Join Olivia Nelson, a (relatively) new marketing hire at Microsoft who works on Surface product launches. She discusses Microsoft's ACE Rotation program, music, and how she realized her passion for marketing.

In this episode of GALs, Christina Warren interviews Paige Bailey, a Senior Cloud Developer Advocate working on machine learning and artificial intelligence for Azure. Paige discusses the magic of Apple IIs; growing up on a farm in Texas; falling in love with Python and R via mapmaking and NASA internships; and going from geophysics in the oil and gas industry to machine learning at Microsoft. Follow Paige on Twitter here! Create a Free Account (Azure): https://aka.ms/azft-ai

Golnaz sits down with Product Marketing Manager of Azure Security, Kelly Anderson. She talks about her experiences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her time in the field, and how her mother was an inspiration for her to pursue a career in technology. Follow Kelly on Twitter here. Create a Free Account (Azure): https://aka.ms/c9-azurefree

Golnaz sits down with Urja Gandhi, Software Engineer at Expedia. Urja started off her career at AT&T working in India then moved to the U.S and started working at Microsoft and has since transitioned to Expedia. Follow her career journey in this episode of GALs. Founding partner & Mentor at University of Washington Husky Tech Founder of Seattle Tech Mentors LeanIn Circle Urja's LinkedIn profile

In this episode of GALs, filmed at the Microsoft Reactor space in San Francisco, Christina interviews Rita Zhang, a principal software engineer in CSE at Microsoft. Rita had just come off a technical presentation about using TensorFlow, Kubernetes, and Azure together, which led to an interesting conversation about open source at Microsoft and what surprised her about the company. "Everytime I show up at a hack fest or a meetup with my MacBook, it helps build credibility to show that we're in this just as much as our customers," Rita also shares what got her interested in technology and her progression as an engineer and the importance of having good mentors. You can (and should!) follow Rita on Twitter @ritazzhang

In this episode of GALs, we visit the Microsoft Reactor Space in San Francisco to interview Lauren Tran, a machine learning and artificial intelligence-focused software engineer in Microsoft Commercial Enigineering (CSE) team. Lauren didn't necessarily plan on being a software engineer. She dual-degreed in marketing and CS and then went to work at Saks Fifth Avenue as a marketer. It was while working as a marketer that she saw that her passion for computer science could help her in marketing. As Lauren tells it, she got her masters in computer science in order to become a better marketer, but while there, found out machine learning was her true passion. You can follow Lauren on Twitter @ltktran

As the Product Marketing Manager for the .NET Platform Beth is responsible for growing .NET, attracting new users, and helping our customers understand & use .NET so they can build amazing solutions. As a former Microsoft MVP and .NET customer her passion for the platform and the community helps guide her every day. Watch this episode to learn more about her journey through the tech industry and Microsoft and how she owes it all to her mom.

Christina interviews Ruth Yakubu, a CDA focused on Java, AI, and cloud analytics. In this one-on-one interview, Ruth shares how she became interested in tech, and the career path that led her to Microsoft. In addition to her technical work, Ruth is also a fashion and beauty obsessed entrepreneur. She shares the journey with her bootstrapped startup, Poshbeauty.com. Ruth discusses some of the challenges with launching a startup, while also working a day job as an engineer. Ruth also shares her thoughts on how we can encourage younger women to enter tech and entreprenurship. You can (and should!) follow Ruth on Twitter @ruthieyakubu

Get to know Beatris Mendez Gandica ("Bea") during this one-on-one interview where she shares her path to Microsoft, current role, and passion for diversity and inclusion! Bea has had an interest in computers since Microsoft Encarta, which led her to spend countless hours learning different topics. She now spends most of her time on static analysis tools and learning about security assurance with her team, mentors, and internal customers. She is also very passionate about diversity and inclusion and inspiring the next generation of girls to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers. Bea firmly believes that the STEM spark can be ignited at an early age in students and make an everlasting difference in their lives. You can learn more about Bea's TechnoloChicas campaign, or connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter @beagandica

As executive vice president of business development, Peggy Johnson is responsible for driving strategic partnerships and transactions to accelerate growth for Microsoft and its customers. Johnson works with external partners around the world, ranging from start-ups to large-scale enterprises, to identify areas of collaboration, drive innovation and unlock shared value. In this capacity, she also manages Microsoft's relationship with the venture capital community and oversees strategic investments through the company's corporate venture fund, Microsoft Ventures. Prior to this role, Johnson spent 24 years at Qualcomm, where she served as a member of Qualcomm's Executive Committee. During her time at Qualcomm, Johnson held various leadership positions across engineering, sales, marketing and business development, and ran the Qualcomm Internet Services business unit. Most recently, Johnson was executive vice president of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., and president of global market development, where she was responsible for commercializing new business opportunities and developing strategic relationships for the company. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Johnson worked as an engineer for General Electric's Military Electronics Division.