TechWomen Will Participate in the 2012 Grace Hopper Celebration

The 2011 TechWomen were also honored at last year’s GHC Conference in Portland, Oregon.

We are thrilled to announce that the TechWomen Emerging Leaders will participate in the 2012 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in Baltimore this fall, after their three-week mentorship in the Bay Area.

The Anita Borg Institute’s Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) Of Women In Computing Conference is the largest technical conference for women in computing. It aims to recognize the contributions of women in computing and bring their research to the forefront in order to help them engage in collaborative networking and mentoring opportunities. Conference presenters are leaders in their respective fields, representing industry, academia and government. Top researchers present their work while special sessions focus on the role of women in today’s technology fields.

This year’s theme, “Are We There Yet,” features innovative sessions focused on helping women impact many domains, including key technology areas such as Big Data, security, and social collaboration. This year’s confirmed keynote speakers are Nora Denzel, Senior Vice President of Intuit and Professor Anita K. Jones from the University of Virginia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science. The Conference will take place in Baltimore, Maryland, October 3-6, 2012.

GHC: Collaboration and Change Are in the Air

Guest post by Heather Ramsey

I am waiting to board my (very) delayed plane in Portland and reflecting on yet another enriching and diverse TechWomen experience. It was so satisfying to spend time with the seven Mentees who joined TechWomen staff at Grace Hopper this week. We are grateful to Google, NetApp and Huawei for sponsoring the scholarships to bring the seven Mentees here, as well as to the US Department of State for its ongoing and generous support of the program. I only wish all 37 TechWomen had been able to be here with us! This will actually be the case in 2012 when all 42 Mentees will go from their Silicon Valley mentorships to Baltimore for Grace Hopper and then on to DC to meet with Secretary Clinton and other State Department officials!

What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?

The six TechWomen Change Agent Scholars were fortunate to be in the audience for Sheryl Sandberg’s keynote address this morning at the Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing. Sheryl spoke to an audience of technical women, but her message resonated for women in every field. We list our favorite bits of wisdom below. To watch the keynote, visit https://www.facebook.com/Engineering.

“The number one driver of careers is growth, and there is no other industry in the world that is growing as quickly as tech.”

“What would you do if you weren’t afraid? Ask yourself and go do it.”

“Don’t leave before you leave. Best way to make room for yourself is to lean all the way in, until you have a real decision to make.”

“Dream big. We have an ambition gap…which results in an achievement gap.”

“Warren Buffet: One reason I was so successful was because I was competing with only half the population.”

TechWomen Change Agent Scholars

TechWomen Change Agent Scholars were recognized onstage today at the Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing amidst thousands of talented technical women. Supportive TechWomen Mentors and representatives from partner companies also filled the audience. TechWomen Change Agent Scholars were applauded for their efforts to help expand opportunities for and impact the careers of girls and women in technology in their regions. The six TechWomen Mentees were selected from the 2011 TechWomen Alumae class to travel from the Middle East and North Africa to Portland, Oregon for the Grace Hopper Celebration. The women are recognized as up-and-coming leaders who will advance women’s participation in technology. For more information on each TechWomen Change Agent Scholar, please continue reading.

Meeting TechWomen at Grace Hopper

Guest post by Arezoo Miot

Having fun at the Google photo booth at Grace Hopper. Heather Ramsey pictured on left, and that's me on the right!

I joined the TechWomen team in October as the new Program Officer and it has been an amazing experience. I’m lucky to work on a program that I believe in, doing work that I love. I get to use social media every day and strategize on communications plans, work with an amazing team to develop and implement our work plan, and day dream about September when the new cohort of technical women from the Middle East and North Africa will come to Silicon Valley to begin their project based mentorships.