On this month’s Women’s Spotlight, Tara interviews, Hanna Hamid, the dynamic leader at the helm of Sigma Software Canada, a trailblazing software development company with roots tracing back to Ukraine. As the Head of Sigma Software Canada, Hanna's visionary leadership has played a pivotal role in the company's remarkable expansion and success.

 Passionate about fostering a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Hanna channels her energy into meaningful initiatives. As a board member of the Canadian Alliance of Women in Web 3, she champions gender diversity in the burgeoning field of Web 3. This community-driven organization, under Hanna's guidance, provides a supportive space for women to learn, collaborate, and advance their careers.

 Hanna's commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goes beyond organizational boundaries. A mentor to aspiring women and non-binary professionals, she generously shares insights and strategies for navigating the early stages of their careers. Hanna's impact extends to the airwaves, where she has been featured in podcasts, shedding light on the experiences of women in tech and offering a roadmap to success.

 In this captivating episode, Tara engages in a heartfelt conversation with the inspiring Hanna, a woman whose journey from Sudan to Montreal at the tender age of 9 shaped her life in profound ways. The episode delves into the dramatic experience of Hanna's family uprooting their lives, highlighting the challenges they faced as immigrants with little support.

 As Hanna reflects on her own struggles, she passionately
expresses her desire to be a beacon of assistance for other women and
immigrants. Drawing from her personal history, she recounts the absence of
support when her family first arrived in Montreal, igniting a spark within her
to make a difference in the lives of others facing similar challenges.

 Join Tara and Hanna in this poignant and uplifting conversation that weaves together personal resilience, a commitment to helping others, and the serendipity that guided Hanna into a successful career in the tech industry. This episode is not just a story of one woman's journey but an invitation for all to find strength in adversity and embrace the unexpected paths that life unfolds.

On this month´s Women´s Spotlight, Tara engages in a compelling conversation with Kelly Jura, the Vice President of Brand & User Experience at ScreenPal, a technology company based in Seattle. Kelly plays a crucial role in defining and executing the UX vision and strategy across the company, emphasizing its significance at every touchpoint.

A dedicated member of the tech community, Kelly serves as a Founding Member and NYC Chapter Leader at WomenTech Network, as well as an IxDF NYC Local Leader at the Interaction Design Foundation. Driven by a passion for how people experience ideas, Kelly's career journey, initially focused on design and marketing, naturally evolved into healthtech and edtech roles in UX design. Confident and curious, she currently leverages her extensive experience in an executive User Experience role, specializing in facilitating asynchronous video communication for educators and students, always keeping the user/consumer's voice at the forefront.

Kelly’s empathetic approach to problem-solving and her strategic mindset toward understanding consumer behaviors and perceptions in technology profoundly impact design. Her work in healthtech has resulted in multiple patents for proprietary design processes, and she stands as one of a select few MIT-certified women in human-computer interaction for UX design. Recognized as a trailblazer in the Women & Diverse Design Leaders 2023 list by the Design Management Institute (DMI), Kelly has been a vocal advocate for addressing the gender disparity in the tech industry. She emphasizes the role of company culture in conjunction with possessing the right talent for creating traction and actively works to showcase what it means to be a woman in tech.

In this empowering episode Kelly unravels the intricate tapestry of user experience (UX) and its unparalleled importance in our ever-evolving landscape. Kelly emphasizes the critical nature of valuing user experience, shedding light on how a single negative encounter can send individuals packing, leaving a lasting impact on a brand's reputation. She also shares invaluable insights, urging women to curate their circles intentionally. With a wealth of experience under her belt, she advises listeners to surround themselves with talented individuals, those they admire, and those who inspire.

In this month's Women's Spotlight, Tara has a conversation with Dr. Diana B. Allen, a prominent figure in the field of cybersecurity. Dr. Diana is not only an international speaker but also a researcher and a respected board member. Her current role at Google is as the Senior Technology Program Manager in the Security department, where she leads important initiatives focused on cloud adoption and risk management. Dr. Diana's extensive experience also includes contributions to the FinTech and consulting sectors, where she collaborated with Fortune 100 companies.

 Dr. Diana is a highly sought-after speaker renowned for her expertise in leadership and technology. She has been invited to present at numerous conferences, podcasts, and companies worldwide, thanks to her over 15 years of diverse leadership experience in the cyber risk management industry. Throughout her career, she has been actively involved in creating and leading programs designed to enhance both professional skills and personal leadership growth. Dr. Diana is passionately dedicated to fostering the comprehensive development of others and has a proven track record of coaching, mentoring, and supporting emerging professionals in STEM-related fields. Furthermore, she possesses hands-on experience in designing and delivering programs and courses that focus on improving professional skills and nurturing personal leadership growth.

 Beyond her professional commitments, Diana plays a vital role in the governance of organizations such as Black Girls in Cyber, where she serves on the Board of Directors as the Director of Board Development & Strategic Programs. She also volunteers for
Certification Content Development with (ISC)2. In her leisure time, she enjoys
reading, staying active through fitness activities, and cherishing moments with
her husband and two young daughters.

 In this captivating episode, Dr. Diana invites us on a personal journey through her life and remarkable career in the tech industry. As a tech leader with two small children, she shares her inspiring insights on how to thrive in the ever-evolving tech world while remaining true to oneself. Dr. Diana opens up about her experiences in transitioning to a new company, with small children, and the valuable lessons she's learned along the way. Tune in to discover the secrets behind her incredible success and the real, relatable story of a dedicated mother and tech trailblazer.

 On this month´s Women´s Spotlight, Tara sits down with Shelli Brunswick COO of Space Foundation and UNOOSA S4W mentor. She is also a speaker on tech used for the betterment of humanity and planet Earth. She has had a distinguished career as a space acquisition and program management leader and congressional liaison for the U.S. Air Force to her current role overseeing Space Foundation's three primary divisions: Center for Innovation and Education, Symposium 365, and Global Alliance.
 
Advocating for space technology innovation, entrepreneurship, diversity, and inclusion, Shelli collaborates with organizations around the world to connect commercial, government, and educational sectors. Her work to champion the inclusion of underserved groups stems from staying true to the values instilled while she was in the military: a passion to share her journey, give back to the space community, and contribute to the development of the next-generation workforce.
 
She has published articles in consumer, technology, and space-related journals, including SpaceNews and Forbes Technology Council. She is a highly sought-after keynote speaker. She has delivered more than 100 speeches and presentations in 2022 alone on navigating career success and workforce development to audiences in Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North and South America. She has also participated in research projects for both NASA and ESA to better understand the future of the global space system and its implications over the coming decades. 
 
Shelli Brunswick was named the 2022 Chief in Tech Award by WomenTech Network, the World Women Organization's Lifetime Achievement Award, the Top 100 Leaders Award, The Most Influential Women in Leadership 2022 by March8 Magazine, and a Top Aviation and Aerospace Professional to Follow on LinkedIn in 2022. 
 
Shelli plays an active leadership role with various international organizations such as: Space4Women Mentoring Program, an affiliate of the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs; the WomenTech Network; the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ICESCO); the World Business Angels Investment Forum; the G100 Global Chair for Space Technology and Aviation; the Globe.

In this captivating episode, among other things, Shelli takes us on a journey through the three distinct chapters of her career, each offering unique insights and pivotal moments that shaped her professional growth. You can also discover the fascinating intersection of technology and everyday life as Shelli unravels the remarkable ways in which innovations originally designed for the space industry have become integral to our daily routines. 

Join us for an eye-opening exploration that will leave you inspired and eager to tune in!

On this month´s Women´s Spotlight, Tara speaks with Kristina Brun, an executive and leadership coach and corporate facilitator who previously spent 15 years leading teams in advertising tech and marketing at companies (Yahoo, Verizon, and Hearst) ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 100 companies. Today, she helps technology leaders advance their careers, make better decisions, execute change effectively, develop innovative solutions, and successfully engage their teams.

Kristen is a board-certified coach as well as an ICF-credentialed coach (the gold standard). In addition to an undergraduate business degree from the University of Southern California, she has a Master's degree in Management, Strategy, and Leadership from Michigan State University. She is also I’m also a certified practitioner with the Applied Improvisation Network and a Certified Consultant for the Big Five Workplace assessments.

 Kristen is also a founder and executive Coach at Emboldify. She was a guest speaker at the Women Tech Global Conference on May, 2023, discussing "How improvisational thinking makes you a better leader."

 She took her first improv lesson in 2016. Not only did she fall in love with the art form, community, and sheer fun of improv, but she also discovered she was gaining skills that would benefit her in many aspects of her life, especially work. She gained confidence, improved her ability to think clearly, increased her self-awareness and empathy, became more present in the moment, and felt more creative than she had since she was a child.

 In her spare time, she can be found playing with her improv group, Required Taste, in San Francisco and at festivals across the country. She is also likely to be seen skiing, crocheting, trying new restaurants, reading, listening to podcasts, or relaxing at home with her fiancé and their two cats.

 On the show, Kristen talks about time when she started to work for the Startup tech company and how she felt she had a "seat" at the table, which is exactly what she wants. Later, she began to have issues with the company since she was unfairly blamed for various things. She now wished she had the confidence to tell them that this is not acceptable. She also discusses how she moved away from it and overcame the trauma.

On this month´s Women´s Spotlight, Tara speaks with Martyna Shallenberg, a talented and fearless engineering leader with a diverse background in science and technology. At Myriad Genetics, she is in charge of a 23-person engineering team dispersed throughout the U.S. and South America.

Martyna was born in Poland and escaped communism with her parents to live as refugees in West Germany. In the US, Martyna received a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology and took a winding career path before landing in the male-dominated tech sector.

In Myriad Genetics, she directs ongoing efforts to automate and streamline workflows with the revenue cycle to help provide genetic testing within oncology, women’s health, and mental health. She has also founded a Women in Technology Group to support and mentor women’s careers in technology. She has also been recognised for creating a company culture of inclusivity and individual career development while creating a management book club to help inspire future leaders to set and achieve career aspirations.

On the show, Martyna discusses how she left Poland and what it was like to be a refugee in Germany. How life changed again when they had to return to Poland, and how the expectation was very different from reality. In the end, the family were able to move to the USA, which had always been their end goal. This is one of the life lessons she has learned: no matter what your circumstances are, you can always make it work with what you have.

The Women's Spotlight for this month is unique. On this episode, Tara doesn’t have any guests, but she had the honour and pleasure of being one of the speakers at the Women in Tech Global Conference in May 2023 and is sharing the speech she gave. The Women in Tech Global Conference is the largest conference for women in the tech industry. This hybrid conference brought together women in tech, minorities, and allies from all over the world.

This talk is about unleashing the power of femininity in the workplace and in leadership. Tara also shares something from her childhood and explains what made her the person she is and got her to the place she is today. From a very early age, she learned the difference between how men were supposed to act and how women were expected to behave. Whether it’s correct or not, our society labels certain qualities, such as being logical, tough, and powerful, as masculine traits and nurturing, intuitive, collaborative, creative, and emotional, as feminine ones.

Please listen to Tara's awakening and real speech to learn how she came to value her feminine wisdom in both her professional and personal relationships and experiences, as well as how to trust her intuition and synchronicities.

On this month´s Women´s Spotlight, Tara speaks with Svetlana Ratnikova Founder and CEO of Immigrant Women in Business (IWB), Co-Founder of RTG Group Inc., Social Entrepreneur, Mentor, and Impact Investor. Her passion is positive change, big ideas, business growth combined with proven expertise to build and retain top-performing teams that bring exceptional value to organizations. 
 
Svetlana’s drive is to make the world more compassionate, innovative, and sustainable. She is a motivator, communicator, relationship builder and developer of top talent. Svetlana also supports entrepreneurs of small to medium-sized businesses, leaders, and professionals to achieve their aspirations and bring their dreams to life. She enjoys working directly with young people to help them to explore enterprise as viable and sustainable paths to secure their socio-economic futures.

 She truly believes that inspiring motivation is what gets the best from people and foster collaborative atmosphere that lets people to stretch their limits.

 On the show, Svetlana speaks among other things, how the way she was raised gave her the leaderships skills she has today. Her father taught her discipline and always be “hungry”. She also tells how she started her first business in Russia and how was different than it would be in here.

This month’s Women’s Spotlight Tara sits down with Lisa Murphy, a leading content strategist turned coach. In her early 50s, she's gracefully reinventing herself in significant ways such as starting new habits for her health, including fitness and sobriety. At the start of the pandemic, despite so much uncertainty, she also had the courage to leave a job that wasn't bringing her joy. Now she's following her heart: She started @50ForwardClub on Instagram providing wisdom and inspiration for women over 50, and her community has been featured in the Globe & Mail. Lisa is also a mindset coach who helps empower women to gain more clarity and confidence, try new things, have more fun, and pursue goals that are more aligned with their needs and values. 

On the show, Lisa speaks among other things, how she wanted to create this Instagram society for pro-aging, uplifting women to be a place where women over 50 can share laughs. The account’s idea is to bring together women’s voices to lift others up. It has been a real passion project for her.