A Seat at the Tech Table

Today at the Sisters in Tech table, we welcome Samantha Imafidon, a Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft.

A passion for maths at a young age led Samantha to the world of tech. Samantha took the traditional route into tech by doing a Computer Science degree. However, after doing an internship at an investment bank and experiencing coding in the workplace, Samantha knew that coding 9-5 was not for her. She still liked technology but wanted to focus more on people. Luckily, she discovered the client-facing side of tech and, after graduating, got her first job as a Technical Account Manager at Microsoft. 

Three years later, Samantha now works as a Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft. Away from her 9-5 job. Samantha describes herself as a ‘tech creative’ and uses her platform Becoming Samantha to share her journey through tech and her life learnings with those who also want to find their seat at the tech table.

You can follow Samantha on social media:

• Linkedin: Samantha Imafidon
• Instagram:  @becomingsamantha_
• TikTok: @becomingsamantha
• Sign up for Samantha’s newsletter here: Becoming Samantha

To connect with Sisters in Tech:

• Follow us on Instagram: @sistersintech
• Follow us on Twitter: @sistersintech
• Follow us on LinkedIn: Sisters in Tech
• Check out our website: sistersin.tech

Today at the Sisters in Tech table, we welcome Mariam Braimah, a Product Designer at Netflix, an American subscription streaming service and production company.

Born and raised in New York, Mariam, who is of Nigerian descent, gained an interest in architecture whilst growing up in Long Island.Mariam pursued her interest by doing an undergraduate degree in History of Art & Architecture at Harvard University. Over the course of her university experience, Mariam pivoted to Design and developed a passion for User Interface Design. 

Mariam found her way to the tech hub of San Francisco and eventually got a role at Netflix, where she has been for the last five years. Not only has Mariam found her own seat at the tech table, her design program, the Kimoyo Fellowship, is helping Africa’s next generation of product designers find their seats at the tech table. 

In this episode, we dive into Mariam’s amazing journey.

You can follow Mariam on social media:

• LinkedIn: Mariam Braimah 
• Twitter: @mbraimah_
• Kimoyo Insights Website: kimoyoinsights.com
• Twitter: @KimoyoInsights
• Kimoyo Fellowship Website: kimoyofellowship.org
• Twitter: @kimoyofellows
• Instagram: @kimoyofellowship

To connect with Sisters in Tech:

• Follow us on Instagram: @sistersintech
• Follow us on Twitter: @sistersintech
• Follow us on LinkedIn: Sisters in Tech
• Check out our website: sistersin.tech

Today at the Sisters in Tech table, we welcome Ryan Barner, a software engineer at Lyft.

Ryan is a California native, born and raised in Los Angeles (LA) but now based in San Francisco. On starting college, Ryan had an interest in Computer Science, but after one class staring at the black and green terminal screen, she switched to Economics. Her passion never went away and thus began a journey of personal and professional discovery. In this podcast episode, Ryan shares how she rediscovered her passion and earned a role in software engineering. 

You can follow Ryan on social media:

• LinkedIn: Ryan Barner

To connect with Sisters in Tech:

• Follow us on Instagram: @sistersintech
• Follow us on Twitter: @sistersintech
• Follow us on LinkedIn: Sisters in Tech
• Check out our website: sistersin.tech

Today at the Sisters in Tech table, we welcome Leena Taha, a content designer at Transport for London.

After studying for a degree in History, Leena found herself working at a fashion startup, writing product descriptions for items of clothing.  At first, Leena did not realise that she had started on a career path, but what she did see very quickly was the potential of the tech space and the benefit of learning tech skills. In this podcast episode, Leena shares her journey and shows how she has used her gift with words and skills in building relationships to carve out a unique career in the tech space.

You can follow Leena on social media:

• Instagram: @leena.loves
• LinkedIn: Leena Taha

To connect with Sisters in Tech:

• Follow us on Instagram: @sistersintech
• Follow us on Twitter: @sistersintech
• Follow us on LinkedIn: Sisters in Tech
• Check out our website: sistersin.tech

Today at the Sisters in Tech table, we welcome Clorama Dorvilias, a product manager at Oculus VR, which is a subsidiary of Facebook Inc. 

 A California girl born and raised in San Jose, Clorama’s passion for grassroots social justice projects inspired her early explorations into tech. After graduating from college, she moved to New York and began her life as a young professional. However, various disappointments in the city forced her to look into other avenues of work, and this led to her discovery of graphic design. Clorama’s love for graphic design soon pivoted into an obsession with all things tech, and this in turn inspired her to travel the world as she offered her services to different organisations. She eventually settled down in England, UK, where she pursued a master’s in education design at the University of the Arts London (UAL) and carved out a niche in virtual reality (VR).

Now back in her native California, Clorama is a staunch advocate for the implementation of digital media into community-led movements as well as the unexplored merits of VR. She is also using her experiences in Silicon Valley — both at Oculus and as the founder of Debias VR — to unveil more opportunities in tech for women of colour and other marginalized people.

You can follow Clorama on social media:

• Twitter: @CreativeClo 
• Instagram: @Clobama
• LinkedIn: Clorama Dorvilias
• Website: creativeclo.com

To connect with Sisters in Tech:

• Follow us on Instagram: @sistersintech
• Follow us on Twitter: @sistersintech
• Follow us on LinkedIn: Sisters in Tech
• Check out our website: sistersin.tech

Today at the Sisters in Tech table, we welcome Linda Agbontaen, a senior UX design consultant at financial services consultancy firm, Capco. 

Born and raised in London, Linda's journey into the tech industry was not a conventional one. In her final year of studying psychology in university, a module on technology in the workplace piqued her interest in how human behaviour ties in with UX design. A graduate scheme at American Express then helped her further explore this link as she took on different digital roles in the finance sector.

Now with at least seven years' experience in the digital finance industry, Linda opens up on prepping for a tech interview, the three pillars of UX consulting, building confidence as you work and finding balance as an industry professional. She also talks about her desire to become a role model in the UX design field and her future plans to scale financial wellbeing schemes to the overall community.

You can follow Linda on social media:

• LinkedIn: Linda Agbontaen

To connect with Sisters in Tech:

• Follow us on Instagram: @sistersintech
• Follow us on Twitter: @sistersintech
• Follow us on LinkedIn: Sisters in Tech
• Check out our website: sistersin.tech

Today at the Sisters in Tech table, we welcome Nikkia Reveillac, Head of Research at Twitter,  a company that seeks to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly without barriers 

A passion for dance led Nikkia to pursue a career in dance early in her professional life. She has now translated her innate desire to move people to the world of business. Throughout her career, Nikkia has been motivated by a desire to tell stories and make people feel something.
Immediately prior to working in Tech, Nikkia worked at Colgate-Palmolive. Although hers was not initially a tech role, Nikkia tells a wonderful story of the importance of raising your hand in order to gain new experiences and skills that will aid your power moves. Now, as a senior leader at Twitter, Nikkia is at the very centre of important conversations that affect us all. Nikkia shares just what it's like to be working at such an important company and driving impact for herself and the teams she leads in the midst of a pandemic and global justice movements. Her passion and commitment to mentoring and supporting those coming behind her mean that not only has Nikkia secured her seat, she is also pulling out chairs and making room for other women to take a seat at the tech table.  

 You can follow Nikkia on social media:

• Twitter: @nikkastar
• LinkedIn: Nikkia Reveillac

To connect with Sisters in Tech:

• Follow us on Instagram: @sistersintech
• Follow us on Twitter: @sistersintech
• Follow us on LinkedIn: Sisters in Tech
• Check out our website: sistersin.tech

Today at the Sisters in Tech table, we welcome Ezim Amaka, a talent acquisition partner at LinkedIn, a company that seeks to connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful. 

A passion for fashion led Ezim to study Retail and Business Management at university. By leveraging her network Ezim secured a job in fashion buying at shoe brand Kurt Geiger. Later, her own career conversations inspired her to explore opportunities and eventually get a job in HR and Talent. A chance encounter with a fellow HR and Talent professional led to a LinkedIn connection and an ongoing rapport. Five years later, that contact was working at LinkedIn and made the connection that led to Ezim's current seat at the tech table.

You can follow Ezim on social media:

• Instagram: @Ezim_amaka
• Twitter: @Ezim_amaka
• LinkedIn: Ezim Amaka

To connect with Sisters in Tech:

• Follow us on Instagram: @sistersintech
• Follow us on Twitter: @sistersintech
• Follow us on LinkedIn: Sisters in Tech
• Check out our website: sistersin.tech

Today at the Sisters in Tech table, we welcome Antonia Oguntokun, an accountant at Natural Motion Games, a company that creates groundbreaking social games for mobile platforms. 

A love of numbers led Antonia to study Accounting and Finance at university. After tasting the world of work with a couple of jobs unrelated to her degree, Antonia took a step back and focused her efforts on finding a job in accounting. At this time, Antonia attended a seminar and after hearing one of the speakers mention that she was looking for an assistant accountant, she boldly approached the woman and landed her first job in accounting. Antonia learned and eventually developed her career in her chosen field. After a few years, Antonia grew dissatisfied with her profession. She wanted a more vibrant and creative work environment, and that’s when she found her path into tech and took her seat at the tech table.

You can follow Antonia on social media:

• Instagram: @ola_antonia
• Twitter: @ola_antonia
• LinkedIn: Antonia Oguntokun

To connect with Sisters in Tech:

• Follow us on Instagram: @sistersintech
• Follow us on Twitter: @sistersintech
• Follow us on LinkedIn: Sisters in Tech
• Check out our website: sistersin.tech