On this episode of The Jason Cavness Experience I talk to Rene Capella - HCDE & Ethics @ the University of Washington • Google DSC Lead & Founder • WTM Ambassador • Software Engineer We talk about the following and other items Her love of learning Ethics in tech Philosophy Women Tech Makers Building Community Rene’s Bio Originally from Cincinnati, a coal miner's granddaughter. If you've seen or read Hilbilly Eligy, you know the context of my youth. I studied Philosophy at Miami University for 3 years: not for a career goal (which is probably why I didn't stick around) but because I just loved learning. I couldn't afford my last year there, so I was "auditing" classes (essentially just walking in and listening for free). While there I tutored and was an Assistant Editor on the Journal of Nietzsche studies. It's relevant because it laid the foundation for my focus on ethics in tech now. On a "where's the most educated city in the U.S." Google, I left Ohio for Seattle in 2011. I putzed around, grew a family, and learned to program while parenting and managing restaurants. in 2017 I did a BootCamp at General Assembly and became a Software Engineer at DispatchBot 3 months after graduation. I love the empowerment of learning to program. I love the empowerment of engineering generally. It wasn't a skill I knew was available to me for the first 3 decades of my life. So finding it has really been an amazing rush of application and exercise. After learning the ropes, leading a software team, and earning a certificate in Project Management, I realized I wanted to dedicate my brain and energy to Product Management. Tristan Harris' Center for Humane Technology was a major inspiration. I didn't like just making features on demand: I wanted to build technology that was designed well. So I left my lead role and now I'm attending the University of Washington for HCDE and Ethics. In the time leading up to being accepted (HCDE is capacity constrained, and I needed a lot of prereqs), I attended North Seattle College. While there I founded the Google Developer Student Club on campus. We were the most active club in all of the U.S. and Canada completing over 150 events. 35 were national or global. The rest catered to our local community of 400+ people, making us the largest student club on campus (and possibly ever). Rene’s Social Media Rene’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandarenecapella/ Rene’s Github: https://github.com/renecapella Rene’s Advice I think as far as something I want to impart, is not that you just have to let go and understand that what other people think of you does not matter and you need to be empathetic. For other individuals' interests, check in and check in often. But ultimately, you can't control them. It's something we do with social media and with our personal brand. We want to control people's thoughts. But just let go of that. Our Affiliates Close.com - If you hate your sales CRM or know that you inevitably need to make a change because what you have is not working, certainly check out Close. It's quick and easy to set up and sales rep adoption is extremely high! Give their trial a shot. PeopleKeep - If your company has 49 or fewer employees a PeopleKeep personalized benefits advisor can evaluate whether a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) is right for your business. Reach out today to get your questions answered. https://www.peoplekeep.com/cavnesshr Everee Payroll - Run payroll or contractor payments from anywhere in seconds with just one swipe on a mobile app. Focus on growing your business instead of on compliance. We remit, file and report on federal, state, local and unemployment insurance taxes, as well as handle your W2s and 1099s. https://offers.everee.com/cavness-hr CavnessHR - CavnessHR delivers HR companies with 49 or fewer people with our HR platform and by providing you access to your own HRBP. www.CavnessHR.com