We need to change the way we communicate with girls about what it means to work in tech. Coding bootcamps, coding academies, coding workshops—it feels like everyone is learning how to code, especially girls. But, are we sending the right message about what it means to work in tech? Could the ongoing pressure to learn to code be dissuading women from considering a career in the tech industry? With close to a decade of experience in the tech sector, Adrienne Weissman has become a leader in each of the organizations she has served despite never learning to code. Prior to joining G2 Crowd as chief marketing officer, Weissman served as LinkedIn’s director of marketing where she drove the social networking platform’s content marketing and advertising programs alongside companies such as Microsoft, Accenture, Harvard, Ford and FedEx. She also served as a senior sales executive at Google for seven years, where she assisted in building Google’s search, display and video business.

Here are 3-5 Key Takeaways for Attendees:

• Learning to code isn’t the only path to a career in tech.
• There are numerous non-technical career paths available in the tech industry.
• It starts with educating yourself. If you want to learn a new skill, find a class and sign up. The internet is an endless resource of information.

Adrienne Weissman

Chief Marketing Officer & Head of Partnerships
G2 Crowd Inc.

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Adrienne Weissman

Adrienne Weissman

Chief Marketing Officer & Head of Partnerships, G2 Crowd Inc.

G2 Crowd is the world’s leading business solution review platform. Since joining the organization in 2015, Weissman has played a major role in fueling the growth of the company’s brand, customers and partnerships. Before joining G2 Crowd as CMO, Weissman served as LinkedIn’s director of marketing solutions where she worked with leading enterprise global B2B and B2C brands including Microsoft, Accenture, Ford, Harvard and FedEx to leverage the social networking platform to drive content marketing and advertising programs. Weissman previously served as Google’s senior sales executive, business and team leader, while she helped build Google's search, display and video businesses for close to seven years. Weissman has also been a long-time board member of the Chicago Business Marketing Association.

College students pondering careers in high tech have perceptions of what life is like inside large organizations and the many small to midsize companies that populate the market. Life inside both are very different with each requiring a different skill set to advance and succeed. In this session, attendees will hear the realities of what life is life inside a large, multinational organizations from executives who have worked inside these companies. Small companies and start-ups offer a different experience but the environment may be no less challenging than that of a Fortune 500 firm. Attendees will hear the gritty details of the skills needed to succeed, the realities vs. perceptions of each and a roadmap to make the right decision to start a career in either setting.

Julie Haley

CEO
Edge Solutions

Marie Rourke

President & Founder
WhiteFox Marketing & Communications

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Julie Haley

Julie Haley

CEO, Edge Solutions

Haley’s invaluable 20-year career as a business and commercial litigation attorney with a focus on driving public sector initiatives and key lobbying efforts in support of education and sustainable growth across the southern US drive the success of Edge Solutions.  In addition to her experience as a law associate at several top Texas law firms, Haley has committed years of service to key public service positions, including chief lobbyist for the Georgia PTA, Congressman Tom Price’s Citizen Advisory Board, the Fulton County Code Enforcement Board, and other education advocacy and advisory boards.  Haley was named as the North Fulton Small Business Person of the Year in 2011, CRN’s Top 100 Women of the Channel in 2011 through 2014, and a finalist for Women in Technology’s Woman of the Year in 2011.

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Marie Rourke

Marie Rourke

President & Founder, WhiteFox Marketing & Communications

Marie Rourke is recognized for her straightforward, business-minded approach to channel marketing, PR and communications. As the founder of WhiteFox and the voice behind @ChannelPR, Marie is an accomplished and influential PR strategist who knows the ins and outs of the IT channel. Under Marie's leadership, WhiteFox plays an integral, behind-the-scenes role within the sales and marketing teams of high-profile technology companies, emerging and established IT vendors, solution providers and MSPs. Previously, Marie served as the North America spokesperson and lead media strategist for Ingram Micro. Earlier in her career, Marie worked for top PR agencies including Roberts Mealer and Creamer Dickson Basford.

Linda Hutchinson, partner sales leader for Ciena, will share inspiring advice on how to become a successful women tech leader and get the tools you need to confidently advance your career.

Linda Hutchinson

NA Channel Sales Leader
Ciena

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Linda Hutchinson

Linda Hutchinson

NA Channel Sales Leader, Ciena

Linda Hutchinson is NA Channel Leader for Ciena Corporation, a network strategy and technology company. In this role she is responsible for all aspects of Ciena’s channel go-to-market strategy, partner sales, and field enablement for Value Added Resellers, System Integrators, Solution Providers, Tier 2 Distributors, and Managed Service Providers.  With over 15 years of senior leadership in channel centric roles, she is known for “connecting the dots” to anticipate where high tech markets are converging and being a change agent transforming sales organizations into high performing teams.

Prior to joining Ciena, she was a director at F500 technology companies in variety of senior sales leadership, corporate strategy, global alliance, and channel development roles, and enjoyed a stint as an entrepreneur leading an information security and risk management consulting firm, S2R Execution Bridge.

She is an active WIT Girls (www.mywit.org) volunteer where she formerly led the Career Explorations team that is focused on raising STEM awareness within middle and high school girls to ignite their interest in pursuing STEM careers.  Ms. Hutchinson received her Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from Auburn University and her MBA from Emory University.

 

Hear from high achieving young women in college who are destined for greatness. Gain an understanding of what these future leaders want from their educational experience and how they view their career choices especially when it comes to the tech industry. Students will discuss their perceptions about careers in the IT and high-tech sector along with the types of companies that attract them. Gain insight into what these young women want from employers; the leadership that inspires them; the type of work they find rewarding and the importance of mentorship in their lives. This peer-panel will help attendees plan for what's ahead and how to capitalize on the rapid pace of change in high-tech. Attendees will also have a chance to ask the panelists and moderator questions about careers, education and life.

Pennie Turgeon

Vice President for Information Technology and CIO
Clark University

Farhana Emu

Student
DeVry University

Gabriella Southwick

Student
Clark University

Kayla Wright

Student
Bowie State University

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Pennie Turgeon

Pennie Turgeon

Vice President for Information Technology and CIO, Clark University

As Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at Clark University (www.clarku.edu), Pennie is responsible for ensuring that Clark's IT resources are aligned with the strategic priorities of the University, and that IT services are reliable, sustainable, easy to use, and cost efficient. To accomplish this task, she works with Clark's faculty, administration, staff and trustees to provide leadership, direction, and overall coordination of all aspects of information technology. This includes administrative and academic information systems, academic and instructional support, high performance computing, media services, technology-enhanced classrooms, videoconferencing and web streaming, web applications development, computing labs, help desk services, networks, systems, and IT/data security policies. She also coordinates University requests for the procurement of IT resources, and is responsible for the management of vendor and partner relationships.

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Farhana Emu

Farhana Emu

Student, DeVry University

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Gabriella Southwick

Gabriella Southwick

Student, Clark University

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Kayla Wright

Kayla Wright

Student, Bowie State University

You’ve heard of social media but what about professional media. This session will help job candidates and established professionals differentiate themselves in today's competitive business world. Everyone is more than just a resume. Spending countless hours perfecting a resume isn’t as relevant as everyone assumes. As college students and those in the workforce make transitions to first jobs or advance tehir careers they need to shift their mentality and expand their presence to grow and project a personal brand. This session will cover some of the core building blocks, good habits and esoteric patterns everyone can take advantage of to become a beacon of light in the culture of today’s companies. It’s time to create clarity in a world of chaos. Attendees will learn about how employers think and common behavior patterns from successful people so they can position themselves toward a fun and engaging future. 

Ira Bell

Co-Founder & CTO
Recruit.com

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Ira Bell

Ira Bell

Co-Founder & CTO, Recruit.com

Imagine what your life would be like if your mother was the CEO of a global company.  Instead of just helping with your homework, she could provide the type of advice that would propel your career and allow you to overcome the many obstacles that keep women from fulfilling their full potential at work.

Key topics that will be covered:

• First impressions are critical in building a career.  Nothing can replace experience and confidence, but being judged on how you look is a reality of the working world.  Approach your appearance as you would your resume.  The most important part is the substance, but without clean formatting, proper spelling and grammar someone reviewing it may never delve into the content.
• Networking and Relationships: Building business relationships is like putting money in the bank.  Every time you have a positive interaction with someone, you create equity.  Then if something goes wrong down the road, you can make a withdrawal, and still have plenty left in the account.

Karyn Schoenbart

CEO
The NPD Group

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Karyn Schoenbart

Karyn Schoenbart

CEO, The NPD Group

Karyn Schoenbart, author of MOM.B.A., is CEO of The NPD Group, a global provider of information and advisory services to many of the world’s leading brands. She has over 30 years of experience in the market research field, with expertise in identifying and developing new business opportunities and client partnerships.

It is more than the classwork and grade points that open doors, land internships, and ultimately catapult someone into the career direction they desire. When JJ DiGeronimo was in school, she had few lessons on how to represent herself, how to position her accomplishments and how to handle negative responses. Throughout the last two decades, she has collected insights and strategies that have been instrumental through the twists and turns of her careers. As the president of Tech Savvy Women, DiGeronimo advanced from entry-level positions into leadership positions within technology companies mostly based in Silicon Valley. She includes strategies and insights in her new book “Accelerate Your Impact.”

DiGeronimo will share some of these insights with attendees including:

• How to position yourself for the future
• How to strategically represent yourself
• Rally toward yes
• Align with your tribe

JJ DiGeronimo

President
Tech Savvy Women

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JJ DiGeronimo

JJ DiGeronimo

President, Tech Savvy Women

JJ DiGeronimo, President of Tech Savvy Women, is one of the most highly regarded speakers, authors and executive strategists to attract, retain and advance professional women. Through her keynotes and executive sessions, JJ shares effective leadership, influence and inclusion strategies to accelerate professional women.

JJ is a featured columnist for Smart Business Magazine and has been quoted in numerous publications including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, The Glass Hammer, Working Women Magazine, The Grindstone, ITWorld, Career-Intelligence and Rescue a CEO. She has shared her insights and discoveries with many corporations and women’s organizations.  She’s was recently included in the Top 100 Women Visionary Leaders to Watch in 2016 by Innov8tiv’s, received the Innovation Award from the Small Business Network, recognized as one of the Top 25 People in Technology in “Inside Business Cleveland” and was awarded the Next Generation Indie Book Awards for her book.

JJ includes these experiences along with hours of research in her book new book “Accelerate Your Impact” Aug. 2016.  This complements her 2011 book, “The Working Woman’s GPS”. She also contributed to the book, “The Confident Woman, Tapping Into Your Inner Power” and hosts regular videos on TechSavvyWomen.TV.