Download the 2018 printed program here
Hover over photos to learn more. Click photos for speaker and session details.
2018 Keynote Speakers:
Schedule at a Glance - all times Pacific
Inclusion in Action Panel
Breakout Session #1
Emerging Leadership Track:
Executive Leadership Track:
Technical Track:
Diversity & Inclusion Track:
VP+ Track (By invitation only)
Breakout Session #2
Emerging Leadership Track:
Executive Leadership Track
Technical Track
Diversity & Inclusion Track
VP+ Track (By invitation only)
Session and speaker details:
10:00-11:00am
Laila Ali, World-Class Athlete, Fitness & Wellness Expert
Laila Ali is a world-class athlete, fitness and wellness expert, TV host, cooking enthusiast, founder of the Laila Ali Lifestyle Brand, and mother of two. The daughter of late beloved global icon and humanitarian, Muhammad Ali, she is a four-time undefeated boxing world champion, whose
stellar record includes 24 wins (21 of which were “knockouts”) and zero losses. Laila is heralded as the most successful female in the historyof women’s boxing. Beginning January of 2017, millions of viewers watched Laila showcase how much of a savvy business “knockout” she is in the boardroom as she competed on the all-new “Celebrity Apprentice.” Laila is also a regular panelist and contributor for the CBS Sports Network’s new all-female sports commentary program “We Need to Talk,” the first of its kind in the history of sports broadcasting. For multiple seasons she hosted
“Everyday Health” airing in national syndication on ABC, in addition to being the previous co-host of “American Gladiators” and former host of “All-In With Laila Ali,” which aired in weekend syndication on CBS. In 2012 when women’s boxing was included in the Olympics for the first time in history. Laila was the first woman in history to provide expert commentary for NBC Sports. For two consecutive years since its conception in 2015, she was selected as host of the first ever televised ESPN Sports Humanitarian Awards.
Laila is a past President of the Women’s Sports Foundation, a non-profit organization that is supported by some of the biggest athletes in the world. Through WST Laila promotes equality for women in the world of professional sports, and she pushes programs that encourage young women to be confident, healthy and strong through sports. She was also a major voice for the 40th anniversary of Title IX which protects women’s rights to be included and treated equally in collegiate sports. She is also a major supporter of charitable organizations such as Feeding America and Peace 4 Kids. She is
also quite proud of the work she has done on behalf of the American Dental Association to create oral health awareness for children.
Laila Ali is a sought after inspirational speaker and author of her life’s story in a dynamic book for young women entitled “Reach!”. Laila studied business management at Santa Monica College. She and her husband, former NFL star Curtis Conway, live in Los Angeles, with their two children, son Curtis Jr., and daughter Sydney.
stellar record includes 24 wins (21 of which were “knockouts”) and zero losses. Laila is heralded as the most successful female in the historyof women’s boxing. Beginning January of 2017, millions of viewers watched Laila showcase how much of a savvy business “knockout” she is in the boardroom as she competed on the all-new “Celebrity Apprentice.” Laila is also a regular panelist and contributor for the CBS Sports Network’s new all-female sports commentary program “We Need to Talk,” the first of its kind in the history of sports broadcasting. For multiple seasons she hosted
“Everyday Health” airing in national syndication on ABC, in addition to being the previous co-host of “American Gladiators” and former host of “All-In With Laila Ali,” which aired in weekend syndication on CBS. In 2012 when women’s boxing was included in the Olympics for the first time in history. Laila was the first woman in history to provide expert commentary for NBC Sports. For two consecutive years since its conception in 2015, she was selected as host of the first ever televised ESPN Sports Humanitarian Awards.
Laila is a past President of the Women’s Sports Foundation, a non-profit organization that is supported by some of the biggest athletes in the world. Through WST Laila promotes equality for women in the world of professional sports, and she pushes programs that encourage young women to be confident, healthy and strong through sports. She was also a major voice for the 40th anniversary of Title IX which protects women’s rights to be included and treated equally in collegiate sports. She is also a major supporter of charitable organizations such as Feeding America and Peace 4 Kids. She is
also quite proud of the work she has done on behalf of the American Dental Association to create oral health awareness for children.
Laila Ali is a sought after inspirational speaker and author of her life’s story in a dynamic book for young women entitled “Reach!”. Laila studied business management at Santa Monica College. She and her husband, former NFL star Curtis Conway, live in Los Angeles, with their two children, son Curtis Jr., and daughter Sydney.
11:00-12:00pm Inclusion in Action Panel
Leading and working with a focus on inclusion can impact employees, teams and companies of all sizes and even our own experience at work. This panel of senior game-changing executives will share their own personal experiences with inclusion or lack thereof, as well as research based insights. Together the panel will offer key insights into what works and what doesn’t work when trying to foster inclusion in our everyday interactions. The panel will also offer tangible ways in which we can all create and foster an inclusive culture in our companies and across the tech industry.
Lori Nishiura Mackenzie
Michelle Angier
Connie Guglielmo
Bask Iyer
Erin Yang
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Moderator: Lori Nishiura Mackenzie
Lori Nishiura Mackenzie is Executive Director of Stanford University's Clayman Institute for Gender Research, and the co-founder of the new Stanford Center for Women’s Leadership. Under her leadership, the Center launched a corporate affiliates program, a learning community of corporations, government agencies and thought leaders working together for change. Lori speaks globally at organizations such as the European Central Bank, the Watermark Conference for Women and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. She publishes her work in outlets including Harvard Business Review and has been cited in the New York Times, the BBC, San Francisco Chronicle, brand eins, etc. Lori was featured as one of the BBC’s 100 Women in 2017, and she was interviewed for the documentary, bias, which will premiere in 2018. She led the work as the founding educational partner for the launch of LeanIn.org and teaches executive education at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Lori brings 20 years of marketing strategy and business management experience from companies including Procter & Gamble, Apple, eBay and PayPal and is a board member for the Women’s Foundation of California. She has an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and a BA in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Michelle Angier Michelle Angier is a seasoned leader and consultant specializing in diversity and inclusion (D&I). Over the past 10+ years, she has applied D&I subject matter expertise and developed a proven track record in talent and culture strategy development and execution. Michelle is currently a Senior Director, Diversity & Inclusion Strategies and Culture Change at Exponential Talent, a boutique D&I consulting firm. Previously, Michelle has led diversity initiatives at Intuit, eBay and Deloitte, where she has been responsible for developing diversity and inclusion strategies, creating data-driven solutions, designing accountability and success metrics, coaching senior executives, facilitating stakeholder alignment, and overseeing employee resource groups. Connie Guglielmo Connie Guglielmo is Editor in Chief of CNET News and is responsible for overseeing the global news team as they cover breaking stories and deliver analysis and features. She's a veteran tech reporter and editor who has worked in and around Silicon Valley for MacWEEK, Wired, Upside, Interactive Week, Bloomberg News and Forbes. Bask Iyer Bask Iyer is the CIO and an Executive Vice President at VMware. He joined VMware in March 2015 and now leads its global information and technology organization, a group that manages critical technology systems supporting the company’s worldwide business operations. In December 2016, Iyer added the responsibility of chief information officer for Dell. A respected industry veteran, Iyer brings more than 25 years of experience in executing and driving change in traditional Fortune 100 manufacturing companies and Silicon Valley-based high technology firms. Prior to joining VMware, Iyer served as senior vice president and chief information officer at Juniper Networks, where he was responsible for the company’s technology and business operations, which included critical services around business transformation, global business services, IT and real estate, and workplace services. Iyer holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Annamalai University in India and a master’s degree in computer science from Florida Institute of Technology. Erin Yang Erin Yang is Vice President of Platform Technology Product and Strategy at Workday. She is responsible for leading Workday’s Cloud Platform strategy, sales, and product management team. Prior to joining Workday in 2011 as its first technology product manager of collaboration, Erin was an analytics engineer at Circle of Moms, the largest and fastest-growing online community for moms, where she oversaw user engagement. Before Circle of Moms, Erin was a consultant at Accenture Technology Labs, where she focused on enterprise collaboration and rich internet applications. Erin holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering, as well as a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University. |
1:00-2:00 Emerging Leadership Track (3 talks - 20 minutes each)
Lead with your Super Power: the Resilience Factor
Session time: 20 minutes
Are you embracing your RESILIENT SUPER POWER to lead yourself and others through the chaos of change? Change is inevitable – but how we emerge on the other side has everything to do with how we manage ourselves and influence others. YOU make the difference in the outcome.
Resilient Women Leaders Know:
• They're MADE for Change: When things need to get done, the resilient woman is the one who will find a way.
• The difference between REACTING and RESPONDING: Reacting is instinctual. Responding is a conscious choice.
• It's THEIR story: they can control the outcome.
Statistics show that women are inherently GREAT leaders!
Your SUPER Power is a leadership differentiator!!!
Pattie Vargas, Principal, The Vargas Group
In 1995, Pattie Vargas encountered a life-changing event that set the course for the rest of her career. What could have resulted in a dead-end, bitter saga of mere survival instead led her on a journey to discover the difference between going under or pushing through!
Pattie is a recognized leader in performance and change management. She is a frequent conference speaker on the topics of change management, personal resilience, team dynamics and issues facing women in the workplace, and entertains and energizes audiences on surviving – and thriving! – during change! Experience across a wide array of industries and disciplines have demonstrated that her approach is applicable wherever change is the order of the day. Her practical message and humorous stories, born of the joys and sorrows that can only come from experience, brings about dramatic improvements in workplace and personal performance.
Pattie holds a Masters degree in Organizational Management, is certified in the use of DISC Behavioral assessments and is Vistage Chair in Sacramento, California. From her technical days she holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from Project Management Institute as well as certification in Total Quality Management and Process Improvement from University of California, San Diego.
Session time: 20 minutes
Are you embracing your RESILIENT SUPER POWER to lead yourself and others through the chaos of change? Change is inevitable – but how we emerge on the other side has everything to do with how we manage ourselves and influence others. YOU make the difference in the outcome.
Resilient Women Leaders Know:
• They're MADE for Change: When things need to get done, the resilient woman is the one who will find a way.
• The difference between REACTING and RESPONDING: Reacting is instinctual. Responding is a conscious choice.
• It's THEIR story: they can control the outcome.
Statistics show that women are inherently GREAT leaders!
Your SUPER Power is a leadership differentiator!!!
Pattie Vargas, Principal, The Vargas Group
In 1995, Pattie Vargas encountered a life-changing event that set the course for the rest of her career. What could have resulted in a dead-end, bitter saga of mere survival instead led her on a journey to discover the difference between going under or pushing through!
Pattie is a recognized leader in performance and change management. She is a frequent conference speaker on the topics of change management, personal resilience, team dynamics and issues facing women in the workplace, and entertains and energizes audiences on surviving – and thriving! – during change! Experience across a wide array of industries and disciplines have demonstrated that her approach is applicable wherever change is the order of the day. Her practical message and humorous stories, born of the joys and sorrows that can only come from experience, brings about dramatic improvements in workplace and personal performance.
Pattie holds a Masters degree in Organizational Management, is certified in the use of DISC Behavioral assessments and is Vistage Chair in Sacramento, California. From her technical days she holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from Project Management Institute as well as certification in Total Quality Management and Process Improvement from University of California, San Diego.
Fast Tracking Your Leadership Career
Session time: 20 minutes
While American women hold 52% of all professional-level jobs, only 20% of them hold executive, senior leadership, and management positions in U.S. high-tech industries. Research has shown that while women are and have a potential to be better leaders than men, they fail to climb the corporate ladder because they think that by just doing great work, they will be promoted to leadership positions. Not True! This session will crack the code for you. We will dive deep into 7 key areas where you can focus right now to pave your road to the leadership positions. The 7 key areas are:
Rashim Mogha, Senior Director, Cloud Infrastructure, Oracle
Rashim Mogha is a dynamic, outcome-driven leader passionate about driving customer success through training and enablement. Her extensive career portfolio consists of prominent companies, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), VMware, Hitachi Data Systems, and NIIT. Rashim is an evangelist for women in technology and has been on speaker panels for organizations, such as the Girl Geek X. In addition, she also participates as a mentor at speed mentoring events in the Bay Area. Her thoughts on leadership, innovation, and diversity and inclusion have appeared in publications like Forbes - see here and here. In her current role as Senior Director, Product Management at Oracle, she leads the strategy for customer enablement through training and certification. Rashim is a published author. She shares her thoughts on technical training and certification strategy, women in technology and mindful leadership via speaking engagements and through Association for Talent Development (ATD). She is passionate about the power of positivity and coaches leaders to recognize, visualize, and actualize success using the power of positivity. She has recently started collaborating with the Mayor of Dublin, California to bring mindful leadership program for children to Tri-valley. Connect with or follow Rashim on LinkedIn or on Twitter. Visit her website.
Session time: 20 minutes
While American women hold 52% of all professional-level jobs, only 20% of them hold executive, senior leadership, and management positions in U.S. high-tech industries. Research has shown that while women are and have a potential to be better leaders than men, they fail to climb the corporate ladder because they think that by just doing great work, they will be promoted to leadership positions. Not True! This session will crack the code for you. We will dive deep into 7 key areas where you can focus right now to pave your road to the leadership positions. The 7 key areas are:
- Identifying your superpower
- Building your brand
- Investing in yourself
- Finding a sponsor
- Practicing mindful leadership
- Making sure you are heard
- Learning how to network
Rashim Mogha, Senior Director, Cloud Infrastructure, Oracle
Rashim Mogha is a dynamic, outcome-driven leader passionate about driving customer success through training and enablement. Her extensive career portfolio consists of prominent companies, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), VMware, Hitachi Data Systems, and NIIT. Rashim is an evangelist for women in technology and has been on speaker panels for organizations, such as the Girl Geek X. In addition, she also participates as a mentor at speed mentoring events in the Bay Area. Her thoughts on leadership, innovation, and diversity and inclusion have appeared in publications like Forbes - see here and here. In her current role as Senior Director, Product Management at Oracle, she leads the strategy for customer enablement through training and certification. Rashim is a published author. She shares her thoughts on technical training and certification strategy, women in technology and mindful leadership via speaking engagements and through Association for Talent Development (ATD). She is passionate about the power of positivity and coaches leaders to recognize, visualize, and actualize success using the power of positivity. She has recently started collaborating with the Mayor of Dublin, California to bring mindful leadership program for children to Tri-valley. Connect with or follow Rashim on LinkedIn or on Twitter. Visit her website.
Stand Up, Stand Out: How to become an advocate for change in the workplace
Session time: 20 minutes
This talk will take its listeners through the experience of transitioning out of college into the non-diverse tech industry as a young African-American woman. It will share personal experiences of dealing with unconscious bias and feelings of failure, and it will outline the steps you need to take in order to overcome them. Moreover, it will emphasize the importance of establishing a competent personal brand early on in your professional career and the ways in which you can become an advocate for change once you have established that brand
Caroline Hubbard, LinkedIn
Caroline Hubbard is an east coast native and attended Harvard University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude in the department of History and Literature. During her time at Harvard, Caroline wrote for the Harvard Crimson and pursued her passion for the performing arts acting in numerous plays and dance performances. She also served as president of AMBLE (Aspiring Minority Business Leaders
and Entrepreneurs), where she facilitated five networking conferences for students across industries including Consulting, Finance, Media and Tech. After Harvard, Caroline moved to San Francisco to join LinkedIn’s Strategy and Analytics program, and currently works on the Consumer Product Growth team, which is responsible for growing the network’s membership platform. She also serves as the Head of External Partnerships for LinkedIn’s Black Inclusion Group, and facilitates partnerships between external organizations to sponsor conferences, networking events and executive roundtables.
Outside of work, Caroline is the founder of a website called Threadbred, which targets young professionals and provides information on how to navigate the work world and establish your professional brand directly out of college. It also encourages readers to pursue meaning in their professional and personal lives through advocacy and giving
back. Caroline is passionate about creating equal opportunity for people of all races and genders in the tech space and desires to make technology more inclusive for people of color and people from underprivileged socio-economic backgrounds.
Session time: 20 minutes
This talk will take its listeners through the experience of transitioning out of college into the non-diverse tech industry as a young African-American woman. It will share personal experiences of dealing with unconscious bias and feelings of failure, and it will outline the steps you need to take in order to overcome them. Moreover, it will emphasize the importance of establishing a competent personal brand early on in your professional career and the ways in which you can become an advocate for change once you have established that brand
Caroline Hubbard, LinkedIn
Caroline Hubbard is an east coast native and attended Harvard University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude in the department of History and Literature. During her time at Harvard, Caroline wrote for the Harvard Crimson and pursued her passion for the performing arts acting in numerous plays and dance performances. She also served as president of AMBLE (Aspiring Minority Business Leaders
and Entrepreneurs), where she facilitated five networking conferences for students across industries including Consulting, Finance, Media and Tech. After Harvard, Caroline moved to San Francisco to join LinkedIn’s Strategy and Analytics program, and currently works on the Consumer Product Growth team, which is responsible for growing the network’s membership platform. She also serves as the Head of External Partnerships for LinkedIn’s Black Inclusion Group, and facilitates partnerships between external organizations to sponsor conferences, networking events and executive roundtables.
Outside of work, Caroline is the founder of a website called Threadbred, which targets young professionals and provides information on how to navigate the work world and establish your professional brand directly out of college. It also encourages readers to pursue meaning in their professional and personal lives through advocacy and giving
back. Caroline is passionate about creating equal opportunity for people of all races and genders in the tech space and desires to make technology more inclusive for people of color and people from underprivileged socio-economic backgrounds.
1:00-2:00 Executive Leadership Track
Note: Linda Lubin Thompson is no longer speaking
The Way We Work: Innovating Better Together
Session time: 1 hour
Beginning with an introduction to the current widely accepted understanding of leadership, and why this is very limiting when it comes to leveraging our own and our team’s leadership capacity, the richness of our diverse ways of seeing the world and our innate drive to create and innovate. Our focus will turn to Total Leadership and will explore:
• What are the origins of our current understanding of leadership and how is that limiting us?
• How do our differences lead us to engage in and approach work?
• What are the two halves of our leadership capacity? How do we leverage the other half to effective double our capacity to engage with and leverage others?
• What are some of the valuable skills and qualities that exist, that we are only peripherally aware of, and how do we engage with and support those?
• How do these combine to enhance not just our leadership but also our innovation capacity?
Jennifer Kenny, Speaker | Mentor | Trainer | Facilitator
Jennifer Kenny speaks, writes and consults on leadership and innovation with a particular focus on the two biggest levers for innovation: diversity and transformation. Jennifer has over 25 years' experience in strategy, leadership development and information technology.
Jennifer has spoken at Stanford University Executive Briefing Program; the University of Colorado’s Profiles in American Enterprise program; the University of Santa Clara, Leavey School of Business, MBA Program. She has presented at the Northern California Human Resources Council Annual Conference; WITI (Women in Technology) Annual Conference; Irish Female Leaders in Silicon Valley, and the Hilton Worldwide, Women’s Leadership Conference in Shanghai.
Jennifer has held senior consulting positions with Accenture, Booz Allen and Gartner, senior executive roles with Wells Fargo and Cisco, and was CIO, SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute) where she led the enterprise’s IT transformation program.
She was awarded the internationally acclaimed IDG DEMO Entrepreneurship Award, won the Intel/University of California Business Plan Award. Jennifer was Chair of the Board of the Global Women's’ Leadership Network and is a Fellow of the Irish Computer Society. Jennifer holds a M.Sc. (Hons.), in Engineering Geology, Imperial College, University of London, a B.Sc.(Hons), in Geology and Chemistry from University College, Dublin.
Here are the handouts for her session if you want to look at them in advance!
Session time: 1 hour
Beginning with an introduction to the current widely accepted understanding of leadership, and why this is very limiting when it comes to leveraging our own and our team’s leadership capacity, the richness of our diverse ways of seeing the world and our innate drive to create and innovate. Our focus will turn to Total Leadership and will explore:
• What are the origins of our current understanding of leadership and how is that limiting us?
• How do our differences lead us to engage in and approach work?
• What are the two halves of our leadership capacity? How do we leverage the other half to effective double our capacity to engage with and leverage others?
• What are some of the valuable skills and qualities that exist, that we are only peripherally aware of, and how do we engage with and support those?
• How do these combine to enhance not just our leadership but also our innovation capacity?
Jennifer Kenny, Speaker | Mentor | Trainer | Facilitator
Jennifer Kenny speaks, writes and consults on leadership and innovation with a particular focus on the two biggest levers for innovation: diversity and transformation. Jennifer has over 25 years' experience in strategy, leadership development and information technology.
Jennifer has spoken at Stanford University Executive Briefing Program; the University of Colorado’s Profiles in American Enterprise program; the University of Santa Clara, Leavey School of Business, MBA Program. She has presented at the Northern California Human Resources Council Annual Conference; WITI (Women in Technology) Annual Conference; Irish Female Leaders in Silicon Valley, and the Hilton Worldwide, Women’s Leadership Conference in Shanghai.
Jennifer has held senior consulting positions with Accenture, Booz Allen and Gartner, senior executive roles with Wells Fargo and Cisco, and was CIO, SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute) where she led the enterprise’s IT transformation program.
She was awarded the internationally acclaimed IDG DEMO Entrepreneurship Award, won the Intel/University of California Business Plan Award. Jennifer was Chair of the Board of the Global Women's’ Leadership Network and is a Fellow of the Irish Computer Society. Jennifer holds a M.Sc. (Hons.), in Engineering Geology, Imperial College, University of London, a B.Sc.(Hons), in Geology and Chemistry from University College, Dublin.
Here are the handouts for her session if you want to look at them in advance!
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1:00-2:00 Technical Track (2 talks - 30 minutes each)
Inclusive and Accessible: Tooling Large Scale Web Apps for the Blind and Visually-impaired
Session time: 30 minutes
The advent of the single page app enables lightning fast UIs that respond and change seamlessly. But how do we make sure that our sleek looking apps don't leave behind our users who have visual and tactile disabilities, and who require assistive technologies to navigate our sites? In 2017, Scribd, a reading and audiobook app with over 100 million visitors a month, confronted these questions head on. Within a year, the Scribd web team transformed its web application to comply with the American Disabilities Act. In doing so, the company not only gave the blind and visually impaired to access an enormous library of documents, books, and audiobooks, but also tapped into unexpected technological and growth opportunities. Soo-Rae is one of the engineers who worked on the project, and she shares the challenges her team faced, as well as the Javascript tools and solutions.
Soo-Rae Hong, Scribd
Soo-Rae is a full-stack software developer who has been working on the Front-End team at Scribd since March 2017. In addition to working on the accessibility project, she has led the technological transition of their stack from Coffeescript to React and served as the lead developer on several key growth and retention projects. Prior to her work at Scribd, she’s worked in both the international non-profit and private sectors. In her spare time, she forages in the woods, practices archery, and dabbles in dozens of other hobbies.
Session time: 30 minutes
The advent of the single page app enables lightning fast UIs that respond and change seamlessly. But how do we make sure that our sleek looking apps don't leave behind our users who have visual and tactile disabilities, and who require assistive technologies to navigate our sites? In 2017, Scribd, a reading and audiobook app with over 100 million visitors a month, confronted these questions head on. Within a year, the Scribd web team transformed its web application to comply with the American Disabilities Act. In doing so, the company not only gave the blind and visually impaired to access an enormous library of documents, books, and audiobooks, but also tapped into unexpected technological and growth opportunities. Soo-Rae is one of the engineers who worked on the project, and she shares the challenges her team faced, as well as the Javascript tools and solutions.
Soo-Rae Hong, Scribd
Soo-Rae is a full-stack software developer who has been working on the Front-End team at Scribd since March 2017. In addition to working on the accessibility project, she has led the technological transition of their stack from Coffeescript to React and served as the lead developer on several key growth and retention projects. Prior to her work at Scribd, she’s worked in both the international non-profit and private sectors. In her spare time, she forages in the woods, practices archery, and dabbles in dozens of other hobbies.
Startup Lessons for Technologists
Session time: 30 minutes
Silicon Valley is always buzzing about the latest startups. There is a terrific amount of hype but what is it really like to start a company from scratch? Are the stories about raising $5M just on a “great idea” for real? Nina will share her personal experience as a deep technologist who went the entrepreneurial route. She will share the unvarnished truth about her experience – the highs and the lows, as well as hard earned lessons and what she wished she knew when she began this journey.
Nina Bhatti
Nina Bhatti is the founder of a mobile technology start-up Kokko Inc. which builds color accuracy solutions for retailers based on computer vision, color calibration and machine learning. Previously, she held leadership positions at Hewlett-Packard in product engineering and as well as research. She is a technologist who is as interested in “what to build” as “how to build it.” While at HP led teams building technology for imaging applications, cloud services, augmented reality, network application performance, web servers, streaming media servers and video conferencing systems.
Nina holds PhD and MS degrees in Computer Science from the University of Arizona and a BA in Computer Science and Pure Mathematics from University of California, Berkeley. She has published over 40 papers and has been 24 granted technology patents.
Session time: 30 minutes
Silicon Valley is always buzzing about the latest startups. There is a terrific amount of hype but what is it really like to start a company from scratch? Are the stories about raising $5M just on a “great idea” for real? Nina will share her personal experience as a deep technologist who went the entrepreneurial route. She will share the unvarnished truth about her experience – the highs and the lows, as well as hard earned lessons and what she wished she knew when she began this journey.
Nina Bhatti
Nina Bhatti is the founder of a mobile technology start-up Kokko Inc. which builds color accuracy solutions for retailers based on computer vision, color calibration and machine learning. Previously, she held leadership positions at Hewlett-Packard in product engineering and as well as research. She is a technologist who is as interested in “what to build” as “how to build it.” While at HP led teams building technology for imaging applications, cloud services, augmented reality, network application performance, web servers, streaming media servers and video conferencing systems.
Nina holds PhD and MS degrees in Computer Science from the University of Arizona and a BA in Computer Science and Pure Mathematics from University of California, Berkeley. She has published over 40 papers and has been 24 granted technology patents.
1:00-2:00 Diversity & Inclusion Track
Design Lab: Creating Inclusive Conversations
People engage in conversations about talent and performance at many stages of employees’ careers, from hiring to promotions, and in everyday situations such as team meetings. While people believe in the idea of meritocracy, bias can creep into evaluations of performance. This interactive workshop is designed to provide participants tools to catch bias in conversations about performance and then design more fair and effective outcomes. While the material can be applied to all aspects of the employee lifecycle, we will start with the hiring process.
The interactive-based workshop emphasizes three learning goals:
People engage in conversations about talent and performance at many stages of employees’ careers, from hiring to promotions, and in everyday situations such as team meetings. While people believe in the idea of meritocracy, bias can creep into evaluations of performance. This interactive workshop is designed to provide participants tools to catch bias in conversations about performance and then design more fair and effective outcomes. While the material can be applied to all aspects of the employee lifecycle, we will start with the hiring process.
The interactive-based workshop emphasizes three learning goals:
- Identifying mechanisms of bias: How does bias creep into conversations about performance?
- Engaging in conversational tools to block bias: How can you design more consistency and clarity into conversations about talent and performance?
- Designing effective and fair conversations: How can you pilot micro-interventions to move conversations toward more inclusive outcomes?
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Lori Nishiura Mackenzie, Executive Director, The Clayman Institute for Gender Research As Executive Director, Lori Nishiura Mackenzie leads the Institute's efforts to build impact with gender research. She is co-founder of the Institute's latest initiative, the Center for the Advancement of Women's Leadership. Mackenzie is creator of the workshops the Language of Leadership and the Dyanmics of Hyper-Effective Teams. She is founder of the online Voice & Influence program aimed at providing people with the skills, information and inspiration to be as effective as possible. This curriculum has been widely viewed through the Clayman Institute's partnership with LeanIn.org, the Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Darden Graduate School of Business and INSEAD. Stacy Blake-Beard, Deloitte Ellen Gabriel Professor of Women and Leadership, and Sr. Faculty Affiliate, Center for Gender in Organizations Stacy Blake-Beard is a Professor of Management at the Simmons School of Business where she teaches Organizational Behavior. She is also Faculty Affiliate at the Center for Gender in Organizations at Simmons and Visiting Faculty at the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, India. Prior to joining Simmons, Dr. Blake-Beard was faculty at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. She has also worked in sales and marketing at Procter & Gamble and in the corporate human resources department at Xerox. Dr. Blake-Beard holds a BS in Psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park and an MA and a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from the University of Michigan. |
1:00-2:00 VP+ Session (By Invitation Only)
Betsy Sutter
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Laila Ali
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Fireside Chat with Laila Ali
Session time: 1 hour
Hosted by Betsy Sutter, Corporate Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer, VMware
Session time: 1 hour
Hosted by Betsy Sutter, Corporate Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer, VMware
2:30-3:30 Emerging Leadership Track
Present with Impact
Session time: 1 hour
As an emerging leader, whether you’re communicating in person or virtually, it’s vital to learn to present yourself and your ideas clearly and confidently. Whether you want to ensure your voice is heard at the table, persuade others to take action, or enhance your brand, this high-energy, practical workshop equips you with tools to take your communication and presentation skills to the next level. Learn how successful women manage anxiety before and during presentations. Discover three powerful secrets to convey confidence non-verbally. Identify actions you can take – immediately and authentically – to increase your personal impact.
Session time: 1 hour
As an emerging leader, whether you’re communicating in person or virtually, it’s vital to learn to present yourself and your ideas clearly and confidently. Whether you want to ensure your voice is heard at the table, persuade others to take action, or enhance your brand, this high-energy, practical workshop equips you with tools to take your communication and presentation skills to the next level. Learn how successful women manage anxiety before and during presentations. Discover three powerful secrets to convey confidence non-verbally. Identify actions you can take – immediately and authentically – to increase your personal impact.
Tina Jackson
Joy Leach
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Tina Jackson, Clarity Consulting
Tina is a dynamic facilitator who lights up a room. As an introvert, Tina shied away from presenting early in her career. Through training, practice, and mentoring, she learned to overcome anxiety and now loves to present! Tina designs and delivers customized workshops on leadership, executive presence, emotional intelligence, and team inclusion. She is co-author of A Practical Guide to Working with Diversity. As a Master Certified Coach with the Hudson Institute, Tina coaches executives and emerging leaders. She works with diverse clients including Fortune 500 companies (3M, Intel), high tech (Netflix, ipsy), professional services (PwC, BRG), and the intelligence community (can’t share!). Joy Leach, Professional Resources Initiatives, Inc. Joy is a renowned speaker and author who has presented to thousands of women leaders around the globe. Joy’s background includes over 20 years speaking to large groups, regularly addressing audiences of over 1,000 women while promoting her first book, Personal Power. She supplements that with deep experience as a Master Certified Coach, providing transformational coaching that enables leaders to fully embody executive presence. She is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School and serves on the faculty of the Hudson Institute of Coaching. She has an impressive client list and currently works with clients in high tech companies such as Netflix, eBay, and Google. |
2:30-3:30 Executive Leadership Track - 2 Speakers
Lessons Learned from Adobe’s Successful Transformation to the Cloud
Session time: 30 minutes
Digital transformation can often seem like a buzzword, but in 2011, Adobe was at a digital transformation crossroads, facing some of the toughest challenges in our 30-year history. We had grown into a multi-billion-dollar business with mature products and growth increasingly limited by the business model that had made us successful -- we needed to make some big changes. We embraced an aggressive shift of moving our core business to a cloud-based subscription service, with “Go big, or go home” as our mantra. This meant revolutionizing the creative process, and it wasn’t obvious to everybody that this was the right thing to do – but we realized there were huge advantages and opportunities to be had. These kinds of changes carry so much risk that many companies never undertake them. In this session, Ashley Still, VP/GM, Adobe Creative Cloud for enterprise and Document Cloud, talks about managing multi-billion dollar businesses at start-up speed, and shares the leadership lessons and risks that have to be taken for a hugely successful company transformation, and why digital transformation should be every company’s core business strategy for the next decade.
Ashley Still, VP/GM, Adobe Document Cloud and Creative Cloud
As Vice President and General Manager of Adobe’s Document Cloud and Creative Cloud enterprise businesses, Ashley Still helped lead the transition of Adobe’s business and products from desktop software to SaaS, driving record-breaking business growth. Ashley and her team are putting design, mobility and artificial intelligence at the center of customer experience to usher in a new era of innovation for Adobe’s diverse customer base – whether it’s e-signing a contract from an airplane, or producing the latest Hollywood film.
Prior to her current role, Ashley was Senior Director of Product & Marketing for Adobe Primetime, an Emmy-award winning Internet television platform used by major media companies such as Comcast, Turner, NBC Sports and more to transform their television experiences.
Ashley was named a “2017 Working Mother of the Year” by Working Mother magazine. She is passionate about empowering women in technology to maximize their potential through one-on-one mentoring and Adobe programs such as the Women’s Leadership Summit, Women’s Executive Shadow Program and Adobe Women & Lunch. Ashley earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and international studies from Yale University and her Master’s degree from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Session time: 30 minutes
Digital transformation can often seem like a buzzword, but in 2011, Adobe was at a digital transformation crossroads, facing some of the toughest challenges in our 30-year history. We had grown into a multi-billion-dollar business with mature products and growth increasingly limited by the business model that had made us successful -- we needed to make some big changes. We embraced an aggressive shift of moving our core business to a cloud-based subscription service, with “Go big, or go home” as our mantra. This meant revolutionizing the creative process, and it wasn’t obvious to everybody that this was the right thing to do – but we realized there were huge advantages and opportunities to be had. These kinds of changes carry so much risk that many companies never undertake them. In this session, Ashley Still, VP/GM, Adobe Creative Cloud for enterprise and Document Cloud, talks about managing multi-billion dollar businesses at start-up speed, and shares the leadership lessons and risks that have to be taken for a hugely successful company transformation, and why digital transformation should be every company’s core business strategy for the next decade.
Ashley Still, VP/GM, Adobe Document Cloud and Creative Cloud
As Vice President and General Manager of Adobe’s Document Cloud and Creative Cloud enterprise businesses, Ashley Still helped lead the transition of Adobe’s business and products from desktop software to SaaS, driving record-breaking business growth. Ashley and her team are putting design, mobility and artificial intelligence at the center of customer experience to usher in a new era of innovation for Adobe’s diverse customer base – whether it’s e-signing a contract from an airplane, or producing the latest Hollywood film.
Prior to her current role, Ashley was Senior Director of Product & Marketing for Adobe Primetime, an Emmy-award winning Internet television platform used by major media companies such as Comcast, Turner, NBC Sports and more to transform their television experiences.
Ashley was named a “2017 Working Mother of the Year” by Working Mother magazine. She is passionate about empowering women in technology to maximize their potential through one-on-one mentoring and Adobe programs such as the Women’s Leadership Summit, Women’s Executive Shadow Program and Adobe Women & Lunch. Ashley earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and international studies from Yale University and her Master’s degree from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Navigating Politics for Impact
Session time: 30 minutes
Achieving impact and meaningful change at the executive level requires that decisions be taken about competing priorities within the company. Often these decisions will challenge historic assumptions. In order to be effective, an executive leader needs to step up beyond her department or function to a broader stage that crosses organizational boundaries within the company. This requires that she bring not only a data-driven analysis of the business, but also a shrewd understanding of politics and ways to effect change.
At this stage of her career, there are no rules and there is no documented process to follow. Rather, she must start with the end game in mind and align to the attainment of long-term goals of the organization. She must find allies among her peers and be prepared for opposition from others.
- What not to do: Achieving change at your expense
- Timing: The teachable moments
- Content: Take a risk that is big enough to be worth it
- Stakeholder support: Socializing change with your peers and the boss
Success will brand her as a future leader of the company. The stakes are high and require that she develop a new gear in navigating corporate politics at the highest level. This skill is not taught in MBA school and is only learned through experience. Deliberate planning combined with inter-personal skill and empathy are the keys to success.
Barbara Adey, President & CEO, The Adey Group
Barbara Adey develops strategies for companies in intensely competitive markets and advises on digital transformation. She has scaled multiple businesses from zero to hundreds of millions in revenues including a new market entry to $3 billion. Barbara has served as a Vice President at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and held executive positions at Cisco in product management, operations, and sales. She has led global organizations, overcome international regulatory challenges, and managed product lines in security and in the Internet of Things (IoT).
Session time: 30 minutes
Achieving impact and meaningful change at the executive level requires that decisions be taken about competing priorities within the company. Often these decisions will challenge historic assumptions. In order to be effective, an executive leader needs to step up beyond her department or function to a broader stage that crosses organizational boundaries within the company. This requires that she bring not only a data-driven analysis of the business, but also a shrewd understanding of politics and ways to effect change.
At this stage of her career, there are no rules and there is no documented process to follow. Rather, she must start with the end game in mind and align to the attainment of long-term goals of the organization. She must find allies among her peers and be prepared for opposition from others.
- What not to do: Achieving change at your expense
- Timing: The teachable moments
- Content: Take a risk that is big enough to be worth it
- Stakeholder support: Socializing change with your peers and the boss
Success will brand her as a future leader of the company. The stakes are high and require that she develop a new gear in navigating corporate politics at the highest level. This skill is not taught in MBA school and is only learned through experience. Deliberate planning combined with inter-personal skill and empathy are the keys to success.
Barbara Adey, President & CEO, The Adey Group
Barbara Adey develops strategies for companies in intensely competitive markets and advises on digital transformation. She has scaled multiple businesses from zero to hundreds of millions in revenues including a new market entry to $3 billion. Barbara has served as a Vice President at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and held executive positions at Cisco in product management, operations, and sales. She has led global organizations, overcome international regulatory challenges, and managed product lines in security and in the Internet of Things (IoT).
2:30-3:30 Technical Track
Women in IT & Cybersecurity Panel: Impacting the Present and the Future
Session time: 1 hour
This panel of seasoned technologists in IT and Cybersecurity will talk about their paths, conventional and unconventional, at various levels and roles, in this increasingly critical area of technology. They will discuss the latest challenges, cool technology and resources available to help all attendees understand how you can enter and advance in this growing field. Bring your questions!
Session time: 1 hour
This panel of seasoned technologists in IT and Cybersecurity will talk about their paths, conventional and unconventional, at various levels and roles, in this increasingly critical area of technology. They will discuss the latest challenges, cool technology and resources available to help all attendees understand how you can enter and advance in this growing field. Bring your questions!
Lisa Jiggetts
Soledad Antelada Toledano
Maria Bisaga
Shannon Leitz
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Moderator: Lisa Jiggetts, Founder & CEO of the Women's Society of Cyberjutsu (WSC)
Lisa Jiggetts is the founder and CEO of the Women's Society of Cyberjutsu (WSC), one of the fastest growing nonprofits dedicated to women in cybersecurity. WSC provides women with the resources and support required to enter and advance as a cybersecurity professional. Her organization uses a holistic approach to develop programs that train women in both the hard technical skills and soft skills, leaving them feeling empowered to succeed. She is most proud to be known as a straight-up but down-to-earth motivator with the women whom she mentors. Lisa and her organization have been profiled in Fortune Magazine, SC Magazine, and Pentest Magazine among others. She is a sought after presenter and has been a guest speaker for numerous conferences and recorded podcasts. Lisa, a service-disabled veteran, began her cyber career in the military where she excelled as an IT security specialist. With over 18 years of Information Technology experience, 15 of which are in cybersecurity, her experience spans risk assessments, penetration testing, vulnerability assessments and policy development across military, government and commercial industries. She holds a variety of technical and management certifications as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from the University of Maryland University College and an MBA. Not just a full time geek with a passion for making a difference, Lisa is also an accomplished artist. Soledad Antelada Toledano, Cybersecurity Engineer, Cyber Security Division, Lawrence Berkeley National National Laboratory, Department of Energy & Founder of GirlsCanHack Soledad is a Cybersecurity Engineer in the Cyber Security Division at LBNL, DOE and Founder of GirlsCanHack, an organization dedicated to engage women in cybersecurity. She is the President of the Women Scientists and engineers Council at Berkeley Lab, WSEC. Her expertise is in penetration testing, looking for vulnerabilities on more than 1000 hosts, confirming, prioritizing and helping resolve them. She also perform threat awareness, network traffic analysis, incident response, forensic analysis, resolution of security incidents as well as promoting a strong security culture through technical consulting at the Lab. The Cybersecurity team guards the Lab against computer break ins. Soledad was named one of the Top 20 Most Influential Latinos in Technology for 2016 by CNET. Twitter @girlscanhack Maria Bisaga, Software Test Engineer, BioFire Diagnostics Maria is a Software Test Engineer at BioFire Diagnostics who works with syndromic testing software that saves people’s lives. Previously, she worked with global teams to design and implement software for the country’s leading automotive data holder. Among her side projects, she is working to spread knowledge to the public about how tech companies collect user data along with ways users can minimize their data footprint online. Maria is passionate about data privacy in the digital age and spends her time pondering about how technology could be used for positive social change. Shannon Lietz, DevSecOps Leader, Intuit Shannon Lietz is an award-winning innovator with over two decades of experience pursuing advanced security defenses and next generation security solutions. Ms. Lietz is currently the DevSecOps Leader for Intuit where she is responsible for setting and driving the company’s security engineering strategy and cloud security support for product innovation. She is passionate about leading the charge for security transformation and change management in large environments, leveraging Agile and Rugged principles. Prior to joining Intuit, Ms. Lietz worked for several fortune 500 companies, most notably Sony and ServiceNow, where she supported mission critical teams engaged in advanced security programs. She has also had previous experience as a serial entrepreneur operating to solve some of the world’s hard problems. Ms. Lietz holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Biological Sciences from Mount St. Mary’s College. She is an avid blogger and evangelist for all things DevSecOps, HackerGirl and Rugged Software. |
2:30-3:30 Diversity & Inclusion Track
Intersectionality in the 21st Century Workplace
Session time: 1 hour
Dr. Abad will present on how intersectionality is a useful tool for people interested in improving diversity initiatives. Her presentation will discuss the concept, how its useful for organizations, and how its lessons can provide a roadmap to create change within the organization.
Melissa V Abad, PhD
Research Associate, Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford University
Melissa V. Abad, PhD is a sociologist at the Center for Women's Leadership at the Clayman Institute. She leads the Center’s intersectional leadership research agenda. Her research examines the career trajectories of women of color in the technology and finance. She also collaborates with the Seeds of Change, a leadership initiative that trains and supports young women in STEM as they transition through high school and college to successful technology careers. Dr. Abad’s scholarly research investigates the challenges women of color face in corporate setting and the tools they develop to work their way up. Current projects include work on: Latina leadership in the U.S,, how organizational practices sustain racial and gender inequality, and how labor market contexts influence the civic engagement of college-educated professionals.
Dr. Abad completed her PhD in sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She also holds an MA from the University of Chicago (Social Sciences) and an undergraduate degree in sociology from Northwestern University.
Session time: 1 hour
Dr. Abad will present on how intersectionality is a useful tool for people interested in improving diversity initiatives. Her presentation will discuss the concept, how its useful for organizations, and how its lessons can provide a roadmap to create change within the organization.
Melissa V Abad, PhD
Research Associate, Clayman Institute for Gender Research, Stanford University
Melissa V. Abad, PhD is a sociologist at the Center for Women's Leadership at the Clayman Institute. She leads the Center’s intersectional leadership research agenda. Her research examines the career trajectories of women of color in the technology and finance. She also collaborates with the Seeds of Change, a leadership initiative that trains and supports young women in STEM as they transition through high school and college to successful technology careers. Dr. Abad’s scholarly research investigates the challenges women of color face in corporate setting and the tools they develop to work their way up. Current projects include work on: Latina leadership in the U.S,, how organizational practices sustain racial and gender inequality, and how labor market contexts influence the civic engagement of college-educated professionals.
Dr. Abad completed her PhD in sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She also holds an MA from the University of Chicago (Social Sciences) and an undergraduate degree in sociology from Northwestern University.
2:30-3:30 VP+ Session (By Invitation Only)
Carin Taylor
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Megan Smith
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Fireside Chat with Megan Smith
Session time: 1 hour
Hosted by Carin Taylor, Chief Diversity Officer, Workday
Session time: 1 hour
Hosted by Carin Taylor, Chief Diversity Officer, Workday
4:00-5:00pm
Megan Smith, 3rd United States Chief Technology Officer, Entrepreneur, Engineer
Megan Smith, 3rd United States Chief Technology Officer, Entrepreneur, Engineer
Megan Smith is an award-winning entrepreneur, engineer, and tech evangelist. As the third U.S. chief technology officer, Smith helped the President and his teams harness the power of technology, data, and innovation to advance the future of our nation and the world. She recruited top tech talent to serve across government and to collaborate on the most pressing issues of the day, from data science, AI and open source, to inclusive economic growth and criminal justice reform. She focused on broad capacity building by co-creating all-hands- on-deck initiatives, including the public-private program TechHire, the Computer Science for All initiative, and the Image of STEM campaign.
Prior to her role as U.S. CTO, Smith served as vice president of new business development at Google, managing early-stage partnerships across the company’s global engineering and product teams. She led acquisitions of Google Earth, Maps, and Picasa, steered the shift of Google.org to include more direct engineering impact, such as Google Crisis Response, and later served on the leadership team of GoogleX, where she co-created SolveForX and Women Techmakers.
As CEO of PlanetOut, Smith was a leader of the online LGBT community in the early days of the Internet. She drove engagement and revenue by partnering closely with top Internet companies, including AOL, Yahoo!, MSN, Netscape, RealNetworks, and others. She also worked as an engineer at General Magic on teams designing early smartphone technologies and at Apple Japan in Tokyo.
Smith is an advisor to the MIT Media Lab, Vital Voices, and the Malala Fund, which she co-founded. Over the years, she has contributed to a wide range of engineering projects, including an award winning bicycle lock, space station construction program, and solar cook stoves. Smith holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT, where she now serves as a life member of the board. She was a member of the MIT student team that designed, built, and raced a solar car 2,000 miles across the Australian outback. She has recently been elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering.
Prior to her role as U.S. CTO, Smith served as vice president of new business development at Google, managing early-stage partnerships across the company’s global engineering and product teams. She led acquisitions of Google Earth, Maps, and Picasa, steered the shift of Google.org to include more direct engineering impact, such as Google Crisis Response, and later served on the leadership team of GoogleX, where she co-created SolveForX and Women Techmakers.
As CEO of PlanetOut, Smith was a leader of the online LGBT community in the early days of the Internet. She drove engagement and revenue by partnering closely with top Internet companies, including AOL, Yahoo!, MSN, Netscape, RealNetworks, and others. She also worked as an engineer at General Magic on teams designing early smartphone technologies and at Apple Japan in Tokyo.
Smith is an advisor to the MIT Media Lab, Vital Voices, and the Malala Fund, which she co-founded. Over the years, she has contributed to a wide range of engineering projects, including an award winning bicycle lock, space station construction program, and solar cook stoves. Smith holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT, where she now serves as a life member of the board. She was a member of the MIT student team that designed, built, and raced a solar car 2,000 miles across the Australian outback. She has recently been elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering.
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