SPRING 2022 | www.womenofcolor.online ATTEND THE FIRST ANNUAL WOMEN TO WATCH SUMMIT WomenMetaverseTop Leading us into the the VP of Messaging Experience Facebook Messenger and Instagram at Meta LOREDANA CRISAN50 WOMEN TO WATCH IN EVERYTHING2022 YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE METAVERSE
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WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 › 5www.womenofcolor.online CONTENTS 07|departments Women on the Move Stay up to date on STEM news and promotions 10| Take Five How do you level up? This is one of the most-asked questions by STEM professionals 14| Women Who Inspire Meet Laura W. Murphy, a civil rights and civil liberties leader, and Laura Murphy & Associates president 17| My Healthy Life What is Boston Scientific doing to close the health gaps? Read all about their efforts here 19| Know Your Worth Do you know the average salaries in some of the top STEM areas? 41| Career Outlook The metaverse is upon us. Here is the information you need for this exciting new area 55| Last Word Understand the metaverse and what it means for your professional life features 22| Mary Spio Is a STEM Visionary Women of Color magazine highlights Spio’s trailblazing career 24| STEM City ExclusiveWomen to Watch Summit The Women to Watch Summit aims to uplift women making a difference in their communities 26| 2022 Top Womento Watch list This exclusive list celebrates 50 women stepping up and making a positive impact in 2022 FOR TODAY’S CAREER WOMEN IN BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY
6 ‹ WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 www.womenofcolor.online PUBLISHER’S PAGE For Today’s Career Women In Technology & Business Career Communications Group’s VOLUME 22 | NUMBER 1 EXECUTIVE OFFICE Tyrone D. Taborn, CEO and Chief Content Officer Jean Hamilton, President and CFO Alex Venetta, Associate Publisher, Manager of Partner Services Eric Price, Vice President, Recruitment and Professional Training EDITORIAL AND Rayondon Kennedy, Managing Editor CONTRIBUTING Lango Deen, Technology Editor EDITORS Ada Romano, Assistant Editor Michael Fletcher, Contributing Editor Gale Horton Gay, Contributing Editor Garland L. Thompson, Contributing Editor Roger Witherspoon, Contributing Editor GRAPHIC DESIGN Beverly Wladkowski, Art Director Bryan Davis, Digital Director Rachael DeVore, Digital Channel Manager Courtney Taborn, Digital Marketing Manager DIGITAL PLATFORM Stacy Bowles, Digital Platform Development Manager DEVELOPMENT Faye Gruzinski, Events Content Manager Nikkie Stevens, Communications and Sourcing Specialist CORPORATE AND Dr. Gwendolyn Boyd, CCG Alumni Committee Chair and ALUMNI RELATIONS President Dr. Eugene DeLoatch, Chairman, BEYA Alumni Group Vice Admiral Walter J. Davis, USN (Ret) National Chair, BEYA Military Alumni Oliver “Bo” Leslie, Retired Program Manager, Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions, The Boeing Company Monica E. Emerson, Women of Color STEM Conference National Chair Matt Bowman, CCG Military Program Manager Stars and Stripes Committee Executive Director/Chief of Staff for VADM Walt Davis, USN (Ret.) Ty Taborn, Esq., Corporate Counsel SALES AND Gwendolyn Bethea, Vice President, Corporate Development MARKETING Kameron Nelson, Account Executive Elyse Holdaway, Account Executive Kenyatta Malloy, Sales Support Assistant Jay Albritton, Social Media Specialist JOBMATCH AND Ashley Turner, University and Professional Relations STUDENT Development Manager DEVELOPMENT Rod Carter, Recruitment Specialist, College Relations PROGRAMS Shelia Richburg, College Coordinator CONFERENCE AND Ana Bertrand, Conference Coordinator EVENTS Jennifer Roberts, Customer Success Manager Brandon Newby, Administrative Assistant Rutherford & Associates, Conference Partner ADVERTISING SALES Career Communications Group, Inc. OFFICE 729 E. Pratt Street, Suite 504 Baltimore, MD 21202 Phone: (410) 244-7101 / Fax: (410) 752-1837 www.womenofcolor.online Like us on @woctechnologyLikefacebook.com/WOCITCFacebook:usonTwitter: Women of Color (ISSN 1937-0555) is a publication for today’s career women in business and technology. Women of Color magazine invites letters to the editor about any topics important to our readership. Article queries and letters should be sent to: CCG – Women of Color magazine, Editorial Department, 729 E. Pratt St., Suite 504, Baltimore, MD 21202. No manuscript will be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Women of Color magazine cannot be responsible for unsolicited art or editorial material. Subscriptions are $13/year. Please write to: CCG – Women of Color magazine, Subscriptions, 729 E. Pratt St., Suite 504, Baltimore, MD 21202. Copyright © 2021 by Career Communications Group Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
Showcasing Women to Watch at WOC DTX During the first quarter of 2007, Women of Color magazine published its maiden spring edition. Coming a decade after Career Communications Group hosted the first Women of Color in Technology Awards, our cover story honored all the technologists of the year as of the date and 100-plus category award winners. We also dedicated that issue to all the girls and women who don’t understand that everything we see, hear, and touch is associated with science and engineering. In the post-pandemic fall of 2021, the annual Women of Color (WOC) Conference returned with its digital twin experience (DTX). The WOC DTX forum offered a new day to award winners, job seekers, and students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Ahead of the conference, the organizers announced that registered attendees would have unlimited access to seminars 365 days a year, providing unparalleled access for both attendees and sponsors. Seminars include influencers in STEM, and topics run from corporate leadership to fintech, healthcare, diversity, equity, and inclusion. All the events feature remarkable women leaders in industry, government, the military, nonprofits, business, and the arts. The stories they share provide informative commentary on communities of practice, career advancement, and creating opportunities for productivity and organizational growth. You can expect the same from participants in the mid-year Women to Watch Summit on WOC DTX’s platform and STEM City USA. They will discuss leadership in creating a sustainable world, trends in the U.S. labor force, what American women earn on the dollar compared to men, and how they are helping almost 20 million students attend college and university and prepare for the world of work. More details inside. Tyrone D. Taborn CEO and Chief Content Officer
Top to bottom: Dr. Patricia E. Bath Supervisor,Brenda(1942-2019)GatesNaval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division Candi Castleberry Singleton Vice President of Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Amazon
Candi Castleberry Singleton, a 2004 winner of the Women of Color Community Service Award, is now vice president of global diversity, equity, and inclusion at Amazon. The company is on a mission to double the number of Black leaders at the company and increase the number of women in senior tech roles by 30 percent. Singleton’s responsibilities will include helping Amazon reach these diversity goals to make Amazon more inclusive for people of all nationalities, races, and Whilegenders.working as director of global inclusion at Sun Microsystems, Singleton created a systems model that helps companies transition from compliance-driven processes led by human resources to integrated activities that shift the responsibility for achieving an inclusive culture to every employee. In 2008, she launched the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for Engagement and Inclusion where she worked on the Dignity & Respect Campaign, which featured 30 tips to help people be mindful of how they treat others. She also served as vice president at Twitter starting in 2017, after a decades-long career at Motorola and Xerox SingletonCorporation.has shown dedication to her Pittsburgh, PA community by serving on the boards of the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics, Pittsburgh Promise, Women and Girls Foundation, Urban League, and volunteering on projects with Athena, Go Red for Women, Women’s Shelter. She is currently a member of the United Way Women Leadership Council and Tocqueville Society, as well as the American Heart Association’s Circle of Red. Brenda Gates won a 2021 Technology Rising Star Award for her work at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division and a well-earned reputation as a leader and mentor. The award comes after 21 years of federal service. “I feel humbled,” Gates said on the Navy website. “I really appreciate this award and I thank Dahlgren for recognizing the work that I’ve done in the past and the work that I continue to do. I give my all in whatever I do, and this makes me want to give even Currentlymore.” serving as the Electromagnetic and Sensor Systems Department deputy chief engineer, Gates manages and tracks the cost, quality, and timeliness of the projects within her department. She uses her years of experience having served as project lead on various efforts across the warfare center to ensure that necessary processes and procedures are in place. Gates continues to be a leader by example serving as the president of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated of (AAAZ) Fredericksburg Chapter. She is also pursuing a master’s degree in systems engineering with a certificate in mission analysis from Old Dominion University.
WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 › 7www.womenofcolor.online
Recently, Bath was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, making her one of the first Black women to achieve this honor. She invented the laserphaco, a device and technique to remove cataracts. In addition to this achievement, she was the first Black woman to complete a residency in ophthalmology at New York University and the first woman to chair an ophthalmology residency program in the United States at Drew-UCLA. After completing her residency, Bath began her career at UCLA, where she became the first woman ophthalmologist on the faculty of its prestigious Jules Stein Eye Institute. She also founded the Ophthalmic Assistant Training Program at UCLA, where graduates worked on blindness prevention.
r. Patricia E. Bath (1942-2019) was president of the American Institute of Blindness when she won the Technical Innovation in Industry Award at the 1997 Women of Color (WOC) in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Conference. With her research, she concluded that Blacks suffer from blindness disproportionately more than other groups and co-founded the American Institute for Prevention of Blindness in 1976 to address these disparities.
WOMEN ON THE move Ada aromano@ccgmag.comRomanoD
Innovation Driven by Inclusion Boeing.com/Careers Boeing is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. Creating the world’s most innovative aerospace products and services requires a diverse and inclusive global team. Join us.
DIVERSE IDEAS INSPIRE INNOVATION
Deborah (pictured) is a senior director for our Toxicology business. Read more about her journey to a career in STEM: https://abbo.tt/37Q9tXi
Learn more at: abbott.com/careers
Connect with us: Abbott is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran status.
At Abbott, diverse ideas, perspectives and expertise allow us to create the life-changing solutions that help people all over the world live healthier lives. A global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life, our portfolio of technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 113,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries and together, we’re changing the face of healthcare.
Of course, that can be easier said than done; growing a business or getting promoted takes hard work, perseverance, and a bit of planning. It also helps to have an advocate like Adrienne Somerville in your corner to offer advice and coaching along the way.
As the CEO of Somerville Consulting Group and mentor to countless young professionals around her, she helps people “level up” their businesses and careers.
Nurture Professional Relationships Somerville stresses the importance of being someone that others want to be around in the workplace. Maintaining a positive outlook and avoiding negativity will help you form stronger relationships with your “Thecolleagues.bestleaders don’t see problems; they see challenges to overcome and opportunities to shine that weren’t there before,” she says. “You can get so consumed with every negative thing, but that gets Sheexhausting.”explains that she constantly monitors her outlook to remain the most effective leader she can be. “Every day before I leave my office, I ask myself if I have contributed more than I’ve criticized,” she says. “That’s one of the ways I maintain a healthy environment in my However, Somerville adds that it’s important to raise your voice about concerns, especially for women, who aren’t as represented in every level of the business work. “Don’t allow [your concerns] to fester,” she says. “To come into work and stay positive, you also have to be true to yourself. Be a game-changer by being honest about your concerns and offering any solutions you have.”
Adrienne Somerville, CEO, Somerville Consulting Group speaks during the Women of Color STEM DTX Conference in October 2021
www.womenofcolor.online Christopher editors@ccgmag.comZacherTAKE FIVE
Not all changes need to be drastic, either, she says; sometimes, small changes can help you find more immediate happiness in your life. “When you try to do too much, it leaves you feeling like you’re not doing anything,” Somerville says. “It’s better to find one thing that you want to be happier with. Figure out what steps you need to take to improve that thing and make that change.”
Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling: Taking Your Career to the Next Level
If you’re not happy, it means that something needs to give you purpose and you don’t feel like you’re constantly growing and maturing in your career, then make some changes today.”
At the most recent Women of Color STEM Conference, Somerville joined us to offer some advice on how to take your career to the next level. Here are some of the tips she gave to the audience: Own Your Journey According to Somerville, the most important task on any professional’s to-do list is to be happy with oneself.
WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 › 11www.womenofcolor.online
Teach Through Leadership One of the best ways to move upward in your career is to help others progress in their careers. Somerville sees this as an informal but crucial part of her job. “I love diamonds in the rough,” she says. “I love working with people that others no longer want to invest in. I love turning them around, showing them I care, and showing them that I’m happy to help them reach their full Shepotential.”recommends every professional take an active mentorship role in their workplace. “Seek out someone to help,” she suggests. “Find someone who you believe can, with a bit of coaching and mentoring, get to a place that they didn’t imagine they could Ultimately,be.” teaching helps you grow as much as it helps the person you teach. “Knowledge sharing is reciprocal,” she says. “I’m always learning things from the people I mentor. Through sharing information, stories, and technical knowledge, we all grow.”
To watch the full seminar, follow this https://youtu.be/MPsinqv7fIwlink:
TAKE FIVE
Adrienne Somerville CEO, Somerville Consulting Group
“I diamondslove in the rough,” Somerville says. “I love working with people that others no longer want to invest in. I love turning them around, showing them I care, and showing them that I’m happy to help them reach their full potential.”
E x p and in g our Insights Inclusive teams improve team performance by up to in environmentshigh-diversity* 30 *Source: Gartner Greater diver sit y is expansive, not res tric tive, and contributes to company grow th and profitabilit y “By sharing more about ourselves, we can help shape the way team members respectfully engage with one another in alignment with Health Catalyst principles.” ht tps://ww w.healthcatalyst.com/company/careers/ConnnectwithHealthCatalyst % Cassie Eddy UX Designer & Researcher Queers+Allies and Shades
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Murphy explained that after the civil rights audit was started in 2018 at Facebook and reports were issued, the company created a civil rights department that looks at its algorithms, hate speech, and more.
Murphy, a former director of the Washington legislative office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said the civil rights community’s demand that companies accused of bias and discrimination undertake analysis of their operations led to the recent proliferation of audits.
U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-ILL) has pressured Twitter executives to conduct a civil rights audit.
“We have made significant progress in the last few years to address painful stories of individuals who had requests to book a listing rejected and other negative experiences because of their race,” said Brian Chesky, Airbnb cofounder and CEO, on the company’s website. “Our purpose is to create belonging, and even one incident is an affront to our values.”
“Banking and investments are a community that is feeling the pressure,” said Murphy, who has conducted civil rights audits of companies such as Airbnb, Inc., and Facebook, Inc., now doing business as Meta Platforms, AInc.civil rights audit, also often referred to as a racial equity audit or civil rights assessment, is an independent, systematic examination of significant civil rights and racial equity issues that may exist in a company and provides a plan of action to address those issues in a thorough, deliberate, timely, and transparent manner.
Civil Rights Audits Put Businesses Under the Spotlight
A conversation with the pioneer of civil rights audits
Not so long ago, the notion that a corporation’s leaders would be involved in a civil rights audit of its business practices and policies might have seemed far-fetched. Now civil rights audits are being approved by some of the nation’s most well-known businesses.
14 ‹ WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 www.womenofcolor.online WOMEN WHO INSPIRE
He added the importance of understanding “fully when discrimination occurs, how unconscious bias is manifested on the platform, and the effectiveness of our policies. You cannot fix bias without measuring it first.”
Murphy noted that U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) is pushing Google to undertake a racial equity audit.
In October, Murphy released “The Rationale for and Key Elements of a Business Civil Rights Audit,” which was endorsed by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, an umbrella group of American civil rights interest groups, and financially supported by The Ford Foundation. It was created to provide a benchmark for others seeking a guide to the process and procedure of conducting audits of this type.
According to Booker’s Senate website, he and colleagues are urging Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, to conduct a racial equity audit and to use the investigation and recommendations “to make the company and its products safer for Black people.”
Through audits, public companies’ shareholders have also pushed organizations to address prejudice and Accordingdiscrimination.toMurphy’s report, “Auditors with civil rights expertise will assess a company’s business policies, practices, products, and services to determine whether and how those components have a discriminatory effect and disparate impact on people historically subject to discrimination. After an initial assessment, the auditors work with the company to issue a public report to provide a blueprint for corrective action and proactive, equitable outcomes and to ensure that structures are in place to implement civil rights changes and prevent future civil rights harms.”
Laura W. Murphy, president of Laura Murphy & Associates, who pioneered the development of civil rights audits, said that significant institutions such as Citibank, State Street Corporation, and BlackRock, Inc. have announced that they are participating in such reviews of their practices and policies.
Asked about the current level of interest in civil rights audits, Murphy said it depends. “I think that there’s definitely an interest on the part of some business sectors and not so much interest in others,” said Murphy. However, she added that the country’s shifting demographics with minority populations growing into majority populations force many companies to be more responsive and address bias and discrimination.
WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 › 15www.womenofcolor.online Gale Horton editors@ccgmag.comGay Laura W. PresidentMurphyofLaura Murphy & Associates Murphy explained that after the civil rights audit was started in 2018 at Facebook and reports were issued, the company created a civil departmentrights that looks at its algorithms, hate speech, and more.
We believe that creating a team and a workplace that values diversity, embraces equity and fosters inclusion is pivotal to promoting innovation and increasing productivity and profitability. Northrop Grumman is a proud sponsor of the Women of Color Technology conference. ngc.com/ diversity We believe...
The Boston Scientific team during the Healthy Doses seminar in STEM City USA, from top left: Deepa Deepa, Dr. Kapil Gupta, Dr. Nilesh Kumar Patel, Camille Chang Gilmore, and Dr. Michael R. Jaff
MY HEALTHY LIFE
peripheral artery disease (PAD)—a circulatory problem in which your legs or arms do not receive enough blood flow to keep up with demand—was the leading cause of total and major amputations. Patel encouraged more people to take part in clinical studies. He acknowledged that trust had been a historical barrier. Still, he said Boston Scientific was doing more to reach diverse neighborhoods and have local study coordinators and nurses to help educate and inform.
Close the Gap is a health equity initiative from Boston Scientific that educates and empowers health care providers to reduce health inequities among underserved populations. The Know Your Health website aims to help people access the quality health care they need to thrive.
Healthy
Lango ldeen@ccgmag.comDeen What
More than 120 million people (nearly 40 percent of the total population) in the United States are obese. Fast food, stress, sleep deprivation, lack of fresh fruit and vegetables, and limited access to safe areas increase the risk of being overweight. Sleep apnea, cancer, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease all have components that come from obesity. Jaff noted that obesity led to complications seen in COVID-19 patients. The medical community knew how common leg artery blockage was before the pandemic, he added, revealing that one study showed that in Philadelphia, PA; Detroit, MI; Miami, FL; and Atlanta, GA,
“Close the Gap isn’t just a feel-good initiative,” said Chang Gilmore. “The aim is to improve outcomes and eradicate inequities.” Boston Scientific is doing to close the gap Doses on STEM City USA
www.womenofcolor.online
Last fall, Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC) held a “Healthy Doses” seminar in the Boston Scientific Auditorium of the La Familia Wellness Center in the Career Communications Group (CCG) metaverse. CCG’s STEM City USA is carrying on the mission of bridging the gap in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. The Healthy Doses seminar topics included diversity in clinical trials, obesity, mental health, and physical fitness. During the virtual discussion, three doctors and BSC’s chief diversity officer also discussed diabetes, chronic pain, and leg artery blockage, a leading cause of complications in the intensive care unit during the Thepandemic.panelfeatured Dr. Nilesh Kumar Patel, vice president of medical affairs for BSC’s neuromodulation division; Dr. Kapil Gupta, a senior director for endoscopy; Dr. Michael R. Jaff, vice president of clinical affairs, innovation, technology, and peripheral interventions; and Camille Chang Gilmore, vice president of human resources and global chief diversity officer. Deepa Deepa, a global supply chain director at BSC, moderated the “Obesityevent.doesn’t affect us all equally,” said Gupta. “Interventions help with weight loss. But it is not enough to say, ‘just do it.’ We have to do it together as a society, with policymakers, community, and family.”
JOIN US AT THE NASA GPU HACKATHON
If you have an application relevant to NASA missions and you’re thinking about porting to GPUs, or if your NASA application is already using GPUs and you could use a helping hand getting to the next level of performance, consider applying to participate in the NASA GPU Hackathon. Whether your code is a traditional HPC centric application or if your goal focuses on AI/ML technologies, please apply!
A GPU hackathon is typically a multi day intensive coding event that puts application teams together with experts in programming and performance. The goal of the event is to port and optimize codes on GPU technologies in a focused, highly collaborative environment. This year we will be offering several pre- hackathon training opportunities; please use the Details and How to Apply link for further information and important deadlines.
NASA GPU HACKATHON 2022IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, NVIDIA, AND THE OPENACC ORGANIZATION WHEN SEPTEMBER 19 & 26 28, 2022 WHERE WHEREVER YOU ARE (VIRTUAL) DETAILS AND HOW TO APPLY https://www.nas.nasa.gov/hackathon
https://www.nasa.gov/mission-equity
WHAT IS A GPU HACKATHON?
1. Software Developer: Software engineers are both creative and practical. They are the imagination behind creating software to complete specific tasks on computer devices. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median software developer salary is about $110,00 annually.
7. Mathematician: Mathematicians analyze data and apply computational techniques to solve problems. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, they make about $93,000 per year.
8. Biomedical Engineer: Biomedical engineers design and create equipment, devices, computer systems, and software for medical needs. Their average yearly salary is $92,620. Always remember to know your worth and never forget to negotiate your salary. Confidence shows the value in your work, and if you don’t see it in yourself, others won’t see it in you
Stepping into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers can be intimidating. While you may have the required knowledge, you may not have the experience yet to land the job. Imposter syndrome can hinder you from earning the salary you deserve.
Ada aromano@ccgmag.comRomano KNOW YOUR WORTH
6. Mechanical engineers develop, design, build, test, and inspect mechanical devices and systems, such as amusement park rides, automobiles, and construction tools. According to Glassdoor, they make about $84,000 annually.
5. Civil Engineer: Civil engineers design and supervise construction projects such as bridges, airports, roads, and railroads. They make about $84,000, according to Indeed.
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8 Most in-demand STEM Jobs Searching for jobs can be stressful, especially if you are fresh out of college. Often, people sell themselves short because they are not aware of the value of their work and experience. It’s difficult entering a new field not knowing much about what you are signing up for.
2. Data scientist: Data scientists oversee the collection, storage, and interpretation of data for businesses and organizations. According to Indeed, the average data scientist makes $124,189 per year.
3. Information Technology Manager: IT managers oversee employees who coordinate and plan activitiescomputer-relatedforacompany or organization. They make about $109,000 annually, according to Glassdoor.
The first step to being fairly compensated for your work is to be educated in the field you are entering. Do your research at home; a quick Google search can go a long way. Learn how much your peers make and how their salary relates to their tenure. Transparency is essential, no matter what field of work you’re in. Here are 10 popular STEM careers and their average salary to get you started:
4. Web Developer: Web development is becoming a popular career choice among young people. Web developers are responsible for building and maintaining websites for companies and organizations. According to Indeed, they make an average of about $67,000 per year.
you! Join the
and Atmospheric Administration SCIENCE. SERVICE. STEWARDSHIP. On the Web: http://www.noaa.gov On Twitter: @NOAA On Facebook: NOAA Women of Color 2021 STEM Awardees
National
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is an agency that enriches life through science Our reach goes from the surface of the sun to the depths of the ocean floor as we work to keep citizens informed of the changing environment around them From daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings, and climate monitoring to fisheries management, coastal restoration and supporting marine commerce, NOAA’s products and services support economic vitality and affect more than one third of America’s gross domestic product NOAA’s dedicated scientists use cutting edge research and high tech instrumentation to provide citizens, planners, emergency managers and other decision makers with reliable information they need when they need NOAA employs some of the world’s top Scientists supported by a vast array of Administrative Support Professionals to accomplish this mission and we welcome NOAA team! Oceanic
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Mary Spio by Gale Horton Gay
Making Waves in Virtual/Augmented Reality
CEEK is described on its website as simulating “the communal experience of attending a live concert, being in a classroom, attending a sporting event, and other ‘money can’t buy’ exclusive experiences with friends from anywhere at any Informallytime.”Spio is described as the 6-year-old company’s chief visionary and product architect. “We are reimagining the world as you know it. Through CEEK VR, we are ushering in a new era in entertainment, learning, and social networking,” states Spio on her company’s website. “We are making exclusive experiences within arm’s reach of everyone no matter where they are on the globe.”
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A graduate of Georgia Tech and Syracuse University with degrees in electrical engineering and computer science, Spio has had a broad range of technical and leadership experiences. Spio, who was born in the U.S. but grew up in Ghana, is a U.S. Air Force veteran. She started her career as a deep space engineer working with companies such as Boeing Digital Cinema, Intelsat, and Aerospace Corp “developing technologies that have changed media and communications,” according to her LinkedIn profile. “Through my ventures I’ve provided technical guidance and content solutions for over 200 radio stations, Microsoft Xbox, Tribune News Company, Coca-Cola, Toyota and many Spiomore.”described part of her professional journey this way: “Every once in a while something comes along with the potential to shift the way we do things. As a digital cinema pioneer at Boeing, I had the rare opportunity to help create the technology that changed the entire movie distribution paradigm working with Lucas Films, 20th Century Fox, and other major studios. From there I pioneered an online video distribution platform that became the de facto standard for many media companies and brands to distribute their content digitally. And now…here we are again building CEEK VR, a blockchain-based streaming platform for creators to monetize their content digitally via virtual reality worlds, gaming consoles, premium live streaming, and other emerging technologies. Our mission is empowering creators with the tools to directly engage their fans in a whole new way.” She encourages “music artists, content creators, 3D/4D fanatics, and virtual reality evangelists to contact me to discuss potential mutual opportunities.” “We try to create an experience that takes people through time and space,” says Spio in a Wired online article. Spio holds several patents in realtime streaming and virtual reality technologies. She is also an accomplished novelist and screenwriter as well as a bestselling author (“It’s Not Rocket Science: 7 Game-Changing Traits for Achieving Uncommon Success”), in which she shares inspirational stories meant to spur readers to move beyond their comfort zones to create impact and Shesignificance.serveson the boards of Oculus VR for Good and Amazon Launchpad. Spio’s work has earned her the YuehYing Hu Memorial National Award for Innovation, the Boeing Outstanding Achievement in Electrical Engineering Award, and Essence magazine’s New Power Generation Award. Spio also landed on NBC News’s 100 History Makers in the Making.
Last year she posted on LinkedIn: “Mom, Dad I made it to Harvard! What an incredible honor to be on the Advisory Board for #HarvardUniversity Center for African AccordingStudies.”toher LinkedIn profile, Spio was appointed by the U.S. Department of State as a speaker on innovation and entrepreneurship in countries such as South Africa, China, Mexico, Ukraine, and Russia.
Left: Mary Spio, founder and CEO of CEEK “We try to create experienceanthattakespeoplethroughtimeandspace.”
For more stories like this, please visit us at womenofcolor.onlinewww.
Mary Spio has a vision of the future—a future increasingly enhanced through virtual and augmented reality. Spio is the founder and CEO of CEEK, an award-winning developer of premium social virtual and augmented reality “Ourexperiences.mission is empowering creators with the tools needed to generate new revenue streams from their artistry digitally,” states the company’s website. “We pride ourselves on helping music artists, athletes, event creators, and makers create exquisite direct-to-fan experiences that delight and drive longterm sustainable engagement within existing and emerging virtual worlds.”
THE WOMEN TO WATCH SUMMIT, TAKING PLACE ON THE WOC DTX PLATFORM, IS A ANDCOMMUNITIESINAWOMENTOCELEBRATIONUPLIFTMAKINGDIFFERENCETHEIRBEYOND.
The Women of Color DTX (WOC DTX) metaverse was created to bring people together virtually and in person. Career Communications Group is dedicated to highlighting and celebrating women in STEM who have accomplished exceptional feats throughout their careers. The Women to Watch Summit, taking place on the WOC DTX platform this year, aims to celebrate women making a difference in their communities.
Women will come together to share their achievements, vulnerabilities, and struggles as minorities in the workforce.
This event is a thank you to the women working hard each day to make positive by Ada Romano
Nikkie Stevens, a communications and sourcing specialist with Career Communications Group (CCG), has put together the first-ever Women to Watch summit on the WOC DTX platform.
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WOMEN WATCH
“I see the summit growing into something that people will watch to get inspired,” Stevens said. “I know the women that attend will give their insight, and if someone hears a similar life story, it will inspire them to thrive.”
As the presence of women in STEM continues to evolve, Women of Color magazine hopes to provide visibility to women who have historically been invisible. Women need to uplift and encourage each other in all endeavors, no matter their differences.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many shifts in people’s way of life, some good and some bad. A team of researchers from a collaborative, multiuniversity project called SciOPS (Scientist Opinion Panel Survey) conducted two surveys to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic affected people in research Theyfields.found that women and earlycareer researchers struggled the most with disruptions and stress during the pandemic. Their 2020 survey found that 34 percent of women scientists reported disruptions due to unexpected childcare responsibilities, compared to 21 percent of men researchers. Early-career researchers also struggled with incidental childcare duties and said this negatively impacted their research efforts. According to the surveys, about 43 percent of assistant professors fell into this category. When combined, 50 percent of respondents, who are female and assistant professors, reported an inability to concentrate on their research efforts, making it difficult to perform essential tasks. Meanwhile, only 29 percent of researchers who are men and 36 percent of senior colleagues reported that childcare activities interfered with their work duties. The obstacles only worsened from 2020 to 2021. Women reported having struggled to maintain relationships at home and with themselves. These setbacks caused women to miss important deadlines and struggle with projects, resulting in less work to show than pre-pandemic levels. This trend is especially noticeable in women who are mothers. While many lines of work have seen a shortage in their workforce, women in research have been leaving the field at higher rates than their men Mentalcolleagues.healthis essential to being a productive collaborator. Still, with obstacles like motherhood, financial issues, and relationship problems, it may seem difficult for a working mother to catch a Stevensbreak.saidshe would like to create a safe space for women to express themselves freely to other women, and this seminar is an opportunity for that vulnerability. She said she sees firsthand the obstacles the pandemic has caused, especially for women of color. “Women are expected to do so much, never mind having to keep up with work duties. I think it’s important to provide spaces for women to talk to each other; we’re much more similar than we think,” Stevens said. When asked what she sees for the future of Women to Watch, Stevens said, “women are taking over.”
CONTRIBUTIONS AND A RECOGNITION
FOR THE
www.womenofcolor.online contributions and a recognition event for the women who deserve praise. “This summit is something I’m extremely passionate about. Of course, I wish I could snap my fingers, and the positive change we want to see in the world would happen, but that’s not the case,” Stevens said. “What I want to accomplish is to bring serious issues to light while providing validation and a safe space for women of all walks of life.”
TO MAKE
Stevens said the second seminar would focus on what workers and companies can do to provide a better work “Weenvironment.willdiscuss what we want for the next generation. I want to talk about the nitty-gritty that flows into the change we want to see for the future,” Stevens said.
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The summit will include three seminars on relatable topics such as worker burnout, how to approach differences in the workplace, and how to manage sexism and racism. It will allow women to share their experiences balancing and filling several roles in their families and work.
To experience WOC DTX visit the platform https://wocstemdtx.com/here: THIS EVENT IS A THANK YOU TO THE WOMEN WORKING HARD EACH DAY POSITIVE EVENT WOMEN WHO DESERVE PRAISE.
26 ‹ WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 www.womenofcolor.online careersHerestrengthareCareerWATCHWOMEN50IN2022TOCommunicationsGroupcelebrateswomenfromallwalksoflifewhomakingapositiveimpactintheSTEMworld.Thesewomenembodyandresilienceineverythingtheydo,professionallyandpersonally.aresomewomenyoushouldbewatchingastheythriveintheirandraisethebarforwhatitmeanstobeawomaninSTEM.byAdaRomano
AMALIA AVILES Battery & Solar Array Technical Lead Engineer The Boeing Company As the senior electrical engineer for Spacecraft Battery and Solar Array, Amalia Aviles has had a tremendous impact on The Boeing Company for the past 14 years. She is andEngineeringandbusinessSpacethroughoutrecognizedtheandLaunchunittheNASASafetyCenter for her extensive knowledge of electrical power systems, battery, and solar array for satellite and space. Aviles is a technical lead engineer, an influential group of top technical leaders at Boeing. She has also been named Satellite Systems Employee of the Month, successfully graduated from the Emerging Leaders Development Program, and was featured for her Boeing volunteering activities.
ANDREA DOAKES Senior Manager and Black Belt Abbott Laboratories In the leadingresponsibleprogramofbecameAndreaquarterfourthof2019,Doakesamemberateamofmanagersforanddriving margin improvement with one of Abbott’s divisions. In the team’s first year, they enabled the division to achieve more than $100 million in savings. Doakes was a collaborative member of the team from day one, setting the bar with her professionalism, objectivity, and creativity. She is a certified six sigma black belt and uses her training to solve problems both large and small. She has supported the transfer of product manufacturing between suppliers, or between Abbott sites and suppliers, allowing Abbott to maintain or improve quality, supply continuity, and cost. Doakes has applied her six sigma training to the execution of new product rollouts, defining the critical elements to ensure smooth product launches.
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roleinspectionsuccessimpactedhavedeterminationandsignificantlyherinthespecialistwhileleadingproduction of the COVID-19 vaccine. Throughout her time in this position, Aranda also was selected to become a production lead for the inspection lines. This experience challenged her to step into a leadership role. After recently accepting an offer from Pfizer, it is evident that she has gone above and beyond in these opportunities. Aranda fully embodies what a leader should be.
CAROL NGUYEN Senior Technical Fellow
The Boeing Company Carol Nguyen has a processengineeringformultiplefromengineeringchemicaldegreeUCLAandcertificatessystemanddevelopment programs. Nguyen is a senior technical fellow at The Boeing Company. In this role, she is responsible for the enterprise contamination control and foreign object debris (FOD)-free products design practice, implementation of the model-based system engineering process, and has technical leadership for multiple BDS commercial and proprietary programs across multiple Boeing sites. Her technical area is very unique and applicable across multi-engineering disciplines where she is recognized and sought-after in the aerospace industry as a respected subject matter expert in surface contamination and analysis, FOD mitigation, prevention and avoidance processes, and environmental and contamination control technologies.
HUYEN GALICIA Senior Lead Design Program Manager AT&T Huyen Galicia joined AT&T in 2016 as a member of the complexprogram.ManagementIdentityThisproject has changed how customers interact with AT&T products and services. Recently, she was the lead for a program that changes how customers can schedule and check in to appointments at AT&T retail stores, and recently launched a new profile experience for mobility customers. Galicia’s contributions have greatly improved how AT&T interacts with customers. IRMA OLGUIN CEO and Co-founder Bitwise Industries Irma Olguin Jr., alongside her business partner, created upliftsoleaIndustriesBitwisein2013,companywhosemissionistothedisadvantaged populations by way of the technology industry. Bitwise provides individuals the skills to access a career in tech, while also building a place for community, innovation, and inclusion. Bitwise has been able to serve over 5,000 students, with over 80 percent going on to find gainful technical employment. The majority of these new tech workers are women and people of color who have historically been excluded from the tech industry. Olguin is paving the way for many women in the technology industry.
ALEJANDRA ARANDA Production Lead Aerotek Alejandra Aranda’s worth ethic
ROSEMARY PHAM Boeing Research and Technology Lead The Boeing Company
Rosemary Pham has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of
28 ‹ WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 www.womenofcolor.online Colorado and a M.S. in BoeingPhamSoutherntheengineeringarchitectingsystemandfromUniversityofCalifornia.isadynamicResearch&Technology leader for composite fabrication supporting 777X Composite Wing Center at The Boeing Company. In this role, she is in the top quartile for performance in the organization and is responsible for complex composite fabrication projects with key performance indicators that resulted in a $64 million return on investment. Pham thrives every day as a servant leader with a passion for developing people, teams, and organizational cultures. As a firstgeneration engineering technology leader, Pham earned the Boeing 2020 Innovation Award for her leadership in replicating technology across enterprise sites. She has received three U.S patents and two Meritorious Invention Awards as an engineer and as a leader. She has also received awards from BWIL (Boeing Women in Leadership) and Boeing Diversity & Inclusion. She and her team were also nominated for team of the year and in Society of Women Engineers.
across the Maritime Undersea business within BDS Autonomous Systems. Willis has been in her current role for five months and has over 16 years of industry experience. She has also been involved in employee development programs, such as the Engineering Leadership Development Program, the Career Action Plan, and the University Relations Engineering Campus Team Initiative. She also spends time mentoring junior engineers and aspiring company leaders.
DELIA PEREZ Lead Staff Systems Engineer Continental Automotive Systems, Inc.
frominVegasoffrominreceivedStewartherB.A.communicationtheUniversityNevada,LasandherM.A.communicationTexasA&MUniversity, College Station. Currently, she is a senior manager in global equity, diversity, and inclusion at The Boeing Company. In this role, she leads a team that designs, implements, and drives the integration of diversity and inclusion strategies for Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security business. She has been in her role for almost four years and has had the opportunity to lead key projects including the strategic implementation of the company’s first racial equity strategy and first diversity and inclusion public report. As a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, Stewart has served as the Delta GEMS Teen Enrichment Program advisor, helping young women of color learn about the skills needed to pursue higher education. She has also participated in other community initiatives such as the Charleston Illumination project, serving as facilitator of groundbreaking dialogue between citizens and law enforcement. When she is not serving in the community, she is traveling the world and encouraging others to explore new adventures.
GISELLE STEWART Senior Manager, Global Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion The Boeing Company Giselle
NNEKA BREAUX Product Chemistry Leader Corteva Agriscience In her role as U.S. regulatory leader, Nneka Breaux was instrumental in delivering the registration of a revolutionary new herbicide. Rinksor provides growers with both efficacious and sustainable solutions. Through Breaux’s drive and innovation, Rinksor achieved U.S. EPA Reduced Risk Designation, Tolerance Exemption, and won the Presidential Green Chemistry Award. Breaux orchestrated the delivery of the 50,000plus page regulatory package that was an accumulation of years of scientific studies and assessments. Her novel approach to the Rinksor submission set the bar for future regulatory submissions not just within Corteva Agriscience, but across the industry.
Delia Perez earned her Bachelor of CommunicationsElectronicsScience,Engineeringand in Mexico City, Mexico, and began her career as a hardware design engineer at Delphi Automotive Systems. In this role, she supported manufacturing plants in England and Hungary through design, testing, and validation. She quickly moved to a new Delphi group into a new role with more responsibilities, including design and implementation of body computers for a major OEM in North America. Only a few short years later, her reputation for being able to work well with global teams and international customers brought her to work in the U.S. as a field application engineer at Microchip Technology in El Paso, TX. During this time, Perez was given opportunities to be a teacher assistant at an Arizona conference and a teacher at conferences in Mexico and Argentina.
CHRISTINA WILLIS Maritime Undersea Capability Senior Manager The Boeing Company Christina Willis is a senior executionforisInBoeingmanagersoftwareatTheCompany.thisrole,sheresponsiblesoftwareandpersonnel
RADHA WEILER Operations Leader Corteva Agriscience During her career, Radha Weiler has been integral to the success of many businesscritical initiatives on the Corteva (heritage Dow Agrosciences) Michigan Operations manufacturing site. She has increased
KANTHI NANDIMANDALAMPRIYA Senior Software Test Lead General Motors Kanthi NandimandalamPriya is a senior software test lead in the General Motors Global Brands Sales and Marketing and Customer Experience (GSMC) organization. She is a native of Bengaluru, India. She earned a bachelor’s degree in electronic and communication engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University in Karnataka, India, before relocating to the United States. Her career has included positions with companies such as Cisco Systems and American Traffic Solutions. She has had multiple roles, including software developer, data analyst, database administrator, and quality lead. She has led large-scale projects and managed offshore quality teams. Nandimandalam has a history of educating colleagues in various roles on approaching information technology initiatives from a quality perspective. In 2014, GM was seeking a tenacious, detail-oriented, hard worker to lead insourcing projects. Nandimandalam was brought in as a software test lead. She has used her extensive experience gained during her 15-plus year career to identify process improvement opportunities and initiate quality strategies that reduce the length of project lifecycles and ensure the successful delivery of business-critical products. Nandimandalam has had extensive opportunities to work with third-party companies, and she takes advantage of her experience while driving quality efforts on GM insourcing projects.
includingseveralsheDuringengineering.inwhereTechnology,shemajoredelectricalcollege,internedatcompaniestheUnited
NICOLE KEATON HART CIO/Executive in Residence Georgia State University Nicole Keaton Hart is recognized as a businesstodigitalstrategisttransformationdigitalleveragingplatformscreatenewcapabilities, revenue streams, and high-touch customer experiences, and enable market growth for companies from fintech startups to Fortune 500 organizations. Keaton Hart has a deep
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www.womenofcolor.online production rates in a sold-out facility with minimal capital investment. Weiler has also been onrepresentativemanufacturingthelargemultimillion-dollar projects. Her technical knowledge and problemsolving skills eliminated millions of dollars of expenses that would have been required for completion of those projects. Currently, Weiler works in the Herbicides Formulations and Packaging facility. She is a key resource for all levels of employees—operating technicians, fellow engineers, leaders, and business associates. While in this facility, she has supported successful launches of new products, managed complex production schedules, managed manufacturing budgets, and led a group of diverse operating technicians. Additionally, she is the process safety focal point and facility resource for hazard evaluations and process safety reviews. Weiler is a key technical resource for the manufacturing facility and the “go-to” person for questions. On top of her technical accomplishments, she has been active in and had leadership roles in Corteva’s Business Resources Groups, supporting inclusion and diversity. She has also been a mentor to many of the new engineers that have worked within the facility. Weiler provides expertise not only in manufacturing and technology, but also in leadership and culture development.
CHERYL HOLIFIELD Senior Scrum Master General Motors In 2003, Cheryl Holifield graduated from Morris Brown College, which she attended on a full academic scholarship majoring in computer science, and she also graduated from Georgia Institute of
States Department of Transportation, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, and General Motors (GM). At GM, she did a comparative analysis of two defect tracking systems. After college, Holifield became a programmer analyst for AT&T Government Solutions, Inc. At AT&T, she developed and maintained web applications and web services in the Civilian Manpower Systems Program. She received an AT&T Achiever’s Club Award in 2005 for her significant contribution to AT&T business sale success in 2004. In 2008, she moved on to Booz Allen Hamilton as a senior consultant. While there, she received three Booz Allen Hamilton Performance Awards for outstanding technical leadership and teamwork in the creation of several strategic dashboards for various governmental agencies such as the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), Biometrics Identity Management Agency (BIMA), and the Secretary of the Air Force Acquisition.
30 ‹ WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 www.womenofcolor.online background in cybersecurity, enterprise strategy, large complex system development, and disruptive technology integration. She brings to service a keen understanding of risk oversight and the ability to recognize sound risk management strategies. Keaton Hart can see where technology risk can erode an organization’s ability to meet business objectives. Most notably, in a mere six months, she took a situation where there were over 1,000 unresolved audit findings and guided the Fortune 500 firm in a heavily regulated industry to take a strategic rather than tactical approach in developing corporate risk management strategies. The outcome was regulatory approval of the strategy, which when implemented, successfully reduced risk allowing the firm to maintain its conservative public brand recognition and preserve shareholder value.
ASHLEY JONES Lead Engineer The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company Ashley Jones has been the lead engineer in the BeforesincegroupMechanicsEngineering(EM)atGoodyearApril2019.that,sheworked extensively on tread and cavity development for commercial tires at Goodyear. Jones graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Cincinnati in 2009. In her time in EM, Jones has proven herself capable of exceptional support, coaching, and leadership to the whole team through her technical knowledge, positive attitude, and strong core competencies. While she demonstrates these attributes in all she does, there have been several process improvement activities she has championed that really highlight her abilities. One example of her support of team members and leadership can be seen through her efforts to develop a work-in-process dashboard. This tool has allowed her to quickly manage request timing, available resources, and workload leveling. This effort was one she undertook herself and utilized the input from other associates with experience in visual planning systems. To support this effort, she’s also implemented bi-weekly check-ins with all associates to get feedback, gauge workload, and provide technical guidance as necessary. Because of her extensive involvement in this area, she has created a great deal of respect inside and outside of EM as the point of contact for any EM-related request.
DELINAH HAILEY Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Team Lead Health Catalyst In Delinah Hailey’s one year of service with our company, contributionsher have been significant and include, but are not limited to: Founding Shades, the company’s first affinity group for team members of color; supporting the chief analytics and data science officer’s efforts to design meaningful marketing materials for the client introduction of Health Catalyst’s AI-driven inaugural health equity assessment and guidance solution to overcome disparities in care; creating and delivering impactful senior level leadership training called, “can you see us, can you hear us? The Voices of our team members of color;” Launching the company’s first ever Diversity Dialogue Series, an outside-in training experience for all team members; forming a cross-functional team dedicated to improving the diversity of the company’s internship program, with infrastructural recommendations, processes, and best practices; and incorporating an outside recruiting platform to attract more diverse candidates.
PAOLA ROMERO CAMPO Senior Business Process Lead The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company Paola CampoRomeromoved to Akron, OH, in 2016 to join the LatinmodernizeorganizationProcurementGlobaltotheAmericanProcurement systems by implementing SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SRM). Shortly after her move, her manager has been heavily relying on her knowledge and leadership to deliver large-scale global projects. Romero Campo joined Goodyear Colombia as an intern, and upon receiving her bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering, she accepted a full-time position as a buyer. While she was gaining procurement experience through negotiating contracts and managing spend, her focus on process improvement led her to represent procurement workstream in SAP implementation project for the Latin America region. Her involvement in this project helped her get a regional role in Brazil, where she gained her first international experience and continued to improve procurement systems and processes. After her move to Akron in 2016, Romero Campo played an instrumental role in modernizing Goodyear’s procurement systems and process through the various projects she led.
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ANUSHA ARUN Technology Lead—ADM (Application Development and Maintenance) Infosys Ltd. Anusha Arun has been part of the Risk DevOpsIndependence&Team in Infosys for PWC client. In her role as a service manager, Arun wears several hats to partner with stakeholders ensuring the project’s success. She is highly experienced and fully conversant with DevOps and operations processes and solutions in the ADM unit. She has been a consistent high performer and has leveraged client relationships, directing team focus and developing team potential resulting in client delight. Her strategic transition from people dependency to process dependency optimized project focus to achieve desired results in an optimal manner.
ASHWINI JOSHI Senior Consultant Infosys Ltd. Ashwini Joshi has helped represent and position wasspaceandValidation(IndependentIVSSystems),Infosysinawheretestingconsideredoptional, sometimes even unnecessary. From almost no presence to a firm and dominant position within the PwC program, this has not just led to direct growth of revenue, but also elevated Infosys as a trusted QA advisor, giving the company pole position in many large QA opportunities in the pipeline. She is a shining star in a team comprised of multiple vendors and client stakeholders, and she has demonstrated that she can be successful in a fast-paced and complex IT environment. Joshi joined Infosys Canada in 2019 from Accenture, where she spent 11 years across Australia and India assignments. She was part of the largest multi-vendor, multi-year telecom transformation in the Southern Hemisphere where she played various roles like release test manager, data and environment lead, planning lead, and test solution architect. She was responsible for carving out testing solutions based on client needs and ended up being part of a number of winning deals. Joshi also proactively leads many internal firm development initiatives like interviewing and onboarding testing candidates, SDET trainings and certifications, knowledge base creation for reuse, and proactive pitches. She continues to drive newer initiatives and brings an enthusiasm to learn and create new opportunities. Joshi has created a niche for herself in the ETL testing space, and client managers often reach out to her for her expertise.
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REETIKA KAUL Technology Lead Infosys Ltd. Reetika Kaul has been part of the consulting team in the andclientvertical,ManufacturingInfosysperformingconsultingbusinessdevelopment roles. Kaul has played a pivotal role in building and maintaining relationships with clients such as Apple Inc. for the past nine years and mentoring her team for greater customer satisfaction. She has a high level of experience with Infosys’s portfolio, policies, processes, and solutions in the MFG vertical. She has demonstrated an excellent ability to forge client partnerships and build trust and understanding of the clients’ business needs.
DALE DAVIS JONES Vice President and Distinguished Engineer GTS IBM In 2020, Dale Davis Jones created a coaching model to enable under-representedcoachthemembersacademyacrossworldtoqualified minority and women candidates, significantly increasing the diversity of IBM’s academy. In 2014, Davis Jones became my DE mentor. She is a visionary leader whose appointment to DE was one of many firsts. She pioneered the technical eminence transformation initiative, where she created a vision, a framework, and a collaborative community space to educate tens of thousands of IBMers on what it means to earn technical eminence. She trained technical leaders to use their own stories to educate IBMers at events across the world. Thanks to Davis Jones’s leadership, technical eminence is now a core part of IBM technical leadership development programs.
LINDA DELORETO Lead Consultant, Senior Product Owner Infosys Ltd. Linda DeLoreto has been part of the Domain Consulting Group in the Infosys Financial Service vertical, helping shape requirements for Infosys to start building the industry’s first cloud-native retirement recordkeeping platform for Vanguard. Prior to Infosys, DeLoreto had played key roles in product development for several U.S.-based recordkeepers serving small to mid-size retirement markets. After moving to Infosys, she quickly grasped the intricacies of the Vanguard account and has become a valuable team member in a short time. During the planning and analysis phase, she stepped up to act as a product manager to shape several endto-end capabilities. While the program is in the early stages, DeLoreto has been a key contributor in a team of mostly male colleagues and has demonstrated that she can be successful in a fast-paced and complex IT environment. As a backdrop, the Vanguard program is the largest platform modernization and experience transformation program in the financial services industry. DeLoreto continues to inspire colleagues through her work.
ESHA WALI Vice President JP Morgan Chase & Co. Esha Wali has made contributionsstellar in ensuring the billiondollar applicationworkfloworchestrationNAVdeliveryworksrelentlessly with stability, meeting all regulatory and compliance mandated along with security. She has been spearheading modernization of user interface technology across applications for her group. Wali has been going above and beyond by extending her expertise in applications that solve wider issues. She has also been active in force for good initiatives in the firm, building lowcost, viable solutions for various nongovernment organizations. She has been an active mentor to teammates and grads alike, ensuring their smooth transition into the firm and helping them achieve their career objectives.
GUNJAN KATHURIA Vice President JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Gunjan Kathuria’s work is centered on how we can stay ahead of the threat, businessgeopoliticaltechnology,emergingandlandscapes, to proactively enable our broader technology teams to provide secure, adaptable, customercentric solutions to clients across all lines of business and across the globe. She is helping in providing a scalable method for delivering threat-driven assessment of complex JP Morgan Chase technology systems, which is important
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DAWN DAVID-SWAN Vice President JP Morgan Chase & Co. Dawn David-Swan is a confident, experienceoverspecialistprofessional/cybersecuritystrongwith17yearsofin
cybersecurity, information systems and security, and IT risk management. David-Swan is a highly skilled leader who is technical and has a wide range of technical experience in infrastructure design, network implementation, deployment, and the software lifecycle. David-Swan has consistently demonstrated the ability to think outside the box, take calculated risks, and drive change that has resulted in increased efficiency, better tools, effective processes, and enhanced programs. She is also currently leading the Retention Workstream for the Diversity & Inclusion program. David-Swan is not only dedicated to working hard and creating technological changes, but she is also passionate about giving back and paying it forward by helping people navigate their careers and helping to provide the resources that can help others grow and succeed in their careers.
proactivearoundtoinfluencingbuilding,relationship-providedFosterleadership,andskillsdriveinitiativesoutages,measuring, monitoring, and alerting, enabling End User Services to detect problems sooner, identify failure points, and drive improvements across platform and application delivery, leading to an improved customer experience. Because of Foster’s efforts, the entire line of business has been transformed into a data-driven organization.
EMILY FOSTER Vice President JP Morgan Chase & Co. Emily
RHONDA BRIGGINS Vice President, Client Account Manager Jacobs Rhonda Briggins is a member of the EngineeringteammanagementexecutiveatJacobsas the vice president, client account manager for transit services. She retired at the age of 45 from the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), where she served as the senior director of external affairs for over 15 years. During that time, she led the Office of Government Relations and the Office of Community Affairs. She brings over 20 years of professional experience in the arenas of federal, state, and local government affairs. She was primarily responsible for the development of MARTA’s public policy and community outreach strategies. In addition to the aforementioned, she was chiefly responsible for the authority’s legislative initiatives amounting to billions of dollars in funding for the authority’s operational and capital budget. She was instrumental in the passage of recent transit legislation amounting to over $10.9 billion in transportation funding. Within the first year of her employment with Jacobs, Briggins secured a $3 billion program management contract, making her mark again in the transportation industry.
Archana Senior InternationalManagerPrograms For Today’s
My first project at Lockheed Martin was managing the cabin modernization of the presidential helicopter, Marine One. This was a no-fail mission: safely transport the President of the United States. To this day, as I reflect on the magnitude of that responsibility, I’m still humbled by leadership’s trust in me. Explore careers at https://www.lockheedmartinjobs.com/national-diversity-events
Only here can I work on Marine One on Day One.
Career Communications Group, Inc. 729 East Pratt Street, Suite 504 Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 244-7101 www.ccgmag.com COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC. size tracking23 horizontal194scale 75 SUBSCRIBE ONLINE https://checkout.subscriptiongenius.com/ ccgmag.com/ Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/WOCITC Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/woctechnology Career Women In Technology & Business
KIMBERLY WOODIE Vice President, Business Analyst JP Morgan Chase & Co. One of the inadulthooddegree.earningWoodie’sofaccomplishmentsproudestKimberlylifewasacollegeHerearlypointedtheoppositedirection,
MERCY PRIYADHARSINI
Vice President JP Morgan Chase & Co. Mercy Priyadharsini is not only engaged in thethehighlyinitiatives,towardcontributinghubbutalsointerestedinbettermentofcommunitythrough corporate social responsibility programs such as Good Works, enhancing employee engagement and networking within teams and inspiring/grooming speakers for external engagement conferences. She has not only earned the respect of her superiors to rise as a leader and role model, but she has also earned the admiration of her peers and is considered to be a role model by her organization. She empowers and supports other women in her workplace and has a drive that ignites her spirit to achieve beyond expectations. She is a thought leader and demonstrates
JP Morgan Chase & Co. Lujain alwaysAlazambrings her unique perspectives that benefit her and participantsotherin any initiative. Alazam is aggressive in holding everyone accountable, pushing her team and stakeholders toward a goal of excellence, and customer obsession in our execution. Apart from her role as vice president of strategic analytics, Alazam is the Multicultural Festival—Columbus lead, TIF, Women On The Move Campus lead, and Fast Forward Women On The Move champion. Embracing her role as a woman in technology is important to her, as helping others in their future accomplishments is a critical part of her identity. Alazam is highly soughtafter for any new engagements piloted in our building, and her people and organizational skills have matured greatly with these opportunities. Externally, Alazam is highly involved with WITI (Women In Technology International Columbus Region) and holds a marketing director role.
36 ‹ WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 www.womenofcolor.online to providing security assurance while reducing toil associated with reactionary break management practices. The pace of technology changes, and its impact on her firm is unprecedented. The company has an enormous opportunity to continue to lead the industry through technology. Kathuria’s contributions are resulting in understanding risks, closing gaps, and enabling risk-based decision making. This helps the firm protect all categories of data from theft and damage. She understands the complex environment we operate in and translates it into meaningful, timely insights that you can safely apply to your operations and ecosystem.
beginning with marriage and children at 19. She lived as one of the “low-income class,” someone who slipped through the cracks of seemingly historic prosperity throughout her early adulthood. She realized that there were more worry lines than laugh lines. By the age of 24, Woodie was divorced and frustrated with menial, lowpaying jobs: clerk, receptionist, and home health aide. She knew that knowledge would be the key to freeing herself from the chains of ignorance. Because of her absolute commitment to earning her degree, she worked three jobs to acquire an associate’s and a bachelor’s degree while supporting her family financially. Woodie’s vision of herself that had yet to be created led her to strive toward her M.B.A. The determination and perseverance paid off. Woodie has a successful career in the IT field. She appreciated the challenges of working in the industry and found herself in an environment she enjoys.
&CybersecuritymanagerandChaseMorgan(JPMC)programfortheTechnologyControls (CTC) Line of Business. As program manager, Tabler is responsible for managing complex technology strategic programs that span the cybersecurity technology portfolio and have firm-wide implications on the cloud modernization journey. She is also one of the regional co-leads of the CTC Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Program covering the U.S. Midwest and West regions; a career advisor for TakeITForward (TIF), a career development initiative that supports women in technology at the firm; and an active member of various business resource groups, including BOLD, Vets, and Aspire.
LUJAIN ALAZAM Vice President—Strategic Analytics
LISA TABLER Vice President, Customer Success Technology Program Manager JP Morgan Chase & Co. Lisa Tabler is a vice president at JP
SABA MOHAMMED Information Security Manager—VP JP Morgan Chase & Co. Born and raised in Iraq, MohammedSaba worked hard to progress her education despite the political instability in her mother country. At the age of 15, Mohammed’s family had to migrate to Sweden due to her father’s political involvement. She currently leads and manages the Sustained Engineering—iPAR (Independent Privilege Access Review) team, comprised of 16 members spanning across locations. The team handles review of privileged access requests across infrastructures and applications with parallel projects running for onboard sand automations. As a part of the job role, the responsibilities include process formulation, project management, automation of reviews for efficiency gains, resource development, customer engagement, and risk remediation practices.
PRACHI AGRAWAL Vice President JP Morgan Chase & Co. Prachi Agrawal has been awarded the “expert engineer” title at JP Morgan for her technicalthecontributionsoutstandingtoorganization’sinitiatives by going above and beyond her job role. She is helping to retain talent and provide a platform for the high-performing individuals in the organization through her proactive involvement in the Talent Management Work stream. She has led many technology projects for nongovernment organization partners as part of Technology for Good programs. She has helped in recruiting, mentoring, and nurturing diverse talent in the organization through Take IT Forward, SheCodes, Katalyst Initiative, and re-entry programs and helped in building the pipeline of tomorrow’s workforce.
SAUDAMINI BURGULA Vice President, Software Engineer JP Morgan Chase & Co. Saudamini Burgula joined JP Morgan 11 years ago as a junior engineer. Her positive attitude and desire to learn not only helped her to grow to expert engineer, but she has also been a great inspiration to colleagues at JP Morgan. Her willingness to help is not only limited to colleagues within JP Morgan, but she has also been volunteering for non profits like “Girls who Code” and “Force for Good” programs over many years.
SHARON WILLIAMS Vice President JP Morgan Chase & Co. Sharon Williams is a vice president and business analyst for corporate and investment banking. Her theincluderesponsibilitiesdrivingbusinessresults of the security program by focusing on internal audits, passing Payment Card Industry (PCI) assessments, ensuring quality code is delivered across the program, and adhering to the technology control framework. She partners with the information security manager, solution architecture, and cyber tech control experts to provide visibility into the security health of the platform. Williams has over 20 years of experience in technology at JP Morgan Chase. She has worked in operations, customer service, and software development. She held a variety of roles including customer service manager, user acceptance tester, agility lead, and her current position, business analyst lead.
HARITHA JILLELLAMUDI Lead, Software Engineering L3Harris Technologies Jillellamudi has been with L3Harris for
WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 › 37www.womenofcolor.online exemplary leadership to lift the women around her. She is a hardworking, creative, and multi-talented individual who not only tries to deliver the best in her BAU (business as usual) but also has consistently contributed outside her BAU throughout her tenure at JP Morgan.
ROOHI TRIPATHI Vice President JP Morgan Chase & Co. Roohi Tripathi has been part of the Corporate Large Deals department for Infosys since its inception in 2006. Being a founding member of Corporate Large Deals in India, she is heavily relied upon for leading large deal pursuits across all our offerings including Application, Infrastructure, and business process outsourcing for ultimate wins. All large digital transformations for services and products initiated by clients are invariably advised by influencers such as management consulting firms, private equity firms, sourcing advisors, and legal advisors. Tripathi did a stupendous job of handling all these influencers. In the last three years, Infosys large deal wins grew from $3.1 billion in 2017 to $14.1 billion in 2021. A majority of this was facilitated/ directed by influencers that Tripathi manages. She has been instrumental in liaising with influencers across Infosys technology, industry solutions, and growing capabilities. This is evidenced by her efforts translating into large deals (over $8 billion) through invitations from influencers. Her ability and contribution to forge influencer partnerships built on trust and understanding of their clients’ business needs has been deeply appreciated and lauded by Infosys and its clients. Over the years, Tripathi has developed a high level of experience with Infosys’s portfolio, policies, processes, and solutions across all verticals and horizontals.
38 ‹ WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 www.womenofcolor.online a little more than five years. She has made next-generationcontributorleadrolecontributionssignificantinherastechnicalandindividualforatactical radio product that was recently fielded for the first time by the U.S. Army. Jillellamudi successfully assisted in planning, releasing, and resolving mission-critical, complex issues as part of the software development effort while also taking on scrum master responsibilities. She developed the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) waveform subagent from the ground up, taking the lead role from an architectural perspective for this effort. Jillellamudi is also part of a cross-functional software team that periodically reviews software architecture across tactical radio products where she has made valuable suggestions for architectural and design approaches. CRYSTAL YANNARELLA Lead, Project Engineer L3Harris Technologies As the lead project engineer for the Surface cross-functionaloverseeingaCrystalportfolioNavyofprojects,Yannarellaisworkingmanagerateam of engineers and junior project engineers as they work on 10 projects worth around $60 million, collectively. Her strong, technical system engineering background and wellrounded project management capabilities have allowed her to take on this challenge and bring L3Harris’s Surface Navy products up to par as her team diagnoses field issues, addresses customer concerns, and ultimately fits the work effort within L3Harris’s business model. As an exceptional project engineer and engaging people person, Yannarella was inducted into the second cohort of the Leadership in Engineering Advancement Program (LEAP), where she made her technical presentation on the future of high band-gap semiconductors to the L3Harris executive team. She is also the primary recruiter for the site, attending two hiring events last year (virtually) for NSBE and L3Harris Job Fair, and she was invited to present on mentoring at the Women in Technology conference.
MINGA LEE Senior Solution Architect Ledios With 20 years of provenchallengesandmultipleLeeexperience,professionalMingahasovercometechnicalculturalandherselfasa technical leader. She has moved through the professional engineering ladder, where she has overcome biases and multiple relocations to take on challenging assignments. In 2019–2020, she served as the chief engineer on the Global Combat Support System—Air Force Cloud One program. During this time, Lee made significant impacts across the program that directly resulted in the achievement of mission goals, increased revenue, and improved customer and employee satisfaction. As a result of Lee’s leadership, eight different countries requested service through this platform due to the attention to detail and engineering best practices provided. Currently Lee is the chief engineer for the Global Systems Management—Operations Program II Innovations Directorate, with an awarded lifecycle value of $1.9 billion out of a total program value of $6.5 billion within Leidos’ Defense Enterprise Cyber Solutions Group.
Northrop Grumman Corp. Angela Hinton Huff has over 11 years of experience in coordinating and operating hassolutions.engineeringcomplexHuffservedasanelectrical design engineer at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne1 (Rocketdyne). While there, she gained the fundamentals needed to help further her desire to work in the aerospace industry. During her tenure at Rocketdyne, she transitioned to the positions of lead controls engineer for a solar program, software verification engineer, and later electronic systems engineer. Huff conducted developmental tests with prototype units at Sandia Laboratories. While at Sandia Laboratories, Huff
Command Priority 1: COVID resilience.
ESTHELA MCKENZIE Visual Arts Team Lead Naval Sea Systems Command, NSWC Port Hueneme Division Esthela informationpublicinperformanceexemplarydemonstratedMcKenzieherdutiesasaffairsvisual(V/I) team lead throughout the past year. As V/I team lead and lead graphic artist, she set the tone, tempo, and expectation of excellence that has driven the V/I team’s superior product execution, highlighting the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) mission, accomplishments, and most importantly, its people. McKenzie is a recognized subject matter expert for graphic arts and digital design. She was instrumental in the update of the NSWC PHD external website and PHD News, the Navy’s newest Command-wide one-stop for messaging and announcements of leadership, human resources, information technology, operation security, and other division corners. Her efforts this year also included leading the production of NSWC PHD Strategic Plan 2.0, the NSWC PHD Workplace of Choice recruiting brochure, and the NSWC PHD recruiting video, in support of two of the four Command priorities. She also led the V/I team in the creation of the CO/TD All Hands slides in preparation for the transition to Return to Office Phase 1, ensuring clear and consistent messaging in a critical stage of the pandemic, in support of NSWC PHD
ANGELA HUFF Senior Principal Engineer Systems
ANDRETTA DENNIS Deputy Chief, B-2 Special Programs Branch United States Air Force Andretta Dennis arrived at the B-2 System Program Office last year and has already made a significant impact on the United States Air Force as the deputy branch chief for B-2 Special Programs. The B-2 System Program Office is responsible for modernizing and sustaining the United States’ only long-range stealth and strategic nuclear bomber, the B-2 Spirit. Dennis leads a $2.4 billion portfolio consisting of 71 government and over 200 contractor personnel executing over 20 critical acquisition programs. She is a force to be reckoned with in her organization.
HEMA KOPPULA Senior Infrastructure Architect PNC Financial Services Hema Koppula received a Bachelor of Engineering from Government College of Technology in 1990. Beginning in 1990, Koppula worked for Wipro as a software support executive, helping clients with benchmarking and testing; database and operating system performance benchmarking and tuning; and database and operating system install, configuration, and tuning. After five years, she left Wipro as a senior software support executive. She is very knowledgeable in several technologies, knows how to navigate the PNC IT organizations as well as some of our vendors, and can articulate issues and strategies at multiple levels so peers and management can readily understand. She increasingly receives acknowledgements and recognitions for her attention to detail, professionalism, and ease to work with. With all the work activities she does, she still manages to coach and mentor other members of the team to improve their capabilities and efficiency. These characteristics are her hallmarks.
ARTHI GANESAN Team Leader, Software Development Rocket Innovation Studio Arthi Ganesan has leveraged her development,ofknowledgeadvancedITsecurity, and technology to ensure each piece of work delivered from her teams is of the highest quality. Ganesan created cross-team and crossorganization efforts to standardize and improve our overall processes surrounding the quality space and optimizing our use of technology and processes to move faster. In her role as a quality developer, Ganesan is responsible for planning, organizing, maintaining, and executing tests for features. In conjunction with the product owner, business stakeholders, and her team members, she ensures that the business is satisfied with the work delivered and has become synonymous with a golden stamp of approval. She ensures that everything we work to deliver is stable and secure. Ganesan also steps beyond her role to create standards in the quality space, mentoring her peers and sharing with her team members the keys to success that enable her to execute at such a high level.
WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 › 39www.womenofcolor.online was able to lower the cost of control systems by 5 percent under target costs after successfully negotiating design requirements with the suppliers.
MAJ. CLAUDIA WILLIAMS Flight Commander, Warrior Medical Clinic United States Air Force Maj. Claudia Williams is the Warrior teamWilliamsForcethecommander(WOMC)MedicineOperationalClinicflightatShawAirBase,SC.leadsaof28airmen and civilians. She
BRENDA GATES Lead Engineer NSWC Dahlgren Since graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineeringelectrical from Indiana Institute of yearsspentBrendaTechnology,Gateshasthelast30applyingher engineering skills, leadership talent, and passion for people to serving her community and nation. She models the way for others in her hunger for continuous growth in technical and personal learning. Gates found her professional niche leading systems engineering projects for U.S. Navy fleet sensors at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD). More specifically, Gates served as the Aegis Baseline 9.0 Radar Test and Evaluation Integrated Product team lead, ensuring the designed and delivered Aegis SPY-1 radar performed as intended and met sailors’ needs safely and reliably. Her efforts are continuing to help U.S. warfighters complete their mission successfully and safely return home to their families.
MIMOSE PARVILUS Mission System Team Lead U.S. Coast Guard Mimose Parvilus is an active-dutyisCoastUnitedstarleaderaccomplishedandrisingwithintheStatesGuard.Sheoneofonlytwomilitary women of color within the entire 400-person command. She is breaking barriers, leading teams, and paving the way for others to follow. She has exemplified technical excellence and strong managerial skills in her role as the Mission Systems Team lead within the Technical Management Branch. She currently leads 41 team members, two active duty and 39 full-time contractors, to provide escalated information technology support to the Coast Guard enterprise. Parvilus has matured and strengthened the Coast Guard’s missioncritical infrastructure throughout her tour at CGCYBER. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, WATCH THE 2021 https://l.ead.me/bctcIhEVENTRECOGNITIONWOCHERE:
40 ‹ WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 www.womenofcolor.online delivers medical readiness care for 8,500 active-duty members and beneficiaries in support of the Air Force’s largest F-16 fighter wing, by ensuring the delivery of world-class medical care. She provides direction along with administrative and clinical oversight for WOMC’s budget of $3.1 million in medical care. Williams serves as the 20th Medical Group Clinical Team chief and a clinical nurse for flight medicine clinic. In this capacity, she educates 71 nurses and techs on all medical readiness-related training and takes care of patient needs.
MAJ. ERIN HOLLMON Chief Innovation Officer United States Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Maj. Erin Hollmon has been an exceptional contributortechnical in every position she has held in the United States Air Force and Space Force. The research accomplishedsheinthe labs has significantly advanced the manufacturing and sustainability of materials science. In addition, her contributions with the Johnson Space Center ensured the Department of Defense’s small satellites and payloads being supported by the International Space Station were designed and operated within NASA’s unique safety measures. Finally, Hollmon’s leadership drove vast improvements in satellite orbit tracking capabilities. All of her work has greatly improved spacebased systems that benefit the United States and our partner.
LT. ANDREA MOLINA Program Manager United States Coast Guard Lt. Andrea Molina’s recent performance has been second to none. She manages a $300 communicationstacticalmission-criticalmillionsatellite program, enabling secure and interoperable communications between Coast Guard and Department of Defense units to perform national security missions. In this position, Coast Guard senior executives have entrusted her with completing duties and responsibilities typically performed by government officials 10 years senior. Upon assuming these responsibilities, she expertly assessed the state of the entire program and then optimally allocated resources to ensure seamless availability of this highly critical capability. Her successful leadership and management of this program have ensured Coast Guard and other operators maintain secure communications wherever they are operating.
WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 › 41www.womenofcolor.online CAREERS IN THE METAVERSE Building and managing the metaverse will take the work of tens of thousands—or hundreds of thousands—of new tech workers in the next five to 10 years. Find out what industry experts say some of the most in-demand skills will be. Career OUTLOOK INSIDE > What is the metaverse, exactly? > Careers in the metaverse > The female tech leaders who are making the metaverse a reality META VERSE
Career OUTLOOK METAVERSE UNDERSTANDING THE
First, what is the metaverse? The metaverse refers to virtual, 3D environments where people can meet and interact using digital personas called “avatars.” Unlike virtual reality-based games, there’s no storyline or quest or goal in the metaverse. “You can think about the metaverse as an embodied internet, where instead of just viewing content, you are in it,” says Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. If it sounds a little vague, that’s because it is. As Eric Ravenscroft of Wired argues, the word metaverse doesn’t refer to any one thing or specific kind of technology, “but rather how we interact with technology.” For example, just as email has been replaced in many cases by video technologies like Zoom, Zoom might one day give way to virtual meeting spaces accessed through virtual reality (VR) goggles or augmented reality (AR) Online,glasses.immersive virtual worlds are not new. The grandaddy is Second Life, which launched in 2003 and still has a million or more active users. Roblox, established in 2008, has almost 50 million users. But to go big, the metaverse needs to overcome some natural barriers, not the least of which is sheer power. “Truly persistent and immersive computing, at
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The metaverse is having a moment. It may be because people are sick of reality and are more interested in a virtual one. Or because tech giants are hungering for the next big thing. Whatever the reason, company after company is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into building this brave new virtual world. And that means the creation of countless new tech jobs in the coming years.
WHAT IS THE METAVERSE, EXACTLY?
INDUSTRY OVERVIEW scale and accessible by billions of humans in real time, will require…1,000 times increase in computational efficiency from today’s state of the art,” wrote Intel’s Raja Koduri in 2021.
Several companies are willing to take on the challenge—because those who succeed will reap the financial rewards. Estimates vary wildly, but some analysts say the market value of the metaverse sector will reach $800 billion by 2024 and could eventually climb into the trillions. The possibilities for selling virtual items, advertising, real estate, and other realworld analogs are limitless. Your digital persona is going to need clothing and accessories. You’ll want tickets to all the right in-world concerts and events. You might want to hang out in your virtual apartment in a digital city or a mansion in a digital paradise. And you want the right neighbors. Just ask the NFT collector who spent $450,000 on the virtual property next door to Snoop Dogg in Sandbox last fall—a sentence that might make a lot more sense in a few years than it does Whiletoday. entertainment will play a significant role in the metaverse, social entrepreneur David Seigel argues that it will eventually become a space where people can share experiences online, be it a digital picnic with far-flung relatives or a global team collaborating on designs for a new airplane. If it reaches its full potential, the metaverse could make the concept of distance functionally irrelevant: Simply put on your VR headset and find yourself in a new environment entirely. There are at least 150 companies currently working on building and expanding the hardware and software architecture to allow the metaverse to reach the following stages of development. Still, a few big names now dominate the field: Meta/Facebook. In 2021, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company was rebranding as Meta. He told the website The Verge that he believed over the next five years, “we will effectively transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company into being a metaverse company.”
Epic Games. Epic Games runs the popular online game Fortnite and plans to expand into the metaverse. CEO Tim Sweeney told Bloomberg last fall that it’s “kind of a race to get to a billion users, whoever brings on a billion users first would be the presumed leader in setting the standards.” The company recently announced a $1 billion funding round to accelerate its efforts.
Nvidia. The computer chip giant has launched Omniverse, a tool that will allow developers to bring their virtual creations to life. The company recently announced that it was making access to the Omniverse platform free for individual users to push innovation in 3D simulations and designs. Unity. Many believe that software developer Unity will come on top of the heap in developing the metaverse. It has become an industry leader in real-time 3D content and is expanding its footprint in the development space. “We’re very much in the awkward, ‘everything is expensive, heavy, and doesn’t work that well’ [stage],” Unity’s AR chief Timoni West tells Fast Company. “But give it another good 20 years and a reasonable amount of investment, and I think we’ll bridge that gap and be in the next era of computing.”
CAREERS IN THE METAVERSE Building and managing the metaverse will take the work of tens of thousands— or hundreds of thousands—of new tech workers in the next five to 10 years. Industry experts say some of the most in-demand skills will be: 3D Game Designers – While the metaverse isn’t meant to be a game, it will require many immersive design skills. Along with creative vision, animation skills, and basic programming skills, ITCareerFinder.com says designers will need programming experience with “popular gaming software programs such as Unity, Blender, Maya, and Unreal Engine.” AR/VR Software Engineers – While the metaverse, like legacy virtual worlds and gaming, will be available via computer, companies like Facebook and Microsoft are focusing more on developing the extended reality (XR) of virtual experiences: AR, VR, and mixed reality (MR). Programmers with experience in C, C++, JavaScript, Python, Unity, Unreal Engine, and other tools might find a home here, particularly if they also have a firm grasp of user experience (UX) concepts. Hardware Engineers – The metaverse will be created in code, but it’s meant to be experienced. Along with next-generation VR goggles and other visual aids, the technology is likely to spread out into a wide range of wearables that allow users to “feel” their environments. “And that’s not even getting into the boring stuff, such as inertial measurement units, visual light cameras, depth cameras to help with tracking, localization…” writes Adrian Book at .cult. This will take engineers with skills in everything from programming languages to haptics, robotics, and even AI. Blockchain Engineers – The digital economy within the metaverse is likely to run on cryptocurrencies and NFTs, so those with skills in the design, implementation, and deployment of blockchain platforms will be much in These,demand.of course, are just a tiny sample of the types of jobs that will become available in the metaverse: Game designers, storytellers, digital marketing specialists, cybersecurity specialists, moderators, and even fashion designers will all have a role to play. Experts say that those who decide to work within the metaverse will not only need top-notch technical skills but “soft” skills like the ability to collaborate, communicate, and adapt to ever-changing conditions. Emotional intelligence is going to count as much as tech savvy. You are going to be building a whole new world.
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BECOME A FREEMAN HRABOWSKI SCHOLAR. Apply by September 28, 2022 at hhmi.org/fhs. Science belongs to us all. The biggest breakthroughs come from diverse teams. The new Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program will select and support outstanding early career scientists dedicated to leading an inclusive research lab to excellence. Each Scholar will receive up to $8.6 million over 10 years. 30 Scholars will be announced in 2023.
At Wells Fargo, we welcome the insights and perspectives drawn from unique life Iexperiences.tisthosedistinctive viewpoints that provide us with the fresh thinking we need to help our customers reach their financial goals. Join our team to help create the future of banking through new and emerging Totechnologies.learnmore and apply, visit wellsfargojobs.com/technology Relevant military experience is considered for veterans and transitioning service men and women. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. ©2021 Wells Fargo N.A. All rights reserved. Your startsfuturenow. Find out more about why Wells Fargo is an employer of choice at wellsfargojobs.com.
THe MeTaVeRSe Growing Space for Jobseekers and Enthusiasts
Did you know that virtual real estate is sold and bought on the metaverse? Recently, property in The Sandbox, a virtual world, sold for over $4 million!
A
Thedevelopment.metaverse is in some ways a hypothetical singular digital universe, as the current metaverse, as it is referenced today, consists of many virtual worlds that are separate from each other. There are many ways to earn and spend money, especially digital currency, on the metaverse. Unique pieces of artwork called nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are found, traded, and sold on the metaverse.
The metaverse is a new buzzword, with many conversations on a virtual universe or network of virtual worlds. People connect socially, purchase or sell various goods and services, accomplish tasks, or do nothing at all—just escape the physical world. You may have heard of virtual worlds such as Decentraland, The Sandbox, and Somnium Space.
Recently, Facebook announced that it would be diving into the metaverse and even changed its company name to Meta as a sign of its commitment to metaverse
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The metaverse is accessed using a variety of hardware, such as personal computers, cell phones, augmented reality and virtual reality devices, and other virtual world technologies. As varied as the hardware to access it, software to access the metaverse is countless. The ability to link and interweave virtual worlds is a high-
The metaverse is opening a slew of emergingtoforopportunitiesjobthosewillingbetonanentity.
JOB HORIZON
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www.womenofcolor.online priority topic among developers. While Facebook changing its name to Meta and committing to developing the metaverse is a sign of how the hype has reached a fever pitch, big tech companies such as Microsoft, Nvidia, Niantic, and Apple have all begun contributing to the metaverse development. For example, famous for its app Pokémon Go, Niantic has invested $300 million into developing a proprietary dystopian metaverse. Nvidia is indirectly furthering the development of the metaverse through its Omniverse Enterprise, a hub where digital content creators can collaborate on 3D modeling, design, and simulation. The metaverse is opening a slew of job opportunities for those willing to bet on an emerging entity. Working behind the scenes, infrastructural developers build the blockchain, write code, maintain servers, and do other technical tasks. Suppose you’re planning to start a degree in computer science, information technology, or other related technical majors. In that case, this is a career path that could be open to you while also maintaining broad employability in many areas. AR and VR hardware and software engineers will be critical to metaverse development and innovation. Applying creative skills within the metaverse itself, content and asset creators such as artists, modelers, dialogue writers, character customizers, and other art-centered positions help bring color, design, and aesthetics to the virtual world. Are you a skilled artist or designer interested in computers and technology? Creating assets in the metaverse may represent a significant Otheropportunity.non-technical career paths include influencers, marketers, customer support agents, moderators, mappers, performers, and even monetized participants. If you are a gamer or esports enthusiast interested in a plat-to-earn style gaming experience, consider exploring the metaverse. Focusing on the appropriate majors, skills, and understandings is crucial to future success and employment. Majors in computer science or information technology benefit from learning skills specific to the development and maintenance of the metaverse. Still, these same skills are vital to all computer science and information technology career paths. In preparing for employment within the metaverse industry, college students and other job seekers should gain expertise and experience with popular programming languages, such as C, C#, C++, JavaScript, Python, etc. Likewise, gain expertise with popular tools like Unreal Engine, Unity, Amazon Sumerian, Autodesk Maya, and the open-source Blender. Having an eye on user experience design is also valuable because the result of metaverse development should be a user-friendly Anotherexperience.significant role in metaverse development is designing and creating 3D assets, typically a task for 3D game designers. Job applicants and students should seek expertise in designing, prototyping, and constructing immersive 3D experiences that engage players and immerse them in a virtual world like never before. Gaining a working knowledge of computer animation, 3D modeling, computer illustration, lighting, game interfaces, and creative competency for art and design are crucial to success as a 3D game designer. Basic programming skills and proficiency in gaming software such as Unity, Blender, Maya, and Unreal Engine are core parts of 3D game design. Are you looking to focus on the hardware side of the metaverse? A hardware systems engineer designs, prototypes, builds and maintains the hardware interfaces with the metaverse. They design AR/VR wearables and vital computer systems, such as servers, networks, and more. Gaining experience in product development, systems design, physics, and exposure to electrical, computer, mechanical, or optical engineering will all help set you apart from other candidates. Knowing virtual reality concepts and tools such as computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided engineering (CAE) will also give you a solid foundational skill set. Mastering the hardware and engineering side of the metaverse requires a lot of skill acquisition, so start with programming languages, data collection, analysis, and robotics—explicitly focusing on sensors, cameras, and user inputs.
The metaverse, an emerging and growing virtual network of worlds, changes how people interact and socialize. Digital real estate and NFTs are bringing in a revenue stream, and monetizing pay-to-earn users adds to this financial landscape. As the metaverse’s popularity and size grow, so will employment opportunities across all industries. Choosing a general career path depending on your skills and interest then preparing through college programs, internships, and networking with experts is a tried-and-true method for improving employment options and will help job seekers find employment in building the metaverse.
The tech leaders who are making the metaverse a reality While the metaverse is still in a state of (virtual) construction, leading innovators are fully immersed in building and shaping the next phase of how we interact with technology. In the days when the world wide web was still abstract and hadn’t become ubiquitous in the way we share, connect, and experience life, some people believed in the digital age long before we got there. And that’s exactly what’s happening now. People are investing in Web 3.0 and anticipating it becoming our new reality. Except for this time, women are taking their rightful seat at the table not only to ensure inclusivity and accessibility to jobs in the metaverse but for the metaverse itself to reflect all people, especially underrepresented groups who are just beginning to see themselves represented and celebrated in our culture. Here are 11 futurist women making strides in the metaverse who are equally enthusiastic about creating opportunities for girls and women gearing up for a career pivot. From a former lawyer to an entrepreneur who started her first business with just $20, these female visionaries’ backgrounds underscore that you don’t have to start in technology to become a significant player in it.
Women of the Metaverse
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WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 › 51www.womenofcolor.online PEOPLE TO KNOW
theinsideexchangedthattechnologyblockchainadoptedwidelytheEthereum,mostcanbeIMVU platform and, for the first time, off the platform. Beaton currently leads efforts to turn the economy of IMVU, one of the largest virtual 3D worlds, into the next generation of market exchange through blockchain technology and VCOIN, which lets all users hold, earn, and exit the platform with real value. She has built, developed, and grown startups and Fortune 500 companies. Previously, as chief revenue officer at Amplifire, a SaaS-based learning platform based in cognitive science, she led all go-tomarket offers, revenue generation, and sales teams across multiple verticals, including healthcare, education, and corporate performance. Beaton is an active Tech Stars mentor and holds a B.A. in rhetoric, an M.S. in journalism, and an M.B.A. Loredana Crisan VP of Messaging Experience Facebook Messenger and Instagram at Meta Loredana Crisan is the head of Messenger at Meta. She leads her team to develop innovative experiences for Messenger’s more than 1 billion users and push the boundaries in modern-day communication. Crisan is responsible for driving the strategy and vision for Messenger as both an app and a communication platform that stretchesacrossMeta’sservicestohelppeopleconnecttoeveryonetheycareabout today and in the future metaverse. This includes considering the metaverse’s role in real-time communication, spanning social presence and intimate experiences, work, business, and entertainment, and existing across various hardware including PCs, mobile, game consoles, wearables, AR/VR devices, and more. Previously, Crisan was on Messenger’s design, brand, and research team. She led the launch of a new Messenger experience on Instagram, including cross-app communication between the two apps and Messenger’s redesign and rebranding in 2018 and 2020. Before Messenger, Crisan led brand and mobile design at Indiegogo, where she spearheaded the release of native apps and the launch of Indiegogo’s charitable fundraising site, Generosity. Crisan grew up in Romania, and she studied piano and music composition at the National Music University in Bucharest.
Jossie Haines VP of software engineering Tile Jossie Haines is a tech industry veteran as an engineering leader at the forefront of emerging technology across Silicon Valley, including management roles at Apple, Tile, Zynga, and American Express. As VP of software engineering at Tile, she leads the mobile, backend, web, and platform engineering teams that empower users to find millions of itslaunchedeffortsinclusionequity,diversity,upalsoday.itemslosteverySheheadstheandand
mentoring program. Haines is dedicated to the representation of women in tech. Her focus areas are retaining women in tech, empathy in engineering, and practical and fair management practices that reduce bias and empower all team members to thrive. She has
Sheila Khan Judkins Director of Marcom, Metaverse Meta Reality Labs Sheila Khan Judkins is a
first-generationAmericanandthedaughterofimmigrantparentsfromIndiaandItaly.Sheisaninsightsdriven marketing leader who believes deeply in the power of people, investing and mentoring them, and being an advocate for representation in business and media. Her 20 years of experience working in toys, games, entertainment, education, and gaming for companies such as Hasbro and Electronic Arts involved driving internal and product transformation on brands like Star Wars, Play-Doh, Transformers, The Sims, and GI WhileJOE. director of the brand on The Sims, Judkins led product efforts in representation, partnering with players to bring over 100 skin tones into the game, partnering with MAC to develop better makeup for darker skin tones, and redefining menswear with Stefan Cooke x British Fashion Council. She is passionate about cultivating more open-minded, empathetic citizens of the world by fostering connections and using technology to create safe spaces for education and self-discovery. She has served on the Board of Directors for Girls on the Run Rhode Island and was a mentor for Odyssey of the Mind, a creative thinking development program for children. Nancy Beaton Vice-President of Strategy Together Labs Nancy Beaton is the vice president of strategy at Together Labs, the technology parent company behind IMVU and VCOIN, an ERC-20 token built on
immersive roleplaying virtual reality simulations to develop their full leadership potential and manifest change in the world. She believes that the metaverse is a tremendous opportunity for women to advance personally and professionally and is also an emerging world that needs to be co-created by women from the standpoint of safety, inclusivity, and equal access for all. Frohberg started her career as a political leader and women’s movement activist running for state parliament in 2018 and promoting gender equality in the political system of Germany. She was the chairperson of the Women’s Union of Leipzig board from 2014 to 2021 and a board member of the Women’s Union of Saxony. As a serial entrepreneur, published author, and innovation expert, Frohberg has extended experience in public and social innovation projects. She co-founded Mindful Innovation’s digital innovation startup and designed, taught, and facilitated digital collaboration techniques. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the Humboldt University of Berlin. In her research, she studies the influence of key stakeholders on the success of public policy and innovation.
game-basedfemaleleadershipgrowthinthemetaverse.Hervisionistoempowerwomenthrough
52 ‹ WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 www.womenofcolor.online
internal coding Bootcamp for women and exhibited a 3D-printing app at Maker Faire to encourage little girls to create their robot figurines. Vetto emphasizes the need for diversity at all levels of STEM and the direct material effort that promotes it. She encourages the conversation about women in tech to focus not only on barriers but also on achievements and the contributions of women of color in STEM. She centers her projects on artistic, multidisciplinary interests in her spare time and looks for chances to volunteer, skill share, and lower tech barriers for people with nontraditional backgrounds. She strives to combine programming with her neuroscience background in an innovative, creative, and inspiring way and is always open to helping other women get into tech.
global trends to understand implications to innovation strategy, the product portfolio, and customers. She believes that the metaverse will drive the next generation of computer interfaces in one form or another. Mantey is a published author and professional speaker who holds a Master of Science in foresight from Houston.
Dr. Luise Frohberg Founder Taara Quest Luise Frohberg is the founder of Taara Quest, a community for
Suzanne Nguyen Senior Director, Communications, Brand, and Community Agora Suzanne Nguyen has been a leading innovator behind developer ecosystems for semiconductor, cloud, mobile, and enterprise products for over two decades
Career OUTLOOK
Anne Vetto Software Engineer Mythical Games Anne Vetto is a software engineer at Mythical Games, a technology studio. Before pivoting to tech, she worked in neurodegenerative disease research at the University of California San Diego. She was inspired to change careers after realizing the creativity inherent in RosieCODE:ofinstructorpioneeringwasVettoresources.withprogressandcodingtech’sfewaDisney’s
given over 40 talks in the last two years, including at the Grace Hopper and Empowered Women of the World conference. Haines is a mentor at the Mentoring Club, Power to Fly, University of California, Santa Cruz, and Plato.
Louisa Spring Founder SAM immersive Louisa Spring is an accomplished XR executive. XR is a term that includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality, and other forms of immersive reality applications. As an entrepreneur, gamer, lawyer, and producer, she has facilitated many XR deals with Intel, La Liga, NFL, Toyota, Hershey, and Walmart with Spatialand. She also facilitates partnerships and business development in the metaverse, XR, 5GXR, and gaming. Spring (Rome)MacdonaldWilliamandEndemol)by(acquiredMoorwithworkedhasFarJ.as a television producer. Spring is a former member of the board of BAFTA Los Angeles and, as a lawyer, represented actors such as Roger Moore, John RhysDavies, and Christopher Judge.
Miranda Mantey UX Foresight Strategist ATB Ventures Miranda Mantey is an experienced researcher, foresight practitioner, and strategist with a passion for learning and all evaluatesManteyVentures,atstrategistforesightAsfuture.aboutthingstheUXATB
developer program. Nguyen was also one of the critical drivers for the Android community growth through T-Mobile’s developer community support. She led the “Apps with Feelings” campaign at Immersion Corporation, which popularized haptic implementations in mobile apps. Nguyen first became interested in the metaverse through her work at Samsung partnering with Oculus (now part of Meta) and other AR/VR app developers to promote the future of metaverse solutions.
Sonya Worrell Co-Founder and Chief Content Creator HBCU Nation, HBCU iRadio, HBCU Smart TV
Kate Hancock Cofounder Metaverse Collective and Metatalkz Media Host META TALKZ TV on Fox5 San Diego Principal Partner Metaverse Media |Serial Entrepreneur Kate Hancock is the cofounder of Metaverse Collective, which empowers entrepreneurs to grow in the Web 3.0/ metaverse space through education, collaboration, and resources. Every week, members have access to presentations by industry experts and can attend a weekly party in the metaverse. Hancockaudiosocialoncommunitymemberplus100,000-Collective’sMetaversebuilttheapp Clubhouse. She is the host and creator of META TALKZ TV on FOX 5 San Diego and NBC Austin, which features experts discussing their work in the metaverse to a broader audience, and principal partner of Metaverse Media TV, which produces META TALKZ TV as well as a publication and the entrepreneurial podcast Inspired By Her. Born in Camiguin, Philippines, Hancock is a serial entrepreneur who bootstrapped her first business with $20 and featured on Inc’s 5000 lists of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America twice.
developingshebSecure,Throughcustomer.abuyerintoshopperturningbetweenaaandrepeatis
WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 › 53www.womenofcolor.online at Adobe, T-Mobile, Samsung, and others. As senior director of communications, brand, and community at Agora, she leads the narrative around its real-time engagement platform. She was one of the JavaoforiginatorandEditionMobileJavaforevangelistsfirstthethetheME
Sonya Worrell is co-founder and chief content creator of HBCU Nation, HBCUiRadio, and HBCU Smart TV. She is a securitysuchsecurity,ofallhandleswhoanalystsecuritycyberfacetsonlineas risk assessments, and incident response. She is well versed in interrupting threat attacks and familiar with threat intelligence and cutting-edge security technologies. During her career, she has launched and maintained several broadcast productions from concept to creation. She has also built, launched, and currently manages digital platforms such as HBCUiRadio (on 10 worldwide streaming platforms ) HBCU Smart TV (hbcusmarttv.com, ROKU, and Amazon Fire TV). She earned a master’s degree in cybersecurity from Norfolk State University, and an M.B.A. from Strayer University. PEOPLE TO KNOW
a roadmap to help SMBs in the metaverse accept the complexity of financial assets such as real estate-backed tokens offered by digital asset organization DAO PropTech, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and a range of cryptocurrencies. In doing so, she will refine the merger of virtual and fiat wealth while allowing digital natives to secure lease, mortgage, and credit facilities through an NFT portfolio and other types of virtual assets. In the past, Aslam was head of media planning at several companies and taught at Iqra University in Pakistan. She holds a BBA in advertising and an M.B.A. in marketing.
Women are taking their rightful seat at the table not only to ensure inclusivity and accessibility to jobs in the metaverse but for the metaverse itself to reflect all people, celebratedrepresentedtowhounderrepresentedespeciallygroupsarejustbeginningseethemselvesandinourculture.
Mehwish Aslam Chief Business Officer Be Secure (bSecure) As a chief business officer of checkout automation fintech solution bSecure, Mehwish Aslam is helping small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the metaverse reduce friction points
Women who Move the World
Liz McMann, Electric Vehicle Product Marketing Manager Alison Nelson, Director DEI Strategies & Governance
Karna Crawford, (left) Director, Marketing Communications Suzy Deering, (right) Global Chief Marketing Officer
Linda Zhang, Chief Engineer, F-150® Lightning
Kiersten Robinson, (right) Chief People & Employee Experience Officer, PRIDE Employee Resource Group Rekha Wunnava, IT Director, Industrial Platform
How do you change the face of a historically male-dominated industry? By empowering more women. At Ford, we’re amplifying female voices across all levels of our organization, putting women at the heart of everything we do. From the Production Team member ensuring the plant runs smoothly to the Chief Engineer who brought us the all-electric F-150® Lightning™, each woman of Ford makes us who we are. “We’re encouraging women to be bold and step out and see that they are remarkable and capable and ready to take on that new assignment,” says Alison Nelson, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Strategies and Governance. Through mentorship opportunities, allyship within Employee Resource Groups, and fostering community outreach, we’re working to empower women with the tools and confidence to pursue their dreams.
Alma Reyes, HR Business Advisor, Ford Next Ekaeke Umoh, Team Manager, HF45 Assembly
Keerthika Pandiselvan, (left) Autonomous Vehicle Senior Systems Engineer, PRIDE Employee Resource Group
Nada Saghir, Product Development Engineer, MENA Employee Resource Group
Donni Murphy, Ford Experience Specialist
Meredith Citkowski, Program Management Engineering Supervisor
Melissa Schwager, EMC Engineer, FEDA Employee Resource Group
‘The metaverse is a global effort and new way to bridge the digital divide’ Taborn explained that to stand up a digital twin experience, CCG’s virtual development team created 2D apps with architectural modeling software on crossplatform game engines. Currently, the city in the sky boasts an imposing town square bordered by high-rise buildings that house the STEM City Public School, health and tech nutrition building, career center, museums, and “Aauditoriums.lotofthe talent we use is global,” he said. “We bring a vision—a social vision, an economic vision—and we find the talent. If you are not thinking globally, if you are not looking in China, Pakistan, or India, it will be tough to compete in this kind of environment.” Taborn defined the digital divide as under-resourced communities having an uphill battle to build wealth in knowledge-based science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. More than 25 years ago, the Women of Color STEM Conference was created to increase STEM access for historically underrepresented groups.
“At one o’clock in the morning, anywhere in the world, people can participate,” Taborn said. “So, if you go to the Women of Color STEM Conference platform right now, it’s up and operational.”
“We may have governments that crack down on the connectivity that we need,” he added. “So, our biggest threat in my mind: energy crisis, an environmental crisis where physically something happens to us on this planet, governments who seize control and then seize control of the message. Those are the most significant threats.” Taborn’s book, “Metaquake USA,” will be published by STEM City USA Press in 2022.
What the metaverse means to your professional life ‘Come to STEM City USA if you want to build in the sky’
LAST WORD
“We have created a trusted community of people,” he said. “The metaverse is genuinely a community builder. If you want to be in the metaverse, bring the technology tools as a builder, and you will be a winner.”
‘Technical talent is in great demand’ Taborn said technology is opening new spaces as never before and that the metaverse would transform things. “Everything that existed in the physical world is now part of a digital twin, and you can create in the metaverse what exists in the physical world,” he said. “Thus, there are tons of new opportunities, and you are not limited by anything physical. Whether 2D or engaged in an environment with a headset, it is the same thing because the mind interprets it differently.”
For the first time, CCG, the company that publishes Women of Color magazine and produces the annual Women of Color STEM Conference, was able to take the concept of a conference from simply being a couple of days to continuing right through the year.
Scariest threat Taborn described scenarios where communities lack reliable communications or experience power failures.
WOMENOFCOLOR | SPRING 2022 › 55www.womenofcolor.online Lango ldeen@ccgmag.comDeenE
Taborn revealed plans for people to bring goods and services online and find a distribution market. The other area is an investment. He advised the audience to look at companies that lower technology access barriers.
arlier this year, Tyrone Taborn, CEO of Career Communications Group (CCG), was the keynote speaker for a fireside chat held on the Clubhouse app, a social network based on voice where people come together to talk, listen, and learn from each other in real time. With physical distancing still in place during the pandemic, the metaverse offered an opportunity, Taborn told the global audience. “Holding the Women of Color STEM Conference in the metaverse allowed people to participate, even though they weren’t there physically,” he said. “That is what we have been able to do. That is what the metaverse is. It’s always on, always there.”
SAVE THE DATE OCTOBER 6-8, 2022 www.womenofcolor.net Career Communications Group, Inc. 729 East Pratt St., Suite 504 Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 244-7101 | www.womenofcolor.net Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WOCITC Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/woctechnology THE WOMEN OF COLOR STEM DIGITAL CONFERENCE WOC DTX - THE DIGITAL TWIN EXPERIENCE #wocstemdtx #wocstem2022 Empowering All A parental leave policy giving birthing mothers six months of paid leave, and four months of paid leave to a non-birthing parent. Because members of our employee resource groups spoke up, this bluesky idea became a world-class reality. We’re proud to stand for a diverse, inclusive workplace where everyone feels they belong and is empowered to bring their whole selves and their ideas to work. 355628 Learn more: ConsumersEnergy.com/careers
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We’re highly invested in technology. And people. T. Rowe Price depends on people and innovative technology solutions to drive our company. You’ll be part of a dynamic group working on cybersecurity, enterprise cloud development, and client-facing Web and mobile applications. We believe diversity works, so we hire people with differing backgrounds and experiences. Our associates bring their whole selves to work—their convictions, talents, and Ifpassions.you’reseeking a meaningful technology career in a culture that thrives on teamwork, we invite you to join us. Contact us at troweprice.com/careers. And let’s discuss your future. Rowe Price. T. ROWE PRICE, INVEST WITH CONFIDENCE, and the bighorn sheep design are, collectively and/or apart, trademarks of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.
DEVELOPMENTTHEEXCITINGhttps://devcom.recsolu.com/job_boards/efoHApzhN3L5kTwm-0n6pQCIVILIANCAREERSWITHU.S.ARMYCOMBATCAPABILITIESCOMMAND(DEVCOM)STARTYOURJOURNEYATTHEAFC-DEVCOMBOOTH
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