Meet fellow conference attendees with 1:1 SPEED NETWORKING for 7 minutes each session, with the option to extend the conversation. Be sure to ADD YOUR INTERESTS into your profile in the virtual conference platform to optimize your matching!

Or, ease into a conversation without a time limit in our virtual SOCIAL LOUNGE – a place to meet like-minded attendees.

Join the team behind Girl Geek X – Angie Chang and Sukrutha Bhadouria – online as we share our motivations for extending this FREE ELEVATE Conference & Career Fair for mid-to-senior women – and why it’s so important.

Do you want to influence? How do you do it an individual contributor?

Roojuta Lalani (Staff Software Engineer, Slack) will discuss how to build expertise in a domain, so that you can carve your unique role in the organization. She will cover how to play to your strengths, and reveal how to influence the influencers. Attendees will leave with the the importance of networking intentionally.

Embracing the role of follower involves leadership skills.

Kenya Simmons (Senior Global Program Manager, Honeywell) believes that leadership is built on a foundation of followership. By embracing the role of a follower, you develop empathy, teamwork, and an understanding of what it takes to support a leader’s vision. Attendees will learn from diverse perspectives about how to be a good follow and foster an inclusive environment. She will help prepare you for your next leadership role by highlighting competencies and share advice for honing your self-awareness and emotional intelligence.

Learn how data engineering powers up analytics and builds bridges.

Sreyashi Das (Senior Data Engineer, Netflix) will cover the importance of connected data in a world where variability prevails. She will discuss building conformed dimensions that act as a bridge across multiple disconnected systems. She will review practical data modeling in the Studio production space that encompasses development, production and post-production of a movie.

Want to alleviate the cognitive overload of trying to manage everything in your mind?

Thamara Andrade (Principal Software Engineer at Cadence Design Systems) will delve into the transformative impact of her custom-designed productivity framework after a year of use and refinement. While she has tailored this system around the versatile Obsidian platform, its principles are adaptable to various software solutions. Join her as she shares how this setup has significantly enhanced her work efficiency and productivity, and find some inspiration to streamline your own workflow.

Want to gain a deep understanding of the pivotal role real-time data plays within large-scale organizations?

Gaganjot Kaur Kang (Senior Software Engineer, Sony Interaction – PlayStation) will reveal how to acquire essential knowledge regarding the technology stack and architectural principles necessary for establishing and sustaining a resilient real-time data platform. She will explore practical, real-world examples showcasing the utilization and management of this infrastructure at a significant scale.

Generative AI has emerged as a transformative technology with immense potential across various domains.

Jayeeta Putatunda (Senior Data Scientist, Emerging Technology, Fitch Ratings) will explore how women can leverage generative AI tools to enhance their careers, drive innovation, and create impactful solutions. She will discuss generative AI models (GPT, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, etc.) and showcase innovative projects and startups built with generative AI technologies. Attendees will leave with emerging trends and future developments in generative AI for career growth and innovation.

Want to empower your career with AI tech for an effective job search?

Nirmayee Dighe (Senior Analyst, Data Strategy, Delaware Life Insurance Company) will share her strategies for utilizing AI tech in job searches. Attendees will learn how to harness AI tools effectively to enhance your job search results, making the process more efficient and targeted. She will provide insight into the importance of ethics in AI, helping you navigate the complexities of ethical decision-making in your professional life, and provide an overview of Agile practices that can be applied to project management and personal career planning. She will share tools and tips, aimed at empowering you with the knowledge to advance your career in a tech-driven world.

Interested in empowering women, especially those in underserved communities, with actionable insights and personalized healthcare strategies using technology?

Michelle Ng (Founder & Designer, Neuemoon Health) explores a real-world case study highlighting the challenges of healthcare UX, including patient journey complexities and dynamics between patients and providers. Attendees will gain an understanding of how UX research can contribute to improving patient outcomes in healthcare, with a focus on women’s reproductive health concerns of uterine fibroids and endometriosis.

Writing code is only half the battle.

Ria Bhatia (Software Engineer, Goldman Sachs) will reveal the secrets to mastering the art of software technical documentation and transform the way you approach technical writing. She will cover clarity, conciseness, and consistency. Attendees will learn to identify errors in technical writing, and gain the skills to adapt your writing style to different audiences and contexts, creating documentation that effectively communicates to diverse stakeholders in software development.

Attendees should come to the live lightning resume review session with a PDF of their resume ready to share their screen, and raise their hand in the session to be brought onstage for a live lightning resume review with Tal Flanchraych (Founder, ApplyAll).

Please be aware that this and all ELEVATE sessions are recorded and posted on the Girl Geek X YouTube channel.

What are the latest AI applications in finance?

Cindy Lin (Senior Director, Data Science, Bundles Investing) will review the two types of AI products in finance: strategic vs efficient. She will share some innovative fintech companies in different aspects of finance. Attendees will leave with understanding of risk and governance of AI in the financial industry.

Employers will share more about a company’s culture, values, and mission, as well as the opportunities for growth and development within the organization. Learn about how the company grows employees professionally, any initiatives or projects that the company is working on, more about the roles and teams hiring, and the interview process!

Learn about their job opportunities! Meet recruiters, staff & more at the discussion tables in the virtual Employer Booths (12pm-1pm Pacific Time / 3pm-4pm Eastern Time).

ELEVATE’s partner companies are actively hiring for many roles, from featured jobs to a variety of roles across the company. Let them know you’re interested during BOOTH HOUR!

Cybersecurity risk is business risk.

Traci Esteve (Director, Information Risk Management, The Standard) will discuss how security executives and risk leaders must adapt how they manage and report cyber risk, especially as regulators begin to hold boards and the C-suite accountable for the daily news headlines of consumer, government, and school cyberattacks. She will reveal how developing and maintaining a holistic risk mitigation approach from a cybersecurity perspective is no longer optional. Attendees will learn how to define these risks in business terms and tie them to business objectives through a case study of a real-life ransomware cyberattack from a business perspective.

In an era where data is hailed as the new oil, the role of a data analyst has never been more pivotal.

Swarnika Tiwari (Staff Business Data Analyst, Intuit) will provide a comprehensive guide for aspiring and current data analysts to elevate their effectiveness and impact within their organizations. She will explore the core competencies required for success, not just the technical. She will also delve into the art of storytelling with data, emphasizing the importance of clear, concise, and compelling communication to drive data-driven decision-making. Pro-tip: The job of a data analyst has as much to do with people management as much as it is to do with coding and technical competencies.

In this session on becoming an expert, learn lessons from her analytics journey.

Janelle Leuthaeuser (Data Analyst, Electronic Arts) will talk about how to tell the insight story, not the analytics story. She believes that your time is the limiting resource, so maximize the ROI. She will share how you shouldn’t try to be like others, but instead lean in to your unique life experiences, learning path, and perspective as valuable for team culture, innovation and creativity.

Uncover (or rediscover) your passion(s) as you navigate in your professional realm.

Florence René (IT Product Owner, State Farm) will share key insights and practical strategies to help you evaluate and enhance your career trajectory and reset your mindset to win. Through her personal story and data from various research, attendees will gain a renewed perspective on career development. She will teach you practical strategies to gain confidence, be resilient, and be adaptable for continuous growth in the workplace and in your own life.

Cybersecurity is a great sector for the confident and hardworking mid-career woman.

Viraj Gandhi (Product Security Manager, SailPoint) will share her personal journey in cybersecurity and the challenges faced during her mid-career transition into the fast-moving cybersecurity space. She will share how to stay up with the latest attacks and constantly think creatively. She discusses how focusing on learning as much as possible, getting certifications helped to get better understanding of fundamentals, staying hungry and humble, and building her support network enabled her to tap into experiences of others and led to her next dream job.

Having successfully transitioned her career into trust & safety (T&S) and fraud prevention, Ruby Yuen is on a mission to help others. She will share with attendees her career journey and provide an overview of T&S roles, from product managers to data scientists, and showcase growth opportunities. Attendees learn successful case studies of mid-career careers including government sector pivots and career break returners to inspire women to explore lesser-known corners of tech.

Let’s break stereotypes about technical roles!

Brittany Perlin Danishevsky (Solutions Engineer, Secoda) discusses how technical skills can be learned, as they are not innate. She will reveal how technical roles can be nurturing, positive impact, and a financially lucrative career. She will cover how roles like Solutions Engineering require great communication and relationship building (skills often deemed as feminine) on top of strong technical skills, and how it is a great mix of skills for folks who want to do it all.

Don’t miss this empowering discussion on resilience, adaptability, and awareness.

Magda Miu (Senior Engineering Manager, Adobe) will offer you diverse perspectives on failure, and how it impacts planning. Attendees will discover a practical framework for cultivating self-confidence in your personal and professional life. She will share her actionable strategies and inspiring success stories on embrace failure as a stepping stone towards success. She is confident you will become confident!

Attendees should come to the live lightning resume review session with a PDF of their resume ready to share their screen, and raise their hand in the session to be brought onstage for a live lightning resume review with Jenée Smith (Software Engineer, Microsoft).

Please be aware that this and all ELEVATE sessions are recorded and posted on the Girl Geek X YouTube channel.

Don’t miss this session on the art of earning the trust and respect of both Engineering Managers (EMs) and engineers by leveraging non-technical strengths.

Stella Li (Senior Product Manager, BILL) will share how to leverage niche expertise to paint the big picture and bring unique insights to the table for strategic decision-making. She reveal how to cultivate a fun and inclusive team environment, as fostering a sense of belonging and camaraderie, essential ingredients for a high-performing team. Her personal journey of switching roles from PM adjacent to PM, of side projects and transforming existing experience into your leverage when transitioning, will reveal her real-life strategies and actionable tips.

Sunnita Blount Esq. (Lawyer, Creative EsquiHer) will discuss business, from formation to the importance having a good legal foundation for your business. She will review the basics of legal concepts and contracts, why having an understanding is important, and the basic terms in every contract. She will also discuss why and when seeking legal advice is necessary.

Coding is playing with the abstract.

Sabrina Koumoin (Engineer, Nvidia) will discuss how coding is fun like a game, with abstract toys. She will explain how to break down difficult technical concepts, and share key analogies for common technical concepts. Attendees will leave with her mindset tips for learning a new technical concept in a fun and engaging way, to make coding more accessible to different types of learners.

How do you prioritize your mental health in the workplace?

Bhavana Ramachandra (ML Engineer) believes in taking action early in identifying and managing burnout. She will discuss how to look for support, sharing tools and frameworks, and carve your path to balance.

Stop by the FLUID virtual lounge in for another fun way to mingle with fellow attendees.

You can move around to start video conversations with people near you in the space. If you can’t hear someone well enough, turn up your volume and move closer to their bubble!