified Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from UC Berkeley. She had a successful corporate career spanning Strategy Consulting at Bain & Company, Product Management and Strategic Development at a Silicon Valley startup, and Executive Director of Product Management and Strategic Planning at AOL.
Sukriti Paul
Genome Data Scientist, NonExomics
Sukriti Paul is a self-driven coding enthusiast with a passion for research and development in the field of Data Science. She recently joined Nonexomics as their first Genome Data Scientist recruit. Prior to this role, she was Head of Data Science at Quinn. She was also a Research Assistant at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, where she worked on Deep Learning Applications of Wireless Capsule Endoscopy. Sukriti has worked with numerous tech communities during her college days and alongside her work. Ever willing to explore new areas of learning to create a social impact via her technical skill set, Sukriti's primary areas of interest are Machine Learning, Image Processing, and Market-Related Data Analytics.
Kali Pickens
Sr Mgr, Customer & Content Mktg, Networks Business, Samsung Electronics America
Kali Pickens is Senior Manager, Customer & Content Marketing, Networks Business, at Samsung Electronics America. Kali's role on the team is to own the external content and messaging as well as assist the customer account teams with their marketing needs. Account teams include major carriers like Verizon and AT&T as well as enterprise-specific accounts.
LaMondre Pough
Chief Sustainability Officer, Ruh Global
LaMondre Pough is the Chief Sustainability Officer for Ruh Global IMPACT and host of the podcast 5P with LaMondre (5Ppodcast.com), where he combines both his personal and professional missions to "create environments where all people have a sense of belonging - where their insights, experiences and perspectives are truly valued." LaMondre began his career in Disability Inclusion as a college student in central South Carolina where he became the leading advocate at The Disability Action Center, the state's first Independent Living Center. He went on to launch The LaMondre Pough Show Empowerment Radio and to create the Best Buy Access Initiative for Best Buy Co. Inc., before joining TecAccess where he rose to VP of Sales and Marketing. A native of South Carolina, LaMondre was elected Chairman of the Student Advisory Board at Midlands Technical College where he studied Liberal Arts and English Literature. He was recently awarded with an Honorary Doctorate in Christian Humanities by The School of the Great Commission. Diagnosed before his second birthday with spinal muscular atrophy, LaMondre resides in Columbia, where he serves as the Chairman of Arts Access South Carolina and is a recognized leader and voice for the community of People with Disabilities.
Meerah Rajavel
CIO, Citrix
Meerah Rajavel is Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Citrix Systems, a leader in unified workspace, networking, and analytics solutions. Rajavel leads Citrix's global information technology organization, and is passionate about enhancing customer service delivery and championing employee experience and engagement. She brings more than 25 years of experience in technology and cybersecurity, previously holding leadership roles with Forcepoint, Qlik, McAfee, Cisco, Infosys, Nortel, Cybersource, and Solix. Rajavel has been recognized with industry and business leadership awards including the Top 25 Women Leaders in Cybersecurity by The Software Report, Stevie Award for Most Innovative Woman of the Year - Technology, and Women of Influence Award from Silicon Valley Business Journal. Rajavel holds a Bachelor in Computer Science & Engineering from the Thiagarajar College of Engineering at Anna University in Chennai, India. She also holds a Master of Business Administration from the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California.
Mehul Smriti Raje
Software Engineer, Google US
Mehul Smriti Raje is a Backend Engineer at Google and a Brain-Computer Interaction researcher, having previously held research positions at MIT Media Lab and Spotify. She was also awarded the ABIE Student of Vision Award in 2017, for her various efforts towards mentorship of women in tech. She holds an ME in Computational Science from Harvard University with a focus in AI ('19) and a Bachelor's in Computer Science from Manipal University ('16).
Sujata Ramamoorthy
Senior Director, Information Security, Cisco
Sujata Ramamoorthy is Senior Director of Information Security at Cisco. Ramamoorthy and her team partner across the Security & Trust Organization, Supply Chain, IT and various Product teams to deliver foundational capabilities to secure Cisco's business operations and Cloud Offers. This includes establishing security standards, partnering to build foundational security capabilities, delivering consumable security stacks in strategic environments in a DevSecOps model, and driving adoption across Cisco. Prior to her current role, Ramamoorthy has held several leadership roles in Information Security. She was the CSO for Cisco's Inter-Cloud Services (CIS) and prior to that co-led a CIO level multi-year Pervasive Security program. She serves on the advisory board for Secure World Bay Area and as a Content Committee member in EWF, sharing her real-world experience to design and facilitate the events at the conferences.
Shivani Reddy Nigudagi
HR Business Partner Manager, TDCX Malaysia
With over 13 years of experience in Human Resource function, Shivani Reddy Nigudagi is a results-focused leader who is dedicated to designing and delivering end-to-end HR solutions that help businesses harness the full power of their most valuable asset - their people. She is currently based in Kuala Lumpur and leading the HR Business Partner team at TDCX Malaysia where she partners with over 20 diverse nationalities to drive key HR initiatives. Prior to joining TDCX Malaysia, Shivani worked with large multinational organizations across diverse industries including ecommerce, banking and financial services, education, and HR boutique consulting firms; this varied exposure has helped her transform HR processes and strengthen operational excellence in HR for sustainable growth. She completed her Master’s in HR and OD from Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University. She is a certified 6 Sigma Green Belt, SHRM - SCP, DiSC, Psychometric Testing Professional. Shivani is energized by continuous learning and sharing her learnings with others who may also benefit. She is passionate about Talent Development. She enjoys mentoring young leaders to help them refine and build skills for their career advancement.
Rene Redwood
CEO, Redwood Enterprise, LLC
- 233 - Keynote Panel - Racial Equity Audits Can Change Your Company for the Better -- If You Do It Right
- 331 - Keynote Power Talk - The Changing Regulatory Environment of Diversity and Inclusion in Tech
- 432 - Keynote Panel - Using Technology To Disrupt Systemic Racism
Rene Redwood, CEO of Redwood Enterprise informs the debate, policies, and practices on equity and inclusion while directing winning initiatives for public, non-profit, and private sectors. She is a chemist by training, was director of the Presidential Glass Ceiling Commission, was court-appointed to oversee a Fortune 100 corporation class action settlement, and currently chairs the Equality Task Force for a security agency. Rene conducts: workplace audits, culture assessments, and barrier analysis on human capital organizational risk; workforce systems and process transformation; and qualitative research with internal and external customers on policies, institutional practices, values, and attitudes impacting morale and the bottom line. She facilitates learning on: EEO, DEI, sexual harassment; and the impact of bias on individual and institutional success.
Debra Ruh
CEO & Founder, Ruh Global Impact
Debra Ruh, Founder and CEO of Ruh Global Communications, is a Global Disability Inclusion Strategist, as well as an Author, Advocate, Blogger, Consultant, Entrepreneur, and Mother to a daughter with Down Syndrome. Ruh Global Communications focuses on Global Disability Inclusion, EmployAbility, ICT Accessibility, Human Rights, Social Media Marketing, and implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Debra has provided global leadership to governments, corporations, NGOs, and DPOs (Disability Persons Organizations) supporting research projects, DPO outreach, policy and standards initiatives with the public and private sector. She is proud to be a Blogger for Huffington Post. Active on social media and blogging on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, G+, Tumblr, Pinterest, and several other social media, Debra was named as "Top 10% of Social Media Users" and "Top 0.1% of people talking about Accessibility" by KLOUT. Her work has been extensively featured in major media. Debra is the author of "Finding Your Voice by Using Social Media" and "Uncovering Hidden Human Capital: How Leading Corporations Leverage"
Naiyya Saggi
Founder & CEO, Baby Chakra
Naiyya Saggi is the CEO & Founder of BabyChakra, India's largest platform for maternity and childcare. BabyChakra is part of the NITI Ayog's Committee on Maternal and Child Health. They are part of the prestigious Google Accelerator Programme, are a Facebook Start Company, and also accelerated by Microsoft Ventures India. Naiyya is a graduate of the Harvard Business School (MBA - Class of 2012) where she was a Fulbright and J.N.Tata scholar. Prior to BabyChakra, Naiyya was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and at The Bridgespan Group (Boston) where she worked extensively in maternal, child health, and education. Naiyya is passionate about mentoring and is a mentor at Facebook's flagship #SheLeadsTech & Yes Bank's Fintech Accelerator, ISME Ace.
Liyana Sahir
Incoming Masters Student, AI at IISc
Liyana is a Computer Science & Engineering graduate who has been working towards levelling the playing field for the marginalized in tech for the past four years. During her undergrad, she championed to put together the first ever 24-hour women hackathon in the region. Liyana later went on to become the founding student coordinator of SHE, a project under the All India Council for Technical Education to take a more assertive role in imparting female engineering students at the grassroots level - the exposure needed to eventually fulfill their career demands in a globalized world. Liyana led the organization in its initial course of establishment, coordinating sessions with various industry experts and working with engineering students of all years and branches of study. As a computer science engineer, Liyana is fascinated by NLP and Ethics in AI. She is all set to start her Masters in AI at IISc Bangalore this fall.
Lauren Sandeman
Sustainability Leader, United People Global
Lauren Sandeman is an ocean and climate change activist. She campaigns for the conservation of this planet through its essential, yet often neglected, life source: the oceans. Having graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology, she has worked in the field with NGOs around the world fighting marine plastic pollution and is the founder of the social initiative Cosplay Clean Up Global. She has returned back to her law studies, now as a Juris Doctor candidate, to understand the system that is failing the conservation of this planet in order to change it. She advocates for the empowerment and inspiration of everyday people in realising their potential to combat climate change and to change their business as usual.
Parna Sarkar-Basu
CEO and Founder, Brand and Buzz Marketing
A tech evangelist, Parna Sarkar-Basu serves as a strategic advisor to transformational leaders and technology pioneers, and helps them launch and reinvent companies. Her expertise includes changing industry perception, building market relevance, corporate (re)-positioning and new market entry as well as helping companies raise funds and navigate the digital era. Recipient of multiple awards, Parna has been instrumental in turning experts into thought leaders and propelling tech companies into innovation leaders in highly competitive markets, including artificial intelligence, enterprise software, storage systems, robots, consulting services. A Forbes contributor, she regularly hosts executive sessions on emerging technologies and frequently speaks on a range of topics, including cognitive robotics, innovation for social good, digital transformation, AI, and impact on the workforce.
Jourdan Saunders
CEO & Founder, The Resource Key
Jourdan Saunders has been a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) for over 10 years, using her expertise as the CEO & Founder of The Resource Key which focuses on Inclusive Branding to ensure that People with Disabilities are included, and making meaningful connections with brands. Jourdan was awarded LinkedIn Top Voices 2020: Equity in the Workplace; established one of the first resource websites for students interested in the field of Speech Language Pathology (www.futureslps.com) which has received recognition worldwide; and owner of one of the largest SLP resources groups on LinkedIn with over 17,000 members. Her work has been featured in USA Gymnastics, American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), MarketWatch, PopSugar, Association of University Centers on Disability, and Kennedy Center. Jourdan has developed inclusive gymnastics programs, reading literacy programs, and is the author of Our Reading Literacy Kitchen: Fresh Approaches to Target Reading Literacy Skills. Her creativity, leadership, and diverse skillset is evident from her work as an advisor to companies and organizations ranging from digital speech therapy, gymnastics, international reading literacy initiatives, culinary industry technology platforms, and many more.
Maggie Schuster
Founder, UAS Plus Services
Maggie Schuster is Founder and President of UAS Plus Services, matching drone technology with solutions. Maggie was introduced to drone technology while working 14 years as a catastrophe insurance adjuster.
Samantha Scully
Drone Pilot and Management Consultant, Sam and Drones
Samantha Scully has been managing Scully Staffing, Inc., since 2000. She has an extensive background in IT recruitment and high-technology management consulting. As the liaison between senior-level business and technology executives, Samantha has strategically placed IT consultants across all industries. She has traveled extensively overseas to consult with international corporate operations and successfully implement technology projects. Passionate about locating high-tech opportunities and matching them with the right people, Samantha continues to outreach to universities STEAM.
K. K. Shailaja
Former Minister of Health, Kerala, Vogue India - Woman of the Year 2020
K. K. Shailaja is the former Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Government of Kerala. Shailaja Teacher, as she is fondly known, served for 23 years as a teacher, before she took voluntary retirement and became a full-time leader. She received international attention for her leadership in tackling the Nipah virus outbreak and COVID-19 pandemic in Kerala. In recognition of her efforts, she was invited by the United Nations to participate in a panel discussion on United Nations Public Service Day 2020. She was recognised by Vogue as one of the "Women of the Year 2020." BBC News featured her among a list of Asian women corona fighters. The British magazine Prospect selected her as the world's 'top thinker' of 2020, while Financial Times named Shailaja as one of the world's most influential women of 2020.
Shalaya Shipman
Senior Director, Strategic Business Development for Small Business, Salesforce
Shalaya Shipman leads Strategic Business Development for Salesforce, reporting directly to the EVP & GM of Revenue Cloud and SMB Essentials. In her role, Shalaya empowers the acceleration and success of Black- and Brown-owned SMBs to grow and scale with Salesforce, the #1 CRM for Small Businesses. Through intentional programming and strategic partnerships, she has developed expertise in creating impactful strategies that connect entrepreneurs to innovative technology and business solutions. Her approach is deeply rooted in her personal commitment to closing the equity gap and cultivating economic empowerment in Black and Brown communities. Before joining the SMB team, Shalaya led product adoption for Platform Product Marketing. Prior to marketing, she led technology operations for Real Estate and Workplace Services where she built an Einstein Analytics app to help Salesforce and other Fortune 500 corporate real estate organizations make informed, data-driven decisions. Outside of Salesforce, Shalaya is the owner of her own small business, a boutique residential real estate brokerage firm.
Ritu Shrivastav
Senior Director, HR, Gilead Sciences
Ritu Shrivastav is Senior Director of Human Resources at Gilead Sciences, a biotechnology company that delivers life-saving therapies to patients in need. As an established HR professional and practitioner consultant, Ritu combines a strong legal background with HR experience. She gained significant expertise over several years of successful leadership in various industries that include but are not limited to Software, Insurance, Hi-tech, Manufacturing, Sales, and Client Services.
Noelle Silver
Founder, AI Leadership Institute
- 332 - Keynote Fireside Chat - Harnessing Technology to Create a Disability-Inclusive and Accessible Future
- 432 - Keynote Panel - Using Technology To Disrupt Systemic Racism
Noelle Silver is a multi-award-winning technologist who specializes in conversational AI and Voice Technology, Intelligent Apps and Agents, and Responsible AI Practices. She has led teams at NPR, Microsoft, and Amazon, and is the Founder of #Lovefluencers and the AI Leadership Institute. She is passionate about Mindful Leadership, authentic personal branding, and the ethical and responsible use of technology in business. Noelle is currently Head of Instruction, Data Science, Analytics, and Full Stack Development at HackerU, where she works with universities and leads a team of engineers to create innovative tech education programs to empower learners to get started with a career in the tech industry.
Lakshya Sivaramakrishnan
Technical Program Manager, Google India
Lakshya Sivaramakrishnan is a Technical Program Manager at Google where she works with the Payments Merchant India team. She is a TEDx Speaker, a Data Science Enthusiast, and a Diversity and Inclusion Advocate. She has received the "Women in AI Leadership Award" by Analytics India Magazine and the "Women in Corporate Allies - Emerging Diversity Champion Award" by Women's Web in 2020, and is a Shenomics "Lead Like a Girl Fellow." In the past, Lakshya has managed the Women Techmakers program in India. She enjoys nurturing communities and empowering women to join, thrive, and lead in the tech industry.
Mangalapadma Srinivasan
Director, Verizon Consumer Group, India
Mangalapadma Srinivasan leads Verizon India's Consumer Group covering the portfolios on - QA Engg - Intelligent Automation -Tech Operations- Digital Operations - Program & Portfolio Management & Agile Journey. She has over 23 years of industry experience in new technology solutions, delivery, and client engagement roles. Padma believes in investing time in emerging technologies, people, and their skills, and has championed the cause of diversity and inclusion for institutionalizing and driving various programs.
Niharika Srivastav
- 252 - Breakout Panel - Post-COVID Healthcare: Telemedicine & Personalized Patient Experience
- 454 - Breakout Panel - Soft Skills in Biotech: Needed for the Post-COVID Working World
Niha Srivastav is the Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of Sanovatech, a services company focused on simplifying cybersecurity for non-techies, business managers, and executives. Niha has extensive experience in information technology and is very passionate about educating people on cybersecurity threats and risks. She is associated with various non-profit organizations in the Bay area that work towards the education of underprivileged children.
Garima Srivastava
Executive Director, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford
Garima Srivastava is the Administrative Director at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford and Stanford Children's Health. Since joining in 2011, Garima has led large-scale changes in enterprise business and web systems and is responsible for a multimillion-dollar budget. She is an experienced healthcare executive with expertise in integrated business and web systems, digital transformation, information technology planning and implementation, process and cost improvement, and always seeking to provide excellent customer service.
Rohini Srivathsa, Ph.D.
National Technology Officer, Microsoft India
Dr. Rohini Srivathsa is the National Technology Officer at Microsoft India. In her role, she is responsible for driving innovation and growth through "tech-intensity" - across customers and partners, in industry, and the government. Rohini began her career in R&D at AT&T Bell Laboratories and has 25+ technical and business publications in ACM/IEEE and other journals. She engaged with CxOs across emerging markets during her strategy consulting career at the Boston Consulting Group and IBM Global Business Services. Rohini is a thought-leader, and a business and technology advisor to multiple entities: Wiley Innovation Advisory Council, ECE department at Carnegie Mellon University, MIT Technology Review Insights, NM-ICPS - Dept of Science and Technology of the Government of India, SRITNE at the Indian School of Business. She holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and earned her Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Hakeem Subair
Founder & CEO, One Million Teachers
- 416 - AFRICA Track - How EduTECH Is Disrupting the Education Landscape in Africa [2:00-2:30pm WAT]
- 418 - AFRICA Track - Eductech Panel Q&A [2:30-3:00pm WAT]
Hakeem Subair is Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of One Million Teachers, an international programming partner for the development of empowered teachers. One Million Teachers goes beyond training to also create pathways to job satisfaction and consistent income in order to achieve sustainability. In addition, Hakeem is an adjunct Professor of Innovation and Change Management, and Artificial Intelligence and Entrepreneurship - focusing on their application to the solution of challenging global problems.
Fred Sugerman
Movement Artist & Educator
- 346 - Wellbeing Session - Business Not As Usual: A Safe Space to Talk About Race
- 355 - Wellbeing Center Workshop - Mindfulness and Movement
Fred Sugerman is a movement artist, educator, and founder of medicine dance. He has an inquiring mind, fierce spirit, and curious body informed by mindfulness, traditional theater, and dance. Fred runs weekly classes, monthly workshops, movement arts laboratories, facilitator trainings, international immersions or retreats, and has a private practice. He is co-creator and interventionist for "Mindful Movement for Breast Cancer Survivors," which has been the subject of research sponsored through the City of Hope, as well as the John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence St. John's Health Center.
Purva Sule
Senior Vice President, Wealth Management Digital Services, Northern Trust
Purva Sule serves as Senior Vice President on the Wealth Management Digital Services team at Northern Trust. She is responsible for strategic partnerships, performance management, financial reporting, and talent development for the digital services team. With more than 20 years' experience in financial services with leadership roles focusing on business strategy, digital transformation, and fintech partnerships, Purva has a proven track record of leading high-impact, complex initiatives during 8 years at BMO, consulting experience at McKinsey, and execution experience as a co-founder of a research firm. She holds an MBA (with Honors) from Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad (IIMA), a globally top-rated business school in India. Purva has spoken at industry conferences organized by LendIt, Efma and BAI. She has also been published in the American Banker and the Bank on It podcast. Purva serves on the Board of Casa Central, the largest Hispanic social services agency in the Midwest; as a mentor at 1871, Chicago's leading tech incubator; and as an advisor to the Women's Business Development Center. She also acts as Strategic Advisor to Liv Labs, a health tech start-up focused on wellness solutions for women.
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.
Dr. Tessy Thomas
Director General (Aeronautical Systems), DRDO
Known as the "missile woman" of India, Tessy Thomas is a Distinguished Scientist and Director General (Aeronautical Systems) at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). She served as the Project Director for the Agni IV and V missiles, making her the first woman to lead missile teams in India. These are intercontinental ballistic missiles that have very high ranges and are capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Dr. Thomas' expertise on the solid propellent systems was critical in the development of the re-entry system of the missile, which helped it withstand great velocities and temperatures of 3,000° Celsius on re-entering the atmosphere. Dr. Thomas has received several prestigious awards for her work, including the "DRDO Scientist of the Year"in 2008, DRDO Performance Excellence Award for 2011 and 2012, India Today Woman of the Year award in 2009, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration in 2012, CNN-IBN Indian of the Year in 2012, Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya Award in 2016, and Outstanding Woman Achiever Award by Women in Science and Engineering (WISE).
Jason Thompson
Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Western Governors University
- 432 - Keynote Panel - Using Technology To Disrupt Systemic Racism
- 452 - Breakout Panel - What Role Do Male Allies Need to Play?
Jason Thompson is Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Western Governors University (WGU). Jason has more than 20 years of experience specializing in diversity, equity, and inclusion, community outreach, strategic planning, and more. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in sociology from the University of Wyoming, and has worked at large global organizations leading diversity and equity, including Techstars, INTERGIS, and the United States Olympic Committee. Jason brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to WGU and is focused on helping the university in developing and accomplishing diversity and equity initiatives and goals.
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.
Dale Thomas Vaughn
Co-Founder, Better Man Conference, Director of DEI, Good Men Project
Dale Thomas Vaughn is an activist for gender equality and healthy masculinity. If you've seen NEVERTHELESS, the award-winning #MeToo documentary, you will remember him as the guy who says "sexism is the anchor that is holding society back." As co-founder of the Healthy Masculinity Initiative and the Better Man Conference, he has presented alongside leaders like Gloria Steinem, Sheryl Sandberg, and Tony Porter.
Ritu Verma
Head, Global Clinical Affairs, Natus Medical
Ritu Verma is Head of Global Clinical Affairs at Natus Medical. She is an influential Clinical professional with 18+ years of experience conducting clinical trials with innovative strategies and excellence. Ritu is driven by a passion for science, an entrepreneurial spirit, and fueled by lessons learnt from failures to drive towards the success in every step of the journey as clinical leader. She has extensive clinical and regulatory experience along with strategic thinking and medical background, these being the strongest pillars she uses to develop clinical efficiencies in all phases and types of clinical research.
Shehara Viswanathan
Lead Advisor, Cisco
Shehara Viswanathan is a Technology Evangelist and Leader with over 20 years' experience in Global Cloud, Telecommunications, and Software industries. As a Lead Advisor at Cisco she works with customers to optimize their cloud and digital environments, helping them build technology strategies and program development, process improvements and changes, toolset development, digital services and transformation. She focuses on helping customers solve their business problems in unique and effective ways. Prior to Cisco, Shehara spent nearly a decade working with Telstra where she spearheaded the global cloud strategy and delivered an award-winning, unique offering in Asia's highly competitive cloud market. Shehara is passionate about the democratization of technology and increasing the diversity of people in STEAM. She is a member of the Leadership Team of Cloud Seeders, a platform by women for women to learn and collaborate on cloud and digital innovation. Shehara also teaches the basics of Cloud and AI at the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations IT Hub. She is a frequent speaker at Technology and Digital Thought Leadership events, and a member of the Keynote Women Speakers Directory. Shehara eagerly shares her enthusiasm for all aspects of technology.
Sharon Vosmek
CEO, Astia
Sharon Vosmek is the CEO of Astia, a global organization that works to level the investment playing field for startups that include women. Sharon developed Astia's creative, proven approach to investment - called the Astia Expert Sift - that eliminates bias in the investment screening process and contributes to the success of female entrepreneurs and their ventures. Well-regarded around the globe, Sharon is known for her opinions, research, and commentary on the importance of women leaders as integral to innovation and high-performing entrepreneurial teams. She has spoken at the United Nations and given lectures at numerous universities on the topic of building inclusive ecosystems. As well, she is a founding member of Astia Angels and Managing Director of the Astia Fund a $100M venture fund, both of which invest in exceptional companies around the globe that include women founders and executives. Sharon is an Advisory Board Member to two venture Funds, E²JDJ Venture Fund and Illuminate Ventures, and serves on the Boards of Ozo Innovations, Soapbox Labs, Pagedip, and On Second Thought. Her notable investments include nVision acquired by Boston Scientific, Modsy, Ellevest, Catch&Release, and RenovoRx, among others.
Briana Wade
Analyst, Cyber Threat Intelligence Team, Commonwealth Bank
Briana is an analyst in the Cyber Threat Intelligence team at Commonwealth Bank, where she helps collect, analyse, and distribute intelligence to help mitigate the risk of cyber-based attacks. She has a particular interest in researching the nexus of nation-state threat actors and the growing collaboration with cybercrime groups. Briana is also a member of Homeward Bound, a leadership program which culminates in a trip to Antarctica, that is creating a network of 1,000 female leaders from around the world and aims to support and amplify their voices and perspectives, bringing critical insights into the global-scale change required to protect our planet. Briana completed her undergraduate Engineering degree at the Australian National University where she majored in Systems Engineering, Electronics & Communications, and completed her honours project with Engineers without Borders Australia in rural Cambodia. Briana was awarded the New Colombo Scholarship, the ANU Centenary Scholarship and the CECS Female Excellence Award, and was a student ambassador to the College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) throughout her degree. Alongside university, Briana has an interest in robotics, competing as part of the Australian Team at Robocup Junior in Brazil in 2014. In addition, she has been a principal in Business in a STEM educational start-up, KidTechnic, aiming to enrich technology in young people's lives through teaching robotics courses with Lego Mindstorms and Arduino.
Rebecca Watts
Founding Principal, Barrenjoey
Rebecca Watts is a Founding Principal at Barrenjoey, a proudly Australian financial services firm. She is passionate about women in technology and was recently awarded the Engineers Without Borders/MECCA MPower 2018/19 scholarship to connect, inspire, and empower young women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to pursue STEM education. Rebecca holds degrees in Engineering (hons.) and Finance and is drawn to implementing practical and innovative solutions that have sustained impact. She spent two years with Engineers Without Borders, establishing and expanding a solar energy project in rural Cambodia. Working in the nexus of poverty reduction and climate sustainability, Becky was awarded with the Australian National University (ANU) 2016 Undergraduate Student of the Year, Oceania Winner for the Undergraduate Awards, and her research was published in the Journal of Humanitarian Engineering. As the Vice Curator for the Global Shapers (World Economic Forum) for 2018/9 and as a Committee Member of Young Engineers Australia, she is a strong advocate for the importance of youth in shaping the future. Rebecca has presented at international conferences (including the International Student Energy Summit in Mexico and Undergraduate Awards in Ireland), and has published work about the role of youth in creating positive change in Junkee Magazine, create Magazine, and the ANU Reporter.
Elizabeth Wronkowski
Social Media Communications Specialist, WITI
- 111 - 21st Century LeaderShifts: The Millennial Solution to Guiding the Next Generations of Leaders
- 246 - Networking!
Elizabeth Wronkowski spent the first years of her career gaining professional experience in the boutique resort industry. She joined the WITI Team in 2020 and collaborates on social media, analytics, and corporate partnership projects.
Amy Wu
Founder, From Farms to Incubators
Amy Wu is a writer for women's ag and agtech movement and the founder and chief content director of From Farms to Incubators, which has a mission of expanding the profiles of women in food, farming, and tech. From Farms to Incubators includes a documentary and a forthcoming book that spotlights women leaders in ag and agtech. These have been screened and presented at SXSW, Techonomy, the Forbes AgTech Summit, EcoFarm, and The New Food Economy. Amy is an award-winning journalist with significant international reporting and teaching experience, and has reported on agriculture and agtech for The Salinas Californian in Salinas, Calif. She has also worked at Time magazine, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, and the USA Today Network; and has written for The New York Times, HuffPost, and Wall Street Journal. She spent six years working in Hong Kong, widely reporting within the Asia-Pacific region including Shanghai and Singapore. Amy earned her master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, and speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese.
Elizabeth Xu, Ph.D.
CEO, A2C Academy
- 237 - Keynote PowerTalk - Be A Unique Star: Break All Ceilings
- 313 - APAC Track - CXO Roundtable: The Future of APAC Women in Tech [6:00-6:40pm IST]
Elizabeth Xu, Ph.D., is a public company board member and the CEO of A2C Academy. She has served as two CTO positions of billion-dollar revenue companies: CP Group and BMC Software. She became a C-level executive in 2005 at a public company. She provides coaching in Leadership, Digital Transformation, AI, and cloud. She is also an investor for early-stage companies. Elizabeth has taught at Stanford University for six years about leadership, and currently is a guest lecturer at Stanford University Teaching Digital Transformation at the Department of Engineering Management Science. She is also the advisor for MIT Innovation Initiatives. Elizabeth received the TOP 50 Diversity Leader in the United States award in 2020, the Presidential Award in 2019, the Global Leadership Award in 2018, and Women of Influence in Silicon Valley in 2013, along with several other prestigious awards. In 2017 Elizabeth was inducted into the WITI Hall of Fame. A trailblazer who leads a creative and proven path to the top, she lives by The Credo of the Four Ls: 1- Live to my fullest potential; 2-Live to enable others to reach their fullest potential; 3-Learn continuously; 4-Leave a legacy. Elizabeth earned her M.S. and B.S. degrees from Peking University, and a Ph.D. and a Master's Degree from the University of Nevada; as well, she is a Harvard certified board member and attended the Stanford Executive Program.
Tae Yoo
Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Corporate Social Responsibility, Cisco
Tae Yoo leads Cisco's social investments and stewards CSR and sustainability across the business. Ms. Yoo drives a strategy that engages public-private partnerships and leverages Cisco's business, technical, and financial assets for inclusive growth and social impact in communities around the world. Corporate Affairs has committed to positively impact 1 billion people by 2025. Under Ms. Yoo's leadership, Cisco has already impacted 527 million, primarily through its strategic social investments and efforts to catalyze an entrepreneurial ecosystem that supports progress and inclusive growth. Corporate Affairs also invests in developing digital skills and creating positive change in education and workforce development. Currently, Ms. Yoo is a Trustee of the Cisco Foundation and member of the Service Year Alliance Board. She is also a member of the WEF Global Future Council on the New Agenda for Education and Skills and a founding member of the CSR Board.
Carly Zipp
Global Head of B2B Marketing, TikTok
As Head of Global B2B Marketing at TikTok, Carly Zipp oversees global marketing communications, industry relations, and global events + sponsorships. Additionally, Carly provides leadership direction around brand safety and privacy, internal communications and content strategy, and oversees a language management center responsible for all translation and location within TikTok For Business. Previously, as the Vice President of Communications, Sponsorships, & Events at OUTFRONT Media, Carly led all internal and external communications for the leading out-of-home media company. She created and executed OUTFRONT's press strategy, supervised national events and sponsorships, and managed community service initiatives. As the spokesperson for the company, she oversaw ad policy and regularly liaised with media and clients. Before OUTFRONT, Carly was managing communications at XO Group where she was responsible for all communications initiatives for the company's brands. Carly began her career as a Publicist for Time Inc. Lifestyle Group and went on to become a Senior Publicist at BET and Centric Networks, where she implemented corporate communications plans and red carpet events for the networks. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University.