Equal Inspired

We dedicate Episode 004 in honour of Learning Disability Week. 

Jannie Fernandez joins us who is the Program Manager at Reboot Representation.  Jannie has a deep commitment to correcting over-representation in tech and uplifting historically marginalized communities by advancing programs and initiatives that highlight the contributions of women of colour.  

Jannie has taught various Science subjects, including Biology and Physics while serving as Special Education Department Head for a public high school in Miami, FL.  She obtained her BS in Special Education with a focus on learning disabilities from Florida International University and a MS degree in Organizational Leadership from the University of Colorado Boulder.  

We discuss:  

- The key components to help young women thrive in STEM.

& much more!

We dedicate this episode in honour of Mental Health Awareness Week, with our inspiring guest Stacy Cashmore, Tech Explorer DevOps at Omniplan in Amsterdam.  She has worked in IT since the middle of the 1990s, for the last couple of years has been honoured to be able to call herself a Microsoft MVP in Developer Technologies.   

Stacy has been giving talks at conferences and meetups since 2019, using her love of learning to look into new technologies and ways of working. She is also passionate about raising awareness of mental health issues and removing the stigma of talking about them.  

In this episode, Stacy talks openly about her own mental health journey & we discuss:

- How we can break the stigma surrounding mental illness and treatment. 

- The importance of normalizing conversations around our mental health. 

- Overcoming the feeling of being a 'burden' when seeking help.  

- How we can best support those around us who are suffering from Mental Health or Anxiety. 

- Why vulnerability is our greatest strength.  

- The benefits of coming out of your comfort zone.  

& much more! 

#MentalHealthAwareness

We speak with Melenie Schatynski, a people-centric Developer, Educator and Entrepreneur who loves the work she does. Whether that's collaborating with a client on their new website, creating new educational workshops or as the Co-Founder of My Code Kit, driving their mission to demystify coding with Ocobox - the coding tool which uses a growth mindset approach to encourage users to experiment without fear of failure.  

We discuss: 

- Being a Young Innovator Award Winner.

& much more!

Excited to welcome our first guest Susanne Tedrick, an infrastructure specialist for Azure. Susanne is fiercely committed to increasing diversity, equity and inclusion within the tech industry. Susanne is the author of the critically acclaimed Women of Color in Tech: A Blueprint for Inspiring and Mentoring the Next Generation of Technology Innovators for publisher John Wiley & Sons (2020).  We discuss: 

- Susanne's 'non-conventional' journey into tech.  

- How to sell your non-STEM skillset to a tech company. 

- All things Diversity, Equity, Inclusion.  

- Susanne's book Women of Colour in Tech. 

- How we can be better allies. & so much more!

Welcome to the Equal Inspired Podcast.