Tech in the Right Direction

How Government and Tech are Working Together to Create a Better Tomorrow

This week's guest is Jen Snyder, Chief Evangelist at GovQA - a provider of SaaS-based collaboration tools enabling the nation's top cities, counties, and state agencies to process complex work while facilitating internal and external communications in a highly secure environment. Jen is also a guest speaker and moderator for government events, roundtables, and associations with nearly fifteen years of experience in the state and local government space - plus another ten years managing local and international business development initiatives for B2B tech companies.
Today we talk about Jen's move to the tech industry and how GovQA is helping build a better tomorrow. We also discuss the different opportunities women have when entering the tech industry and finding what fits them best.
Thank you for listening; we hope Jen's story helps inspire others to grow their tech career.

Creating Representation in Technical Roles

This week's guest is Kris Blackmon, the Chief Channel Officer at JS Group - a management consulting firm specializing in creating impactful indirect go-to-market strategies for tech firms. Kris has been in the channel market for several years now, which she has used to develop her skills and grow into an executive role within JS Group. She is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and her volunteer efforts bring her a deep sense of fulfillment.
Today we talk about Kris's career journey and how she found herself working in the tech industry. We also talk about her passion for making a difference regarding women's career opportunities and growth - especially in more technical roles.
Thank you for listening; we hope Kris's story helps inspire others to grow their tech career.

How-to Rise Above and Become a Leader

This week's guest is Holley Hunt, Sales Director at IntelliSite - an organization that focuses on turnkey IoT solutions that build out to a wide range of managed applications that create connected businesses and actionable outcomes. Holley has been passionately involved in the security industry for over 20 years. She currently represents innovations in IoT, AI, and Computer Vision for smarter and more secure solutions.
Today we talk about Holley's beginnings in the tech industry and how she became a director and leader at IntelliSite. We also discuss the challenges women face when entering the tech industry and how to rise above these challenges to become leaders within an organization.
Thank you for listening; we hope Holley's story helps inspire others to grow their tech career.

How-to Break Barriers for Women in Tech

This week's guest is Shindy Chen, the Founder and CEO of Scribe - a global financial content consultancy and agency based in New York. As a former guest contributor and on-air expert for media outlets such as The Huffington Post and Cheddar TV, she wrote on fintech, credit, lifestyle, career, and travel advice. She has also authored three books: 
 
"The Credit Cleanup Book"​ (Praeger) was published in 2014.
Its sequel, "Credit Score Hacks" (Scribe) released in September 2017 and hit #1 on 2 Amazon Bestseller lists in its first week of release.
"The First Time"​ (Scribe), released in February 2017, hit 3 Top 10 Amazon bestseller romance lists.
 
Today we talk about Shindy's beginnings in the fintech industry and what led her to start her own company. We also talk about how women can advocate for themselves and overcome challenges such as the gender pay gap.
 
Thank you for listening; we hope Shindy's story helps inspire others to grow their tech career.

How-to Grow Women's Presence in the Tech Industry

Christine Bongard is the President of the WIT (Women in Tech) Network, and she is joining us in this week’s episode to discuss the amazing work her organization does. The WIT Network is present in over 30 countries worldwide and it is working diligently on encouraging women and girls to pursue careers in the technology sector, enable more women to attain leadership positions and support more female entrepreneurs in their professional endeavors. Christine talked to us about including more girls in the tech world through working with schools, creating work environments that are more welcoming to women and insisting on inclusion strategies. She emphasizes the importance of inspiring and coaching each other to gain confidence needed for a successful career in the fast-paced technology industry. Despite the long road that is still ahead, Christine is confident this is a great time for women in technology as companies are opening up and more opportunities are being offered to marginalized groups. Tune in to learn more about Christine's efforts and pick up on some great advice that she shared with our listeners.

Why Understanding Data Is Critical for the Success of Your Business

Joining us in this week’s episode of our podcast is Sarika Malhotra, a dynamic business leader who spent over 25 years consulting companies around the world, helping them with their IT needs. Today, Sarika is the founder and CEO of C3IT Software Solutions and a community leader at IAMCP, a not-for-profit working with the Microsoft Partner Channel, however she told us her amazing journey in the world of technology started by mistake. Sarika almost followed in her father’s footsteps and joined the army as a medical professional, but her drive and ambition led her down a different path. A bold and energetic entrepreneur that she is, Sarika understands how critical data analysis is to run a successful business which is why she focuses on helping large enterprises comprehend and utilize information in the best way possible with the goal of transforming and bettering their business. Her work, however, does not stop there. Sarika is also engaged with the international partner community to encourage diversity at the workplace. She is an active proponent of inclusion of people with different backgrounds and aside from telling us about her professional endeavors, she shared her thoughts on the significance of workplace diversity.

How-to Lead the Way for Positive Change in Technology

This week's guest is Sherlaender (Lani) Phillips, the VP of US Channel Sales for Microsoft. Lani brings over 20 years of experience in managing transformation in technology and inclusive leadership. As a recognized member of Microsoft leadership, Lani has been a driving force behind creating a more diverse and inclusive workforce which in turn has made Microsoft a centerpiece for positive reform within the tech industry. Lani's story of creating positive change is an inspiration to everyone facing the challenges in today's tech culture. Lani credits her success to her personal experiences, the people she's surrounded herself with, and the education she’s sought out. She also credits a few books that have helped her along the way:
Inclusive Leadership: The Definitive Guide to Developing and Executing an Impactful Diversity and Inclusion Strategy: - Locally and Globally
Inclusive Leadership: From Awareness to Action
THRIVE: The Facilitator's Guide to Radically Inclusive Meetings
Lani's work and story will continue to leave an indelible mark on the world of technology. You can continue to follow her story when her book arrives in 2021. We want to thank you for listening and we hope that Lani's story inspires you to be a part of the transformative change that is taking place in the world of technology.

How-to Overcome the Challenges Women are Facing In Tech

This week's guest is Gavriella Schuster, Corporate VP of Commercial Partners at Microsoft. Gavriella currently leads a global portfolio of channel partners that has influenced over $1 trillion in ecosystem revenues through Microsoft's fastest-growing ecosystem. She has over 20 years of leadership in digital and cloud transformation roles, driving strategy and execution spanning all aspects of the business model and product development, launch, marketing, sales, and partner development. As a builder and change agent, she has built and turned around businesses by inspiring a vision for future customer relevance and engaging teams in developing the roadmap.
Today we talk about Gavriella's beginnings in the tech industry and how she became an executive-level leader at Microsoft. We also talk about the challenges women face when entering the tech industry and how to overcome those challenges.
Thank you for listening; we hope Gavriella's story helps inspire others to grow their tech career.