After lots of anticipation and preparation, our Women in Tech: Lift and Climb event took place last Wednesday, October 4th, at 3S Artspace in downtown Portsmouth. We were excited to see some familiar faces and welcome some new ones to the Women in Tech community!
The theme for this year’s event, Lift and Climb, comes from the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs agenda back in 1896. At the time they described their activities of self- improvement, advocacy, and community support as “Lifting while we climb” and since 1896 the phrase and ethos has seen renewed interest and emphasis, particularly involving women’s professional ascent.
We decided to shake things up for this installment of the WIT series! Holding the event at 3S Artspace gave us the opportunity to have more attendees than previous years, and we designed the evening with the larger, open space in mind. April Gill, Vice President of Analytics at Welltok, gave a compelling and timely keynote address about self-care and self-awareness as critical professional skills. From there, we invited participants to choose a table for a small-group discussion led by past WIT panelists and speakers centered around the “Lift and Climb” theme. Discussion leaders included Kelley Muir, AVP Interaction Designer at Direct Capital, Sharon Morrison, AVP & Manager of Legal Systems Solutions at Liberty Mutual Group, Suzanne Snow, Director for School Engagement at Project Lead the Way, Colleen Cone, Employee Relations Team Leader for Greater Boston at Comcast, Dr. Lauren Provost, STEM Director of Academic Support at Southern NH University, and Leslie Ann Buckley, Division Vice President of Northeast Engineering & Network Operations Centers at Comcast. Representatives from Alpha Loft, Future Tech Women, New Heights, the NH Office of Apprenticeship, Market Street Talent, BDS Insight, and the Diversity Workforce Coalition also led table discussions.
Loretta Brady, co-organizer of the event and MC for the evening, shared, “It was exciting to see how eager guests were to share their tips and suggestions with each other about ways to navigate their next career challenge. At our breakout table we swapped suggestions about how to engage leadership in organizational inclusion efforts even when there isn’t dedicated budget or staff associated with the effort. At the end of the night, after door prizes were reviewed, people stayed longer just to exchange contacts and plan future connections. It was wonderful to be able to provide a forum for these conversations.”
The goal of the Women in Technology event series is to continue shedding light on the importance of taking steps to attract and retain women in technology, thus expanding our region’s workforce, bettering our businesses, and supporting gender diversity in STEM. This is something that holds deep meaning to the Market Street Talent team, and we are happy so many of our community members feel the same. All of us at Market Street Talent would like to extend sincere thanks to our co-sponsors, BDS Insight and Diversity Workforce Coalition, and to everyone who attended. We are so pleased with the success of last week’s, and are already thinking about next year!
