Join Empovia (formerly Change Catalyst) Founder & CEO Melinda Briana Epler with Irma Olguin Jr, CEO & Co-Founder at Bitwise Industries, in conversation about Leading the Change. 

We talk about Irma's story as a granddaughter of immigrants, who starting out working as a farm laborer in the California Central Valley. After earning an engineering degree, she eventually became CEO of a company working to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in tech through technology education. Irma recently closed a Series A round of fundraising of $27M, one of the largest ever led by a Latinx female founder. We discuss innovative ways that leaders can build empathy and allyship across the organization, how to build a sense of belonging during unprecedented times, and what allyship looks like for Irma.

Learn more about Irma's work at Bitwise Industries: https://bitwiseindustries.com/ 

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Resources:

• “From Recycling Bottles for Cash to Tech CEO” by Ruth Umoh, Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/ruthumoh/2020/06/26/from-recycling-bottles-for-cash-to-tech-ceo-meet-the-latinx-founder-building-a-100-million-tech-hub-in-californias-gritty-central-valley/#3a0dfd1b1b4b 
• “I’m a Latinx female founder, and this is how much rejection it took to get to $27 million” by Irma L. Olguin, Fast Company https://www.fastcompany.com/90365868/im-a-latinx-female-founder-and-this-is-how-much-rejection-it-took-to-get-to-27-million

Producer: Juliette Roy
Project Manager: Sally Moywaywa
Finance & Logistics: Renzo Santos
Diversity & Inclusion Specialist: Antonia Ford
Created by: Melinda Briana Epler

For more about Empovia, and to join us for a live recording, visit changecatalyst.co/allyshipseries

Support this series: patreon.com/changecatalysts
YouTube: youtube.com/@empovia
Twitter: twitter.com/empoviaco
Facebook: facebook.com/empovia
Instagram: instagram.com/empovia/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/empovia/

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