Black Enterprise’s TechConneXt Tech Summit 2016 is over. Although the event was a success in total, there were a few moments that really captured how unique, fun, and imperative TechConneXt is in bringing together those interested in furthering diversity in STEM.
Some moments were poignant and stirring, others, funny and lighthearted. Here were a few of my favorites:
Sponsor Steals the Show:
Cynthia Marshall (Image: File)
AT&T’s Cynthia Marshall, the telecom giant’s senior vice president of Human Resources and chief diversity officer, brought the house down with a hilarious recount of her first AT&T phone (a garish pink RAZR), and her attempt to get AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson to create a Bitmoji of himself. Marshall grew serious, though, when talking about the need for diversity in tech and AT&T’s efforts in this cause.
Part Talk-Show Host, Part Panel Moderator
Left-to-right: Ramon Ray, Dele Oladapo, Laura Teclemariam, Jerry Nemorin, Kirk McDonald. (Image: File)
Entrepreneur, tech evangelist, and speaker Ramon Ray gave the audience an energy transfusion in an after-lunch session on business tech, using his endless supply to create what may have been one of the most entertaining panels of the event. A few attendees actually tweeted us asking if Ray was a talk show host. Joking throughout before introducing panelist Laura Teclemariam, a product manager at gaming company EA, Ray urged the audience to get their kids’ holiday gift shopping done early by accosting Teclemariam after her panel.
Stirring Story From STEMBoard’s Co-founder
Left-to-right: Lynne d Johnson, Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green, Aisha Bowe, Merline Saintil (Image: File)
One of the more poignant moments was STEMBoard Co-founder Aisha Bowe’s personal story. A self-professed “poor student,” Bowe’s performance in school was such that an advisor told her she should be a cosmetologist. She managed to get into community college, where she took a pre-algebra course and passed. Her father bribed her into taking another math course. She ended up with a degree in aerospace engineering after shoring up her courage, thanks to the support of a professor who believed in her. The audience’s applause following Bowe’s story showed that many were moved by her tale.
Finding Inspiration in Microsoft’s Workshops
Tara Lynn Gray (far right) in Microsoft’s learning lab. (Image: File)
Microsoft held a series of interactive, hands-on workshops for entrepreneurs, during both days of TechConneXt. Coming from the workshop on using Bing for search engine marketing was Tara Lynn Gray, a technology industry veteran and a member of the board of directors for the California Black Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Gray was effusive in her remarks about the workshop and was eager to apply what she learned, saying, “I want to sit and process. I want to go and play with some new stuff now!” We spoke about her incredible journey as a technology professional; from working in an office as the person called on to troubleshoot computers, to her work at Lotus Development Corporation and Kaiser Foundation, and her current position as president of YADARI Enterprises, an IT services firm.
Moved by Slack’s CEO
Left-to-right: Sirita Wright, Stewart Butterfield
Stewart Butterfield, CEO and co-founder of Slack, participated in an amazing one-on-one discussion with none other than Black Enterprise’s effervescent social media manager, Sirita Wright. Before the session, I caught Sirita going over her notes about Butterfield and Slack. She looked up and said, “Did you read the memo he sent employees on MLK Day?” I had. It was an incredibly insightful and moving post on racial justice. “Think about how profoundly shameful it is that there even ever had to be a ‘civil rights movement,’” wrote Butterfield. Sirita actually shed tears while re-reading the memo. I suggest giving it a read yourself.
The Tech 100 is a column that looks at race, religion, sex, politics, and business in terms of technology, because they are all connected somehow.
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