B RE AK ING
BAR R IER S
#wt2sv
02.28.17
ABOUT WOMEN TRANSFORMING TECHNOLOGY (WT2)
W
omen Transforming Technology (WT2) is a leading
community event for women in tech in Silicon Valley bringing
together industry leaders and community organizations
committed to gender diversity at all levels and areas of technology.
Kara Swisher, executive editor of Re/code, host of the Re/code Decode
podcast and co-executive producer of the Code Conference will deliver
the opening keynote; Gloria Steinem, writer, lecturer, political activist,
and feminist organizer will deliver the closing keynote.
Additional breakout sessions will feature the most relevant speakers
and topics for women working in technology. Sessions are specifically
tailored based on work experience, technical background and interests
to include:
• Emerging leadership breakout sessions for those in the earlier
stages of their career
• Executive leadership breakout sessions for those at the mid-level
and higher
• Technical breakout sessions for attendees on the individual career
track or interested in trends in technology
WT2 will also convene specialized sessions by invitation-only:
• Diversity Council sessions aimed at bringing diversity and
inclusion professionals together to discuss best practices
• VP+ breakouts bring together women VP-level and higher to
discuss executive-level actions based on thoughts from the
keynote speakers
This conference brings something for everyone at all levels and areas
of technology.
The content for this program was developed by a number of program
committees dedicated to providing relevant topics and discussion for
the women in tech community.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Schedule at a Glance
2
Opening Keynote
3
Breaking Barriers Panel 11:00 – 12:00
4
Breakout Sessions 1:00 – 2:00
5
Breakout Sessions 2:30 – 3:30
7
Closing Keynote
10
Conference Map
12
Program Committees
14
Resume/LinkedIn Clinic:
Please refer to your pre-scheduled appointment time.
SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2017
9:00-10:00
Registration and Networking
LinkedIn Profile/Resume Clinic**
10:00-11:00
Opening Keynote: Kara Swisher
11:00-12:00
Breaking Barriers Panel
12:00-1:00
Lunch
1:00-2:00
Breakout
Breakout
Breakout
Emerging
Executive Technical
Leadership Leadership
Breakout
VP+ *
Breakout
Diversity
Council *
2:00-2:30
Break
2:30-3:30
Breakout
Breakout
Breakout
Emerging
Executive Technical
Leadership Leadership
Breakout
VP+ *
Breakout
Diversity
Council *
3:30-4:00
Break
4:00-5:00
Closing Keynote: Gloria Steinem
5:00-6:00
Reception and Networking Event
* These sessions are by invitation only.
** A
ttendees must have registered for this session in advance. Please see your email for
scheduled appointment time.
2
OPENING KEYNOTE
Kara Swisher
10:00 – 11:00 am
Room: City Hall
K
ara Swisher is the executive editor of Re/code, host of the Re/code
Decode podcast and co-executive producer of the Code Conference.
Re/code and Code are wholly owned by Vox Media, a company with
an audience of 170 million worldwide. It has eight distinct media brands: The
Verge (Technology and Culture), Vox.com (News), SB Nation (Sports), Polygon
(Gaming), Eater (Food and Nightlife), Racked (Shopping, Beauty and Fashion),
Curbed (Real Estate and Home), as well as Re/code (Tech
Business).
Swisher co-founded former Re/code and Code owner Revere
Digital and, before that, co-produced and co-hosted The Wall
Street Journal’s “D: All Things Digital,” with Mossberg. It was
the major high-tech conference with interviewees such as Bill
Gates, Steve Jobs and many other leading players in the tech
and media industries. The gathering was considered one of the
leading conferences focused on the convergence of tech and
media industries.
She and Mossberg were also the co-executive editors of a tech and media
Web site, AllThingsD.com.
Swisher worked in The Wall Street Journal’s San Francisco bureau. For
many years, she wrote the column, “BoomTown,” which appeared on the front
page of the Marketplace section and also on The Wall Street Journal Online at
WSJ.com. Previously, Swisher covered breaking news about the Web’s major
players and Internet policy issues and also wrote feature articles on technology
for the paper. She has also written a weekly column for the Personal Journal on
home issues called “Home Economics.”
Previously, Swisher worked as a reporter at the Washington Post and as an
editor at the City Paper of Washington, D.C. She received her undergraduate
degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and her
graduate degree at Columbia University’s School of Journalism.
Swisher is also the author of “aol.com: How Steve Case Beat Bill Gates,
Nailed the Netheads and Made Millions in the War for the Web,” published by
Times Business Books in July 1998. The sequel, “There Must Be a Pony in
Here Somewhere: The AOL Time Warner Debacle and the Quest for a Digital
Future,” was published in the fall of 2003 by Crown Business Books.
Note: Kara will also be participating in the VP+ Breakout which is by invitation only
from 1:00 - 2:00 pm.
3
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Room: City Hall
Breaking Barriers Panel
Moderator: Lori Mackenzie, Executive Director, Clayman Institute
for Gender Research at Stanford University
Panelists: Kathy Chou, VP, Research & Development Operations and
Central Services, VMware; Susan Chen, VP, Business Development,
Mozilla; Lynn Christensen, SVP, Applications Development, Workday
& Erin Kitchen, Vice President, Global Diversity & Inclusion, Dell
This panel of senior female technology executives will share their own
experiences breaking through barriers throughout their careers. The group will
offer examples on how they have overcome obstacles, dealt with personal
and professional challenges, constantly changing demands in technology and
innovation, and how they have persisted in some of the most difficult situations
an executive can face. The panelists will offer advice to attendees on how their
experience can help each of us reach our own career goals given changes in
the technology industry.
Lori Mackenzie
Susan Chen
Kathy Chou
12:00 – 1:00 pm
Lunch
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Breakout sessions
4
Lynn Christensen Erin Kitchen
EMERGING LEADERSHIP TRACK
Room: Golden Gate
Rebecca Fitzhugh, Consulting Architect
Leadership Lessons Learned from the Marine Corps
Being a good leader is about more than just getting the job done. Leaders must
balance their team’s needs with their own goals, working in the best interest
of the entire team. Leadership is not something everyone knows how to do
instinctively. Leadership, whether in intense combat or in the tech industry, is a
learned skill that belongs in everyone’s toolbox. The speaker will share her own
personal experiences and lessons learned from time on active duty
military and how they’re applicable in tech.
Rebecca is an independent consulting architect (VCDX #243),
published author, blogger, and technical evangelist. In a past life,
she served 5 years in the United States Marine Corps.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TRACK
Room: City Hall
Tech for Good: Design Thinking for
Influence and Impact
Moderator: Sue Bethanis, Founder and CEO, Mariposa Leadership, Inc.
Panelists: Risa Stack, Ph.D., General Manager, GE Ventures, New
Business Creation; Lila Ibrahim, Chief Operations Officer, Coursera
& Nicola Acutt, Ph.D, Vice President, Sustainability Strategy,
VMware – Office of the CTO
Curious about how you can leverage your knowledge and skillset in technology
as a force for good? Ever wished you could design a greater sense of impact and
purpose into your career? Drawing inspiration from a design thinking approach
to leadership, this session will examine radical curiosity and big picture thinking
in innovation cultures. Our panel of thought-leaders will share strategies and
practical tips from their work at the confluence of technology and social impact
in education, healthcare and the environment. The session will challenge our
assumptions about influence skills by examining the importance of “influenceability” in leading for impact (and creating a purposeful career in the process). Be
prepared to open your mind to opportunities for greater influence and impact.
Sue Bethanis
Nicola Acutt
Lila Ibrahim
5
Risa Stack
TECHNICAL TRACK
Room: Bay Bridge
Reshmi Krishna, Cloud Application & Platform Architect, Pivotal
Building Cloud Native Applications
Cloud Native Applications have a lot of benefits like individual
scaling, individual deployments. However, when we are building
them, we also need to think about challenges like configuration
management in the cloud, load balancing, service registry,
latency analysis. In this talk, we will talk about industry wide
best practices for designing your applications for the cloud. We
will also discuss the design patterns and tools available to us like 15 Factor
App, Spring Boot, Spring Cloud. At the end, you should feel empowered to
build scalable, resilient cloud native applications that can run on any cloud
infrastructure.
VP+ BREAKOUT – BY INVITATION ONLY
Room: Lefty O’Doul
Fireside Chat with Kara Swisher
Hosted by Betsy Sutter, Corporate Senior Vice President and
Chief People Officer, VMware
DIVERSITY COUNCIL – BY INVITATION ONLY
Room: Ferry Building
Melissa Abad, Research Associate, Center for the Advancement of
Women’s Leadership & Alison Wynn, Graduate Dissertation Fellow
2016-17, Sociology
Breaking STEM Pipeline Barriers
Alison Wynn and Melissa Abad from Stanford will lead a conversation and share
research on what successful strategies for breaking STEM pipeline barriers look
like and how “culture fit” impacts the hiring of women.
Melissa Abad
Alison Wynn
6
2:00 – 2:30 pm
Break
2:30 – 3:30 pm
Breakout sessions
EMERGING LEADERSHIP TRACK
Room: Golden Gate
Madhura Dudhgaonkar, Engineering Leader: Data and Machine
Learning Products, Workday, Inc.
How to Pursue a Successful Career
in Leadership
Most leadership books focus on what it means to be a great
leader. But there is no practical framework to help you decide if
you have what it takes to pursue and succeed in the leadership
track. In this session we will discuss the “Dos” of great leaders
and the “Don’ts” of the struggling ones. In addition, you will
receive some practical tools to help with your leadership decision:
1. A map of day-to-day work-life at early leadership levels.
2. A practical framework to assess if you are ready for the leap.
i. Make or break competencies
ii. Value system shift
iii. Are you ready for what’s to come?
You will walk away with a toolset to navigate key decision points in your
career. When the right leadership opportunity arises, you will be able to
make the decision with knowledge and confidence to succeed.
7
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TRACK
Room: City Hall
Pattie Vargas, Speaker, Coach and Trainer, Vargas Group
Extraordinary Teams, Extraordinary Results!™
For Women Who Leads Teams
Of all the skills required of a leader, the one and only thing we
truly have control over are team interactions. Too often we
focus on the technical aspects of our work, thinking so-called
soft-skills are just a “nice to have” and yet studies confirm
that strong interpersonal skills are the new management core
competency.
Participants will learn how to develop the five characteristics of an
Extraordinary Team:
•Trust: Recognize the identifiers that indicate either high or low trust on your
team and learn practical tips for increasing honesty and vulnerability.
•Managed Conflict: How we manage conflict indicates the level of trust on our
teams.
•Outrageous accountability: Learn how to use positive peer pressure and
honest conversations to increase accountability to personal and team goals.
•Self-management: Leading others takes a heightened awareness of self.
Develop new insights on how to turn external negatives events into an internal
catalyst for change.
•Commitment: Leverage your innate ability to inspire confidence, loyalty and
commitment to a common goal.
8
TECHNICAL TRACK
Room: Bay Bridge
Jiaqi Liu, Data Scientist, Capital One
Velocity, Volume & Veracity: Leveraging DevOps
Culture in Data Science
Nowadays, it is not only necessary for us to be able to
process big data, but we also must be able to do it quickly and
accurately. It is important for certain types of work to have a
unified batch and real time architecture that includes a real time
decision engine coupled with historical data and feedback loops
for improving the algorithm. In this talk, we will discuss how
such an architecture would allow for data science work to find the right balance
between the three Vs. In addition, we will discuss the value of leveraging
devops in data science work and the challenges of training and maintaining a
real-time decision making model.
VP+ BREAKOUT – BY INVITATION ONLY
Room: Lefty O’Doul Bridge
Fireside Chat with Gloria Steinem
Hosted by Carrie Varoquiers, Vice President, Global Impact,
Workday, Inc. and President, Workday Foundation
DIVERSITY COUNCIL – BY INVITATION ONLY
Room: Ferry Building
Sharon Janke, Stanford University & Melissa Abad, Research
Associate, Center for the Advancement of Women’s Leadership
What Blind Auditions Tell Us About Diversity
in Tech
We will discuss different definitions of diversity — who do we imagine
embodies diversity and why? To kick off this conversation, Sharon Janke from
Stanford, will share research in progress on how blind hiring processes change
recruiting outcomes — and for whom.
Melissa Abad
9
3:30 – 4:00 pm
Break
CLOSING KEYNOTE
Gloria Steinem
4:00 – 5:00 pm
•
Room: City Hall
G
loria Steinem is a writer, lecturer, political activist, and feminist organizer.
She travels in this and other countries as an organizer and lecturer and is
a frequent media spokeswoman on issues of equality. She is particularly
interested in the shared origins of sex and race caste systems, gender roles
and child abuse as roots of violence, non-violent conflict resolution, the cultures
of indigenous peoples, and organizing across boundaries for peace and justice.
She now lives in New York City and has just finished a book detailing her more
than thirty years on the road as a feminist organizer.
In 1972, she co-founded Ms. magazine, and remained one of its editors
for fifteen years. She continues to serve as a consulting editor for Ms., and
was instrumental in the magazine’s move to join and be
published by the Feminist Majority Foundation. In 1968,
she had helped to found New York magazine, where she
was a political columnist and wrote feature articles. As a
freelance writer, she was published in Esquire, The New
York Times Magazine, and women’s magazines as well
as for publications in other countries. She has produced a
documentary on child abuse for HBO, a feature film about
the death penalty for Lifetime, and been the subject of
profiles on Lifetime and Showtime.
Her books include the bestsellers Revolution from Within:
A Book of Self-Esteem, Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, Moving
Beyond Words, and Marilyn: Norma Jean, on the life of Marilyn Monroe, and
in India, As If Women Matter. Her writing also appears in many anthologies
and textbooks, and she was an editor of Houghton Mifflin’s The Reader’s
Companion to U.S. Women’s History.
Ms. Steinem helped to found the Women’s Action Alliance, a pioneering
national information center that specialized in nonsexist, multiracial children’s
education, and the National Women’s Political Caucus, a group that continues
to work to advance the numbers of pro-equality women in elected and
appointed office at a national and state level. She also co-founded the
10
5:00 – 6:00 pm
Reception and Networking
Women’s Media Center in 2004. She was president and co-founder of Voters
for Choice, a pro-choice political action committee for twenty-five years, then
with the Planned Parenthood Action Fund when it merged with VFC for the
2004 elections. She was also co-founder and serves on the board of URGE,
a national organization that supports young pro-choice leadership and works
to preserve comprehensive sex education in schools. She was the founding
president of the Ms. Foundation for Women, and also a founder of its Take
Our Daughters to Work Day, a first national day devoted to girls that has now
become an institution here and in other countries.
As a writer, Ms. Steinem has received the James Weldon Johnson Award
for Journalism, Penney-Missouri Journalism Award, the Front Page and
Clarion awards, National Magazine awards, an Emmy Citation for excellence
in television writing, the Women’s Sports Journalism Award, the Lifetime
Achievement in Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists,
the Society of Writers Award from the United Nations, and most recently, the
University of Missouri School of Journalism Award for Distinguished Service in
Journalism. In 2015, Gloria received the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for her lasting
humanitarian contributions.
Ms. Steinem graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Smith College in 1956, and then
spent two years in India on a Chester Bowles Fellowship. She also received
the first Doctorate of Human Justice awarded by Simmons College, the Bill of
Rights Award from the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California,
the National Gay Rights Advocates Award, the Liberty award of the Lambda
Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Ceres Medal from the United Nations,
and a number of honorary degrees. Parenting magazine selected her for its
Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995 for her work in promoting girls’ selfesteem, and Biography magazine listed her as one of the 25 most influential
women in America. In 1993, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall
of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York. And in 2013, President Obama awarded
her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor. Rutgers
University is now creating the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture
and Feminist Studies.
Note: Gloria will also be participating in the VP+ Breakout which is by invitation only
from 2:30 - 3:30 pm.
11
CONFERENCE MAP
Mother’s
Room
Ferry Building
Golden Ga
HTE Foyer
LinkedIn
Profile
Clinic
Check-in
Area
12
ate Bridge
Bay Bridge
Lefty O’Doul Bridge
City Hall
13
PROGRAM COMMITTEES
WT2 is a catalyst for women in technology. We want to take this opportunity
to thank the Program Committees for their leadership driving the design of
this event.
Emerging Leadership
Technical
Sujani Andra
Hazel Barker
Jonida Cali
Debbie Donaldson
Cheryl Eagan
Nataliya Flesher
Jatinder Kaur
Margaret Kelleher
Price Peacock
JC Sullivan
Heather Wujekjohns
Karishma Babu
Cornelia Davis
Amber Grimaldi
Mimi Hills
Jenny Mui
Susan Rendina
Dhivya Srinivasan
Cherry Summers
Steering Committee
Sindy Braun
Tracie Giles
Laura Greenwald
Theresa Kushner
Lisa Clarey Lawler
Edward Perotti
Michael Thacker
Executive Leadership
Laura Bellamy
Laurie Clough
Amee Cooper
Jeffery Janowitz
Alaina Percival
Gwen Romack
Mary Sullivan
Jennifer Tacheff
Conference Conveners
Amber Boyle
Deanna Kosaraju
Michelle Rodriguez
Arti Sharma
14
NOTES
15
222031-VMW-AD-WT2-103-print.pdf
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2/10/17
11:56 AM
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