Virtual networking details coming soon!

Celebrate World Creativity & Innovation Day with the team behind Girl Geek X – Angie Chang and Sukrutha Bhadouria. Join us online as we share our motivations for extending this conference for mid-to-senior career level women – and why it’s so important.

In 2026, the “chatbot” is legacy tech. The industry has reached an  inflection point: the shift from assistive AI that talks to agentic AI.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Kelly Kitagawa (Sales Engineer, Sierra), gain understanding on this transition, and build systems that reason and act safely at enterprise scale with the rise of conversational agents, from reactive scripts to proactive digital workers. Attendees will leave with a strategic edge for deploying autonomous agents at enterprise scale to lead innovation in a rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Starting on a new team or repo often feels like being dropped into a foreign city without a map.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Akshita Tyagi (Senior Software Engineer, Workday), she  explores how to leverage a modern AI stack—including Cursor, NotebookLM, and Slack AI—to build mental models instantly, automate code archaeology, and ship with confidence on day one. Attendees will learn how to use LLM-powered indexing and semantic search to map “highways and byways” of a codebase, identifying core logic patterns without reading every file, feeding documentation and source code into tools like NotebookLM or Claude to create a private knowledge base that answers complex “Why?” and “Where?” questions. You will takeaway a practical framework for using AI to generate unit tests and architectural diagrams on the fly, transforming you from a lost newcomer to a contributor in days, not months.

The greatest challenge for engineers is no longer technical—it is proving they are human and in the driver’s seat.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session, Danielle McLaughlin (CEO & Founder, 18C) draws from her decades in technical recruiting to share  provides a strategic framework for engineers to structure their proof of personhood that AI cannot replicate. She will discuss actionable techniques for demonstrating high-level decision-making in interviews and leveraging “narrative debugging” to build undeniable credibility online. Attendees will walk away with a roadmap to navigate the “fake content” surge and emerge as trusted, high-signal candidates in a noisy market.

As data becomes the lifeblood of AI and decision-making, engineering leaders must shift from reactive troubleshooting to proactive platform architecture.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Sravanthi Kondoju (Data Platform Engineering Lead, Target) deconstructs the blueprint for designing data ecosystems that are not just scalable, but fundamentally resilient. She will explore the strategies for ensuring high availability and fault tolerance, moving beyond basic backups to self-healing systems that recover instantly without data loss. Attendees will gain a clear roadmap for building a trustworthy, “always-on” data foundation that supports both current operations and the next wave of AI innovation.

For e-commerce giants, the “Buy Now” button is the front line of a 24/7 battlefield where sub-second latency must coexist with ironclad security.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Vidya Shyamala (InfoSec Manager, Amazon), she will deconstruct the engineering rigors of defending millions of third-party seller endpoints against multi-vector threats like AI-driven ATO blitzes and supply chain infiltration. By exploring behavioral fingerprinting and the “Seller Shield” philosophy, developers will gain a technical blueprint for implementing Zero Trust principles and API hardening within distributed systems—neutralizing sophisticated credential stuffing without adding a single millisecond of friction to the checkout flow.

In a landscape defined by volatility and the rapid acceleration of AI, technical leads must evolve from data stewards to economic architects. The next generation of leadership isn’t just about managing tools—it’s about orchestrating a unified vision of growth.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Lan Nguyen (Digital Marketing Manager, LinkedIn), she  deconstructs the synergy between Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM), Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA), and Experimentation. She will present her framework for leveraging these three pillars as an engine for strategic influence.

Patching a broken system is costlier than building it right from the start. In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Fortune 500 security executive Cassandra Terry (Program Director, Compliance, IBM), learn how to  apply the “Compliance by Design” philosophy to human resilience. She showing how the principles that protect global software can also safeguard our mental well-being.

By identifying internal “bugs” like perfectionism and imposter syndrome, you’ll learn to replace personal technical debt with sustainable “controls” that fortify your leadership. Attendees will discover how to secure not just your systems, but your sense of self, ensuring your internal architecture is as robust as your code.

In high-stakes environments like public education, the goal isn’t to replace the human element but to amplify it.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Smita Saxena (Executive Director & Founder, Maestro), she explores why human-in-the-loop AI architectures consistently outperform fully automated tools, ensuring safety and empathy remain at the center of innovation. We will deconstruct how to embed AI agents directly into real teacher workflows—designing around existing constraints like curriculum pacing and assessment cycles—to decrease, rather than increase, cognitive load. Attendees will learn how to architect AI that respects the reality of the classroom, focusing on the data that actually moves the needle on student outcomes and creates a more equitable learning environment.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of financial services, the most innovative systems aren’t just intelligent—they are intentionally inclusive.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Asia Sharif (Data Engineer, NatWest) discover how modern cloud, data, and AI architectures are fundamentally reshaping the fintech sector, from real-time fraud detection to automated credit decisioning. Attendees will learn the critical role of inclusive design in reducing systemic bias, demonstrating how building for underserved communities leads to better outcomes and more robust financial systems for everyone. Moving beyond code and cloud infrastructure, attendees will discover ethical responsibility of the modern engineer, why impact and ethics must be treated as core technical requirements rather than afterthoughts.

Innovation is meaningless if it cannot survive the complexity of a volatile global market.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Saloni Agrawal (Staff Supplier Engineer, Lucid Motors), she encourages attendees to moves beyond the lab to the high-stakes arena of the global supply chain, where technical precision meets strategic vision. Attendees will learn how reimagining supplier development is no longer a corporate checkbox but the ultimate competitive advantage in the EV revolution. Discover how the next generation of engineers must lead not just through design, but by bridging the gap between technical expertise and world-changing business leadership to drive both quality and environmental impact.

The future of care is being rewritten in code, but how do you translate clinical expertise into technical impact? Transform your domain knowledge into a strategic asset and secure your place at the intersection of medicine and technology.

Healthcare professionals ready to pivot into health informatics and data analysis need to tune in to this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Alana Esty (Senior Specialist, Ontario Health) as she demystifies the daily reality of the healthcare data analyst, breaking down the essential technical toolkit and soft-skill agility required to thrive in a tech-first environment. From decoding job descriptions to mastering the interview and re-architecting your resume, attendees will gain the tactical roadmap needed to bridge the gap between healthcare and innovation.

Interested in being a sponsor? Check out the ELEVATE 2026 Conference Sponsorship Prospectus and email sponsors@girlgeek.io!

For years, the rules for getting promoted in tech were clear: deliver results, prove your leadership, and wait to be recognized. But AI has changed the game. When technology can accelerate execution, the real differentiator is no longer just what you do—it’s how you think, how you position your impact, and how you grow ahead of your role.

Drawing on firsthand experience inside the biggest tech companies’ rigorous promotion and talent processes, this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Michelle Bozeman (Senior Director, Microsoft) reveals why the old playbook no longer works—and what replaces it. Attendees learn how to use AI to multiply your effectiveness, make your ambition visible without self-promotion fatigue, and position yourself for roles that don’t exist yet. Stay relevant, competitive, and promotable in the age of AI with Michelle’s new actionable plan for growth.

In high-velocity engineering environments, the work that actually drives team success—mentoring, incident triage, and conflict mediation—often lives in the shadows, unrewarded and undocumented. This “invisible labor” creates a visibility debt that compounds over time, leading to stalled promotions and burnout for the most dependable contributors.

Brooke Grindlinger (Chief Scientific Officer, The New York Academy of Sciences)  will share in this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session how to reframe the shadow résumé as a critical strategic asset, offering practical frameworks to track and communicate your impact without performative self-promotion. Attendees will leave with tactical scripts and tools to rewrite your impact narrative as one of engineering leadership to influence performance cycles and ensure your “glue work” builds your career growth.

Why do performance reviews often leave us feeling drained rather than driven? It’s because we focus on the score instead of the story. True empowerment in a review cycle happens long before the meeting starts.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Boomie Odumade (Fractional VPE/CTO) will break down the mechanics of “Review Resilience”—from setting bulletproof expectations to navigating the sting of “unclear feedback.” Attendees will learn how to transform the most dreaded hour on your calendar into a blueprint for high-performance culture.

Your first weeks on a new team can define your trajectory for years. Yet most professionals focus on proving their skills instead of building the relationships, visibility, and ownership that actually drive impact.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Ananya Kapoor (Software Engineer, Stripe), learn how to quickly map the people who matter, ask the questions that reveal what success really looks like, and communicate your work so decision-makers see its value. Attendees will discover how small, strategic ownership moves can rapidly grow your influence—without sacrificing craft or burning out. Whether you’re an engineer, product manager, or technical leader, this session will give you a practical playbook to turn early momentum into lasting career leverage.

For many first-generation and transfer engineering students, research often feels out of reach. Yet, in a competitive landscape, research is the most powerful tool to level the playing field.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session, Mai Temraz (Student Success Coordinator, UC Riverside) outlines how non-traditional students can make the most of their limited time and unique backgrounds to secure high-impact research roles that shape their career trajectory.
She will provide a tactical, step-by-step roadmap to translate your technical curiosity into a compelling professional portfolio that grabs the attention of employers and graduate programs. Attendees will leave with a clear framework to start building the evidence of your future success today, proving that while your degree gets you in the door, as research is what can set you apart.

Today we witness the death of traditional Agile and introduces the adaptability and change fitness, a proprietary model designed for the era of AI orchestration.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Prathusha Prakash (Engineering Manager, TikTok), she will explore the psychological and structural shifts required to transition senior engineers from hands-on coders to high-level system conductors. You will learn how to dismantle the resistance to automation, protect your team’s professional identity amidst rapid disruption, and build a high-velocity culture that thrives on change rather than just surviving it without losing your professional identity or burning out.

Change is expensive for everyone, but for women in tech, the price is often higher.

In this data-driven ELEVATE Virtual Conference session with Ranya Hasan (Founder, Hasan Health) and Loren Sanders (ROXLO Head of Learning & Talent Management), get introduced to the four taxes of transition: time, credibility, identity, and self-trust. These hidden costs compound across intersections of race, class, and caregiving, often stalling even the most intentional career moves. Drawing on research from organizational psychology, neuroscience, and labor economics, gain a high-level framework to audit these costs before committing to new initiatives, negotiate “Transition Terms” that protect your capacity and authority, treat dissent as a leadership competency, and harness resistance as a tool for boundary architecture. Attendees will leave with the tools to convert transition-related grief into strategic clarity, and be able to use language and permission to stop paying the “invisible tax” and start leading with sustainable, unshakeable impact.

Mid-career is supposed to be your stride—so why does it so often feel like you’re standing still? Many women reach a point where they’re too experienced for beginner advice, yet not visible enough for the roles they want. The most powerful pivots aren’t dramatic leaps—they’re small, strategic moves.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Rita Munarwi (Director, TPM, Microsoft), learn how to recognize when it’s time to reinvent, make confident micro-moves into new roles or domains, and build credibility faster than you think possible. If you’re ready to stop waiting to be chosen and start repositioning yourself for what’s next, take a page from the speaker’s practical roadmap to reinvent your career—without losing your identity or momentum.

In high-performance environments, we’re often taught that impact comes from doing more—more credentials, more titles, and more “hustle.” But true leadership presence doesn’t come from adding to your résumé; it comes from strengthening the foundation underneath it. Many technical leaders are already delivering exceptional work, yet beneath the surface, the “inner critic” and the pressure to prove oneself can quietly undermine visibility and influence in the rooms where it matters most.

In this ELEVATE 2026 Virtual Conference session with Chealsea Wierbonski (Group Product Manager, Google), learn her neuroscience-backed framework to interrupting self-doubt in real time. You will move beyond performative confidence to discover how to show up with grounded power—even in fast-moving, high-pressure environments. By deconstructing the internal “bugs” of second-guessing and self-limiting beliefs, you will leave with actionable tools to shift how you are perceived, ensuring you are recognized for the impact you are already making.