Diva Tech Talk Podcast

Diva Tech Talk interviewed Sireesha Mandava, CIO and VP of Innovation at Greenpath Financial Wellness, a nationwide nonprofit with a mission to empower people to lead financially healthy lives, and realize their unique dreams, at all stages of life. With a family legacy of social justice, Sireesha was born near Hyderabad, India. "My grandfather was a great activist, who gave up everything he had for the village he grew up in," she explained. He passed away in his 40's, and exhorted Sireesha's grandmother to empower their children. "I don't care if you even feed them but make sure the girls are educated," he declared. Sireesha felt inspired by her aunts, so she matriculated at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, in Pilani, India. She graduated with an electrical and electonics engineering degree; but took all electives in programming; and performed her senior year internship at a company where she became proficient in Oracle databases.

Sireesha's first post-university job was supposed to be in electronics engineering at a New Delhi, India company but they needed her Oracle experience. Several years later she moved to TGK, another Indian company, whose innovations included a new variation of SAP software called "i-SAP" an ERP system. I learned so much there," and also met her husband at TGK. Confiding in the company's managing director that she was going to leave, he referred her to Metamor Global Solutions, with a position in Detroit, Michigan. Her soon-to-be husband simultaneously moved to Detroit and "a year later we got married."

Sireesha took a job in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for Triad Guaranty Insurance for less than a year but came back to Michigan for a position at NSF International. With a mission to improve global human health, non-profit NSF develops public health standards and certification programs to protect global water and food supplies, consumer products, and environment. Starting as a Project Manager, Sireesha developed her NSF career over 18 years. While there, Sireesha enrolled at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, where she obtained her MBA, which "gave me a 10-year acceleration" in career evolution. Promoted to Business Applications Manager, and Director of Business Applications, her team "built this wonderful application" which they pitched as a global spin-off, that morphed into an NSF subsidiary (NSF TraQtion). This gave Sireesha "the ride of my life, doing everything as an entrepreneur."

Having fun running that new NSF division, Sireesha was approached by Kristen Holt, CEO at Greenpath, to take a "culture walk" at the nonprofit's headquarters in Southeast Michigan. "The culture of 'human centered design' thinking, putting people in the center" is part of Greenpath's organizational evolution. The staff showed clients "a path to get out of crisis and achieve their dreams." Greenpath offers financial education, counseling and aid to people in dire circumstances, and serves 200,000 households annually, with free counseling "I want to make the most impact." So Sireesha was hooked on Greenpath's BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) to "remix the American dream so that it works for everyone, because everybody deserves a chance to attain dreams." As a financial organization, "everything runs on technology" and Sireesha's team of 28 IT professionals ensures internal technology always works. Her vision includes "technology as a differentiating factor" in everything that Greenpath accomplishes. This includes a significant investment in mobile applications for clients so "they can engage in self-service, see their progress, and be encouraged." One of her other technology investments is current tech solutions, to enable the services team to operate at highest efficiency.

The personal traits that have marked her success include courage, flexibility and intellectual agility. Sireesha's Greenpath colleagues have pointed out she possesses a rare "multidimensional thinking capability, applied to problem-solving" complemented by a propensity for strategy and results-orientation. She also counsels young people to make career and education choices through SAT and ACT coaching for high schoolers. Sireesha's greatest fear is that she will "accept mediocrity." So, she picks a handful of meaningful activities (work, church, mentoring/coaching) and focuses on those.

In the greater global community, Sireesha strives to make an important impact by supporting another non-profit founded by her husband and herself in 2005. It is Sphoorthi (which means "inspiration" in Sanskrit). Completely funded by them, this nonprofit is focused on providing food, clothing and education for underprivileged youngsters in Vizag, India. "It is my husband's dream, but his dream is actually bigger," Sireesha said. "We have helped 125 kids, thus far. Our goal is to have an orphanage, and a senior citizens home, together. We want to bring them together so seniors' experience will help the kids. The kids, in turn, will rejuvenate the seniors." Their plans include the orphanage, a holistic health center, a school, and a senior center, centralized together in a single positive community, powered by sustainable energy.

Sireesha's counsel to striving women and girls includes some practical advice. "The way you portray yourself is exactly how others will see you; network, network, network." And "always make it a point to make a difference for someone other than yourself."

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Diva Tech Talk interviewed Teri Takai, former CIO for the U.S. Department of Defense; former CIO for both the state of California and state of Michigan; and automotive industry technology executive. Today, Teri is the Executive Director for The Center for Digital Government, a division of eRepublic.

Teri's parents grew up on the U.S. West Coast where "in World War II, Japanese-Americans were interned in (concentration) camps." Her mother and father were fortunate. The University of Michigan entered the camps to help. "If you could get security clearance, you could (with $25 and one suitcase) take a train to Ann Arbor and get a job." Wistfully, Teri said: "My dad wanted to be an aeronautical engineer. but didn't feel that as a Japanese American, he could, so he decided to go into civil engineering." However, the concentration camp, and move, disrupted his plan. Instead, he became a draftsman in the automotive industry, working for small automotive suppliers.

"I wasn't interested in technology, at first, but I was good at math. It was the problem-solving," Teri said. Valedictorian of her high school, she matriculated at the University of Michigan as a math major. A friend of her mother suggested she pursue computer programming. Teri devised an individualized curriculum of statistics, industrial engineering and more. Graduating with strong Fortran skills, she joined a small division of Ford Motor Company, focused on tractors, and developed a fascination for "the way technology impacted the business." This inspired her to go back to school for a Ford-financed MBA. Teri worked in engineering, manufacturing and traveled internationally, staying for a decade, and enjoying promotions, many of which involved people management.

Teri feels fortunate that, prior to "diversity" being acknowledged as integral to progressive workplaces, she had a Ford boss who supported her taking a formal leave of absence to move to Germany, along with her husband, who was transferred as an engineer --- before Ford had a formal policy for working spouses. The leadership lesson Teri frequently shares is "what we need to do is follow our belief systems. Do what is right."

At the end of 10 years in the tractor division, Teri got the opportunity to move to the mainstream side of Ford, as part of a consulting team working to build Ford Latin America. This opened her eyes to how people, from different cultures, might view her, as a colleague/leader. Teri did that job for 5 years, and then moved to a Ford thinktank directed to meeting the competitive threat of GM's innovative Saturn division. "I am pretty good at getting things done. I am not necessarily your leader for 'big picture' strategies. I am focused on how you organize, bring people together and deliver a product." As part of Ford's software development, Teri worked on complex internal ERP and administration systems, a large supply chain initiative (CMMS), and then moved to the assembly division, managing plant floor systems. Then Ford gave her an overseas assignment, in the United Kingdom, where she led the development of a global purchasing system, which involved the expansion of a European-based purchasing system all over the world. Then Teri came back to the U.S. to Ford Credit, for a large system launch. Then she moved back into leading CMMS. Teri completed her 30 year career at Ford involved in the acquisition of Land Rover, and Volvo, and then in strategic planning. "My time at Ford was about delivery."

Teri took a two-year position at EDS, because "I felt the wave of the future was not going to be big, internal IT organizations." She learned the technology services business and had the chance to work directly with GM. Soon she was approached to join Governor Jennifer Granholm's Michigan cabinet. She became CIO and Director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology. "The governor said to me, now is the time for giving back, for public service," Teri said. "I am forever grateful to her for that." Teri inherited a single precedent-setting government organization that centralized all information technology staff for the state. She and Governor Granholm were "great colleagues; I understood her strategic planning initiative, and what she wanted to do." Teri came to a deep understanding about the collaborative nature of government, and how to effect lasting change. She stayed for 5 years, then was approached by the State of California, which had been without a CIO for over 5 years. "Governor Schwarzenegger, at the time, had gotten advice, from tech companies, that California needed a CIO," she said. She became that CIO, and created the Office of the CIO from scratch, fully operational, in a 3-year timeframe, simultaneously with the state's budget crisis. While the learning curve was challenging, Teri grew through it, and "a number of women reached out to me, there; influential women in Sacramento."

Toward the end of three years in California, "a friend of mine had become President Obama's Chief Information Officer. He called and asked me to interview for Chief Information Officer for the Department of Defense." Despite a lack of federal government experience, she was offered the job. "It was the hardest, most stressful, job I ever had. You have a role that is accountable to all men and women in uniform. Everything thing DoD did, for security and protection, was based on technology." She worked for four different Cabinet Secretaries for Defense in her 3-year tenure interacting with other members of the cabinet, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff ("amazing leaders").

Having left the Federal Government, Teri is now leading the Center for Digital Government, a division of eRepublic. "The overall role is to link technology companies with state and local government." Teri personally guides key programs. "We do surveys, so cities, states and counties can compare themselves to each other, and get rankings/grades. We share best practices and celebrate!" Teri also provides advisory services for technology companies, in government and works with cybersecurity start-ups, to bring tech to the market.

Teri strongly believes her unique background, and skills, emanate from both success and failures. "Sprinkled through the good stuff was a lot of learning, mistakes, and setbacks. I learned, later in life than I should have, the importance of collaboration. It takes time to understand how important all the different viewpoints are." Teri defines ultimate happiness as "having a mission in life and giving back." Her advice to other evolving women leaders is: "Be patient with yourself, as you are going through your career." Teri is proud that colleagues have called her "a survivor" because she learned from every obstacle. "Believe in yourself. Stay the course. Keep moving ahead." And finally, "follow your intuition; do what feels right."

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Diva Tech Talk interviewed Noramay Cadena, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at MiLA (Make in LA) Capital, an early stage venture fund, in Los Angeles. Launched in 2015, it is a "high touch" VC, founded on two major beliefs: hardware technology can be brought to market more frugally; and LA is an ideal place to do it.

Born in Colima, Mexico, Noramay emigrated to California's San Fernando Valley. "My parents worked in factories," she said. "I didn't quite know where I wanted to be, or what I could be" until "I was tapped on the shoulder by a returning high school alumnus." He inspired Noramay to matriculate to MIT to earn her BS in Mechanical Engineering. Later, as she worked at The Boeing Company, she obtained her MIT MS in Systems Engineering, and MBA in Business. "It not only changed my life but changed the course for my parents and my siblings."

"When I got to college, I met lots of other women, like me, who had been tapped on the shoulder," Noramay shared. Further inspired, she co-created The Latinas in STEM Foundation. "It is still active, inspiring and empowering young (Latina) women," supplying programs, scholarships, bilingual content and role models for them, their parents and communities.

At the end of her Boeing tenure, Noramay "realized there were forces that I couldn't control, and I was not going to grow any further" there. Fortunately,"the experience of Latinas in STEM, scaling, and building community," instigated co-founding MiLA which finds "smart people around the world; invests in them; and builds community around them to make them successful." Since it launched, MiLA has invested in 19 companies; sponsored five accelerator cohorts; and is raising its second capital investment fund. Looking forward, MiLA is exploring its ability to help supply chains networks become more efficient. The fund is very "hands-on" working daily with prospective founders to overcome challenges. Noramay is proud that over 33% of MiLA's companies have female CEOs and is focused on high opportunity verticals including mobility, health, food tech, and "manufacturing 4.0." A key value of MiLA is to help with "de-risking the solution and building a capital-efficient corporation to enable the team to attract investment." Noramay has high expectations. "I want our fund to be seen as the primary source of deal flow for Series A investors," over the next 3 years.

"I have been on the receiving end of incredible mentorship." When Noramay was offered her MIT scholarship, a woman at Boeing read about it, and extended an internship at the company. "She became my mentor throughout my full 10-year tenure at Boeing." Another mentor of hers ("a geek") advised her to examine her career inflection point "as a system" noting when "the inputs no longer affect the outputs."

Noramay 's personal strength emanates from circles, friends, and family. As the new mother of two-year old "I really rely on groups like 'Moms In Tech' for support, and my 'WhatsApp' chat strings with my girlfriends." Noramay's first daughter is a rising senior in college, and her mother said "it's about resilience, character and grit. I see it in her. She has an incredible compassion and sense of service for others."

Noramay's key advice for other women is: "Clear your closets." Divest "the baggage" that does not contribute to positive momentum ("the experiences of parents, or past relationships"). "It's important that we power through and clear what we are carrying so that we're not unconsciously perpetuating" unproductive behavior. "Recognize there might be something in your past that makes you more vulnerable" to being manipulated; face it and get rid of it.

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Diva Tech Talk interviewed the dynamic Michelle Greene, Vice President of Information Technology at Masco Corporation, one of the world's largest manufacturers of home improvement and construction products. An $8.5 billion conglomerate, comprising more than 20 companies, Masco operates nearly 60 manufacturing facilities in the United States and over 20 in other parts of the world.

Michelle was raised in Valdosta, Georgia. "My mother believed that, due to my close relationship with my aunt, I might be a school teacher." But "what I recognized quickly was my ability to lead" so she obtained her business bachelor's degree at Valdosta State University, and a masters' degree in higher education and information sciences from Florida State University. She entered the workforce as a business analyst at Mellon Bank, in Pittsburgh, Pa. After two years, she migrated to Raleigh, North Carolina for another analyst position at Sony Ericsson a global leader in mobile communications. Michelle progressed from business analyst to project manager, and then a Sony Ericsson global program manager position. "I went to Sweden on a short-term assignment," Michelle said. That assignment doubled in duration, helping Michelle recognize "my own ability to make it work, wherever I am. If the opportunity and the job is good, I will figure the rest out!" She shepherded the formerly outsourced data center back inside the corporation. Then Michelle moved to a service management job back in the states, then the global management of Sony's network services, and to her final Sony Ericsson job, Director of Business Infrastructure worldwide. In that role, Michelle directed an annual budget of $70 million; managed all global infrastructure resources on three continents; and led global outsourcing, partners and suppliers for information technology. "My reputation preceded me. I was someone who could get things done. I was a bit of a 'turnaround' person."

Within a year of her return to the states, "The CIO for Sony-Ericsson (Colin Boyd) who previously moved to Johnson Controls" was instrumental in recruiting her to that larger company. Michelle stayed with Johnson Controls for nine years, first working in their Buildings Division in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; then heading up the Automotive Electronics and Interiors Division in Holland, Michigan. Then she moved back to headquarters as Vice President of Business Partnership, for the entire enterprise. Michelle credited her mentors for inspiring and empowering her. "I have had some very good coaches, along the way." When Masco reached out to recruit her, "I had people I could go to" who provided advice. Following mentors' advice, in 2018, Michelle joined Masco, in her current role.

"I've made it my practice, when I take over a new team, to do one-on-ones with every member, so I can understand. I can meet you, where you are." She emphasized that her mission is to offer "authentic and strong leadership" in her current role, and all future roles. "I feel like we don't have enough leaders in IT. I have the ability to effect change because of my leadership style." Michelle noted that her personal strengths include authenticity, being a life-long student of leadership best practices, and wielding "influence without authority" in order to "get things done."

Michelle's primary rule is "take chances." She is a strong believer in clear communication. "I am finding, day-today, our biggest source of issues is you did not have a conversation with someone, or you did not take the time to be effective in the way you were getting across your message." Her future plans include extending the information technology organization throughout the larger global organization, not just at headquarters. "We don't always leverage and maximize our spending, our licensing, our approach, our solutions."

Along the way, when she experienced gender or race bias, Michelle candidly said: "I recognized, I cannot wear it on my sleeve. That's their problem; not mine." Her key pieces of advice when contending with prejudices are: "Don't take it personally. And don't give away your power. Don't let it define you."

Michelle recommended a book by Carla Harris called EXPECT TO WIN, which outlines ten proven strategies for thriving at work. Michelle also enthused about Marshall Goldsmith's WHAT GOT YOU HERE WON'T GET YOU THERE, which exhorts leaders to examine the small "transactional flaws" that can keep high-performing individuals from reaching the next pinnacle . "We do need to make adjustments" along the way, according to Michelle. Key success tips Michelle offers to girls and women are: "Understand WHY you are doing something. Know yourself. Be true to yourself." Don't give in to limits nor allow barriers to success. Find the balance between "sharing too much" personal information and being authentic and personable. Cultivate empathy. And the earlier you get a mentor, the better it will be for your career development.

In her volunteer life, Michelle sits on the board of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Goodwill and PEARLS for TEEN GIRLS, a unique leadership development program serving middle schoolers and high school girls. She also just joined the board of Michigan's DPTV, viewer-supported public television in Southeast Michigan.

The elements of Michelle's joy include: "great career and great wine!" She also stressed that "failure, for me, is not an option. I keep it in the back of my mind, to keep me grounded. But I am not allowing it to be an option."

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Diva Tech Talk interviewed Sonja Gittens-Ottley, Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Asana, a leading work management platform that helps teams organize, track, and manage work. (Dustin Moskovitz, aco-founder of Facebook, is also co-founder of Asana). Sonja's mission is setting standards to drive inclusivity and equity in the workplace. As a first generation transplant to the United States, she immigrated from The West Indies. "I am the mother of a 4-year old boy," Sonja said. "I am bringing up a child in this society. How can what I do, today, impact his life, and shape his opportunities for the future?"

Growing up in The Republic of Trinidad/Tobago, Sonja did not have aspirational limits placed on her. Growing up "we had really structured expectations of what were 'cool' jobs." Sonja became an attorney, with a bachelor's of law degree from The University of the West Indies in Barbados, and a graduate degree from The Hugh Wooding Law School. She worked at both the Ministry of Legal Affairs/Office of the Attorney General and the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago. Now she is adamant that "Inclusion includes thinking about all the opportunities; ensuring that everyone has access; not being confined to what society says you should be doing."

Sonja's transition from law to tech was prompted by her move to the U.S. that was originally planned as a two-year stint. "But I got the option to work at a company called Yahoo." There she implemented project management and legal internal consulting. When Yahoo established a human rights program, Sonja played a significant role. That led to working with Yahoo's corporate policymaking for diversity and inclusion. From Yahoo, Sonja moved to Facebook as the company's Global Diversity Program Manager and then to Asana as Head of Diversity and Inclusion.

To empower Asana's diversity, she focused on two strategic pillars: recruiting and employee evaluation and growth. She stressed that "the culture is really supportive" and that neither pillar can exist without the other; diverse recruitment and nurturing culture must work in tandem. She works closely with the company's University Recruiting team, and targets events that attract diverse attendees. To enhance existing culture, she is working on a variety of supportive initiatives like ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) for internal communities "making space for the community, and space for allies to learn more…". There are three: Asana Women, Asana Gradient (for people of color), and Asana Team Rainbow (for LGBTQ employees). Each group autonomously sets its objectives, but all three are aligned, overall, to the greater Asana mission.

One practical approach that Asana initiated to support inclusion is the Asana Real Talk series where people engage in honest, authentic discussions about overcoming challenges, communicating purpose and driving change, individually and in the greater world/workplace. Sonja also does an onboarding session with all Asana team members emphasizing how vital inclusion is to the company. Asana's liberal Family Leave policy is an example of progress. Sonia proudly exclaimed: "The beauty of Asana is that it is really transparent. People are not shy to ask questions." Sonja's leadership is enabled through wielding influence. "Be clear about what you are trying to achieve. Be honest. People want clarity on an objective --- possible issues, risks involved, and probable results." For candidates, she advised "You have power. It can be as easy as asking: 'You say you do diversity and inclusion; what are the actions you have taken?' "

For companies initially adopting diversity and inclusion programs, Sonja recommended a company-wide engagement survey with questions about "belonging" to gauge employee's perspectives. "Think of it as an audit to see where you are." She also pointed to mundane vital questions a company can ask: "What is our restroom situation? Should we have 'all gender' restrooms? Are we thinking about 'mother's rooms'?" For recruiting, in companies without a dedicated diversity expert, she suggested: "You should be thinking about interview skills and training." To measure success, Sonja said: "At Asana, we look at it as we would look at any other objective, in terms of both qualitative and quantitative data. What's our new hire rate? How is it mapping to goals? Through surveys, tracking employee engagement and sense of belonging in terms of the overall company, and in terms of how specific groups are doing, and the intersectionality of groups." The intersectionality data can offer "very different pictures."

To keep momentum, Sonja and Asana do numerous things including monthly All Hands meetings, use a companywide Slack and Asana to consistently share diversity data, and hold "Office Hours" and Ask Me Anything sessions dedicated to inclusion/culture. In addition to the Asana Real Talk series, Sonja is proud of the recent apprenticeship program the company launched, AsanaUp. "We were really thoughtful and intentional about widening that funnel of great candidates coming from non-traditional backgrounds." The AsanaUP apprenticeship welcomes those without university computer science degrees (with other degrees, from coding schools, or parents returning to the workforce) to join the company for 6-9 months to work alongside software engineers.

Sonja characterized herself as "an eternal optimist." In her view, "everyone can make a difference. Children are the future, and they have no limits." She exclaimed: "There are people out there, who don't have access to the opportunities," she said. "I plan to be working on lengthening that pipeline. This has to be done with really great partners like Grace Hopper Celebration conference". "We forget that this is new and uncomfortable for a lot of people: to talk about race or gender or any of the other identities that people possess. Getting people to a place of comfort is how you change things!" Everyone much develop "a real sense of empathy; people might look different than you, might sound different, but we are all trying to do the same thing." And the most important thing she would like to do is "remind people of their own power and their own worth. It makes a difference in what you can achieve!"

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Diva Tech Talk interviewed actor-turned-technologist/evangelist, Chloe Condon , Cloud Developer/Advocate for Microsoft.

Chloe is a passionate supporter of women in technology, with an extensive social media brand following, and "non-traditional background," since she "grew up doing musical theater in all shapes and forms." Chloe's father is a director/playwright. Her mother is a theatrical costume designer and graphics designer. "So, I grew up in a trunk!" She had little exposure to tech. "I had blinders on. I just knew that I wanted to be an actress." After performing arts high school, Chloe matriculated at San Francisco University for a bachelors' degree in theater performance. "I booked my first starring role, playing Kira in Xanadu," a San Francisco stage production. Reality brought Chloe up short when "they handed me $500 for three to four months of rehearsal." She addressed cash flow through "bizarre 9-to-5 jobs to support my nights/weekends in theater." She took numerous retail jobs, then landed an Account Executive position at (pre-IPO) Yelp. She became fascinated by the startup, tech environment, but "was terrible at sales." She "stumbled into other tech roles" including Zirtual, the first virtual personal assistant company. There she met Ben Parr, (then editor-at-large of Matchable), who co-founded VC fund The Dominate Group. Ben has gone on to be a columnist at Inc., a sought after speaker, and philanthropist.

During this discovery period, Chloe was unhappy, from a deficit of free time combined with minimal personal autonomy. Then she attended a Google-sponsored talk focused on girls interested in programming. It inspired her to find a bootcamp for coders ("these can be life-changing"). She chose "HackBright Academy, since it was all women. It felt very empowering." Hackbright's message, to the male-dominated programming world, is "change the ratio!" Initially, Chloe suffered from "Impostor Syndrome" which she thinks is more pervasive in technology than other field. A key to making progress, at the bootcamp, was to adjust learning style from simply reading about concepts to reading AND doing. "I had to think of it like choreography," she said. Her tenure at the focused camp culminated in a project: a social media application that rigorously timed postings to achieve optimal exposure, no matter your time zone. As she prepared for "Demo Night," Chloe's revelation was that "building the app was hard; talking about it was not. I had always viewed my theater degree as a setback but I use my theater degree, every day, as an engineer, and doing public speaking."

Initially interviewing for junior engineering roles, Chloe experienced "a significant change" when she "pivoted my brand to be more 'developer relations'." Her blend of speaking, performing, and communications merged with newly minted programming skills. She was hired by start-up Code Fresh, specializing in Docker innovation. After a year, Chloe left Code Fresh to join Sentry.io, a company focused on error-tracking for developers working in open source. She lauded the company's culture. "You wanted to go to work, every day. The people were so fun and cool." There, she reveled in creative, fun projects. Through that work, she collaborated with Microsoft, who gave her "an offer I couldn't refuse." At Microsoft, Chloe currently works with the cloud-based Azure platform. Most recently, she concentrated on cognitive services, infusing applications, websites and bots with intelligent algorithms to interpret in natural language. "I built an app that analyzes images of Cosplay Mario Kart characters to determine their mood and emotions. 95% of my demos are funny, quirky or solve a unique problem. I try to have fun elements in everything I do."

Chloe shared classic advice. "Treat people like humans. As they say in The Book of Mormon, let's just be really nice to everyone. It's not that hard." When faced with a challenge that seems insurmountable (like code not working) Chloe advised: "Take a walk and come back with the solution." She also counseled people to take breaks to achieve higher productivity. And "ask for help!" She cited Twitter as a rich source of feedback and advice. Chloe is amazed by the generosity of experts in the tech industry. "People are willing to help. This community is welcoming and warm."

Chloe has evolved to revel in her differences. "I do not look like an engineer. And I fully embrace that," she said, discussing the male, middle-aged technocrat stereotype. "I think it educates people" when she is the keynote speaker at a tech conference. In 2017, she wrote an article matter-of-factly describing how it feels to be a sole woman at a tech conference. It went viral because it allowed others to empathize without judgement. To protect herself, from Internet intrusion, she wryly said "I am very sharp, and witty, on Twitter. Anyone who comes at me, publicly, will get destroyed by my awesome jokes!" More pragmatically, she is building a bot to respond to inappropriate DM's.

In terms of job-hunting, Chloe urged women to be selective. "Work at a place you are comfortable." She cited "red flags" like a company uncomfortable with negotiation; or a company displaying paucity of women leaders in the interview process. Positively, she expressed appreciation for companies who cultivate sensitivity to diversity issues. She also cited Ru Paul's advice to "silence your inner saboteur" and proceed with confidence. Chloe noted the industry is missing the mark by not considering those with degrees that are not technical. "If you are going to claim you are a diverse company, be open to hiring people from bootcamps! Put your money where your mouth is."

As an evangelist for Microsoft, Chloe measures success by "folks approaching me and telling me that the work I am doing changed something fundamental for them. At the end of the day, if I have affected one person, or opened eyes to something new, that is success for me!" For other women in the field, she urged "be authentically you. Don't feel like you must act like one of the guys. We need more ideas, and diverse thoughts."

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Diva Tech Talk interviewed Linda Cureton, veteran U.S. government tech leader, turned entrepreneur. Linda "was always fascinated with numbers." Facetiously she recalled doing a math as a youngster to compute how old she would be in 2000. "I remember coming up with the age --- 41." She thought: "Oh my God. I'll be dead. I better hurry up and do things!"

Linda has had many chances to "do things" (BIG THINGS), although she resisted technology in early life. Originally aimed toward Washington D.C.'s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Linda wanted to take calculus in 12th grade so matriculated at Howard University, instead, as a senior in high school in an advanced calculus program. She began university as a pre-med major, ("I hated it") until a mentor counseled her. "You will be successful if you do what you love and enjoy." Linda switched her major to mathematics. "I wanted to do pure math, but the counselor insisted I take computer classes." As she began to take programming classes (IBM Assembler, Fortran, etc.), "I really enjoyed them." After graduation, she interviewed at the National Air and Space Administration (NASA). "That's how I got into technology," she said. At the time, it felt like "punishment." Clearly, that feeling dramatically changed.

Linda was a mathematician/programmer for 2 years at NASA, then moved to the U.S. Navy, working in the weapons systems development program, to become a program manager in undersea warfare. "After 6 months, I realized I didn't like it, at all" so she moved to become a systems programmer at the Seattle naval base. Post-divorce, Linda moved to Maryland to become a systems programmer at the U.S. Department of Justice. She was at DOJ for 16 years, in a variety of technology management jobs and eventually became Deputy Director of the DOJ Data Center. Then she began applying for senior executive positions in government. "I was told I was not qualified," she said. She recognized a need to focus on building coalitions, and whole organizations, "from dirt, from the ground up." Engaging in that developed "executive acumen." She went to the U.S. Department of Energy as Associate Chief Information Officer for operations for several years. "I was the only African-American career executive in the department, and the only black female; it felt very lonely." But, from that experience she grew immensely.

Subsequently, Linda became Deputy Assistant Director of Science and Technology and then Deputy CIO for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), as a female executive in a male-dominated agency where she "built a very strong team." Following that, she spent 8 years, again at NASA – first as CIO at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, then as CIO for the entire NASA agency. ("My boss's boss was President Barack Obama! The buck stops there.") At NASA, she spent most of her time "debugging" the nationwide agency and bolstering it.

In evaluating her government career, Linda admitted "I was a pretty terrible programmer, but I was good at debugging." She still considers that a major strength: the ability to find the "bugs" in an organization and solve them. Linda had no formal mentors in her career but learned "the best way to have a mentor is to be a mentor," and mentors can be found outside of your organization. While at DOE, feeling isolated, Linda reached out to Gloria Parker, the first African-American female working at a Cabinet level, as the CIO for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Gloria generously shared invaluable advice about how to effectively serve as a CIO. They have remained friends to this day.

After retiring from NASA, Linda founded Muse Technologies, branded to reflect the concept of "goddesses of inspiration." She wrote a book: THE LEADERSHIP MUSE , about things in the physical and spiritual world from which she drew leadership inspiration ("from hummingbirds to owls to notions about numbers and infinity and music…" and more.) In Linda's eyes, "the job of leadership is so difficult, and impossible, it takes divine inspiration, sometimes, to get through it." Her company supports Federal executives who need change support, supplying them with innovative problem-solving, process support, strategic planning, project/program management, technology recommendations and "soft skills" training for staff.

Linda expressed gratitude for the setbacks and disappointments she experienced over the years. "They have made me what I am, today." Her greatest joy comes from contemplating "the vastness of the world we live in, God's creation. It gives me a chance to decompress….to understand more about my purpose in life." Conversely, Linda's biggest fear is potential failure, which "I have pivoted to have the courage to succeed." Having recently seen "Hidden Figures," (about African-American women overcoming discrimination to strongly contribute to the U.S. space program), Linda left the theater "annoyed" because so many people were rejoicing, thinking that 1965 barriers faced by the film's protagonists no longer existed. "Dude," she said. "That was so last week. Maybe they don't give you the trash to take out, but I had my share of more 'nuanced' attitudes!"

On work-life balance, Linda commented: "Life is not 50/50. It is 100/100. I am 100% who I am all the time." Three of her career lessons for women are: you can cry, but keep on moving; don't apologize for being a woman – use female advantages to succeed: and never sell out; "it's better to quit a job than do something you think is wrong." In her community life, Linda gives back by being an active board member for the DC Youth Orchestra for K-12 children and a newly-formed regional group called Pink Architecture, convening tech women to share insights, knowledge and support.

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Diva Tech Talk interviewed Tarsha McCormick, NA Head of Diversity and Inclusion, for Thoughtworks, a global software consulting company, driving a socially, economically fair and moral world, by bettering humanity through software. The company has won multiple awards as a top company for women in technology. "For us, diversity and inclusion are about righting some societal 'wrongs' – particularly as it relates to race, gender, and sexual orientation."

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Tarsha is the youngest of seven children. Her parents emanated from southern United States in the 1930's and "faced a lot of segregation in the 'Jim Crowe' South. Statistically speaking the odds were against me." Tarsha inadvertently entered the technology industry but is "impassioned about diversity and inclusion in the space." Her journey is an example of "just because it isn't your plan, doesn't mean it isn't your destiny."

Tarsha was a social worker for the State of Illinois specializing in child welfare. With a political science undergraduate degree from Illinois State University, and master's degree from Keller Graduate School of Management at DeVry University, she carved out a path in human resources, working for Hewitt, then joining Thoughtworks almost twenty years ago. There, she has "had the opportunity to wear many hats, roles from recruiter to generalist to benefits manager to HR manager."

Thoughtworks established the People Division in Atlanta, Georgia and Tasha moved to the role of Human Resource Business Partner, there, responsible for The Americas in 2010. "We started having some of those tough conversations about inclusion, at Thoughtworks, that some employers shy away from --- privilege, and sexism, and race in America," she said. In 2015 she became the company's first Head of Diversity and Inclusion. This promotion allowed Tarsha to create a diversity strategic plan and overall vision. "I was the first person in the role. I felt a little overwhelmed!" Thoughtworks was "probably at the forefront" of diversity work in the tech space, which has led the company to honors including being named a leading company for women in technology at the Grace Hopper 2018 Celebration of Women in Tech.

For recruiting, "talent doesn't have a face or a background," said Tarsha. "We don't care if you are self-taught, went to a bootcamp, or the more traditional route of a 4-year university. If you have aptitude, attitude and experience, then Thoughtworks can be a home for you." Thoughtworks has significantly expanded sources for talent. "We look for candidates outside the computer science department," as an example, when conducting college recruiting. They also attend tech conferences, visit schools without computer science curricula, historically black colleges and universities, community colleges, and more. Tarsha stressed that it is important to closely examine your recruiting process; "are you mitigating bias in the process?"

Diversity does not stop with recruitment of people with different backgrounds, creeds/races/colors/ages/belief systems/socio-economic statuses. Equally important is "inclusion." At Thoughtworks, the company has created a place where "people feel they have a voice; that they matter." The team has re-architected learning/development, benefits, communication methods/content and channels, and methods of promoting high potential employees, in new, more inclusive ways.

Thoughtworks mantra is "once you learn more about a person, their background, their situation, it will hopefully broaden your perspective. You can empathize and sympathize." To institutionalize best diversity practices, the company has established employee-led resource groups for women's interests, LGBTQ interests, and African Americans. There is a consistent feedback mechanism to gauge employee needs. Prior to any major policy roll-out, interest groups are polled. "An example of that is when we rolled out a policy for gender transitioning on the job," Tarsha said. "We hired an outside expert to come in and do training, not only for our leadership team, but all our employees. We had appropriate groups review the policy. We created the preferred pronoun buttons. We take them to our career fairs and have available in all our offices. We want to be sure we are being respectful of people, and how they self-identify." To measure the success of its programs, Thoughtworks administers a diversity survey annually, and deploys "Measures of Success" --- a benchmark tracking. For companies motivated to establish diversity programs, Tarsha shared advice. As a first step, any company should start with holistic assessment, to identify areas for enhancement, gaps, and priorities. Then map back to strategic goals, and methodically, progress from step to step.

For individuals looking for new roles, Tarsha recommends asking questions about a company they are considering, including what diversity policies are; the backgrounds of leaders; leadership development opportunities, and how candidates are selected; the average tenure for an employee. Also try to speak with other employees about their experience. Tarsha emphasizes that this work cannot be done in a vacuum. "I can create the vision, and the initiatives. But it takes all of us to live it and breathe it every day; and make people feel welcome and included." Tarsha wholeheartedly agrees with Diva Tech Talk. "One person can't do everything. But everyone can do something!"

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Diva Tech Talk interviewed Gail Bernard, Director of Sales, Americas for Cybernoor, a leading provider of Oracle platform solutions. In Gail's childhood, she was fascinated by science and attended the University of Washington where she entered pre-med. "I saw technology, originally, as enabling medicine," she said but additionally "I saw we could use technology to solve business problems, life problems." She migrated to management information systems and transferred to the University of Michigan, to complete her BBA in MIS. During two internships at Chrysler Corporation. she managed the personal computer rollout for the entire company. Then she began working at Chrysler, full-time, after graduation as a systems analyst in their product development group. Her team produced a complicated engineering BOM (Bill of Materials). "I got to work with amazing, brilliant people!"

After Chrysler, Gail moved to consulting and gained in-depth experience in inventory and supply chain technology deployment. Then she moved into technology consulting sales to "deliver the breadth and depth of services" required by a number of very large Michigan clients. "Being around diverse groups of people taught me how to conduct myself in any given scenario," Gail said. Gail then migrated to founding and leading the Detroit-based office of Interactive Business Systems, when their full portfolio of products/services expanded into Michigan.

While Gail enjoyed the sales and consulting work, she became intellectually restless. She also underwent a bout with breast cancer, and "realized that having healthcare choices, in retirement, was big." So, she decided to get her PMP certification, passing her exam on the first round. That led Gail to her next career chapter as the Project Management Officer (PMO) for the U.S. District Court, Eastern Division, in Michigan ---- one of the largest consolidated court systems in the U.S. Prior to her tenure, the court "no had created the point of service, but we were able to digitize the probation and pre-trial functions so that we ended up with the lowest recidivism rates of offenders, in the nation."

Now Gail has returned to a consulting role at Cybernoor, which is "new to Michigan." Its founder, Ahmed Alomari , was the Vice President of Application Development at Oracle Corporation but left a decade ago to create an improved portfolio of products and services, founded on Oracle platforms. What most excites Gail, in her role of driving sales throughout North America, is the fact that Cybernoor is a leader in full, organic digital transformation for large organizations.

Gail's career success stems from her intellectual agility, the propensity to move/evolve at the speed of disruptive change, and constant quest for greater meaning in her work, which truly motivates her. To stay joyous, she fully recognizes and basks in the glow of small and large accomplishments. "I don't necessarily separate my professional life and my personal life," she said. Having faced a significant health challenge, when she triumphed over cancer, she has only two fears today: physical heights, and failure! She also gives back, regularly, to others dealing with that disease by "being a buddy" when she finds someone who needs support.

Gail's leadership lessons included: "Don't take shortcuts. Accept that males and females are different. Lean into it! Celebrate it and pull the best out of it." And "Empower, rather than command." She also counseled to live in the moment and understand that life's goal "is not a destination, it is a process." Seizing the day, she giggled: "I say live your life like you stole it!"

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Diva Tech Talk was honored to interview Shuchi Sharma, Global Head and VP, Gender Equality & Intelligence, SAP, the software giant that creates enterprise software to manage operations and customer relations for Fortune 500 companies all over the world.

Shuchi never intended to enter software. "I studied chemistry, with the aim of being a doctor," she said "because it explains the 'why' behind everything. But I excelled in economics. I combined science and economics and got a degree in public health." She obtained her bachelors of science at the College of William and Mary, and her masters of public health at the University of Michigan. "I took courses in maternal and children's health and HIV policy," Shuchi said. "I knew that I wanted to focus on women's issues, in some form."

She began in management consulting working for The Advisory Board, among others. "I worked with technology for many years. Then I had an opportunity to move overseas to Germany." She worked, in Heidelberg, for SAS, a leader in software analytics, running software consulting across eastern, central and northern Europe. "That was great fun." However, "women were not really helping each other. I saw opportunities missed. I thought 'what can I do about this?' " What Shuchi did, in her personal time, was create The Heidelberg International Professional Women's Forum (HIP), to bring together women to exchange ideas, learn from each other, and develop skills to enhance success. "I spent five years, building and leading that organization. It made me realize that this is what I would like my life to be about." Among HIP ongoing results were "people finding new opportunities; people starting businesses; people developing new friendships that carried great impact to their lives; creating new ventures they never thought they could achieve." There were many new partnerships and businesses, and significant events including "a big summit to fuel entrepreneurship in the community." Shuchi is still amazed at "the multiplier effect that something like this can have on lives."

In 2008, Shuchi left SAS to join SAP, to grow the consulting business in northern and southern Europe and the USSR. "I have been at SAP for 10 years. Now in my fourth role, I feel so blessed," she said. "I started in business consulting, and after I had my second daughter, I wasn't ready to travel." Shuchi was lucky. Her empathetic boss asked her to build a marketing organization. Over the subsequent 5 years, she built a marketing function for business consulting. Then she was asked to lead a digital transformation team in North America for SAP's Success Factors, delivering dramatic improvement in the way companies handle their workforces. She had great fun helping customers use design thinking to envision the state of their workforces 5 years in the future. In her volunteer life, Shuchi became a salary coach for AAUW's SmartStart Program, and worked with organizations like Moms Rising. "I stayed very involved in women's topics." She then evolved into her current position "changing the mix of gender in the organization and creating that very inclusive culture --- a strategic transformation. It was a wonderful opportunity to bring my skills and interests together."

Shuchi is determined to deliver on SAP's mandate: "to ensure that we, as an organization, can meet our target of having 30% of women in leadership by 2022." She tackled leadership in process-oriented fashion. "First we look at data, to see where we are, where we have to go, and how we are going to get there." SAP has amassed internal data on their own enterprise analytics platform and use dashboards that track many areas: gender, early talent benchmarks, diversity and inclusion categories, and more. The analytics tools "help us slice and dice the data by so many different dimensions." Using it, Shuchi's team drives the revamp of corporate processes and organizations that have implicit bias. "We use data to have discussions with Level 1 managers" to encourage individual plans to reach the 30% goal.

Shuchi's team has worked on projects including re-certification of SAP under the IMF's EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality). "It is very robust analysis that involves data, review of policies and practices, an employee survey, and a third-party audit. Through that, we understand how we are progressing from leadership and development, pay equity, recruitment and promotion, and flexible work culture, perspectives. That data is going to help us drive change for the next 6 years." Her team is rolling out programs centered on male allies, sponsorship and mentoring and "return-ship" – recruiting those who dropped out for life reasons, but now want to come back. Nothing can be accomplished in a vacuum, so her team is working on collaborative partnerships with other visionary organizations to help achieve SAP's target of 30% by 2025.

For other companies fielding inclusion programs, Shuchi shared SAP's ingredients for success: strong executive sponsorship, an effective ecosystem, with diversity and inclusion team members scattered throughout the company, and employee network groups. SAP is thrilled to have received much deserved recognition for their progress in diversity and inclusion. The latest is being named one of the top 5 companies for women technologists by the Anita Borg Institute.

Shuchi offered wonderful wisdom for women. On pay equity, she said "if you are in university, seek out resources that the AAUW provides. You can find a workshop to teach you the skills to negotiate salary, which is something you must do in every facet of life. Just become comfortable with asking. JUST ASK." She also recommended books including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Why We Should All Be Feminists and watershed works by Dr. Louann Brizendine, particularly The Female Brain. In her own career, Shuchi is joyful about her SAP role. "Women are going to change the world…for the better. If you look across history, women are almost always at the heart of every positive social construct." But she isn't free of stress. "I worry that entrenched biases we have seen will continue to exist through our technology. We need to take a very active role to ensure that there is no prejudice; that it is open, available to everyone, and people have opportunities regardless of their race, color, appearance. NOW is the time."

Shuchi's two daughters are her personal inspiration. "I want to equip them with everything I can to help them overcome what they might face in the workplace." She proudly mentioned that one of her daughters recently beat a boy in a footrace, and when one of his buddies commented that he was beat by a girl, her daughter turned and said: "that's a normal thing; get used to it!"

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