Tech in the Right Direction

How Women are Shaping the Future of AI

This week's guest is Asra Nadeem, the first female Pakistani venture capitalist, and global speaker. She began her entrepreneurial career working on product and market development for startups in the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. Today she is the co-founder of Opus AI, which is a streaming platform that turns plain text into movies and playable 3D worlds in real-time. Asra is also the president of Draper University, which helps budding entrepreneurs grow their startups.
Asra is helping develop the future of technology, and she sees AI as fundamental for this future. Asra also knows that women are helping push the boundaries of AI and sees that it will take more investment in women to make the future of AI a reality.
Asra is creating real-world change when it comes to the presence of women in technology, and she is dedicated to funding more women-owned startups. From her humble beginnings in Pakistan to an influential entrepreneur, Asra is someone that every woman can look to as inspiration on their own path.
Opus AI: https://opus.ai/
Draper University: https://www.draperuniversity.com/

How-to Make a Career Pivot into Tech

This week we’re joined by Jenna Beckett, web developer, technical trainer, and an active leader in tech who is passionate about promoting the female voice.
Jenna joins the show to talk about how she made a career pivot into tech and how she grew into a Full-stack Web Developer and Technical Trainer specializing in the .Net stack. Jenna is an active WIT community leader who is passionate about promoting the female voice in tech. As a woman who has faced the challenge of shifting careers and making the jump into the industry, Jenna has a great perspective on what it takes to create positive change for women everywhere.
Jenna is someone who has blazed a path that other women looking to get into tech can follow. Thanks for listening, and we hope that Jenna's story inspires women everywhere to be a part of positive change so that they too can get into the world of technology.

The Renaissance Woman

There is nothing this incredibly successful entrepreneur and well-rounded expert cannot do. In this week’s episode, we had the joy to talk to Arabel Alva Rosales, the president and CEO of AAR & Associates that utilizes technology to transform both private and public sector entities into exceptionally run organizations. Her business also provides consulting expertise in the area of telecommunications. She majored in Business Administration at Loyola, obtained her Juris Doctorate degree from DePaul College of Law, and holds an executive certificate from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. As we chatted with Arabel, we had the pleasure to witness her expertise that lies in both management and technology tools as well as her constant evolving; a trait much needed in the tech world. Additionally, this multitalented professional is co-owner and co-executive producer of Latino Fashion Week, the only full week dedicated to Latino Fashion in the country. Be sure to tune in and learn more about Arabel’s diverse endeavors that made Chicago Magazine describe her as “Renaissance Woman”.

There’s always more that we can do for diversity!

In this week’s episode, we welcome Karen Fassio. Since her humble beginnings as a receptionist in a tech company to over her 21 years at Microsoft, Karen acquired rich and diverse working experience by holding multiple marketing roles. Currently, she is the leader of the strategy for digital marketing engagement that serves the global Microsoft partner ecosystem. Her engagement with the tech world, however, does not stop there; Karen is also co-founder and steering chair of Women in Cloud, a community-centered organization committed to helping female entrepreneurs lead and grow their business in the cloud. Join us as we discuss Karen's amazing career journey and all the milestones achieved along the way, as well as her incredible drive and passion for diversity and stronger inclusion of women in a male-dominated industry.

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 Find Your Voice in the Business World

This week, Tech in the Right direction features a multilingual business delivery executive that made her way from Czech Republic to the United States bringing an invaluable global perspective into the tech world. Her name is Sandra Kafka and during our conversation she not only shares her incredible journey with us, but also reminds us that in the world of technology staying agile, adaptable, and open to constant learning is the true key to success. As she continues to grow professionally, Sandra is still refining her business skills by pursuing an MBA at Northwestern University and offering her mentorship skills to young and emerging tech professionals.
Join us this week to hear more about Sandra’s path to finding her own voice in the business world, ways she conquered many challenges that women face in a male-dominated industry and gain insight from a female trailblazer who is not afraid to fall and get back up to try again.

Why Mentors and Women are Lucrative for the Tech Industry

Joining us this week on Tech in the Right Direction is Rona Borre, CEO of Instant Alliance. Rona is one of the leading female entrepreneurs in the Chicagoland area and has received numerous awards such as Inspiring Woman of the Year and is an advocate for women in tech. Listen in to see the incredible work that Rona is doing to help elevate women in technology and advice on how to get into technology, the different roles and aspects within tech, and the importance of mentors.

How to Ensure Health & Safety While Reopening Your Business After COVID-19

This week on Tech in the Right Direction we welcome Michelle Vondrasek. founder and CEO of Von technologies. As one of the few women in the telecommunications industry, Michelle discusses what differentiates her such as consistency, quality and values and dives into the importance of morals, integrity and values within her company and their culture. Jennifer and Michelle discuss the adversity they have faced as women in the tech industry and how they have overcome it. Later, they visit the impact of COVID-19 and the system Michelle has created that ensures the health and safety of visitors and staff by monitoring and proactively alerting according to social distance guidelines.