Speakers
Subject To Change
Tosin Arowojolu, P.E.
Network Advocate, WITI Bahrain
Tosin Arowojolu is a professional civil engineer who moved from the United States to Bahrain in 2009. She is a certified leadership coach, speaker, and trainer and DISC behavioral analysis consultant with the John Maxwell Group. She is the CEO of Leadership Excel Consultancy, a company focused on delivering bespoke leadership and communication strategies for building cohesive and productive high-performance teams. As well, Tosin is the current president of the Lioness Club, a branch of the Lions Club of Riffa; and past president of the American Women's Association of Bahrain (AWA), with over 200+ members with more than 40 nationalities. During her term as President of the AWA, the association became the first non-Bahraini NGO to receive a grant for the award-winning Bahrain Quilt Project. Tosin is an active member of several organizations including the American Chamber of Commerce Bahrain, Bahrain Business Women's Society, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce, Bahrain Society of Engineers, Bahrain Society of Training and Development, Lions International, Migrant Workers Protection Society, Toastmasters International. Her passion is to inspire positive life transformation, and she is dedicated to equipping and leading others to achieve their personal and professional goals.
Marcie Atchison
Chief HR Officer, Stanford Children's Health
Marcie Atchison is Chief Human Resources Officer at Stanford Children's Health. She has extensive experience developing labor strategy, including successfully managing union negotiations. She's partnered with executives, including nursing leaders at Magnet® recognized health care organizations. Marcie has a strong background in development, implementation, administration, and communication of human resources policies and procedures. She's developed strategies for employee relations, organizational development, talent management, and rewards and recognition programs. Throughout her career she's focused on building a high performance, high accountability leadership culture as well as the application and use of LEAN principles to human resources operations. Marcie holds a Master of Arts degree in human resource management from Webster State and a law degree from the Michigan State University College of Law. She is a proud U.S. Air Force Veteran, and served her country during Operation Desert Storm.
Michelle Bailey
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.
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.
John Bates
Founder & CEO, Executive Speaking Success
- 224 - Workshop - Powerful Virtual Leadership: The Importance of Context
- 244 - Workshop - The Power of Sharing Your Super Hero Origin Story
John Bates is the founder and chief executive officer at Executive Speaking Success and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company, developing the curriculum of the programs, and leading the executive speaking staff. He is internationally regarded as a top communications trainer and keynote speaker, as well as a savvy entrepreneur. John has been actively coaching since 2005, working with CEOs and the executive teams of PlaySpan, Prescience Intl., Motorola, Goldstar, Oculus International, LAZ Parking, Johnson & Johnson Innovation Labs, Janssen Labs, DudaMobile and many others on their presentation, media and business skills. Prior to his training career, John was involved in helping to found and start up Goldstar, BigWords.com (which raised over $80 million) and VirtualVegas (the first online virtual destination site). He has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital funds, successfully opened resistant markets for new products, and has run the customer service department for a multi- million dollar company. John is also a contributing author to the book World Class Speaking in Action: 50 Certified World Class Speaking Coaches Show You How to Present, Persuade, and Profit, which became a multiple Amazon best seller. He graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in sociology and social psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Victoria Beckman
Attorney at Law, Frost Brown Todd LLC
Victoria is a member in the Columbus office of Frost Brown Todd, Co-chair of the Privacy and Data Security group, and Chair of the Latin America Desk. She assists clients with compliance of state, federal, and international privacy laws, as well as with preparing strategies for responding to data breaches and other security incidents. Her experience includes facilitating the resolution of cases involving ransomware, assisting multi-global companies with recovery of losses after a breach, proactively reviewing existing policies for domestic and foreign companies to minimize risk of potential litigation, and developing and assisting clients with the implementation of cybersecurity programs and policies. Victoria also represents U.S. and foreign companies in intellectual property, business, and cross border litigation. Victoria's fluency in Spanish and her education and work experience in Latin America allow her to help U.S. and foreign companies navigate through transnational disputes and issues of foreign law. Prior to practicing law, Victoria was an industrial engineer in the technology and automotive sectors and a competitive figure skater.
Ngozi Bell
Partner, Trans-Sahara Investment Corporation
Ngozi Bell is a partner at Trans-Sahara Investment Corporation, a Private Equity and Business Development Consulting Company. Prior to that, she was the appointee for regulatory affairs for the Mid-Atlantic States, with the United States Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy. As a corporate strategist and motivational team builder with vast trans-Atlantic experience, Ngozi Bell has a Physics degree (University of Port Harcourt) and an electrical engineering degree (Florida State/Florida A&M University), Ngozi launched her career in telecommunications (AT&T, Lucent, and Agere Systems) and today specializes in venture capital strategies, technology strategies, new business development, and business growth and rescue. As Director at Lucent Microelectronics, Agere Systems and LSI Corporation in Allentown, PA, Ngozi was responsible for designing and executing the long-term business and strategic direction of semiconductor communications wired and wireless applications. In addition, Ngozi is the Co-Founder of the African Leadership Alliance, and Founder of Entrepreneurship University, Diaspora Bell, Miranet LLC, Womenshistorymonth-LehighValley, and a Board Member of the Lincoln Leadership Academy, the Women Empowerment Project, Association of Women In Science S2M, and the Association of African NGOs. Prior to public service, Ngozi was Vice President, Birchmere Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm with $160M to $250 Million under management.
Okezue Bell
CEO & Co-Founder, Fidutam & Co.
Okezue Bell is a machine learning and robotics developer, as well as an applied biology R&D scientist. At 15, Okezue is collaborating at IBM with an MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab Fellow and assembling and leading a team at IBM to develop a machine learning app to enhance agriculture in developing, and study medical images using computer vision. He's also working at Hanson Robotics, helping to design new prosthetic systems for Sophia, an ultra-human-like robot, and is supported by a rehabilitation and neuroengineering lab at UPitt and neuroscience company OpenBCI to design and build a brain-controlled prosthetic, among other brain and bio electrically-controlled devices. He's also worked at six biotech companies, developing and advising on producing protein using genetic engineering methods, which includes getting help from the CEO of unicorn company Eat JUST, and joining a sustainability, health, and advisory board alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. He also researches genetics weekly at the Cohn Lab at SickKids Hospital. As a member of the human accelerator, The Knowledge Society (TKS), Okezue has been able to consult for the United Nations and the Pathcheck Foundation. He's the co-founder of an early-stage blockchain security called Fidutam, which was named top 10% of all winter startup applicants by Y-Combinator. Aside from his work experiences, Okezue frequently engages in workshops, networking opportunities, and conferences, having spoken at 4+ international events, and been spotlighted in articles such as Forbes; he also has a blog with nearly 100 articles, writes research papers, and films videos. He's constantly looking for new work opportunities, ways to help others, and outlets to share his ideas!
Chris Benevich
Program Director & Executive Coach, Austin Digital Coaching
Chris Benevich has served as coach, speaker, author, innovator, and virtual team lead for 31 years. She founded Austin Digital Coaching to help already high-performing talent and teams achieve greater joy, balance, and impact. Chris’s work in the tech sector includes many firsts delivering ROI: the GTM for a national bank’s SSO, the design of a hybrid KM-CMS sales enablement platform for dispersed teams, an award-winning, gamified employee engagement platform, and the GTM playbook of a BI stack and international cross-functional service solutions at a Fortune 500 firm on an at-risk Fortune 100 account, to name a few. Appearances include: The University of Texas at Dallas’ “WEHack 2020†panelist, Lean In ATX panelist, Austin Women in Technology panelist, Austin Digital Jobs Facebook Group motivational speaker, ChickTech Advancing the Careers of Technical Women Austin career coach, Nerd Nite Austin speaker and “Ask Coach Chris: #WFH in the #NextNormal,†her vidcast series on Facebook, and MediaBistro Chicago speaker and host. Chris received the Austin Women in Technology “Boss Ladies†Award in October 2020.
Kameelah Benjamin-Fuller
Chief Diversity Officer & Corporate Social Responsibility Leader, PTC
Kameelah Benjamin-Fuller (she/her) drives transformational change as an activist, champion of equity, diversity, and inclusion (ED+I), musician, and mom. As Chief Diversity Officer and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Leader at PTC, she is responsible for supporting the company’s full activation of opportunity in this space. She brings over 20 years of experience in ED+I and CSR initiatives across industries including entertainment, financial services, technology, and travel. She’s worked with organizations including Gillette/P&G, Korn Ferry, youth programs, social justice organizations, and correctional facilities. Most recently, she co-founded and led ED+I at Tripadvisor, where she ignited a small program into its current global remit, extending efforts into the workplace and product experience. As the founder of G-Rock Music, Kameelah has dedicated the past several years to elevating the voices of womxn in rock and womxn of color in music. The collective focuses on showcasing emerging, renowned, and legendary womxn in music by creating forums and platforms for artists to share their story and their craft. Kameelah received her Bachelor of Arts in Government from Cornell University, and her Master’s in African-New World Studies from Florida International University.
Vivian Blade
President & CEO, Experts in Growth Leadership Consulting, LLC
Vivian Blade, MBA, MBB, PMP, is a recognized leadership expert and thought leader. She works with the world’s top brands, equipping leaders with the resilience that inspires teams to recover quickly in the face of ongoing disruption and thrive in spite of insurmountable odds. In her work with the world's top companies, Vivian applies her extensive business, finance, and leadership experience from a 20-year corporate career with Humana and GE, to coach and develop aspiring and established leaders in building high-performance, high-quality and high-service level organizations. As well, she is a prolific writer whose articles, featured in a number of professional, industry, and business publications, and published books have helped thousands of professionals succeed. Vivian is the author of the book "FuelForward: Discover Proven Practices to Fuel Your Career Forward," which reveals the inside secrets of career success. She has two upcoming books, “Resilience Ready: The Leader’s Guide to Thriving Through Unrelenting Crises,†and a book on the essential skill of Influence. She also is a contributor to two additional books published by the Association for Talent Development "Find Your Fit: A Practical Guide to Landing a Job You'll Love," and “Work the Problem: How Experts Tackle Workplace Challenges.†Vivian is President and CEO of Experts in Growth Leadership Consulting, LLC.
Rich Brenner
Founder, TGB Inc
- 113 - Wellbeing Center Workshop: Yoga Nidra Meditation
- 213 - Wellbeing Center Workshop: Yoga Nidra Meditation
- 313 - Wellbeing Center 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).
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!
Damon Carter
Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, CATIC
Damon Carter is Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at CATIC. He is responsible for developing and executing the company's human capital strategy, as well as cultivating a winning culture, building a compelling employee value proposition, and leveraging workforce analytics to drive organizational effectiveness. A business leader with over 20 years of diverse experience in both union and non-union environments, Damon has held HR leadership roles with several Fortune 50 companies including DaimlerChrysler, United Technologies Corporation, General Electric, Express Scripts, and Aetna. He graduated magna cum laude from Wayne State University with a B.S. in Psychology and received his M.A. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, cum laude, from the University of Detroit-Mercy. He also serves as an Adjunct Research Analyst for International Data Corporation's global IT Executive Program and provides HR thought leadership to the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets.
Jaimie Chan
Talent Development Consultant & Coach, Aerial Consulting Solutions, LLC
- 138 - Coaching Circle - Soft Skills: The Fast Track to Career Success
- 346 - Workshop - Soft Skills: The Fast Track to Career Success
Jaimie Chan, Psy.D., is the founder and talent development consultant at Aerial Consulting Solutions, LLC. Aerial is a consulting and coaching company which offers leadership development, team assessment and development, selection assessment, and career coaching. It's based on personality science using the Hogan Assessment, the gold standard for talent acquisition and leadership development used by over half of the Fortune 500. Jaimie speaks on a variety of topics, including developing soft skills, emotional intelligence, and stress management while job searching. She was an active duty United States Air Force Captain and served honorably as a military therapist for four years. She earned her Master of Arts and Doctor of Psychology degrees in Clinical Psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in Chicago.
Rhonda Childress
CISO, Kyndryl
Rhonda Childress is the CTO of Security Services, an IBM Fellow, and Master Inventor with over 100 granted patents. She is currently responsible for the technical strategy, development, and delivery of professional security services to IBM clients worldwide. Rhonda's talents are not just limited to technology: one of her hand-made quilts was auctioned and raised $1400 for charity - and her homemade Texas competition chili is guaranteed to place in the top three at just about any cookoff. When she is not obsessing over the cyber security well-being of her clients or pitting her penetration-testing skills against application developers, she can be found hacking into robots or wearing clothing that reacts to tweets - just two of the many STEM-related activities Rhonda shares with future technologists everywhere.
Amy Chou
Senior Vice President, Aon
Amy Chou is an SVP, Account Executive at Aon, a global financial services firm. Outside her work at Aon, she serves on the Women in AI Ethicsâ„¢ Steering Committee, which is committed to increasing visibility of women working in AI ethics, and a client success advisor to Summery, an AI-powered startup. Amy was also the founding corporate partnerships manager of AI4ALL, an Oakland-based nonprofit working to diversify the field of AI. At AI4ALL, she built strategic, long-lasting relationships with organizations that are committed to fostering a diverse pipeline to artificial intelligence careers. Amy holds a B.A. in Sociology, a B.S. in Business Administration, and an M.B.A., all from the University of California - Berkeley. During the MBA program, Amy co-created an award-winning, full-time MBA course on Large-Scale Social Change, and was a founding member of the Race Inclusion Initiative, whose findings led to the creation of a 10-week seminar, Dialogues on Race.
Patti Chrzan
Chief of Staff, Microsoft Customer Security & Trust
Patti Chrzan is Chief of Staff of Microsoft Customer Security & Trust, which includes the Threat Protection Intelligence Team who wrote the report on ransomware attacks (https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2020/03/05/human-operated-ransomware-attacks-a-preventable-disaster/). As a member of the executive leadership team in the Digital Crimes Unit, Patti has a key role in creating, developing, and landing strategic programs related to global cybercrime with a special focus on protecting vulnerable populations, fighting malware, and reducing digital risk. Patti engages with enterprise customers through the Cybercrime Center, driving education and threat protection strategies, and also trains Microsoft field teams on cybersecurity and Trusted Cloud. Previously, Patti held leadership roles in cross-industry solutions, financial services, marketing and sales.
Karen Cone
Advisory Boards Director, Venture Partner
- 126 - Panel - Defending Against Cyberthreats
- 206 - Keynote Panel Discussion - COVID-19's Devastating Impact on GENDER PARITY in Tech
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
- 108 - Keynote Fireside Chat: Digital Transformation for Inclusive Growth
- 124 - Fireside Chat - Technology for Good: Improving Life Worldwide
- 148 - Workshop - Finding Opportunity and Community During Chaos
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.
Frank Del Fiugo
Founder, Del Fiugo Consulting
- 256 - Coaching Circle - Psychological Safety and Resilience
- 332 - Coaching Circle - Dealing with Difficult People
Frank Del Fiugo is the founder of Del Fiugo Consulting, an executive coaching firm that helps today's leaders acquire a psychological understanding of individuals to help drive organizational and personal performance. Mr. Del Fiugo has decades of experience working with emotionally charged situations, addressing and resolving personal and professional conflict, resolving peer disputes, addressing communication deficiencies, and fostering leadership development. He works with public and private companies in Silicon Valley, southern California, and nationally. Mr. Del Fiugo is a professional speaker and provides training on leadership, stress management, dealing with difficult people, and high impact communication. He is also the author of a book focused upon aggression and anger management. He earned his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Southern California, and his Master's degree in Psychology from JFK University.
Suresh Devnani
Founder & CEO, Dr. Devnani and Associates
Suresh Devnani, Ph.D., is an award-winning speaker and internationally recognized global expert in leadership and workplace culture. For over 28 years, he has been teaching entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders, professionals, and over-achievers how to build innovative, thriving organizations and design the dynamic life they desire. As a successful entrepreneur and former corporate executive, he is both an academic and a practitioner, incorporating his continual research into day-to-day business. He has taught thousands of individuals in over 123 countries through his books, videos, online courses, and keynote speeches. After advising some of the world’s most prominent individuals and companies, Suresh designed a framework for creativity that helps individuals and organizations achieve exponential growth.
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.
Winifred Ereyi
Head, WITI Africa
Winifred Ereyi is a John Maxwell Certified Speaker, Coach, Leadership Trainer, and Facilitator. She holds a double-major Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering (Summa Cum Laude) and a Master's in Telecommunications and Systems Engineering (Distinction). Winifred has worked in the Oil and Gas Sector and in Telecommunications, and is passionate about STEM Education and PeaceBuilding. She is the founder of ThinkSTEM Foundation, a subsidiary of eWirecommunications, which seeks to increase the number of girls pursuing and thriving in STEM careers by connecting girls with an inspiring community and accessible resources that can help them conquer common barriers to entry, retention, and promotion. ThinkSTEM creates a pipeline of minority women in STEM that will impact the society, contribute to innovation, and become part of the next generation economic workforce. The motto is Strong Girls, Strong Minds, Strong World. In addition, ThinkSTEM provides Coaching, Advocacy, Leadership Training, Mentoring, SAT Preparation, College Essay Review, Letter of Recommendation, College Search, and Scholarship searches.
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.
Allison Fine
CEO, Allison Fine Consulting
Allison Fine is a pioneer in the use of digital technology for social good. She wrote one of the first books on the topic, two subsequent books, and helped to create an entirely new field of activism that happens online and on land. Her life's work has been on understanding how and why organizations dedicated to social change work best, aligning actions with core values, and, perhaps most importantly, spreading out and using power wisely and well for social good. Allison is a researcher, writer, and organizational coach and consultant. She helps organizations pinpoint their problems, build plans to achieve their goals, pivot from being transactional to relational (particularly in fundraising), and take down their walls to engage with the world in real, meaningful ways. Allison believes, and practices, a style of leadership that is flat, inclusive, authentic, and very effective. Her book, Matterness, is an examination of this style of leadership. She is currently working with Beth Kanter exploring the implications of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for social change. Incredible recent advances in computer power are making AI inexpensive and available for use by smaller organizations. Allison and Beth recently released "Unlocking Generosity with Artificial Intelligence: The Future of Giving,"a paper funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. https://ai4giving.org/
Bindu Garapaty
Vice President, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Talent Development, Impossible Foods
As a true believer in the human potential, Bindu Garapaty finds herself “at the intersection of happiness, human behavior, and leadership.†With a doctorate degree in clinical psychology and an entrepreneurial spirit, she is also the co-founder and CEO of The Happy Leader, LLC. Bindu infuses evidence-based practices and lessons learned from her leadership experience in health care, corporate, academia, for-profit and non-profit organizations, to empower leaders to find their intersection of happiness, meaning, and impact. Bindu is an advisor for Humans for AI, serves as the VP of Talent Development, Inclusion and Equity at Impossible Foods and enjoys facilitating WIM groups at Stanford's graduate school of business.
Zephyr Gold
Director, Product Impact & Client Success, Rainforest Connection
Zephyr Gold, Director of Product Impact and Client Success, is leading a new department at Rainforest Connection that was formed to ensure that the technology offered is providing maximum value to users in the conservation space. This includes ensuring that the firm’s Guardian hardware is delivering on the impact metrics they’re committed to achieving: empowering their on-the-ground partners to be successful at stopping illegal activity in rainforests around the world. Furthermore, supporting the scientific community by providing high-value software tools for doing eco-acoustic research and analysis that accelerates their ability to make an impact in biodiversity monitoring. Zephyr has a B.S. in Biology from Tufts University and has spent the last 6 years of her career in software, collaborating with engineering teams to build high-quality software, leading mission critical initiatives, and building exceptional teams to drive maximum organizational impact.
Cristin Goodwin
Assistant General Counsel, Microsoft
Cristin Flynn Goodwin is the Assistant General Counsel of the Digital Security Unit in Microsoft's Customer Security and Trust organization. Cristin's team leads Microsoft's efforts to understand and disrupt nation state attacks against customers and the computing ecosystem. On the legal side, Cristin provides a focal point for addressing complex cybersecurity legal problems across Microsoft. She has been a leader in incident response, information sharing, and source code security for over a decade. Cristin joined Microsoft in 2006, where she initially served as policy counsel in Microsoft's Washington, DC office. Prior to joining Microsoft, Cristin worked for several telecommunications companies. She began her career as a trial lawyer in New York City, and worked in the World Trade Center - which cemented her commitment to security for the rest of her career.
Pattie Grimm
Author, Speaker, Trainer, Coach and Women's Advocate, Advantage Training Ltd and Women Kicking Glass
With over 25 years of experience, Pattie Grimm is an empowerment expert for organizations, leaders, teams, and women. She worked as a senior leader for the Microsoft Enterprise Team for 15 years, including 3 running the Asia Pacific Region. She worked at Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision as the Global Head for Performance and Leadership Effectiveness. Pattie was one of the youngest female Vice Presidents for a California Bank. Currently, she runs her own training and consulting company focused on educating and empowering women and girls to be the best they can be. She is an author, speaker, master trainer, coach, and women's advocate.
Connie Guglielmo
Editor-in-Chief, CNET
Connie Guglielmo is editor in chief of CNET. She's responsible for overseeing a global team of talented reporters, editors and photographers who look at the world through the lens of tech: that includes the ideas, products, companies, people & cultural, political, social, privacy & other issues bringing change. Since tech touches every aspect of how we live, work, play, dream and engage, we write about what we think matters. Connie is a veteran tech reporter and editor who has worked in and around Silicon Valley for MacWeek, Wired, Upside, Interactive Week, Bloomberg News and Forbes. She covets her original nail from the HP Garage, her BMUG tie-dye T-shirt, her iPod version 1.0 and desk chair from when NeXT closed shop.
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.
Kimberly Hamlin
Associate Professor of History, Global & Intercultural Studies, Miami University
Kimberly A. Hamlin, Ph.D., is an award-winning historian, speaker, and writer. Her book - Free Thinker: Sex, Suffrage, and the Extraordinary Life of Helen Hamilton Gardener - reveals the fascinating story of the “fallen woman†who reinvented herself and became the “most potent factor†in Congressional passage of the 19th Amendment. Free Thinker received support from a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar Award and the Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics. Appointed to the Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer Bureau, Kimberly speaks about the history of women, gender, and sex across the country. A regular contributor to the Washington Post, her research has also been featured in NPR and CBC radio, Vice , qz.com, among other outlets, and she has contributed to several PBS documentaries. Kimberly is currently helping to organize commemorations of the 2020 suffrage centennial, and she serves as historical consultant to the Bearded Lady Project, now on view at the National Museum of Natural History. She co-hosts the Mercantile Library’s “Women You Should Know†Book Series in Cincinnati and teaches at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Alyse Hart
Founder, Freebird Mojo
- 105 - Energy Management Stretch Break
- 139 - Energy Management Stretch Break
- 205 - Energy Management Stretch Break
- 239 - Energy Management Stretch Break
- 305 - Energy Management Stretch Break
- 314 - Wellbeing Center Workshop: Qi Gong Class
- 114 - Wellbeing Center Workshop: Qi Gong Class
- 339 - Energy Management Stretch Break
Alyse Hart understands the demands, uncertainties, and velocity of the workplace, having worked from NY to LA and Silicon Valley with companies big and small. Her ability to deliver action-oriented teachings comes combining esoteric concepts with down to earth teachings. She is a former VP, entrepreneur, author, speaker, and certified Qi Gong instructor. Alyse's company, Freebirdmojo.com, focuses on self-mastery and natural ways to increase presence, energy, and mojo and boosting inner power and awareness through movement and words.
Kathy Hill
President, Hill Coaching
- 101 - Networking and Technical Orientation to the Summit
- 201 - Networking and Technical Orientation to the Summit
As a Professional Coach, Kathy Hill specializes in helping people through career and life transitions. With over twenty years of top producing coaching, career counseling, recruiting, sales, and marketing experience, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her clients. She works with individuals in one-on-one and group settings, in addition to leading workshops and teaching teleclasses. Several of her recent classes include: "Exploring Your Life Purpose," "Creating A Mission Statement For Your Life," "Strategies to Successfully Achieve Your Goals," and "Laying the Foundation for Explosive Growth In Your Life & Business." Her personal mission is to "help people connect with their life's purpose and to then live lives that honor it." Kathy graduated Magna Cum Laude from Northeastern University in Boston, with a BS in Business Administration. She was a top sales producer for several Fortune 100 firms in the Information Technology industry, selling hardware, software, and professional services to clients in the Washington, DC area. She was voted "Outstanding Young Woman of America" in 1982. Every year that she was in sales, Kathy was awarded membership in the "President's Club" and received recognition trips around the world. Realizing that her life's purpose was to help people, she opened and managed a highly successful executive search firm that provided career counseling and recruiting services for individuals and companies in the technology industry. Her passion for helping people grew, and she now focuses exclusively on coaching individuals through career and life transitions. Her coaching clients are located all across the country. Kathy is also WITI’s Webinar Manager and you can see some of the upcoming offerings at www.witi.com/webinars
Funke Iluyomade
Change Management Strategist
Funke Iluyomade is a change management strategist who delivers transformational change on multi-million dollar programs, projects, and initiatives with diverse client groups within the Retail, Insurance, Transportation, Telecom, and Government industries. Using her experience in change and change leadership, Funke works with executives, business leaders and their teams to create meaningful and sustained change - through assessments of attitudes, readiness and capacity for change, involving impacted stakeholders in the change journey, identifying and understanding concerns, using creative engagement to drive buy-in and support, coaching and supporting individuals and teams, and identifying and overcoming the barriers to change. Funke holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Hull. She is also a PROSCI Certified Change Management Professional (CMP) and a Ziglar Choose to Win Certified Coach. Funke has also volunteered as a mentor for newcomers to Canada (Toronto). On a personal level, Funke enjoys the challenge of explaining “why change management†and why it’s much more than communications and training. She is known to be passionate about being intentional about habits, choices, and decisions as they determine our future.
Jovita Jenkins
Executive/Leadership Coach, GOOYOW GROUP
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.
Bryce Johnson
Senior User Researcher, Microsoft Devices, Microsoft
Bryce Johnson has been designing accessible experiences and technology for over 15 years. As a member of Team Xbox, he was part of the core team that started the inclusive design and accessibility practice. Bryce worked across Microsoft teams to launch the assistive technologies on the Xbox One, including Copilot. Bryce initiated and designed the first Inclusive Tech Lab at Microsoft, which has now hosted over 7,000 visitors; it is a facility where people can explore how people with disabilities interact with Microsoft games, services, and devices. Bryce is one of the inventors of the Xbox Adaptive Controller ever since he was a lead on its project at the 2016 Microsoft One Week Hackathon. Bryce is now a Senior User Researcher for Microsoft Devices, where he is devoted to ensuring Microsoft products are accessible.
Lilly Kam
Senior Product Manager, i.am+
Lilly Kam is Senior Product Manager at i.am+, a technology company creating innovative wearable devices powered by artificial intelligence, founded by musician will.i.am. She also serves as Advisor to the i.am.angel Foundation, a nonprofit that brings high-impact STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education programs to students in underserved communities. In 2013, she co-founded Hack for L.A., an organization that brings Los Angeles' tech community together with city government to solve civic problems through utilizing open data and app development. Prior to joining i.am+, Lilly worked in product management for tech companies in Beijing, China, and was a research fellow at the Tsinghua University Center for Future Media. She is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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.
Tracy Kennedy
Director of Marketing, Microsoft Public Affairs
Tracy Immel Kennedy is the Director of Marketing for Microsoft Public Affairs, focusing on philanthropic programs that work to increase equity and inclusion of underrepresented communities in computer science education and technical and tech-enabled careers. Combining over 20 years of marketing experience with her passion for teaching and building human capacity, Tracy has a unique background in both the private and public sector. As the owner of Imagine Education Consulting, she worked with a diverse set of clients, including Ministries of Education, schools, NGOs, and companies to support the effective integration of technology and 21st-century skills into teaching and learning. She created and facilitated workshops on evaluating and adapting frameworks like ISTE teaching standards and the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (ICT-CFT) and on integrating and assessing 21st-century skills. In her previous work at Microsoft, Tracy created professional development supports for the educator community, scaling reach to hundreds of thousands of educators globally. She partnered with organizations including World Bank, UNESCO, Intel, and Cisco to build trusted, productive partnerships, receiving honors from UNESCO for her leadership.
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."
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.
Jessica Lindl
Vice President & GM of Social Impact, Unity Technologies
Jessica Lindl is Vice President and GM of Social Impact at Unity Technologies. Jessica has spent more than 15 years overseeing companies and teams that design, develop, market, and distribute high impact learning offerings to the global education market. In her work at both for-profit and non-profit organizations such as Unity Technologies, Common Sense Media, GlassLab, Scientific Learning, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, she has worked to improve learning outcomes and earning potential for all learners worldwide by blending effectiveness with ground-breaking engagement. Finally, she has spent extensive time in India and Asia working for global NGOs prototyping new approaches to solving the challenge of illiteracy for our most under-served youth. Jessica is a graduate of the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, where she received a Masters in Business Administration with a focus on entrepreneurship and education.
Laura Longcore
Vice President, Worldwide Learning, Microsoft
Laura Longcore is Vice President of Microsoft’s Worldwide Learning organization, where she leads a global team that develops skilling strategies and implementation plans for customers, partners, employees, students, and educators focused on building a digital-ready workforce. A business leader who focuses on the development of world-class technical and professional training expertise, Laura empowers her people to keep abreast of the changing needs in a digital world. Before moving into the Learning function, Laura led the global Data & Artificial Intelligence consulting practice within Microsoft. Her remit was to enable enterprise customers to deliver business solutions that augment human ingenuity with AI-based technologies. Laura has held various positions since joining Microsoft in 1999, as director of E-commerce in the Worldwide Operations team. Other key roles during her tenure include Vice President of Solutions Strategy & Operations, where she was accountable for offering development and go-to-market strategies; General Manager of U.S. Partner Services, where she was accountable for consulting and support to channel partners; and director of the Developer Evangelism team and Emerging Business organizations. Prior to joining Microsoft, Laura served as director of E-Commerce for Boise Cascade, where she led one of the first business-to-business internet initiatives. Laura holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Illinois State University.
Leah MacMillan
CMO, Trend Micro
As CMO, Leah MacMillan is responsible for all aspects of global marketing strategy and operations at Trend Micro, a global leader in cybersecurity. Her oversight includes all functions that drive greater awareness, interest, and preference for Trend Micro and its solutions globally. Trend Micro has worked to create a more diverse cybersecurity workforce. They established the Cybersecurity Education for Universities (CEU) program to help address the cybersecurity skills gap by offering guidance, expertise, and support to college cybersecurity programs free of charge. They also created the Close the Gap™ program, which provides scholarship opportunities, financial assistance, and fundraisers to advance women and the diverse workforce that are the key to the future. Leah’s passion for high-tech innovation and storytelling has fueled her success throughout her career. Previously, Leah was an executive at IBM, driving the market strategy and communications for Cognos business analytics. Before that, she held senior product management and marketing positions at Entrust and at Corel. Leah holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and International Business from McGill University.
Annette Mason
Founder, Trilogy Design Works
Annette Mason is a Leadership Development Professional and an entrepreneur, former corporate executive (VP Innovation, Exec Dir Strategy & Mergers and Acquisitions), wife, and mother to two global citizens. Like many in these times, she is pivoting professionally and personally to grow through the lessons that 2020 has to offer us. Quoting Annette, "In 2020, my family has had four immediate family members narrowly avert death - two from COVID. It has been an emotional roller coaster for sure!"
Nancy McCabe
What's Next? Coach, Results Business Coaching
Nancy McCabe is an executive and career coach helping clients answer “What’s Next?†She helps professionals and organizations on the verge of change. Her specialty is helping you find the clarity you need to take your next step. She asks you the tough questions and helps you work through the answers.
Kim Meninger
Executive Coach, Your Career Success
- 232 - Coaching Circle - Feel Like a Fraud? Conquer Impostor Syndrome to Achieve Your Goals
- 252 - Coaching Circle - Walking the Tightrope: Mastering the Balance between Likability and 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.
Laurel Mintz
CEO, Elevate My Brand
With a J.D/M.B.A from Rutgers University, Laurel Mintz's background has uniquely prepared her to run a successful agency. Inspired by the innovative consulting work she executed early in her career with such brands as Le Bec Fin, Public House Restaurant Group, Bassett Furniture, and Julie Hewett Cosmetics, Laurel knew she wanted to play bigger. A decade later, she has created an agency family serving both startups and blue chip global brands like Facebook, Verizon Digital Media Group, PAW Patrol and Zendesk. Laurel's favorite saying is FIOGID: Figure it out, get it done. Laurel sits on the Board of Directors for NFTE (Network for Teaching Leadership), the Women Founders Network, and the UCLA Restaurant Conference. She is a mentor for The Women's Global Leaders Initiative and advises LAVA (Los Angeles Venture Association). Laurel wrote a weekly Inc. Magazine column appropriately entitled "On Brand†for three years. Her published work can be found in Entrepreneur, USA Today, The American Marketing Association and C-Suite Quarterly Magazine. Laurel and the agency have recently won the W3 Silver Award for the PAW Patrol Road Patrol Campaign, the 2017 Patrick Soon-Shiong Innovation Award, the LABJ Women in Business Award, Comerica and LA Lakers' Women's Business Award, amongst others.
Suzanne Montgomery
Vice President, Compliance & Chief Accessibility Officer, AT&T
Suzanne Montgomery serves as the Vice President, Compliance & Chief Accessibility Officer of AT&T. She leads a team of professionals responsible for developing AT&T’s strategy for compliance, managing AT&T’s compliance program, and preparing executive reports. As AT&T’s Chief Accessibility Officer, she is responsible for advocating accessibility inclusion in products, services, and employee resources, as well as accessibility advocacy internally and externally. Her team provides accessible design tools and accessibility expertise to product development and customer interaction teams throughout the company. Suzanne previously held a number of roles in AT&T’s Chief Compliance Office and Legal Department. She is passionate about employee engagement and development, and is an active participant, mentor, and advisor to several AT&T Employee Resource Groups. As well, Suzanne is a Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional and holds a certificate in Executive Data Science. She received her BA from Drew University and JD from Washington University in St. Louis. Suzanne is the 2020 Chair of the North Texas Ethics and Compliance Council and serves as Assistant Training Director for the Dallas Running Club.
Susan Morrow
Vice President, Product Management, Education Cloud, Salesforce
Susan Morrow has focused her career on the intersections of technology and social impact, with the last decade focused on the transformative opportunities for technology in education. She currently serves as the VP, Product Management for Education Cloud at Salesforce, and previous to that served as Vice Chancellor of Innovation for a nonprofit university system serving more than 45,000 adults. Prior roles include COO of UniversityNow, co-founder/SVP Product of One University Network, chief product officer for Reading Rainbow, and development exec for Pearson; she has also held leadership roles at Leapfrog, Blurb, Adobe/Macromedia and more. Susan has led teams through many stages of organizational development: startup, growth, regeneration of mature businesses, and acquisition. From managing a $180M P&L for a publicly traded company to self-funding her own startup, Susan is a data-driven executive with an MBA from Stanford who is expert in identifying and monetizing opportunities for product innovation.
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.
Rosemary Musachio
Chief Accessibility Officer, Ruh Global
Rosemary Musachio is Chief Accessibility Officer at Ruh Global Impact. Rosemary, who was born with Cerebral Palsy, has many years of experience as a writer, tester, auditor, and technologist. She was also part of TecAccess as a senior manager for the firm. Rosemary has an important voice in the accessibility community and adds tremendous value to Ruh Global Communications. She is a prolific blogger, writing on many different topics related to accessibility and inclusive technology. She also provides much of the firm's web auditing and accessibility reviews for digital documents and media. Besides Electronic and Information Technology (E&IT) Accessibility, she also advocates attitudinal accessibility, especially concerning women with disabilities and non-verbal patients. In her spare time, Rosemary loves to travel the world and is passionate about writing poetry.
Michael Neuendorff
President, Bay Area Executive Coach
Michael Neuendorff, PCC, is the president of Bay Area Executive Coach. The firm provides coaching, training, and assessments for small and mid-size businesses that are committed to excellence in leadership, and organizational health. Mr. Neuendorff has been in the professional development field since 2008; he is certified by the International Coach Federation and is a Master Certified Coach Trainer via the Center for Executive Coaching.
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.
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.
Debora Plunkett
Principal, Plunkett Associates LLC
Debora Plunkett is a cybersecurity leader with over 30 years of experience. A former Director of Information Assurance at the National Security Agency, she is currently Principal of Plunkett Associates LLC, a consulting business. She is a Senior Fellow at Harvard and a Professor at the University of Maryland. Debora is a Director on the Corporate Boards of CACI International and Nationwide Insurance, and is Chair of the Board of Defending Digital Campaigns. She was on the National Security Council at the White House in two administrations. Debora earned an undergraduate degree from Towson University, an MBA from Johns Hopkins University, and an MS from the National War College.
Tracie Dean Ponder
Founder & Executive Director, B-STEM Project
Tracie Dean Ponder is an entrepreneur, educator, equality advocate, writer, and filmmaker. She’s the youngest of 11 born and raised on the southside of Chicago. With an ardent commitment for educating and empowering emerging talent, in 2016 Tracie founded B~STEM Project (B~STEM). The organization’s primary goal has been to create free educational opportunities for young girls and women. Most recently B~STEM Project partnered with Level Forward, a company co-founded by Abigail Disney, to lead in the reimagining and development of an online platform that focuses on supporting and fostering aspiring, emerging, and established female talent across the media and entertainment industry. Through Tracie’s work as the founder of Genius In Motion (GIM), she has documented and curated hundreds of hours of interviews capturing the stories of Oscar and Emmy winning talent of color working across the media and entertainment industry. Tracie has partnered with leading advertising agency, Leo Burnett Chicago, to spotlight trailblazing talent of color within the advertising industry. As well, she’s worked intimately with Women In Technology International as a consultant helping to drive issues around access, equity, and advancement. Tracie graduated from NYU, as a Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar, receiving a BA in Philosophy and English. As a President Scholar at DePaul University, Tracie received an MA in Liberal Studies with a specialization in writing.
Lotem Porat
Yoga / Meditation Instructor
Lotem Porat is a yoga/meditation instructor and a 3rd degree Reiki practitioner. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology and has completed over 500 hours of Yoga Alliance certified trainings. Lotem teaches in yoga studios, retreat centers, corporations, rehabilitation centers, and recovery facilities internationally, and currently in Los Angeles. Lotem's studies and teachings include a fusion of Vinyasa, Hatha, Iyengar, Yin, and Restorative Yoga. She guides through practice of asana (physical poses) meditation, pranayama (breath-work), and philosophy. In her creative and dynamic sessions, she blends an energizing flow with a calming fusion of Restorative Yoga and meditation. Yoga has been a source of healing to restore mental, emotional, spiritual and physical balance. Lotem's goal is to create a safe space for students to unwind, receive, and enjoy themselves through cultivating self-awareness and compassion. She feels that through attention, time, movement, and breath we each have the capacity to heal ourselves from the inside out. She aims to help people connect internally to their body, breath, and heart in an uplifting and gentle way.
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.
Eve Psalti
Head of Strategic Platforms, Google Cloud
Eve Psalti is the Head of Strategic Platforms for Google Cloud, responsible for the Canada, US, and Latin America regions. She is working with enterprise customers across industries and geos to help them grow their businesses through digital transformation initiatives, optimizing their operations, and catering to their customers through seamless digital experiences - all powered by cloud technologies and digital platforms. Prior to joining Google in 2018, Eve held business development, sales, and marketing leadership positions at Microsoft (for 17 years) and startups across the US and Europe. Her latest leadership position before Google was leading the global education programs strategy for Microsoft across K12 and Higher Education, helping educators, administrators and students drive strong learning outcomes through technology. Eve is passionate about ed-tech initiatives and enabling under-represented communities to have access to leadership and career growth opportunities through STEM, and serves on the board of the B-STEM Project organization. As well, she supports female entrepreneurs by providing them access to resources and funding through her role in the advisory board of the Women Entrepreneurs Global Organization. A native of Greece, Eve holds a Master’s degree and several technology and business certifications from London Business School and the University of Washington.
Jessica Rafuse
Director of Strategic Partnerships & Policies for Accessibility, Microsoft
Jessica Rafuse is a leader in Accessibility and Disability Inclusion. As the Director of Strategic Partnerships & Policy for Accessibility at Microsoft, Jessica is responsible for Microsoft’s engagements with organizations that focus on people with disabilities and accessibility. Jessica is an attorney who, prior to joining the Microsoft team, promoted the principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action at Starbucks Coffee Company. Jessica began her legal career in government, including her work as an Administrative Judge for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Jessica earned degrees in Spanish and Art History from the University of Washington, and her law degree from Seattle University School of Law. Jessica has muscular dystrophy and uses a power wheelchair.
Rene Redwood
CEO, Redwood Enterprise, LLC
- 106 - Keynote Panel Discussion - WITI Addressing SYSTEMIC RACISM As We Reinvent Our Future
- 206 - Keynote Panel Discussion - COVID-19's Devastating Impact on GENDER PARITY in Tech
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.
Suzanne Ricci
Chief Success Officer, Computer Coach IT Training
Suzanne Ricci is the Chief Success Officer at Computer Coach Training Center. Since 2000, Suzanne has helped thousands of IT and business professionals, in Tampa Bay, achieve their career goals through customized training strategies. Starting off her career as a Web Designer, she possesses over 25 technical certifications and 20 years of IT and training experience. Suzanne is the Network Director for WITI Tampa Bay.
Kristy Rogers
Founder & Leader, KristyRogersConnects
Kristy Rogers leads the Be Business Friendsâ„¢ movement. She's not talking about being friends-at-work; she's talking about raising your consciousness to honor results and relationships when interacting with others. Her Business Friends Philosophyâ„¢ comes from 24 years of leading and producing monthly networking events, 15 years of learning partnership distinctions, and 6 years of success mindset studies. Kristy Rogers is connecting personified. Who would guess that she once felt shy, insecure, and a bit socially ungraceful? Now an influential, award-winning community leader, Kristy was recognized as one of the Silicon Valley Business Journal's Women of Influence, named Managing Director of the Year for her work with the San Jose eWomenNetwork chapter, and voted Royal Schmoozer by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Chamber of Commerce. She was named one of the "Best Business Connectors in the San Francisco Bay Area" by the US Small Business Conference. In 2017 she was awarded a Peacemaker Award from the Global Prosperity and Peace Initiative. Kristy holds a B.S. in Business Administration, International Business from San Jose State University, where she was an Alpha Phi.
Jennifer Rosko
Director, Student Involvement & Programs, University of California at San Francisco
Jennifer Rosko is the director of Student Involvement & Programs at UC San Francisco (UCSF). In her role, she provides leadership, advisement, and coordination of campus-wide services and programs for student government, student organizations, and the student newspaper to build community, improve the quality of student life, and promote student learning. After graduating from the University of Southern California, Jennifer began her University of California career at UC Irvine in the Dean of Students office, organizing orientation and leadership programs. During her tenure at UCSF, Jennifer launched Veteran Support Services to support the needs of the growing military population on campus; and developed and implemented the inaugural UCSF Student Services Survey to evaluate campus resources and services for UCSF students. Recently, she has stepped into a leadership role for the UCSF Basic Needs Initiatives. Jennifer is the first in her family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree and has a master’s in organization & leadership with an emphasis in higher education and student affairs from the University of San Francisco.
Angie Ruan
Vice President, Engineering, Chime
Angie Ruan is the Vice President of Engineering at Chime. An award-winning industry leader, Angie holds four technical patents and has been instrumental in driving digital transformation across many industries. She most recently served as Senior Vice President of Global Technology at Nasdaq, where she was responsible for overseeing the development of Key Market Technology Products and Corporate Platforms. Prior to joining Nasdaq, Angie was the Global Group Technology Vice President of consumer experiences and platform for American Express, where she was responsible for the digital transformation of American Express web and mobile technology. Before then, she was the Unit CIO for U.S. Consumer and U.S. Small Business and held senior engineering leadership roles for PayPal Retail and eBay Angie holds an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and studied undergraduate in Computer Science at Tsinghua University of China.
Debra Ruh
CEO & Founder, Ruh Global Impact
- 103 - Keynote Panel Discussion - Accelerating DIGITAL INCLUSION: Ending the Digital Divides
- 203 - Keynote Panel Discussion - Facilitating ACCESSIBILITY: Making the Workplace Work for Everyone
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"
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.
Valerie Schreiner
Chief Product and Marketing Officer, Turnitin
Valerie Schreiner is the Chief Product Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for Turnitin. She leads the teams that create the product roadmap for academic integrity, product improvements to accomplish strategic initiatives, and the teaching and learning tools that help customers accomplish their strategic initiatives. Throughout her career, Valerie has established a reputation as a results-oriented leader with a focus on product strategy aligned to customer needs. She’s committed to education technology solutions that empower instructors with insights and tools that enable them to personalize instruction and empower students to learn by doing. She feels strongly that technology is a tool and not an answer. Before coming to Turnitin, Valerie held senior leadership roles in Sales, Marketing, and Product in a number of edtech firms including Blackboard, Elluminate (virtual classroom provider acquired by Blackboard), Schoolzilla (a public benefit corporation providing analytics solutions and insights to K12 school districts), and most recently VeriCite (a plagiarism prevention service that Turnitin acquired in 2018). Valerie is passionate about education as the path to advancement, accessibility initiatives, and of course, technology.
Mia Shah-Dand
CEO, Lighthouse3
Mia Shah-Dand is the CEO of Lighthouse3, a research and advisory firm based in Oakland, California. Mia advises large organizations on responsible innovation at scale with new and emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI). Her super-power is bringing together diverse groups of stakeholders to build human-centric programs at the intersection of data, technology, and governance. She is also the founder of Women in AI Ethicsâ„¢ initiative, which is dedicated to increasing recognition, representation, and empowerment of talented women in this space. Mia created the first 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethicsâ„¢ list in 2018, which is now published annually; and built the Women in AI Ethicsâ„¢ online directory, a resource to help conference organizers and recruiters find diverse talent. Mia is on the board of United Nations Association - San Francisco chapter, and on the Social Impact ABIE Awards Selection Committee at Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology. She also hosts monthly events and Twitter chats (@MiaD) to raise awareness about ethical issues in AI and highlight the work of BIPOC experts in this space.
Mimi Shalash
Technical Data Sales Rep, Quest Software
Mimi Shalash is an experienced data software & technical product account executive currently working at Quest Software. Her roles have encompassed data analytics, disaster recovery, performance monitoring and cloud optimization. Mimi also serves on the leadership team for WIA (Women in Analytics) and DAMA (the Central Ohio Chapter of the Data Management Association). Among her many leadership engagements, you can find her championing on behalf of underrepresented groups in STEM while also presenting businesses with impact data on the importance of driving social change in the Columbus technology community.
Anya Soto
Founder, Culture Crafters
Anya Soto is the founder of Culture Crafters ™, a global training company committed to helping organizations craft people-positive and human-centric cultures. She designs and facilitates trainings around diversity, inclusion, and a culture of belonging. Anya's mission is to help teams create psychologically safe yet courageous cultures where everyone knows where they stand, what they bring, and can articulate their contribution to any business.
Fred Sugerman
Movement Artist & Educator
- 403 - Business Not As Usual: A Safe Space to Talk About Race
- 401 - Mindfulness and Movement with Fred Sugerman
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.
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.
Joy Tan
Founder and CEO
As the senior vice president of public affairs for Huawei Technologies USA, Joy Tan is responsible for setting and executing public relations and government relations strategies in the U.S. From 2014 to January 2019, Joy served as the president of global media and communications for Huawei Technologies, setting and executing the media and communications strategy for the entire company. She was instrumental in promoting Huawei's thought leadership, corporate values, key products and solutions and making Huawei one of the top 100 brands in the world. Previously, Joy was responsible for corporate branding, where she led the initiative to transform Huawei into a global brand. She also managed Huawei's integrated marketing communications in the United States.
AJ Thomas
Head of People Products, Moonshot Factory
AJ Thomas is the founder of Infuse Program Foundation and the founder and Chief Explorer at BrainCandy Labs, powered by Women in Technology International (WITI). She also works at X, the Moonshot Factory, leading the Human Experience Design Team. These roles have allowed AJ to be a key contributor to developing talent for the future. A lot of what fuels AJ’s interests and passions intersect at bridging the gaps in talent, culture, and career. The result of what she does moves people and organizations forward to create a future of infinite possibilities.
Jason Thompson
Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Western Governors University
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.
Shanis Windland
Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion, VMware
Shanis Windland is the Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion at VMware. Her background is in finance, most recently as the CFO of a startup Heptio that was acquired by VMware in December 2018. She has been working in fast-growing technology companies for almost 20 years and is dedicated to creating opportunity for women and underrepresented groups in technology. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Central Washington University.
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.
Olivera Zatezalo
Chief Security Officer, Huawei Canada
Olivera Zatezalo is the Chief Security Officer at Huawei Canada, and her responsibility is to ensure Huawei Canada’s operations are compliant with Canadian cyber security laws and regulations. With over 20 years of experience in the telecommunication industry, Olivera is best known for creating value through collaborative leadership style, agile execution, and for her global cyber security expertise. Up until joining Huawei Canada, Olivera was responsible for cyber security governance, management, and operations within an international communication provider operating in Canada, US, UK and France; and was a member of Canadian Security Telecommunication Advisory Committee. IT World Canada and the Women in Security and Resilience Alliance (WiSECRA) have named Olivera as one of the Top 20 Women in Cyber Security in Canada for 2020. Olivera holds a Master’s in Electrical Engineering from University of Belgrade and is a Certified Information Security Manager.