Seattle Women in Tech Regatta 2020: Full Schedule

Connect socially: Follow #SEAWIT20 to hear stories from sessions and to connect with other attendees. We’ll be covering all things conversational on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram so please join us! Check our FAQ page for more info.

6:00pm PDT

The MotherSHIP KICK OFF EVENT

Get ready to party with us at the Mothership kickoff event on National S'mores Day!

We have a fantastic lineup of guests that will tantalize all your senses with fun, festive treats throughout the evening. Set your intentions for the next two weeks, and connect with like minded attendees. We'll show you why we believe that "relationships are true currency" and how to manifest your dream of walking out of this year's conference with your new best friend or new boss!

EVENT SCHEDULE
Musical Performance by Darla Rae
Welcome & Introduction by Melody Biringer and Kiesha Garrison
S'mores Time! with Theo Chocolate and Pamela Watson of Itto's
Sacred Circle by Jamie Cabaccang of Techies + Wellness
Hack the Regatta & Connection Cafe by Traca Savadogo
Yoga Flow and Meditation by Karen Terrado of The Six

*Zoom link will be published day of on this page

**Cocktail recipe below:

S'mores Old Fashioned

For rim:
2tbsp Crushed Graham Crackers
2 tsp Cocoa powder
Liquid to moisten the rim (water, simple/chocolate syrup, coffee, etc)

For drink:
2oz bourbon
1/2oz toasted marshmallow simple syrup
4 dashes Scrappys Chocolate Bitters
Ice, small for mixing and large for sipping

Equipment:
Bucket glass/mason jar
Rim set
Bar spoon

Procedure:
Dip 1/3 cup rim in liquid.
Mix graham cracker crumb and cocoa powder together in small bowl.
Dip wet part of rim in graham cracker/cocoa powder mixture.
Set glass aside.

In a beaker, or mason jar, add marshmallow syrup, bitters, bourbon; fill with ice. Stir vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into bucket glass with a king cube or a few ice cubes. Add toasted marshmallow and shaved chocolate on top for fun.

Speakers

Melody Biringer

Founder, Women in Tech Regatta

Melody Biringer is a self-proclaimed “connection engineer,” a serial entrepreneur who has built a career around building communities for women to thrive. She is the founder of the acclaimed Crave Company, where she's spent more than 20 years encouraging women to have fun while... Read More →

Traca Savadogo

Founder, Bold Ambition

Traca Savadogo is the founder of Bold Ambition, a Mastermind for high-performance leaders. BA is a supportive community for ambitious women, designed to accelerate their boldest, most audacious goals. An innovator and idea-driven collaborator, she loves being at the intersection of... Read More →

Jamie Cabaccang

Founder & Creative Director, Techies + Wellness

Jamie Cabaccang is an award-winning Product Design Leader at Pinterest, former Microsoft Creative Director, a Soul Energy Practitioner and Founder of Techies + Wellness— helping people who are building our future discover their inner wisdom and light, guiding them towards embodying... Read More →

Kiesha Garrison

Resident Personal Brand Strategist, Brand Builders Group

Kiesha Garrison is a Resident Personal Brand Strategist with Brand Builders Group, the leading global personal brand strategy firm.Over the past 20 years Kiesha has excelled as a strategic advisor to numerous CXOs in her leadership roles for major corporations like Time, Inc. & Microsoft... Read More →

Karen Terrado

Owner and Co-Founder, The Six

Karen Terrado, more known as Hypeyogi is Seattle-Living, Philippines Born and Raised, Owner and Co-Founder of The SIX Studio a boutique fitness studio with two brick and mortar locations in Southlake Union and Ballard neighborhoods. She recently launched a third location, an online... Read More →

Darla Rae

Singer-Songwriter

Darla Rae is a singer-songwriter from Bremerton, WA. Vocally jazz, instrumentally indie, and everything in between R&B soul is the conglomerate of what you’d experience when watching her. From being an active member in choral and jazz choirs over the years, to ballet/hip hop dancing... Read More →

Pamela Watson

Bartender, Itto's

Pamela was born and raised in Seattle, WA, with deep roots in South Seattle. A lover of all things food and beverage related, she has been in the food service industry for 16 years. After twelve years of selling produce in the world-famous Pike Place Market, Pamela chose to broaden... Read More →

Carly Hood

Associate Marketing Manager, Theo Chocolate

Carly Hood is the Associate Marketing Manager for Theo Chocolate. When she isn’t eating chocolate or working on earned and owned media campaigns, she is either cuddling her Siamese cat or working on the latest draft of her essay collection.

Nikki Ivey

Sales Development at Emtrain and Co-Founder of SDRDefenders, Emtrain

Nikki is an inspiring story teller with a passion for people and the social savvy to turn relationships into revenue. With a decade of sales and marketing experience , Nikki motivates people to build their brands and break into opportunity with authenticity and empathy. She is focused... Read More →

Monday August 10, 2020 6:00pm - 8:30pm PDT
TBA

Connection Engineer Events, Recording Available

8:00am PDT

Don’t Burn the Boats: Avoid Stress and Burnout — Supported by Highspot

Finding balance and creating mindful strategies to build positive wellbeing and avoid stress and burnout.

When someone is ambitiously navigating their career they inevitability deal with a certain level of stress and demand on their time as they are surrounded by a swirling sea of 24/7 connectivity, making it difficult to navigate balance in their professional and personal lives. How can we protect ourselves from drowning in the turbulent waters of stress and anxiety? In this session participants will learn tips and techniques to help weather the storm and create a more balanced life by creating boundaries and developing their own self-care as a priority to set themselves up to thrive.

Moderators

Shea Harty

Managing Director, Empower Amsterdam

Shea Harty is the Managing Director of Empowerment, a social enterprise that helps companies with their sustainable employability agendas through team building, cross-cultural communication, leadership programs, inclusion and belonging, redundancies programs, and more. Their non-profit... Read More →

Speakers

Devon Bennetts

Director, Engineering Operations, Highspot

Devon Bennetts leads the Engineering Operations team at Highspot, focusing on project execution, onboarding, knowledge sharing, and process optimization for Highspot’s rapidly growing Engineering, Product Management, and Design teams. Devon started her career as a Mechanical Engineer... Read More →

Neha Sanjay

Head Of Marketing, Esper

Neha manages a rapidly-growing team of tech startup marketers at Esper. Prior to Esper, Neha worked in growth marketing leadership roles for Google, InMobi, and Locus. Neha is an expert advocate for diverse hiring, inclusive culture, and remote, cross-cultural collaboration.

Christina Thompson

Software Engineer, Artsy

Christina Thompson is a software engineer at Artsy, the leading global platform for discovering and collecting art. At Artsy, Christina builds products that foster an efficient and inspiring experience for new and seasoned art buyers. Prior to joining Artsy, she was a developer at Apex Learning an online learning solution platfor... Read More →

Tuesday August 11, 2020 8:00am - 9:30am PDT
TBA

Port 1 — Adapt & Thrive, Recording Available

11:00am PDT

Relationships Are The True Currency: Discover Your Treasure Chest — Supported by Facebook

As the song says, Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold. The core principle of the WiT Regatta is to authentically establish, build, and cultivate your relationships toward greater purpose. Meeting new people is important but, who is already in your treasure chest? During this session learn how to identify and genuinely reengage with the goldmine that is your established network.

Moderators

Denise Aguilar

Campaign Strategist, Knack Collective

Speakers

Vivian Chan

Founder & Advisor, Servicenow

Vivian Chan is a changemaker who has deep roots in Technology and Community Building. She was involved in launch, monetization, sales and marketing for 3 waves of disruptive technology: Analytics; Cloud and AR/VR at SAP,VMare and Eyexpo. For over 30 years been a volunteer and organizer... Read More →

Karan Nijhawan

Founder, Jube

Karan Nijhawan is the Founder of Jube, where he has held over 165+ dinners/virtual events to help people create deep relationships. He currently works with companies to enhance company culture, and to build better relationships with their top clients.

April Wixom

Technical Recruiter - Front End, Product Generalist, System Generalist teams, Facebook

April Wixom has been a recruiter at Facebook for about 4 years, working on roles within engineering. About a year ago, she moved into owning the Front End recruitment process for Seattle based opportunities. Prior to Facebook, she worked as sourcing recruiter at Uber in engineering... Read More →

Tuesday August 11, 2020 11:00am - 12:15pm PDT
TBA

Port 1 — Adapt & Thrive, Recording Available

1:00pm PDT

Combatting Imposter Syndrome — Supported by Northeastern University

Does this sound familiar? “You’re not good enough.” “It is only a matter of time until they find you out.” “You don’t know what you’re doing.” “You’ll never be as good as her/him/them.” “You don’t belong here.” “You don’t deserve this.”

This ugly voice is the saboteur inside your head. The one that fuels our Imposter Syndrome. The sad truth is that nearly EVERYONE has this voice in their heads. The even sadder truth is that we still believe it is only us. Don’t believe the hype! After this session you will be able to better identify your imposter syndrome/saboteur voice and learn ways to build your confidence, validate your efforts, and finally truly believe you belong.

Moderators

Gina Fresquez

Speakers

Calla Patel

Software Engineer II, Expedia Group

Hi, I'm Calla (pronounced Kayla)! I work in tech, I make dope things, I laugh at code-bugs and I'm awesome - and that's all you really need to know.

Gina Fresquez

Founder / Speaker / Author / Coach, Gina Fresquez International / Lodima Leadership Collective

Hi, I'm Gina, best selling author, keynote speaker, and success and leadership coach with a commitment to support women in male-dominated industries (STEM) and female founders to get out of their own way by overcoming self-doubt and gain more confidence to succeed in all areas of... Read More →

Catherine Porth

Founder / Program Director, Let Her Speak

I wear many hats in my day-to-day life - but I am driven by one purpose. That is to improve and grow opportunities for marginalized groups of women one-aspiring-leader-at-a-time.I am the Founder of Let Her Speak where I curate women-empowered events, conduct female-focused research... Read More →

Christina Matthew

Market Associate, Latin America, Airbnb

Christina is a Market Associate on the Caribbean and Central America team at Airbnb. She manages partnerships & business development across the region. Born and raised in Tyler, TX, she is a University of Texas-Austin undergraduate alumna and completed her studies with an International... Read More →

Tuesday August 11, 2020 1:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 1 — Adapt & Thrive, Recording Available

4:00pm PDT

Back from the Void: Generating Resilience in the COVID Era — Supported by Facebook

The entire world is adjusting to the new realities of life in the COVID era. How are you dealing with it? Are you able to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and return to your calmer self? Or do you fold like a K-Mart® deck chair? Today the stakes are higher and emotions are stronger. To thrive in this unsettling time, we must grow our internal resilience.

Join us for a real conversation about navigating the lows while learning to build up your own sustaining resilience.

Moderators

Shivani Kailesh Patel

Data Scientist, Senior Researcher, SAP Concur

Speakers

Ted Dworkin

Senior Vice President, Product Management and Customer Experience, Sonos

Ted Dworkin is Senior Vice President of Product Management and Customer Experience at Sonos. In this role, he leads a diverse team of hardware and software product managers as well as teams focused on customer success, user experience, and user research. His team is responsible for... Read More →

Fumiyo Conway-Yasuyama

Senior Software Engineering Manager, Highspot

I set the vision and lead diverse engineering teams through innovation and hyper-growth startup demands.Most of my days are spent by making sure my team has the skills, support and sparkle they need to be the best in the industry, by pushing boundaries, to think differently, and through... Read More →

Jane Odero Greene

Information Security Analyst, Facebook

Jane Odero Greene is an information security analyst at Facebook focusing on application security. Prior to joining Facebook, Jane was an information security specialist focused on cloud security at Intel Corporation. She has 20 years of experience in the technology industry, 10 of... Read More →

Tuesday August 11, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 1 — Adapt & Thrive, Recording Available

4:00pm PDT

Unlocking the Potential - Allies, Mentors and Sponsors

Life is like a long sea voyage, it requires a crew to successfully reach the destination. As you work to achieve personal and professional success, how can you enlist the support of your crew? The first step is building your crew - identifying the roles that are needed and the individuals to fill them.

In this session, we’ll dig into 3 key roles: ally, mentor and sponsor. We’ll look at the differences between these roles and how each one provides a unique form of support. We’ll then focus on the role you play in cultivating and maintaining these relationships over time. At the conclusion of this session, you’ll walk away with specific actions you can take to build and refine your crew.

Speakers

Melissa Bloom

Principal, M Bloom Consulting

Keith Bagley

Associate Clinical Professor & Director - MS ALIGN, Northeastern University

Dr. Bagley is an Associate Clinical Professor at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer and Information Sciences, and also serves as the Boston-based Director for Khoury’s ALIGN program which focuses on broadening participation in computing via an accessible (yet... Read More →

Dele Downs Kooley

CEO/Founder & #1 Best Selling Author, Dele Kooley Coaching

Dele Downs Kooley (sounds like Deli) is the founder of Dele Kooley Coaching. A Senior leader in Diversity & Inclusion (most recently at Microsoft) she combines her corporate expertise with insights from her 20-year journey in learning, leadership, development, diversity and inclusion... Read More →

Megan Kolkman

VP Strategic Customer Relationships, WorkBoard Inc.

Tuesday August 11, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 1 — Adapt & Thrive, Recording Available

7:00pm PDT

The Business of Friendship: Making The Most of The Relationships Where We Spend Most of Our Time

Did you know that employees who have meaningful relationships at work are seven times more likely to be engaged in their job, treat customers better, take fewer sick days, have fewer workplace accidents, share their opinions and collaborate more, and feel more committed to their current company? More importantly, those of us with friends at work will love our jobs more, feel happier, and report better health.
We spend more time interacting with our co-workers than with any other friends in our lives so it’s to our benefit that we enjoy each other as much as possible!

This fun and interactive presentation featuring Shasta Nelson, the author of The Business of Friendship: Making the Most of the Relationships Where We Spend Most of Our Time, will teach us how to develop the relationships that matter most and inspire us to build a culture of friendliness in our work—whether it’s remote or in-person.

Attendees will:

Discover the latest research on how relationships at work impact employee engagement and retention
Learn the three requirements of all healthy relationships and how they work together
Identify which of the three requirements would make the biggest positive difference in your work life

***And special feature will include a conversation with Kimberley Thompson, Manager of Diversity and Inclusion for Edwards Lifesciences, as she joins Shasta to explore how we can more intentionally foster more diverse friendships in our workplace. The research shows that most of us gravitate to friendships with those who we see as most similar to ourselves, but we’re missing a really amazing opportunity at work if we don’t diversify our connections.

Speakers

Shasta Nelson

Author & Speaker

Shasta Nelson, M.Div., a friendship expert, is a leading voice on loneliness and creating healthy relationships. She speaks across the country sharing the work that can be found in her books: Frientimacy: How to Deepen Friendships for Lifelong Health and Happiness and Friendships... Read More →

Kimberley Thompson

Global Diversity and Inclusion Leader

Inclusion thought leader, diversity, inclusion and equity strategist, culture changer, influencer, internal and relationship architect with over 15 + years related experience in diversity and inclusion design, management and community engagement.Currently practicing D&I in the healthcare... Read More →

Tuesday August 11, 2020 7:00pm - 8:15pm PDT
TBA

Port 1 — Adapt & Thrive, Recording Pending

8:00am PDT

Diversity by Design: Raising Up The Voices of Women of Color — Supported by Nordstrom

This panel is dedicated to women of color in our tech community. Diversity initiatives vary from company to company and can take on many shapes depending on a company's size or age. Some women exist as the sole representation at their company and others can connect with large ERGs and networks. Hear these women's stories, their hopes for the future, and their ideas of how diversity programs and leadership could truly make a difference in our organizations no matter the size.

Moderators

Shadae Holmes

UI Lead & Senior Software Engineer, Chef Software

Shadae Holmes has an established career in front end architecture and development, with a focus in accessibility best practices. She is a passionate advocate for inclusive and diverse cultures, and works to create safer spaces for underrepresented people in tech.

Speakers

Cynthia Tee

VP of Technology, Nordstrom

Cynthia supports a team that builds Nordstrom’s commerce services. She has over twenty years of experience building software as well as leading teams in consumer applications, operating system services, e- commerce as well as software as a service. In 2015, she took a detour from... Read More →

Ariana Bray

Developer Programs Engineer, Google

Ariana Bray is a Developer Programs Engineer at Google, working on Cloud AI products. She attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she obtained her B.A. in Bioethics and Society. After graduating and moving to Seattle, she worked in a variety of legal administration roles, both... Read More →

Yaa Birago

Co-Founder and CEO, FemmeBnB Inc.

Wednesday August 12, 2020 8:00am - 9:30am PDT
TBA

Port 2 — Inclusive Culture, Recording Available

8:00am PDT

Integrating Career, Parenthood & Homeschooling: The Tension, Balance & Love — Supported by Highspot

Have you been revisiting your A,B,Cs and 1, 2, 3s lately? Brushing up on basic geometry while preparing breakfast before your 8am conference call with the boss? Parents have been hit especially hard by the pandemic. Navigating a family and a career was hard enough before adding “school teacher” to the mix. During this session we’ll discuss the new norms parents find themselves in, discuss emerging best practices, and hear from working parents who are not only surviving, but thriving in this environment. What’s their secret? Come to this session to find out.

Moderators

elan Bailey

Managing Director, UpLevel People Partners

Elan's passion is developing people, teams and organizations that thrive. As a small business growth advisor with Cultivate Advisors, she works with entrepreneurs who are mission-driven, women-owned and people-focused to help take your business to the next level.She has 10 years experience... Read More →

Speakers

Mary Kelly Rich

Corporate Communications & Event Manager, skykick

MaryKelly Rich is the Corporate Communications & Event Manager at SkyKick - a Seattle based SaaS company, focused on building cloud products that empower IT Service Providers. She is responsible for the company’s brand storytelling initiatives, which spans from external stakeholder-facing... Read More →

Priyanka Raha

Founder + CEO, PopSmartKids

Priyanka is a strategist, technologist, entrepreneur and a mom to 2 boys. After a successful fifteen year career in the tech industry and noticing the amount of exposure her two young boys were getting to their tech devices she took her passion for the human factor in technology to... Read More →

Tameka McNair

Senior Technical Program Manager, Global Store Checkout/Pay, Nordstrom

Tyler Davidson

Executive | Entrepreneur | Board Member | Advisor

Tyler Davidson has nearly 25 years of experience in growing and leading technology and telecommunications companies.Tyler is currently a board director at Voxer, and an advisor to Ouster, Headset, and Voxer. Most recently, Tyler was CEO of Element Data (until August 2019), a customer... Read More →

Wednesday August 12, 2020 8:00am - 9:30am PDT
TBA

Port 2 — Inclusive Culture, Recording Available

11:00am PDT

True Allyship: Be a Better Ally All the Time, Every Day — Supported by WGU

True Allyship is not defined by intent, but by impact. The question to ask yourself is: How do I ensure that I'm having the impact of an ally? Join us for a lively discussion about this leading question as we dive into the concept of privilege, our unconscious biases, and why intent can only go so far. Our panelists will share their experiences, the barriers they've faced and overcome while imparting valuable advice on how you can act with impact as an ally every day, in the workplace and beyond.

Moderators

Katie Oertli Mooney

Senior Director, Global Member Advisory Services, Diversity Best Practices

I believe that people thrive in a culture where they feel that they can contribute, belong and form meaningful relationships. Culture is the commodity for growth and innovation. The challenge is to create an every day culture that is inclusive, transparent and authentic.

Speakers

JoAnne Kennedy

Vice President, Nordstrom

JoAnne Kennedy is vice president of technology at Nordstrom. In this strategic and operational role for the fashion retailer, JoAnne and her team support technology platforms for credit, human resources, finance and deliver key capabilities across the company through Tech Partner... Read More →

Corey Edwards

Regional Director, Northwest, Western Governors University

Corey Edwards is a visionary leader in higher education and entrepreneur. Named the Northwest Regional Director for Western Governors University in June 2020, Edwards helps guide the strategic direction of the nonprofit, online university and further raise its profile among prospective... Read More →

Pert Lin

Sr. Program Manager, Business Design, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Pert Lin is a Sr. Program Manager on the Business Design Team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Our small but mighty Business Design Team is responsible for leading efforts to make grant-making more efficient through culture/behavior, business process, and technical systems/tools.Pert... Read More →

Wednesday August 12, 2020 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 2 — Inclusive Culture, Recording Available

4:00pm PDT

Navigating Your Seat at the Table - Supported By Facebook

As a leader, you have a seat at the table. With that seat comes the ability to influence decisions from the top, drive the business forward, and amplify the impact and visibility of your team. So, how do you lead effectively and use your power and position to advance yourself while also reaching back to lift others?

Some of the topics we’ll tackle:

Growing your career as a leader
Using strategic storytelling to elevate your visibility and impact
Navigating imposter syndrome without skipping a beat
Rising together by attracting and retaining diversity at the team level

Moderators

Giuliana García

AR/VR Legal Program Manager, Facebook

Speakers

Stephanie Scher

Global Learning & Enablement Team Lead, Facebook

Kristen Murdock

Global Head of Risk Assessment, Facebook

I'm incredibly passionate about connecting veterans and women to opportunities in tech! I spent thirteen years as a Naval Intelligence Officer before coming to Facebook, and after often being the only woman (or one of very few) in all of my assignments, I've always had to challenge... Read More →

Kamala Avila-Salmon

Marketing Inclusion Strategy Lead, Facebook

Wednesday August 12, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 2 — Inclusive Culture, Recording Available

4:00pm PDT

Shifting the Culture In a Male-Dominated Industry — Supported by Service Now

In today's male-dominated technology industry, how do leaders intentionally decide to support inclusion and shift workplace culture? The need to be more inclusive of different races, genders, ages, abilities, orientations, and more is at a tipping point. During this session we’ll discuss the practical steps some leaders have taken to support diversity in the workplace, what risks they’ve taken, roadblocks they have encountered, and the tough decisions they’ve made to promote a more inclusive culture.

Moderators

Stephanie Redivo

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Program, TransLink

Stephanie is a fearless Equity, Diversity and Inclusion leader with over 20 years of software experience at SAP and recently started at TransLink. She is TransLink’s first Equity, Diversity and Program lead focused on leading the development and implementation for all equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) programs for 8000 employees. Her Equity, Diversity and Inclusion journey began in 2012 at SAP when she became the GIRLsma... Read More →

Speakers

Gretchen K Wagner

Engineering Program Manager, ServiceNow

From the inner working of cloud systems to the outer working of managing people, every day I get to run at the nearest hard problem, double-wielding people skills and technical acumen.I manage technical programs and lead development teams to simplify, standardize, and stabilize software... Read More →

Naomi Liu

Director, Global Marketing Operations, EFI

A constant problem solver and life-long learner, two things you will always hear me say are: “How can I help you streamline that?” and “How can we do this faster/better?” I’m a fanatic about improving sales and marketing processes and removing roadblocks by using data to... Read More →

Ian Heisser

Senior Director Of Engineering, Nordstrom

Ian is a Senior Director of Engineering at Nordstrom. He has grown and supported teams focusing on quality, operations, and engineering initiatives during his career, bringing high-impacting results that drive enriched experiences for customers and businesses. At Nordstrom, he supports... Read More →

Wednesday August 12, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 2 — Inclusive Culture, Recording Available

6:00pm PDT

Woman Crush Wednesday: 60-min Yoga Flow by The Six

Join Karen Terrado of The Six for a Slow Flow yoga practice.

Slow Flow is an appealing approach to yoga for both beginners and experienced yogis. A slower practice ensures you find more time and space to learn the basics and get in touch with your body. Additionally, it is a great opportunity for deeper exploration of advanced poses. In Slow Flow, we encourage you to take your practice at your own pace and finish with a bit of rest to heal your body and nervous system.

Speakers

Karen Terrado

Owner and Co-Founder, The Six

Wednesday August 12, 2020 6:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
TBA

Connection Engineer Events

8:00am PDT

Riding the Wave of FemTech and Securing the Supply Chain

Moderators

Sylvie Kadackal

Senior Supportability PM, Microsoft

Sylvie a Senior Supportability Program Manager for Modern Workplace at Microsoft. She is responsible for gathering, analyzing, categorizing and presenting trending customers pain points. She builds customer facing solutions leveraging key learnings and insights from Machine learning... Read More →

Amber Plumb

Sr. Support Planner, Microsoft

Genevieve Quintin

Senior Supportability Program Manager, Microsoft

I listen, appreciate and love peoples strengths and passions which genuinely builds lasting relationships. I bring people together to unlock collaboration opportunities and get things done.I am a Senior Supportability Program Manager for Modern Workplace at Microsoft. I am responsible... Read More →

Ying Wories

Principal Program Manager, Microsoft

Speakers

Martine Stillman

Mechanical Program Lead, Synapse Product Development

Martine has been an innovator, ideator, and designer in product development since 2004. In her 15 years in the space she has worked on everything from wearables, to health and wellness products, and entertainment devices. Her mechanical engineering specialties include Solidworks surfacing... Read More →

Camille Morhardt

Director, Compute Lifecycle Assurance, Intel

Ashley Russell

Program Manager, Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging, Nordstrom

Ashley has spent most of her career gaining unparalleled experience in the retail space, within the areas of sales and operations. She has 5+ years’ experience in program management leading the implementation of large-scale projects. Ashley’s passion for diversity, inclusion... Read More →

Thursday August 13, 2020 8:00am - 9:30am PDT
TBA

Deep Sea Technical Tracks, Recording Available

8:00am PDT

Charting a New Course for the Modern Healthcare Workforce — Supported by Forum Solutions LLC

The healthcare workforce has historically worked in silos, yet effective care delivery requires a team approach. This has become globally apparent in the COVID-19 pandemic. This session will explore these historical, emerging, and continuing issues in detail and will present the innovative clinical, technical, operational, academic, and other unexpected solutions, driven by technology, that can help us chart a course into the future.

Moderators

Ramona Ramadas

Associate, Forum Solutions

Ramona Ramadas is a Nurse Innovator and Entrepreneur with over 20 combined years of experience in the software industry, nursing, digital health, consulting, and academics. Ramona's passion is achieving better outcomes for the most vulnerable members of our community, and she frequently... Read More →

Speakers

Rachel Gerson

Radiologist, Health Innovation Consultant, Rachel F. Gerson Radiology, PLLC

Rachel Gerson is a practicing radiologist and health innovation consultant with over 15 years of clinical experience working in diverse clinical settings including internationally. Passionate about innovation in the areas of quality, data and communications and health equity and access... Read More →

Kistein Monkhouse

Founder, Patient Orator

Kistein Monkhouse, M.P.A., is a public health expert and patient advocate advocating for health equity. She is the CEO and founder of Patient Orator, a digital health solution powering meaningful communication between individuals and their health teams to improve health outcomes... Read More →

Rick Hall

Senior Director of Health Innovation, Arizona State University

Rick Hall is a clinical professor and senior director in the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University, where he teaches health entrepreneurship and innovation methodology. His appointment includes administration of the Masters in Healthcare Innovation... Read More →

Thursday August 13, 2020 8:00am - 9:30am PDT
TBA

Port 3 — Biotech & Healthcare, Recording Available

10:00am PDT

Job Expo Featuring Cambia Health Solutions : Fireside Chat with Cambia Health Solutions

Join us for a casual conversation with two of Cambia’s technology leaders to learn more about Cambia’s culture and values, as well as what these hiring managers look for in a candidate. We’ll also have members of our HR team on hand to review current openings and answer your questions.

Speakers

Lacie Beck

Technical Sponsorships & Events Program Manager, Cambia Health Solutions

As the Technical Sponsorships and Events Program Manager, Lacie is responsible for producing top-notch technical training and events for Cambia’s 500+ technology employees. In addition, she is also tasked with growing community partnerships to give Cambia a platform to connect... Read More →

Hazel John

Assistant Director of Technology, Cambia Health Solution

Hazel John is a technology leader who started as an operating systems developer at IBM over 20 years ago. Because of her experience as a hands-on engineer herself, she looks to empower her team and is passionate about supporting technical excellence, innovation and continuous growth... Read More →

Krista Meston

Director of Technology, Delivery Operations, Cambia Health Solutions

As a recognized effective technical and business transformation leader, I am able to pull on innovative thinking and technical know-how to provide strategies that maximize organizational productivity, speed, and agility. I do this through driving effective organizational change that... Read More →

Natalie Dicus

Technical Recruiter, Cambia Health Solutions

5 years of recruiting experience with a background in Health & Nutrition. Recruiting for all levels of Software Engineers, Dev Ops Engineers, Data Scientists, Data & System Analysts, Project Managers and more. At Cambia, we are looking for driven and eager individuals to join our... Read More →

Heather McCornack

Corporate Recruiter, Cambia Health Solutions

My name is Heather and I have been with Cambia for a little over 6 years. When I joined Cambia, I started as a Recruiting coordinator and moved up to a Staffing Specialist and now I am a Corporate recruiter. It is a joy to represent a company that truly cares about the employees... Read More →

Thursday August 13, 2020 10:00am - 10:30am PDT
TBA

Job Expo, Recording Available

11:00am PDT

Hot Trends: Big Data + Biomedical Research — Supported by Bristol Myers Squibb

Biomedical research is at the forefront of necessity in our world. Academia and Biopharma are teaming up to join the disciplines of big data, bioinformatics, and critical technology advances to accelerate medical research and improve patients’ lives. Learn how you can be part of this technology growth area and make a difference in the world.

Moderators

Teri Foy

Senior Vice President Immuno-Oncology and Cellular Therapy, Bristol Myers Squibb

Teri Foy is an immunologist with more than 25 years of biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry experience developing novel therapeutics in the areas of oncology and inflammation. At Bristol Myers Squibb, Teri leads the Immuno- Oncology and Cell Therapy Thematic Research Center... Read More →

Speakers

Nicole Glazer, PhD, MPH

Executive Director, Bristol Myers Squibb

At Bristol Myers Squibb, Nicole leads the Knowledge Science Research team within R&ED, working with data types across our pipeline and beyond. The team builds flexible data capabilities that enable data dissemination and exploration of knowledge through data science, collaboration... Read More →

Hearn Jay Cho MD, PhD

Associate Professor of Medicine Multiple Myeloma Service, Mt. Sinai Tisch Cancer Institute

Hearn Jay Cho is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai and an Attending Physician with the Multiple Myeloma Service at the Mt. Sinai Tisch Cancer Institute. Dr. Cho’s laboratory is investigating novel therapies for multiple myeloma in two... Read More →

Karen Akinsanya

Chief Biomedical Scientist, Schrödinger

A strategic leader, drug discovery and development professional with >20 years of hands-on experience in translational science including target selection, validation, early clinical development and business development at Merck & Co. and Ferring Pharmaceuticals.Currently partnering... Read More →

Thursday August 13, 2020 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 3 — Biotech & Healthcare, Recording Available

11:00am PDT

Debiasing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning — Supported by Facebook

Artificial intelligence is often billed as the answer to debiasing decision making. Human biases are deeply anchored, most often unnoticed, and reflected in the behaviour that generates data. AI can amplify these biases and patterns, and in some cases even expand the problems in new ways. At best, AI might be able to introduce some degree of objectivity; but to do so, the people writing the code must be aware of and wrestle with biases. This panel discusses strategies and methodologies for navigating these challenges.

Moderators

Padmaja Vrudhula

Sr. Director R&D – Modern Applications Platform, VMware

Speakers

Pinar Donmez

Engineering Manager, NLG Modeling team, Facebook

Shivani Poddar

Software Engineer, Workplace, Facebook

Sean Green

Staff Data Scientist, Intuit

As a first generation American, Sean has long had an interest in how our endeavors towards access affect a person's opportunities. At Princeton University he earned a BSE in Civil Engineering and Operations Research and was first introduced to programming in C and in Java. After graduating... Read More →

Thursday August 13, 2020 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 6 — Tech Mavens, Recording Available

1:00pm PDT

Healthtech: How Technology Is Influencing Healthcare And Vaccine Supply Chain

COVID-19 has changed the way we live. Technology in healthcare has a long history, and there has been a trend towards tele-medicine pre-virus. That movement has been accelerated. There are also changes in supply chain and vaccine distribution, as well as new discoveries in women’s health. This track offers an introduction to some of the cutting edge work being done amidst our new normal.

AI in Healthcare
Anitha Lakshman
Although Artificial intelligence (AI) is touching every sphere of our lives, especially in the healthcare domain, its impact is truly life changing. Secondary research reveals, jointly public and private sector investment in healthcare is expected to reach $ 6.6 billion by 2021, encompassing areas such as healthcare, clinical research, drug development and insurance. Although human physicians will not be replaced by AI doctors however, AI will definitely prove useful in simplifying clinical decision especially in the area of radiology. Through imitation of human cognitive functions, it enhances the sector’s availability of both, structured such as image, genetic and electrophysiological data and unstructured data such as clinical notes and medical journals and also analytical techniques through machine learning and natural language processing (NLP), respectively.

To Boldly Go Where No Human Has Gone Before – A Connected Health Artificial Intelligence Network By Women, For Women
Ramkumar Hariharan
The majority of vaccine stockouts in low and middle-income countries are the result of inaccurate forecasts (World Health Organization, 2017). A stockout is more than an empty shelf; a stockout represents a child who will not receive vaccination. A stockout is a life; a child unable to be vaccinated due to a system failure. With no alternative in view, ministries of health have accepted double-digit rates of vaccine wastage in the hope of increasing coverage. Supply chains can do better. Supply chains can machine learn to anticipate shifts in consumption. Stockouts and wastage increase the financial burden of health ministries. Reducing stockouts and cutting wastage means saving lives. macro-eyes was awarded Global Grand Challenges funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID to design and pilot the first predictive supply chain for vaccines. The goal: maximize childhood vaccination coverage and minimize vaccine wastage by accurately predicting utilization in the month ahead, translated into vaccine deliveries that anticipate the number of children who will arrive at sites to be vaccinated. Existing models for determining appropriate vaccine supply are either static, assuming that tomorrow will look like today or vaccine supply-chains rush to restock depleted supply, working at great cost to address problems that are tragically past. Backwards-facing supply chains do not prepare for the supply needs of the weeks ahead. In work in Tanzania with PATH, the Tanzania Ministry of Health, and district leadership, macro-eyes has demonstrated the ability to improve by 70% on the best model for vaccine forecasting on the market. Put another way, macro-eyes enables the Tanzania Ministry of Health to see into the future (and improve it) with 70% sharper vision. We have since expanded this to approach into a connected health AI network (CHAIN) to include several other key links of the supply chain. How does all this connect to FemTech ? At macro-eyes, women are on both ends of this technology! Something tech has struggled with for a long time! Women are an important part of designing, building and deploying this technology. And the technology is really focused on enabling health services that are delivered and stewarded by women (mothers drive vaccinations) to their patients or children.

Speakers

Anitha Lakshman

Graduate Teaching Assistant, Northeastern University

Ramkumar Hariharan

Head of Applied Artificial Intelligence, macro-eyes

Ram Hariharan is head of applied artificial intelligence at macro-eyes and affiliate professor at Northeastern University. A data scientist, story teller and public speaker, Ram has a long track record of applying state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to effectively tackle... Read More →

Thursday August 13, 2020 1:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
TBA

Deep Sea Technical Tracks, Recording Pending

1:00pm PDT

Navigating Disruption in Healthcare — Supported by Forum Solutions LLC

To say the healthcare industry is complex would be the understatement of the millennium. The inherent constraints and challenges make it a Gordian Knot disruption opportunity for technology innovation. During this session our panel of change catalysts, representing entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and cross-pollinators, will share stories of disruption, successes, and failures in their on-going quest to improve the state of healthcare for the sake of improving lives and communities.

Moderators

Padmaja Vrudhula

Sr. Director R&D – Modern Applications Platform, VMware

Speakers

Tori Lallemont, JD, MPH

General Counsel, 98point6 Inc.

Tori serves as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for 98point6, a company that is reimagining primary care by delivering diagnosis and treatment through private and secure in-app messaging. Tori joined 98point6 in 2015 as employee number five, and has helped it grow to a team... Read More →

Saben Emmons

Senior Director, Core Technology, Seattle Children's

Saben is the Senior Director of Core Technology at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Research Institute; focused on transformative evolution in culture and technology. Saben comes to healthcare with a broad work history in technical leadership across non-profit, government, science... Read More →

Brittany Linton, Ph.D.

Licensed Clinical Psychologist, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Dr. Brittany Linton focuses on helping each person better understand the psychological and health mechanisms at play in their everyday lives by building actionable skills to shape their potential for change. With a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Texas at Austin... Read More →

Thursday August 13, 2020 1:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 3 — Biotech & Healthcare, Recording Available

3:00pm PDT

Job Expo Featuring Bristol-Myers Squibb: Introducing the New Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. At Bristol Myers Squibb, patients are at the center of everything we do. The goal of our cancer research is to increase patients’ quality of life, long-term survival and make cures a possibility. At our Seattle and Bothell, Washington sites, we are driving innovation in immuno-oncology and cell therapy.
Please join us during the Job Fair Meet and Greet to connect with representatives from Human Resources and US Product Marketing. To meet our mission of helping patients to prevail over serious diseases, we are committed to developing a 21st century workforce that is powerfully diverse and broadly inclusive, capable of discovering and developing important new medicines for patients around the world. Learn more and see open positions around the globe at https://www.bms.com/job-seekers.

Speakers

Tylin Van Ausdal

Human Resources Director, BMS

Tylin is an HR director with Bristol Myers Squibb and has a passion for connecting with people and using curiosity to solve problems. She has a future-focused mindset and is determined to help her business partners succeed.

Elizabeth Sorensen

Associate Director of CAR T Franchise Marketing, Bristol-Myers Squibb

Elizabeth is an Associate Director of CAR T Franchise Marketing at BMS in Seattle, Washington. She has a diverse clinical background and got her start in healthcare as a research assistant and then an Advanced Practice Nurse at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.She made... Read More →

Thursday August 13, 2020 3:00pm - 3:30pm PDT
TBA

Job Expo, Recording Available

4:00pm PDT

Using Tech to Close the Last Nautical Mile in Healthcare — Supported by Forum Solutions LLC

Health happens where we live, work, and play; not only within the walls of the hospital or clinic. However, for many of our most vulnerable populations, access to services and support, doctors and hospitals, is limited. For the vitality of our community, we must meet our patients where they are, help them get well, and live well. And, we must maintain these connections consistently, especially during the most challenging of times like the current COVID-19 pandemic. During this session we will discuss the unseen barriers to closing the last mile to neighborhood health services and how technology can help lower these barriers to create healthy and happy communities.

Moderators

Lindsay Harris

Chief Growth Officer, Healthcare Management Administrators

Lindsay leads sales, marketing, client services, and product management for HMA as the Chief Growth Officer. She has been an integral member of the company for over 10 years and owns creation and implementation of the organization’s product roadmap. Her leadership in strategy, innovative... Read More →

Speakers

Blair Washington

Physician Editor, MCG Health

Dr. Blair Washington is a board certified Ob/Gyn with subspecialty certification in Urogynecology & Pelvic Floor Reconstructive Surgery. She is an expert in women's healthcare with a particular interest in minimally invasive surgical techniques including vaginal, laparoscopic and... Read More →

Nora Henrikson

Assistant Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute

Nora Henrikson is a social scientist, epidemiologist and Assistant Investigator at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, WA, and Affiliate Assistant Professor at the University of Washington School of Public Health Department of Health Services. She leads... Read More →

Earl Thomas

RN Rapid Response Team, Harborview Medical Center

Earl Thomas is a rapid response team (RRT) nurse at Harborview Medical Center. Over his 25-year nursing career, he has worked in a wide variety of clinical and procedural settings. Some of the more unique experiences include neurological, cardiac and body angiography, code blue team... Read More →

Thursday August 13, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 3 — Biotech & Healthcare, Recording Available

7:00pm PDT

CRAVE Your Life, OWN Your Vision - Part A

Melody Biringer here, founder and producer of the WiT Regatta.
Several years ago I challenged myself to figure out what my true priorities were. I called it my “100 Things I CRAVE List.”
This is not a shopping “bucket list!” It is a list of what I want to spend my time doing.
After years invested in this project, I developed some strategies for figuring out and clarifying how to create my list. We will discover together the top things you love and care about AND explore what we have in common.

While COVID-19 has generated significant challenges and uncertainty in our daily lives, it has also forced us to slow down and discover what is REALLY important to us.

Join me and Katie Mooney for this Part A- 60 minute taste of my 5 week program and discover your top CRAVINGS. We will meet-up again on the last day (Part B) of the WiT Regatta and check in on your progress. Make sure to sign up for Part B here: https://sched.co/dT8J

Speakers

Melody Biringer

Founder, Women in Tech Regatta

Katie Oertli Mooney

Senior Director, Global Member Advisory Services, Diversity Best Practices

Thursday August 13, 2020 7:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
TBA

Connection Engineer Events, Recording Pending

8:00am PDT

Leading Through Crisis: The Opportunities and Obligations— Supported by Facebook

The word “crisis” has a well-earned negative connotation. When there is a crisis, there is uncertainty, scarcity, danger, difficulty, and the list goes on. Counterintuitively, a crisis can also afford opportunity. Opportunity to try new ways of working, to refocus priorities, to take actions to benefit long term interests that would not be tolerated in a short term-focused marketplace. It is during a crisis that many leaders rise to the top and provide the direction an organization, and its people, need.

During this session you’ll hear from leaders navigating the current crisis about how they are approaching their obligations to stakeholders and how they are identifying potential opportunities.

Moderators

Mamtha Banerjee

Sr Director Tech, Expedia

Mamtha Banerjee, a Tech entrepreneur, is currently Senior Director, Technology at Expedia Group, where she leads core applications and services for an intelligent conversation platform supporting millions of conversations. She is a startup enthusiast, a graduate of TechStars Seattle... Read More →

Speakers

Catherine Gill

Managing Director, Center for Inclusive Computing, Northeastern University - Seattle

Catherine is managing director for Northeastern’s Center for Inclusive Computing, where she oversees strategic partnerships and business development. The Center’s mission is to substantially increase the representation of women undergraduates majoring in computing nationally... Read More →

Chike Farrell

VP Marketing, SkyKick

Chike Farrell is a global marketer and entrepreneur who thrives on building brands and businesses and boosting inclusion for diverse communities at the forefront of the technology and marketing sectors. He has over 20 years of experience with B2B and B2C marketing in sectors including... Read More →

Felicia Williams

Creative Strategist, Creative Shop, Facebook

Felicia Williams is an internationally seasoned creative leader, speaker and technologist. Working across multiple Fortune 500 companies, she brings more than 15 years of production, design and art leadership to game-changing products across the web, gaming, and consumer software... Read More →

Tuesday August 18, 2020 8:00am - 9:30am PDT
TBA

Port 4 — Leadership, Recording Available

11:00am PDT

The Rise of Women in Thought Leadership — Supported by Nordstrom

Thought leaders are the opinion leaders and the go-to people in their field of expertise. They’re trusted sources who move and inspire people with innovative ideas; turn ideas into reality, and show how to replicate their success. Who are the women leaders hugely inspiring men and the world today, and how are they doing it? How can we raise up many more women as thought leaders?

Moderators

Pearly Tang

Founder | Director, Young Innovators

A twelve year veteran of global higher education Pearly has educated 5000+ students from 15+ countries through programs she instructed, created, or directed. Now she spends her days creating innovative curriculums for schools, organizations, and businesses; advising learning institutions... Read More →

Speakers

Harini Gokul

Leader - Customer Solutions, Amazon

Harini Gokul is a global technology leader, an investor and a civic volunteer.She is a cloud industry leader with 20 years of experience driving global business strategy, and customer success for technology companies including Microsoft, AWS, and IBM. Harini has built and led global... Read More →

Tonya Drake

Chancellor and Regional Vice President, Western Governors University

A leader in higher learning, Dr. Tonya Drake has dedicated her career to expanding access to high-quality, career-focused education. Named Chancellor of WGU Washington in 2018, she has guided the nonprofit, online university to new levels of success: WGU Washington now enrolls more... Read More →

Adebimpe “Bimpe” Onafuwa

Director of Engineering, Nordstrom

Bimpe is currently a Director of Engineering at Nordstrom. She is responsible for the technology stack and teams that power Nordstrom's Loyalty, Gift Card, and Marketing programs.Before her role at Nordstrom, Bimpe worked at Microsoft as a Principal Program Manager. Her technology... Read More →

Tuesday August 18, 2020 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 4 — Leadership, Recording Available

1:00pm PDT

Deep Dive on Empathy: How (and Why) to Bring More Compassion to Your Work

We're excited to talk about empathy as a competitive advantage, because, let's face it, the world needs more compassion right now - and you can help by bringing it to work and redefining success! Join our elite panel of leaders, entrepreneurs, and change makers as they share how empathy at work makes you more productive and innovative and how they course-correct projects derailed by misunderstanding. You'll discover actionable ways to put your own compassion to work and flex that empathy muscle for yourself - even if you don't think you're very good at it right now.

Takeaways:

Discover how empathy is a key ingredient in harnessing diversity - and how to put it to work to create a more inclusive, welcoming workplace.
Learn how to build a corporate culture that attracts top talent
Discover actionable ways to flex your empathy muscle as a leader - even if you don’t think this is your strength
Discuss how to balance meaningful work with real profit
Learn how to avoid the “Empathy Veneer” so that you can genuinely walk your talk

Speakers

Maria Ross

Speaker, Author, Strategist, Empathy Advocate, Red Slice LLC

Maria Ross is a speaker, facilitator, author, and empathy advocate who believes cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive. She’s spent decades helping forward-thinking leaders and teams connect and engage through empathy to accelerate growth and impact. Maria... Read More →

Terri Givens

CEO, The Center for Higher Education Leadership

Terri E. Givens is a Public Speaker, Political Scientist and a consultant to educational technology companies and educational institutions. In February of 2019 she founded The Center for Higher Education Leadership, a portal for professional development for higher education administrators... Read More →

Jonni Ressler

CEO & Principal, Eleven 11 Solutions

Connection and curiosity are what drive me in life and business. I love to share my personal and business stories, but more importantly- I have a deep desire to connect with other people at a human level. This has always translated into interesting relationships, and I have learned... Read More →

Dave Cotter

Chief Product Officer, Leafly

Dave Cotter is the Chief Product Officer at Leafly, the most highly trafficked cannabis website in the world. At Leafly he oversees all engineering, product management, UX, data, and IT. Prior to Leafly, Dave was the VP of Digital Products at Nordstrom, where he oversaw N.com, mobile... Read More →

Tuesday August 18, 2020 1:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 4 — Leadership, Recording Available

1:00pm PDT

Lead From Every Chair: You ARE The Leader The World Needs — Supported by Nordstrom

The world desperately needs leaders today. Believe it or not, YOU are a leader, even if you don’t recognize it yet. You don’t need a fancy title or a corner office. You also don’t have to carry the entire world on your shoulders alone. Just be responsible for the world around you. Come to this session to be inspired by the stories from conventional and unconventional leaders and learn how they stepped into their leadership and lived to tell about it.

Moderators

elan Bailey

Managing Director, UpLevel People Partners

Speakers

Stacey Gardella

Director of Engineering- Quality, skykick

Stacey Gardella is the Director of Engineering for Operations at SkyKick – a Seattle based SaaS company, focused on building cloud products that empower IT Service Providers. She leads research and development projects that produce new products, processes, and designs. Prior to... Read More →

Rebecca Yang

Business Advisor, Worldwide Public Sector, State and Local Government and Global Education, Amazon Web Services (AWS)

I build bridges across the tech industry, government, and civil society to solve global challenges. A creative and interdisciplinary systems thinker, I have 13+ years of global experience, including serving as a U.S. diplomat and working on Facebook's Global Trust and Safety Operations... Read More →

Terrell K. Holmes, MSOD

CEO, Consultant, The Good Org

Terrell Holmes is a corporate trainer, leadership coach, and organization development consultant. His mission is to develop responsive and compassionate leaders, resilient employees, and mindful organizations to make value-driven organizations the norm.Terrell has shared his expertise... Read More →

Tuesday August 18, 2020 1:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 4 — Leadership, Recording Available

4:00pm PDT

Embracing Your Inner Wonder Woman — Supported by Highspot

You may be surprised to hear what people just like you are dealing with. Let’s talk about being alone, feeling connected and asking for support. Embrace your own inner Wonder Woman through sharing stories of triumphs, mistakes, and struggles.

Moderators

Jodi Womack

Speaker, writer, hula hooper, Womack Company

I’m bringing self care insights to corporate and military audiences. Sharing the love with folks in highly stressful environments. Love to get out to hike, write and hula hoop. Just moved to Alabama and getting used to being called “ma’am.”

Speakers

Genevieve Sarmiento

Manager, Software Engineering, Highspot

Genevieve is currently a Software Engineering Manager at Highspot where she leads the Engineering Accelerate program that supports early-career engineers in their journey to being next-level developers. She has a decade of experience in software and has worked at both startups and... Read More →

Jolenta Coleman-Bush

Senior Program Manager: Skills for Employability, Microsoft

I have over 15 years of experience across policy and program administration in both the education and workforce sectors. Prior to joining Microsoft, I was a Strategic Advisor for the City of Seattle’s Department of Education and Early Learning where I managed the city's education... Read More →

Tuesday August 18, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 4 — Leadership, Recording Available

4:00pm PDT

How Do You Motivate Your Team? First, Lead Yourself - Supported by Facebook

As Ret. Brigadier General Becky Halstead wrote, “the first person you must lead is you.” As a team leader, your people will adopt your style. What example are you setting? Self-reflection, humility, and continuous learning are necessary to continue to grow and lead successful teams. Join this panel discussion to learn how to continuously deepen your self-awareness, humbly receive feedback, and pass this knowledge on to your teams.

Moderators

Janice Lichtenwaldt

Executive Coach, Virago Coaching

Certified as a Professional Co-Active Coach®, Janice partners with individuals and organizations to focus on emotional intelligence, deepened self-awareness, collaborative leadership, and building authentic confidence.Prior to launching her coaching practice, Janice enjoyed a 25-year... Read More →

Speakers

Andre Player

Vice President, Strategic Alliances, Valorem Reply

Kelly MacLean

Director, Business Process & Technology, Facebook

Kelly MacLean leads Facebook's global Business Process & Technology organization, building the tools, products, and infrastructure for FB business teams and scaled customer support/ sales channels. Prior to this role, she led strategy and go-to-market for Delivery, Auction & Machine-Learning... Read More →

Yvonne Ruke Akpoveta

Change Strategist & Advisor, and Founder, The Change Leadership

Yvonne is a Change Strategist & Advisor, and Change Leadership Advocate with over 20 years of experience helping executives, professionals and organizations to navigate and transition through change, most especially in today’s disruptive environment.She is genuinely passionate about... Read More →

Tuesday August 18, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 4 — Leadership, Recording Available

8:00am PDT

Learning From Setbacks: Turning Failure into Success — Featuring She Says Amsterdam

Turning failure into success is the key to achieving your full potential. The expression "Forward ever, backward never" rolls easily off the tongue, but in reality life isn’t that simple. Setbacks and failures are sometimes painful to experience, hard to let go of, but vital for growth. By failing forward we learn from setbacks, making the necessary adjustments to succeed. After all, failure is not the opposite of success, but the road to it.

At this SheSays x WIT Regatta panel, we will hear about the challenges, triumphs and failures that have shaped these panelists personally and professionally. Lean in and learn from these personal stories - you might just walk away with a revelation yourself.

Speakers

Yeni Joseph

Founding Partner & President, futurefactor

Yeni Joseph currently works as the Dutch Startup Visa facilitator for The Next Web, in collaboration with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl), welcoming ambitious entrepreneurs outside of the EU to build or grow their innovative (tech) company in The Netherlands by providing... Read More →

Deborah Carter

Managing Director, PreparationTech

Deborah Carter is PreparationTech's main interviewer and founder of NewTechKids, an academy In Amsterdam which teaches primary and high school students about technological innovation: computer science, programming, design, and critical thinking about technology. Deborah has combined... Read More →

Kerrie Finch

Founder, FinchFactor

Prior to founding futurefactor (formerly FinchFactor) in 2009, Kerrie Finch was PR Director at Wieden+Kennedy. There she wrangled brands such as Nike and Heineken, Coca-Cola and Electronic Arts. Kerrie has been voted into Adformatie magazine’s top ten industry influencers for the... Read More →

Sangbreeta Moitra

Human Behaviour Expert & TEDx speaker, Transform Exponential

TEDx award-winning Sangbreeta Moitra is a leading expert advisor, trainer and speaker on human behaviour, transforming powerful communication, building strong leadership presence and creating meaningful work relationships. Her trusted clients include Nike, Booking, Shell, Tommy Hilfiger... Read More →

Krys Blackwood

Senior Lead UX Designer & Technical Group Lead,, NASA

Krys has been designing user experiences for 25 years - from software to museum exhibits, office spaces to space missions. She is both a researcher and a designer, and is living proof that every aspect of life benefits from design thinking.After 20 years of hard time in Silicon... Read More →

Wednesday August 19, 2020 8:00am - 9:15am PDT
TBA

Port 5 — Career Acumen

8:00am PDT

Building Your Crew: When is it Time to Bring on Employees & How Do You Find Them? — Supported by Service Now

When you picture a vintage sailing vessel, what do you see? The Captain is there of course, but who else? Her crew! No captain can run the ship alone. She needs help and you might too, but bringing on a crew leads to many questions: When is the right time to bring folks onboard? How do you find the right talent? How do you ensure cultural fit? Join this panel discussion to hear from folks who have been through this and learn from their experience and guidance.

Moderators

Elizabeth Scallon

Head of WeWork Labs, US WEST & LATAM, WeWork

Speakers

Arif Gursel

Hacktivist - Founder - Executive Director, Pan African Center for Empowerment

A serial and social entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience gained from a unique blend of professional experience. He specializes in product development, technology strategy, and business model development equipped to lead initiatives & people toward common goals. He's most... Read More →

Shea Harty

Managing Director, Empower Amsterdam

Carrie Francey

Vice President, Global Alliances, ServiceNow

Carrie Francey is an industry thought leader and C-level Executive leading both Sales and Channel Organizations in the software and services field.Carrie is the Global Vice President at ServiceNow Global Alliances. She and her team are responsible for developing joint sales, developing... Read More →

Wednesday August 19, 2020 8:00am - 9:30am PDT
TBA

Port 5 — Career Acumen, Recording Available

9:30am PDT

Job Expo Featuring Facebook: Now Hiring! Meet Our Team

Facebook is now hiring! Meet some of our team and see what we’re working on now.

Speakers

Traci Rountree

Product Design Sourcer, Facebook

Traci Rountree is a Sourcing Recruiter at Facebook where she pipelines Product Designers for the Family of Apps which includes: Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger. Her primary focus is searching for, engaging and preparing candidates for their first round of interviews at... Read More →

Annette Erdozaincy

Technical Recruiter, Software Engineering, Facebook

Annette Erdozaincy is a Technical Recruiter at Facebook where she hires Full Stack Engineers and Infrastructure Engineers for the Menlo Park and Seattle offices. She’s involved in the full lifecycle of the recruiting process from reaching out, preparing candidates at every stage... Read More →

Olivia Luong

Leadership Recruiter, Facebook

Software Engineering Leadership Recruiter

Wednesday August 19, 2020 9:30am - 10:00am PDT
TBA

Job Expo, Recording Available

10:15am PDT

Job Expo Featuring Nordstrom-Technology: Virtual Meet & Greet

The world is rapidly changing and Nordstrom is adapting to it. We’re a fast-moving fashion company that empowers our people to be innovative, creative and always focused on providing the best service to our customers. Join us to learn more about how Nordstrom Technology continues to move the company forward – both internally and externally. Recruiters and tech experts alike will be available to talk through what it’s like to work at Nordstrom, our focus on Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, as well as highlight open roles and answer any questions.

Speakers

Rosielle Vengua

Senior Security Engineer, Nordstrom

Rosielle Vengua is a Senior Security Engineer at Nordstrom. She is part of a security team that supports all Nordstrom technology and business teams to enable creativity and transformation of its business through technology by providing guidance through requirements and recommendations... Read More →

Ashley Russell

Program Manager, Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging, Nordstrom

Wednesday August 19, 2020 10:15am - 10:45am PDT
TBA

Job Expo, Recording Available

11:00am PDT

Storytelling for Business and Career: Take Your Message to the High Seas!

Storytelling is a powerful tool for professionals. If told strategically, a good story can advance your career, expand your leadership impact and help you build influence in your space. In this empowering session, get inspired by the stories that shaped and influenced this panel of industry experts, then break out into groups to explore ways you can craft a powerful story that'll haul your career or business in the desired direction.

Speakers

Zeynep Tuck

Founder + Lead Consultant, Özlü Creative + Community

Zeynep Tuck is a sucker for a good story. In the sales pits of PR agencies, the boardrooms of the private sector, and the newsrooms of global media outlets, she has strategically crafted stories that have engaged and influenced communities around the world. When brands recognized... Read More →

Elise Ahenkorah

Inclusion Strategist, inclusion FACTOR

Elise Ahenkorah is an award-winning entrepreneur, speaker and inclusion advocate. She is educated in Law & Justice, International Relations, Change Management and is currently pursuing her MBA. She is also an alumni from Cornell University’s coveted diversity and inclusion strategic... Read More →

Lorne Jenkins

Co-Founder and CEO, Mini Money Management

Lorne Jenkins is the Co-Founder and CEO of Mini Money Management, an app that helps parents and teachers educate their children on the importance of financial literacy using everyday experiences. He received his bachelor's degree in economics from Campbell University while running... Read More →

Joanne M. Brathwaite

Lead Strategist | Mid-Career Mentor | Visibility Advocate, Bang! Resume Works

Joanne M. Brathwaite is a writer and editor turned Career Strategist and Visibility Advocate who got bit by the resume-writing bug after a friend asked her to wordsmith his unremarkable, under-performing resume. When his revamped CV got him a callback (and he landed the job), she... Read More →

Wednesday August 19, 2020 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 5 — Career Acumen, Recording Pending

11:00am PDT

What Would Chad Do?™ Negotiate, Navigate & Neutralize Situations — Supported by Facebook

Our collective female experience, backed by research, shows women and men behave differently in the workplace, at women’s expense. Studies show women tend to follow the rules more closely than men, do not push for salary increases at the same rate as men, and underestimate the value of networking to get ahead. During this session learn from experienced leaders on how to negotiate, navigate and neutralize these situations. Let’s take a page out of our male colleagues’ playbook and ask ourselves “#whatwouldchaddo?”

Moderators

Tricia Cleppe

Account Director, davies + dixon

Speakers

Derek Bruce

Director Leadership Development, Signify

Derek has a great background in leadership, people and talent development, consultancy and business communication. This has come from working with market leading global organizations in the Fashion, Financial Services, Media, Retail and Technology industries. His experience of working... Read More →

Paola Mariselli

Product Design Manager, New Product Experimentation, Facebook

Paola Mariselli is a multi-disciplinary designer with 9 years of experience, currently working as Product Design Manager on Facebook’s New Product Experimentation team.While at Facebook, Paola has launched Facebook Live, Songs on Profile, and stand-alone apps. She has also worked... Read More →

Hillary Mickell

Dean and Regional CEO, Northeastern University

Hillary Mickell is the Dean and Regional CEO of Northeastern University. She is an accomplished business leader, tech entrepreneur, angel investor and board member and has led companies from inception to hyper growth. Hillary has held management positions at Microsoft and Yahoo... Read More →

Wednesday August 19, 2020 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 5 — Career Acumen, Recording Available

1:00pm PDT

Job Expo Featuring Highspot: How Interviewing and Hiring Have Shifted in a Virtual World

Our world has changed – and so has hiring. Join Highspot’s Head of Talent Suzanne Salzberg and VP of People Jennifer Palecki for a lively panel discussion on how to evolve interviewing and hiring in the new virtual reality. The Highspot team will share lessons learned and advice for recruiters making the pivot, and tips for job searchers looking to ace their next online interview. From digital white boarding to virtual interview loops, come learn about the do’s and don’ts throughout every step of the remote hiring process.

Speakers

Jennifer Palecki

Vice President, People, Highspot

Jennifer drives the people engine that aligns individual and team capabilities to Highspot’s business objectives and growth. Jennifer’s 15 years of experience building and scaling technology companies through people and programs include HR leadership roles at Skytap, EMC’s specialty... Read More →

Martha Schumann

Principal Front-End Software Engineer, Highspot

Martha is a principal front-end software engineer at Highspot and has been tinkering with web technologies since '94. Previous companies include Uber, Etsy, and I Can Has Cheezburger. Outside of work, she enjoys taking dance classes, playing Civ VI, and roller skating.

Chryselle Simmons

Services Executive, Highspot

As a services executive at Highspot, Chryselle creates extraordinary customer experiences and successful implementations. Prior to Highspot, the majority of her career involved working with a business analytics IBM product, TM1/Planning Analytics – first as a consultant, and then... Read More →

Suzanne Salzberg

Head of Talent, Highspot

Suzanne leads Highspot’s talent and recruiting team. With more than three decades of recruiting experience, she has worked both with Fortune 500 companies and hyper-growth startups as an external recruiter and recruiting consultant. Suzanne is passionate about inspiring people to... Read More →

Caitlin Rollman

Director of Product Management, Highspot

Caitlin Rollman is a director of product management at Highspot. Caitlin began her career as a PM at Microsoft where she expanded an existing product (Word), brought a new product to life (Sway), and built a developer platform (Office Add-Ins). Outside of work, she enjoys rock climbing... Read More →

Anne Turnbull

Head of Execution, Highspot

Anne is the head of execution at Highspot, managing Deal Desk, Sales Ops, and Corporate Program Management. Anne is an accomplished professional with over 15 years of experience in the technology and manufacturing industries, including roles within strategic global business operations... Read More →

Wednesday August 19, 2020 1:00pm - 1:30pm PDT
TBA

Job Expo, Recording Available

1:45pm PDT

Job Expo Featuring SkyKick: Team Culture at SkyKick

Join SkyKick’s Director of HR & Recruiting, Donna Day, and Recruiter, Ashli Weibel, for an inside look at the culture behind the tech as this growing SaaS company. SkyKick is a global provider of cloud automation and management software for IT solution partners. Headquartered in Seattle, with offices in Amsterdam, Sydney, and Tokyo the company has nearly doubled its employee work force in the last two years. Maintaining company culture through rapid growth, and on a global scale, is no small feat – throw in a global pandemic and it’s nearly impossible. Learn how SkyKick continued to maintain its beloved and quirky team culture in the midst of a pandemic and a shift to remote work.

Speakers

Donna Day

Director of HR & Recruiting, skykick

Experienced people leader with strong background in Talent Acquisition, coaching, and relationship building. I have worked in both the high tech and health care industries with companies ranging from start-up to hyper growth and established Fortune 500. I have always had a passion... Read More →

Ashli Weibel

Recruiter, SkyKick

Wednesday August 19, 2020 1:45pm - 2:15pm PDT
TBA

Job Expo, Recording Available

2:30pm PDT

Job Expo Featuring GoDaddy

Wednesday August 19, 2020 2:30pm - 3:00pm PDT
TBA

Job Expo, Recording Available

3:15pm PDT

Job Expo Featuring ServiceNow: Why Low Code is Going to Mint the Next Generation of Female Tech Executives

Low code platforms and workflow automation are rapidly becoming the engine of digital transformation. This session talks about this important trend and steps you should take today to transform your career for the future by building a portfolio of low code work that you can use to accelerate your career growth.

Speakers

Sri Vattikuti

Senior Manager, Software Quality Engineering, ServiceNow Inc

Manisha Arora

Director, Innovation Office, ServiceNow

Jake Adam

Technical Recruiter, ServiceNow

My name is Jake Adam, a Technical Recruiter with Service now focused on Software Engineering. I joined ServiceNow at the beginning of 2020 and have been in Talent Acquisition for over 4 years now. I am passionate about ServiceNow and how we are transforming the digital landscape especially... Read More →

Wednesday August 19, 2020 3:15pm - 3:45pm PDT
TBA

Job Expo

4:00pm PDT

Jump Aboard: How to Successfully Change Careers Midstream — Supported by WGU

What floats your boat early in your career may give you a sinking feeling now. Seasoned professionals will discuss how they navigated successful roles and career changes and the impact it has had on their professional and personal lives.

Moderators

Christine Haskell

Principal, Christine Haskell Consulting

Christine Haskell, PhD champions the need to deeply engage in your work as a form of unique personal expression before you sign up to fail-fast and fail-forward. Her approach emphasizes reflection, awareness and analytical skills as forces for personal and professional mastery and... Read More →

Speakers

Drew Jelani

Software Engineer, Amazon

Drew Jelani is a professional Technologist. Over the last 15 years, he’s made several career pivots to find his ‘ideal’ professional fit. He is currently a Software Engineer at Amazon, but has previously held roles in Program Management, Technical Account Management, along with... Read More →

Jennifer Olson

Marketing Director, A&R Solar

Jen Olson is the marketing director for A&R Solar. Before getting involved in renewable energy, she worked as a newspaper reporter covering everything from state government to parole board hearings to runaway livestock. Jen spent 10 years at Microsoft in various roles and at nonprofits... Read More →

Angela Medlin

Founder, FAAS DESIGN COLLAB

Angela Medlin, Founder of FAAS DESIGN COLLAB (FAAS= Functional Apparel & AccessoriesStudio), is changing the face(s) of the apparel industry. Originally from North Carolina, this multifaceted designer relocated to the west coast where she built a successful career designing and directing... Read More →

Paolo Tosolini

Founder, Tosolini Productions

Paolo Tosolini is the founder of Tosolini Productions, a Seattle based creative studio + innovation lab specialized in business storytelling with emerging media, such as interactive touch screen solutions, 3D Virtual Tours and VR/AR. Before starting his own company, Paolo worked as... Read More →

Wednesday August 19, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 5 — Career Acumen, Recording Available

4:00pm PDT

Navigating Big Tech - Recruiting/Resilience/Reskilling in the Era of COVID — Supported by Facebook

Many knowledge work jobs had a remote component to them prior to the impact of COVID. However, with nearly all companies having distributed, work forces, how are recruiters, hiring managers, and employees navigating this change? What are the impacts to the day-to-day of work? How permanent is this change? When we don’t work in an office, are we able to be more productive? Productivity may not be the only improvement we are seeing in this remote work era. Learn more about this impact on the way work while hearing more about the skills and techniques to succeed in this new environment.

Moderators

Padmaja Vrudhula

Sr. Director R&D – Modern Applications Platform, VMware

Speakers

Traci Rountree

Product Design Sourcer, Facebook

Nate Moch

Vice President, Product Teams, Zillow

Nate Moch is vice president, product teams at Zillow. In this role, he oversees Zillow’s core product development teams including the shopping experience, mobile apps, growth, 3D home, and New Construction teams. He loves creating amazing customer experiences by hiring great people... Read More →

Martie K. Burris

Director of Product Management, Salesforce

Martie Burris is a creative who enjoys building products that improve people’s lives. She specializes in 0 to 100 projects, organizing chaos and empowering product teams. Currently, she's a founding product manager on Work.com, Salesforce's suite of products to tackle Covid-19... Read More →

Wednesday August 19, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 5 — Career Acumen, Recording Available

5:30pm PDT

Job Expo Featuring Valorem Reply: #BeValorem

Meet Valorem Reply – Join our recruitment team and company leaders to learn more about what it's like to work at Valorem Reply. Who we are, what we do and what it means to #BeValorem.

Speakers

Andre Player

Vice President, Strategic Alliances, Valorem Reply

Blair Niederhauser

Senior Consultant, Recruit, Valorem Reply

Blair spent several years in Finance for a Fortune 500 company, but over the last few years has found a passion in Technical Recruiting. She is an expert in building strong, long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with candidates and clients alike to find the perfect opportunities... Read More →

Jeff Wilson

Senior Recruiter - Senior Consultant, Valorem Reply

Jeff is a seasoned Recruiter with broad experience across the private sector including recruitment in client services, information technology, support staff, and senior management. Leveraging his in-depth experience in people management, coaching, networking, public speaking, policy... Read More →

Nick Cloud

Senior Recruiter, Valorem Reply

Nick Cloud is an award-winning senior recruiting professional that has deep experience serving the highly technical community, business professionals in the analyst and project management space, and creatives in the digital marketing and advertising world. From entry level to executive... Read More →

Wednesday August 19, 2020 5:30pm - 6:00pm PDT
TBA

Job Expo, Recording Available

6:00pm PDT

Slow Flow Yoga by The Six

Speakers

Karen Terrado

Owner and Co-Founder, The Six

Wednesday August 19, 2020 6:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
TBA

Connection Engineer Events

6:15pm PDT

Job Expo Featuring Esper: Career Self-Advocacy Lessons Everyone Can Use to Lean In

Everyone’s career can benefit from self-advocacy, even if they’re just beginning to pursue tech or leadership. Two women leaders from a high-growth startup environment share lessons on talent, work-life balance, and career planning that everyone can use.

Speakers

Vineetha Vijayakumar

Head of Product and Program Management, Esper

Vineetha Vijayakumar manages Esper's global Product team and owns Engineering delivery. She started her career at Microsoft, before moving to Dell where she spent a decade building several high-performance teams of innovative engineers for mission critical programs. Vineetha is an... Read More →

Neha Sanjay

Head Of Marketing, Esper

Wednesday August 19, 2020 6:15pm - 6:45pm PDT
TBA

Job Expo, Recording Available

8:00am PDT

Deep Dive: Data Privacy and GDPR — Supported by Northeastern University

Whether we’re aware of it or not, we create data everywhere we go. Data generation is expected to grow continuously, with information becoming more sensitive, and subsequently has more concerns raised about its privacy. The introduction of the GDPR represents the biggest reform to data protection laws in generations. It’s been widely discussed in the media and was expected to largely impact how our personal data is collected and stored, giving us back some control over our data. Since its implementation about a year ago, which aspects have been shown to be successful, and which so far have failed? Is the GDPR sufficient for citizens to regain control over their data and ensure their privacy? What further steps can be taken to ensure a citizen’s privacy while embracing a data-driven economy?

Moderators

Tamara Bonaci

Assistant Teaching Professor, Northeastern University

Speakers

Miriam Russom

Senior Program Manager, Microsoft

Rachael Kim

CEO Founder, Project Untaboo

I am a community builder, entrepreneur and equal opportunity champion with 10 years of global data privacy advisory and information security cross-industry. I founded Project Untaboo with the goal of shifting the existing paradigm in the period care industry through transparency, eco-awareness and research. There is a strong intersection of femtech and data privacy that not only empowers individuals, but also protects them to own their data. I am passionate about... Read More →

Jeffrey Jones

Information Security Manager, Global Corporate Services, Milliman

High-energy, ROI focused technology leader who approaches Information Security and Compliance from a business mindset to drive critical initiatives aligned with business objectives. Expert in assessing risk and engineering policy, plan objectives and solutions to optimize information... Read More →

Thursday August 20, 2020 8:00am - 9:30am PDT
TBA

Port 6 — Tech Mavens, Recording Available

8:00am PDT

Future of Retail: Where Technology & Fashion Intersect — Supported by Nordstrom

Becoming a more technological society increases our potential to engage in the types of experiences that lead to greater creativity. Technology also enables creatives to design and add value without having to make a physical product. There's no denying that the technology world is obsessed with fashion. Amazon, Apple and Google, three of the biggest names in tech, are all trying to carve their own path into the fashion space. All of which is to say, the line between these two industries is blurring.

Speakers

Ambika Singh

CEO, Armoire

Ambika Singh is revolutionizing the way women dress. A graduate of Dartmouth College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School, Singh makes women’s lives a bit easier with her high-tech, high-touch company, Armoire, which offers a true “wardrobe as service... Read More →

Padmaja Vrudhula

Sr. Director R&D – Modern Applications Platform, VMware

Jinny Uppal

Omni-Retail Growth Strategist | Team Builder | Board Member | Author | Speaker

Roz McNulty

Digital Magician and Educator, Fashion Innovation Centre

Roz McNulty did her first illustration of clothing on a colour graphics computer back in 1983. Years later she is doing more advanced fashion illustration and 3D patterns on the computer. Roz works with Clo 3D and Browzwear, teaching CLO 3D in Vancouver Canada.Roz has been a past... Read More →

Thursday August 20, 2020 8:00am - 9:30am PDT
TBA

Port 6 — Tech Mavens, Recording Available

10:00am PDT

Job Expo Featuring Schrödinger

Schrödinger brings together experts from Tech, Pharma, and Materials Development to achieve its mission to improve human health and quality of life. Join us for a panel discussion about the unique career opportunities available at our company!

Speakers

Andrea Browning

Product Manager for Polymers and Soft Matter, Schrodinger

Andrea Browning is the Product Manager for Polymers and Soft Matter at Schrodinger. She is responsible for defining the technology roadmap for polymer and condensed fluid simulation at the company. Prior to joining Schrödinger in 2017, she was a lead research engineer and project... Read More →

Fiona McRobb

Principal Scientist, Drug Discovery, Schrodinger

Fiona McRobb graduated from Monash University, Australia, with a Bachelor of Medicinal Chemistry (Hons) before completing her Ph.D. in 2012. Her Ph.D. encompassed both synthetic and computational approaches to study G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In 2011, she moved to the... Read More →

Ploy Nitipiyaroj

Data Scientist I, Schrödinger

Ploy Nitipiyaroj currently works as a Data Scientist I for the Data Team at Schrödinger. Alongside data curation and analysis, Schrödinger's Data team is constantly developing new tools to streamline our interaction with large quantities of scientific data. This allows the team... Read More →

Caitlin Morris

Strategic Growth Senior Associate, Schrödinger

Caitlin Morris is a Strategic Growth Principal Associate originally hailing from St. Petersburg, Florida. She joined the recruitment team at Schrödinger's headquarters in New York City in 2015 and currently continues her work with them from Los Angeles. In addition to seeking and... Read More →

Mary McCarthy

Principal Associate, Schrodinger

Mary McCarthy is a Principal Associate at Schrödinger, working as the dedicated recruiter for the Drug Discovery Group. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Binghamton University. In her spare time, Mary works to empower women through comedy and runs a small business support syste... Read More →

Thursday August 20, 2020 10:00am - 10:30am PDT
TBA

Job Expo, Recording Available

11:00am PDT

Customer Comes First: How To Leverage AI And Web Technology To Serve

These are extreme times. As people have moved to remote work and self isolation, most commerce has moved online. How can we leverage technology to empower customers and maintain a high degree of personalization and customer service in this new world?

One Customer, Many channels With One Nordstrom
Suguna Devarla
At Nordstrom, we strive to improve the customer experience across brands, and it’s a strategy to change the way we understand customer and how we leverage this knowledge to serve them better. We will discuss the architecture and high-level design flows for cross brand interactions and data flow to analytics platform. Finally, we will provide the outcomes and learnings on building performant API’s.

A Primer on AI Powered Conversational Experiences
Mamtha Banerjee
Walk through the core concepts of conversational experiences and chat bots using a real-world scenario. Understand how a bot interprets a customer’s conversation using intents, entities, training data and Natural Language Understanding (NLU). And how this interpretation of an intent results in invoking an associated action for the customer. This talk also reviews industry applications of chatbots sharing insights and best practices for audiences interested in adopting chatbot solutions for their business domains This session will serve as a primer for those who would like to understand both the basics as well as the applications of chatbots.

Moderators

Sylvie Kadackal

Senior Supportability PM, Microsoft

Speakers

Suguna Devarla

Engineering Manager, Nordstrom

Suguna started her career as an engineer primarily working on back end service development in Java. Slowly she got into architecture role. A few years later, she joined as a manager for building customer orchestration services at Nordstrom. She has tremendous experience working on... Read More →

Mamtha Banerjee

Sr Director Tech, Expedia

Ying Wories

Principal Program Manager, Microsoft

Amber Plumb

Sr. Support Planner, Microsoft

Genevieve Quintin

Senior Supportability Program Manager, Microsoft

Thursday August 20, 2020 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
TBA

Deep Sea Technical Tracks, Recording Available

11:00am PDT

Scaling Up Successfully: How To Grow And Maintain Availability

This session will emphasize techniques that can apply to cloud services - “five nine” availability and how to take advantage of virtual networks. Whether you are a small online service or work for a large tech company, there are things you can do to ensure your service stays online and leverages the latest technology.

The Law of Nines: Designing your Service for High Availability
Sunitha Srivatsa
“Five Nines or 99.999%” has become the popular availability goal for services. Putting into perspective, that’s about 5 minutes or less of service downtime a year. Given the complex intertwined micro-services world we operate in today, how do you go about designing for high availability? In this session, we will discuss some best practices that can push your service towards maximizing its uptime.

Diving into the virtual world of software defined networks
Shefali Garg
Large-scale software defined networking systems are common platforms used for running a variety of applications and maintaining data like web apps, email services, search engine services, etc. This talk covers the concepts of software-defined virtual networks, as well as will dive into the journey of key features and design choices which led to one of the largest networks in the world.

Moderators

Amber Plumb

Sr. Support Planner, Microsoft

Speakers

Sylvie Kadackal

Senior Supportability PM, Microsoft

Sunitha Srivatsa

Software Development Engineer, Amazon

Sunitha Srivatsa has over seven years of experience working at Amazon Web Services (AWS). She is currently a part of AWS' Alexa for Business that brings Amazon's intelligent assistant into the workplace. She has spent the last five years building and operating on services with high... Read More →

Shefali Garg

Software Engineer, Microsoft

I am a software engineer at Microsoft Redmond in Azure Software-Defined Virtual Networks team. I have been working in this space for the last 3 years (out of around 5 years in Microsoft). In Azure, I am working on improving the underlying platform as well as building various customer-facing... Read More →

Ying Wories

Principal Program Manager, Microsoft

Genevieve Quintin

Senior Supportability Program Manager, Microsoft

Thursday August 20, 2020 11:00am - 12:30pm PDT
TBA

Deep Sea Technical Tracks, Recording Available

1:00pm PDT

Deep Water AI and Machine Learning: All Data Scientists Aboard

This technical session brings together three perspectives and the application of machine learning techniques in very different situations. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn about reinforcement learning for personalization, Bayesian techniques applied the the search for missing children, and network graph modeling in pursuit of active users.

Creating Hooking Experiences Using Reinforcement Learning and Responsible AI
Samia Khalid
Netflix, Spotify, Instagram, Xbox – you name it – personalized experiences are what keep users hooked! How do the pros tackle this complex, dynamic problem? In this session, we will first deconstruct personalization and then we will learn how you can integrate it in your scenarios as well. Since with great power comes great responsibility, we will also talk about Responsible AI.

Bayesian Optimal Search Plan Construction to Assist the Search for Missing Child
Yuchao Ma
More than 420,000 entries for missing children were reported to National Crime Information Center each year since 2014. Considering the vast uncertainties in the circumstances surrounding the missing child, scientific methods can be used to systematically evaluate potential scenarios, suggest searching directions and allocate time resources. In this pilot study, we introduce a Bayesian framework to construct an optimal search plan that maximizes the overall probability of detection, to assist the search for missing child. It first identifies a potential search area after information gathering, and then divides it into equal-sized units for prioritization based on a programmable granularity. A prior probability of detection is computed over all search units, and a detection model is developed in line with the optimal search theory. Along with the progress of search action, the posterior probability of finding the missing child is estimated using Bayesian method, and a maximum probability search plan is constructed, which assigns search effort to the unit with the highest posterior probability, and has been proved to be optimal for a given cumulative time investment. For the purpose of validation and visualization, we have developed a web-based application to render the proposed framework on an interactive GIS map. The implementation for algorithms and web-app will be shared for open access.

Moderators

Genevieve Quintin

Senior Supportability Program Manager, Microsoft

Speakers

Sylvie Kadackal

Senior Supportability PM, Microsoft

Samia Khalid

Senior Software Engineer, Microsoft

Samia is a Senior Applied Scientist and AI Engineer at Microsoft. She is working with large-scale distributed systems to create Microsoft's next wave of intelligent experiences in Office 365 and Outlook.Samia is also an impact maker leading various diversity and inclusion efforts... Read More →

Yuchao Ma

Applied Scientist, Amazon

Yuchao Ma is an Applied Scientist in IPC (Inventory Planning and Control) within Amazon’s SCOT (Supply Chain Optimization Technologies) team. Her current work is focused on developing model-based systems to automate and optimize inventory selection for Amazon Retail. She had a doctorate... Read More →

Ying Wories

Principal Program Manager, Microsoft

Amber Plumb

Sr. Support Planner, Microsoft

Thursday August 20, 2020 1:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
TBA

Deep Sea Technical Tracks, Recording Available

1:00pm PDT

Busting The Myth - Why Girls Don't Participate In Stem and How to Cruise Ahead — Supported by Northeastern University

In this session we will be highlighting the experiences of girls and non-binary folx in STEM. We already know the “myth” exists. What is the current landscape for girls in STEM, and what can individuals do to advocate for girls in STEM. Where does this stereotype come from? How can we work to combat this?Moreover what can parents do to help their kids bust this myth.

Speakers

Juan Lozano

TitleInstructional Specialist - CTE, Highline Public Schools

Cathi Rodgveller

CEO and Founder, IGNITE Worldwide

IGNITE’s mission is to create opportunities to spark girls’ excitement about technology careers and inspire them to new possibilities. IGNITE lights them up. Girls in grades 6-12 from all backgrounds interact with professional women in technology careers during the school day... Read More →

Ashley Armand

Academic Advisor, NEU

Ashley Armand is an Academic Advisor at the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University for the Masters in Computer Science-Align Program. Before joining Northeastern, Ashley had over 5+ years in the nonprofit sector working predominately in Immigration Policy and... Read More →

Callista Chen

Senior Director, Programs, Reboot Representation

Thursday August 20, 2020 1:00pm - 2:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 6 — Tech Mavens, Recording Available

4:00pm PDT

Crossing International Waters: Thoughts from Startup Journeys to Global Scale — Supported by Highspot

A growing startup deals with a wide variety of challenges in the category of “how to scale”. What happens when you experience a massively increasing volume of data? How do you make your product accessible in more languages? What do you need to consider when supporting customers in other countries? We will tackle all of these questions, and more! A panel of technical experts in various topics related to scaling will speak to their personal experiences and learnings on these and other questions. Following the panel, join us for a collaborative discussion to explore and share more about our collective ideas and experiences on these topics.

Moderators

Caitlin Duckworth

Associate Program Manager, Engineering Operations, Highspot

Speakers

Kat Perreira

Software Engineer, Highspot

Born and raised in Hawaii, Kat attended Kamehameha Schools where she developed a deep connection to her native Hawaiian culture and a strong interest in science, math and technology. After working for a number of years in undergraduate research, Kat made the decision to switch careers... Read More →

Jonathan Yeong

Senior Software Engineer, Highspot

Jonathan is a Senior Software Engineer at Highspot. Originally from Australia, he graduated from the University of NSW. After graduating, he had a brief stint as an iOS developer until he found Ruby in 2015. He immediately fell in love with Ruby’s inclusive and welcoming community.A... Read More →

Semret Nicodimos

Software Development Engineer I, Remity

Fatima Ijaz

Group Engineering Manager, Microsoft

Fatima is an engineering manager for Visual Studio engineering. She has 15 years of experience developing highly scalable services like Azure compute and Bing Ads. In her current role she is focused on increasing developer productivity and improving dev inner loop experience. She... Read More →

Thursday August 20, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 6 — Tech Mavens, Recording Available

4:00pm PDT

Women in Gaming — Supported by Facebook

The gaming industry is one of the most innovative and impactful industries, and it is growing like crazy. Games are everywhere, and so are people that play games: board games, mobile games, PC and console games, VR experiences, and more. Games transform societies and are often at the forefront of cultural change. Let's talk about how we can remove barriers to get more women and minorities into the industry. Let's discuss how games have changed, become more inclusive, and pushed not only technical boundaries, but also boundaries in how we see and experience the world around us. And let's dive into the opportunities that exists for women interested in developing games, and the skills that can get them there.

Moderators

Padmaja Vrudhula

Sr. Director R&D – Modern Applications Platform, VMware

Speakers

Dedipya Laidlaw

3D Animator, Valorem

Dedipya Laidlaw is a 3D animator/motion designer at Valorem Reply in Seattle. As an artist, her biggest motivator is to bring about an emotional response in people through her work and to build a memorable experience. She has almost a decade of experience working across many platforms... Read More →

Mansi Shah

Software Engineering Manager, Facebook

Jessie Thomas

Xbox Research

I am a perceptual neuroscientist working as a senior design researcher on the Xbox Research team. As a design researcher, I apply my expertise in human cognition and behavior to provide insights across the Xbox game portfolio. My past titles include Halo Wars 2, Killer Instinct, Microsoft... Read More →

Thursday August 20, 2020 4:00pm - 5:30pm PDT
TBA

Port 6 — Tech Mavens, Recording Available

5:45pm PDT

CRAVE Your Life, OWN Your Vision - Part B

Melody Biringer here, founder and producer of the WiT Regatta.

Several years ago I challenged myself to figure out what my true priorities were. I called it my “100 Things I CRAVE List.” This is not a shopping “bucket list!” It is a list of what I want to spend my time doing.

After years invested in this project, I developed some strategies for figuring out and clarifying how to create my list. We will discover together the top things you love and care about AND explore what we have in common.

While COVID-19 has generated significant challenges and uncertainty in our daily lives, it has also forced us to slow down and discover what is REALLY important to us.

Join me and Katie Mooney for Part B - 45 minute taste of my 5 week program to check in on your progress.

Speakers

Melody Biringer

Founder, Women in Tech Regatta

Katie Oertli Mooney

Senior Director, Global Member Advisory Services, Diversity Best Practices

Thursday August 20, 2020 5:45pm - 6:30pm PDT
TBA

Connection Engineer Events, Recording Pending

6:30pm PDT

Closing Celebration

After an energy-filled two weeks of connections, storytelling, mentorship and idea-sharing, it's time to take it all in and close it out with a dance party! This is not the end, but rather the beginning of the next chapter for you as we hope you have gained more connections, mentors and friendships.

EVENT SCHEDULE
Musical Performance by Darla Rae
Recap and Highlights by Kiesha Garrison
Connection Cafe Revisited by Traca Savadogo
Closing comments by Melody Biringer
Dance Party with DJ Baby Van Beezly

*Zoom link will be published day of on this page

Speakers

Connection Engineer Events, Recording Pending