Girls In Tech

We’re excited to showcase some of the new speakers that have confirmed participation as a presenter, moderator or a panelist at the upcoming Girls in Tech Catalyst Conference on January 26th at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. We will be announcing our first keynote in the coming weeks. To register, please click on the following link: http://gitcc.eventbrite.com/

Katherine Barr; Partner, MDV

Katherine Barr is a member of the investment team at MDV focused on Internet-enabled companies. Prior to joining MDV, she was a Negotiator at Vantage Partners (spin-off of the Harvard Negotiation Project), helping high tech clients such as IBM, Cisco and HP to negotiate with customers, service providers, suppliers, and partners. Before Vantage, she led a development team as a Senior Product Manager at HSA, an education technology startup in Boston. Katherine teaches a yearly Professional Education Negotiation program for the School of Engineering at Stanford. During her graduate studies at Stanford, she was involved in running the E-Challenge business plan competition for BASES (Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students). Katherine received her B.A. from McGill University, and completed an M.A. and the M.S. core curriculum in Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University.

Cathy Brooks; Founder, Other Than That

Cathy Brooks has spent most of her life saturated in media – ranging from print to broadcast and, of course, myriad on-line platforms. Today, in addition to blogging for BitchBuzz and The Huffington Post, Cathy operates Other Than That, a strategic firm helping companies navigate the murky waters of strategic relationships and social media. Most recently Cathy ran business development for Seesmic, a technology company enabling threaded conversations online using video as the conduit. Prior to Seesmic, Cathy worked with Guidewire Group – a global analyst firm focused wholly on emerging markets and technologies. Cathy produced and hosted two podcasts “I of Innovation” and “Six Minutes With…” and also produced two of the firm’s conferences – Innovate!Europe and Leadership Forum. Cathy also headed the talent and booking departments at TechTV, curated content at LeWeb for several years and has held several executive positions with PR agencies.

Joyce Chung; Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures

Joyce Chung has over 10 years of operating experience in technology companies and 10 years of venture capital investing experience. She is a Managing Director at Garage Technology Ventures, a seed and early stage fund focused on emerging technologies. Prior to Garage, she was a founding partner of Cardinal Venture Capital, a $125 million early stage venture fund. At Cardinal, Joyce was responsible for investments in Chipcon (acquired by Texas Instruments), Mobilygen, Valista, and Zilliant. She continues to co-manage the current Cardinal portfolio. Prior to forming Cardinal Venture Capital, Joyce managed venture investments for Adobe Ventures. Her portfolio companies included Vignette (Nasdaq: VIGN), DigitalThink, Digimarc (Nasdaq: DMRC), and Virage. Joyce also held operating roles at Adobe Systems, Sony Corporation, and Cambridge Technology Group. She received an S.B. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Joyce is active at the Stanford Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and is on the board of the Association of MIT Alumnae (AMITA), Chair of the Northern California chapter of AMITA and Member of the Executive Council of Astia.

Leah Culver; Product Manager, Six Apart

Leah Culver was a co-founder and the lead developer of the social network and micro-blogging website Pownce, which was acquired by blog juggernaut Six Apart in November 2008. Now a software engineer at Six Apart, Leah uses her experience with Pownce to develop large scale social applications for future Six Apart projects. While creating the Pownce API she co-authored both the OAuth and OEmbed open API specifications and now maintains the popular Python OAuth library. Leah promotes open source, APIs, and the Django web framework on her blog at leahculver.com. In her free time she likes to play around with new technology and try new restaurants near her home in San Francisco.

Taking place Dec. 9 at the Great American Music Hall, Silicon Valley Rocks! is the Industry’s First Music Showcase featuring performances from Silicon Valley’s tech community – from VCs and entrepreneurs to bloggers and software developers – to raise money for Music in Schools Today (MuST), a Bay Area non-profit that seeks to rescue school music programs from budget cuts.   (http://www.svrocks.com)

Tickets are available at http://svrocks09.eventbrite.com/ Prices ranges from $25 for groups to $75 if you want to go VIP!

This year’s line-up features:

CORINNE MARCUS & THE KINDRED SPIRITS — catchy and intriguing with hints of Lilith, pop, rock and lounge. Tech Affiliations: Walden Venture Capital and Digidesign.

FAREWELL TYPEWRITER — melodic rock music that’s energetic yet tight, dancey but tough. Tech Affiliations: Hewlett-Packard and Thing Labs (makers of Brizzly).

MARROW — electronica/dance beats guaranteed to make you move! Tech Affiliations: Pyramind Studios and the “sflogicninja” of YouTube fame.

THE OPEN SOURCE BAND — featuring Jonah Matranga (lead singer of Far) and Randi Zuckerberg (Facebook) — a Silicon Valley Rocks! special freely available for your listening pleasure. Tech Affiliations: Facebook, Norwest Venture Partners, Walden Venture Capital and Amplified Music Services.

THE TELL-TALE HEARTBREAKERS — tearing through the post-punk music scene with tense, guitar and bass-driven songs that reflect the darker side of rock and roll. Tech Affiliations: PDI/DreamWorks.

THE WHITEHALLS — from straight-ahead rockers to political drama to crowd-pleasing ballads to electronica, this band covers all the bases. Tech Affiliations: Digg.com, Aldon (software), IT for Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco, Bite PR.

Event sponsors include: NetSuite, Midomi, Pyramind Audio, Burson-Marsteller, Joie de Vivre Hotels, Amgen, MusicianLink, Paragon, Vpype, KFOG.

Join the Silicon Valley Rocks Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38576977880&ref=ts

Follow on Twitter: @svrocks

We like it when companies we know support causes we care about. Not only do our favorite non-profits benefit, but it makes us feel good about supporting these stores for their charitable efforts. Recently Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy held a shopping event to support CARE, where 5% of their proceeds went to the organization on 4 days in November (with a 30% off to the customer). While giving back 5% of total purchases to CARE, past Give & Get promotions have generated more than $600,000 for CARE’s work around the world.
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CARE (www.care.org) is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. Recognizing that women and girls suffer disproportionately from poverty, CARE places special emphasis on empowering them to create permanent social change. Women are at the heart of CARE’s community-based efforts to improve basic education, expand economic opportunity, increase access to health services and protect natural resources in over sixty countries around the world.  Go to their site now to see how they are raising $2.5 million by Dec. 31 to help women and girls bring themselves, their families, and their communities out of poverty, for good!

Breaking news this morning: flight delays across the nation, due to computer problems with the Air Traffic Control  System. Apparently, the issue stemmed from a glitch in one computer in Atlanta, where flight information has to be  entered manually, rather than automatically. There are no safety issues with the planes—just computer ones.

These are the times when we find out just how much technology affects our lives, without even realizing it.

Click here to see a map of the delays.

Good luck flying today!

Please join Mission Schools International (MSI) at San Francisco’s Haines Gallery on Dec. 2 for an evening of cocktails, merriment, and mingling in support of an extraordinary new education model in Rwanda. MSI will offer a holistic program focused on science, technology, and entrepreneurship which will help create a dynamic and self-sustaining Rwandan economy.  MSI is assisting the Rwandan government to create Africa’s first-ever secondary school national curriculum in entrepreneurship.  After being inspired you will have the opportunity to donate to this ground-breaking cause.  Please RSVP at http://www.pingg.com/rsvp/7tyjk4pe8sqjbj4bp For more about MSI please go to www.missionschoolsinternational.org

Mission Schools International (MSI) will build a network of secondary schools whose graduates fundamentally transform the Rwandan economy.  MSI will offer a comprehensive program that combines exceptional education, basic healthcare, and proper nutrition.  MSI will support Rwanda’s economic development strategy of building a knowledge-based economy by providing a rigorous academic program focusing on science, technology, and entrepreneurship.   MSI is working closely with the Rwandan government to open its first school in January 2011 in Rwinkwavu, a rural village in the poorest province in Rwanda.  MSI graduates will be the scientists, bankers, programmers, and innovators who create a self-sustaining, middle-income Rwandan economy.

In the report, “Women in IT: The Facts” published on October 14, the latest findings from recent research on technical women was presented by NCWIT (National Center for Women & Information Technology), sponsored by the Workforce Alliance. The report also lays out the “business case” for increasing women’s participation in the technology industry, (which we know was needed all along!).

The report endeavors to be used by change agents and advocates for gender reform in order to raise awareness and promote action in addressing the key barriers for women in information technology careers. It includes statistics, such as the fact that only 24% of professional IT-related occupations are held by women – down from 36% in 1991.

To find out more, we hope you will all read this visually-appealing report for yourself at:
www.ncwit.org/thefacts.
Pass it on!

No more than 10-15 years ago, playing games (especially by girls) was not only discouraged, but also frowned upon. Normally, this is the type of opposition one receives from their parents growing up, but that wasn’t the case with me. While all my girlfriends wanted to go shopping and put on make-up, I was anxious to hit the arcade and challenge all the boys to some game-play. Needless to say this activity sounded less than appealing to all my girlfriends.
Now as I sit here over 10 years later, it is those very friends that have inspired me to write this piece. The same friends that used to joke and tease me for being the “geeky” girl who likes video games, are the ones who now ask me “which computer should I get”, “what’s new in mobile technology and gaming”, and “what’s the best app out there to play together?”
It is this transformation in such a short span of time that amazes me. We changed from what once used to be a taboo for most people to something that is not only socially and globally accepted, but assumed and almost required. I would think a change that happens this fast would lead to a culture shock. Instead, it spread virally. Nerdy boys gaming in their basements are a thing of the past. “I game, you game, and people game” became the new standard.
Now, gaming is easier than ever. I can play on my own on a hand held or on a phone or I can play with my friends via wi-fi. And getting other people involved just enhances your experience. I can invite friends to play from my phone, they can join me on their mp3 players, or if they don’t have one, they can compete with me on Facebook or a number of other social networking sites. The possibilities are endless.
All I can say is I hope this trend continues. Girls, now more than ever are comfortable playing games, and are encouraged to do so. They diverted their attention from the stereotypical female activities to a new set of interests in tech. Now, with their heads held high, this revolutionary shift brings girls one-step closer to paving the way for future innovations in gaming, technology, and more.

I’ve been traveling lots lately and wrapping up my Fall Speaking Tour for Intern Queen Inc. Every day it feels like I’m in a different airport with more gossip mags in front of me – tempting me to purchase them ! It’s so difficult to really focus while you’re flying and encourage yourself to get things done. If you are on JetBlue – all you want to do is watch the television set on the back of the seat in front of you. If you are on Delta, you want to Facebook your way through the skies with their Wi-Fi planes. It is all too easy to put your head on that window and fall fast alseep – you usually even miss the drink cart.

The airplane is a great time to catch up on work/business. Here are a few travel tips to make the most out of your travel days:

1. READING RAINBOW. Most people have that pile of things “to read” and “to go over”. Before you travel print out or collect any magazine articles, blogs, books, papers that you’ve been wanting to read or look over. The plane will provide you with plenty of time to go through and get rid of whatever you no longer need.

2.  TWITTER FAVORITES. I’m always marking plenty of Tweets under the “favorites” category and I usually don’t get around to reading them. The night before I fly I copy paste all of them into a large document to take on the plane with me so that I can catch up. If any of the Tweets send me to interesting articles – I print those out as well. On the plane I make note of things I want to “RT” and interesting “Tweeps” I might want to reach out to.

3. BUSINESS/TECH BOOK. Now is the time to grab that book that you’ve been waiting to read. Try to select a book that is business or tech related so that it has better chances of inspiring you and providing you with ideas for your own business. Always bring a notebook with you ! I just bought and quickly read the Ivanka Trump book, THE TRUMP CARD: Playing to Win in Work and Life, and found the business tips helpful and inspiring.

4. SKIM THE MAGAZINE RACK. Use your layover time to skim any magazine articles you might want to read. I usually end up wasting money on a ton of them and only reading a few articles. I really enjoy WIRED, ENTREPRENEUR, INC, FAST COMPANY, BUSINESS WEEK, and NEWSWEEK.

5. PLAN YOUR FLIGHT. It sounds cheesy, but I always write out my plan for the flight. I’ll even include time for a short nap if the flight is long enough. This keeps me on track during the flight.

6. FOLLOW YOUR MORNING ROUTINE. Normally have a latte or some tea in the morning ? Try to follow this ritual on the plane. It will help you feel more relaxed, organized and put you in a productive mindset. Also, make sure you eat some carbs before you get on the plane so that you have a bit of energy.

FLY SAFE !

The UC Berkeley Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology hosts the Innovator Lecture Series, a weekly, hour-long lecture where Silicon Valley leaders share their experience and pearls of wisdom to engineering and business students.  Tomorrow evening’s lecture will feature Marissa Mayer, who will be discussing her decade’s experience at Google as well as the future of search. Mayer did her undergraduate work in Symbolic Systems and graduate work in Computer Science, both at Stanford University, specializing in artificial intelligence. Today she leads Google’s product management efforts in everything related to search: web search, images, news, books, products, maps, Google Earth, Google Toolbar, Google Desktop, Google Health, GoogleLabs and even more. Not a single Google product is released to the public without her seal of approval.

Browsing through the semester-long list of speakers for the Lecture Series, I noticed one glaring oversight: out of the eleven individuals chosen for this distinguished speaking position, only one is a woman. Does that mean that women constitute only 9% of the powerful tech innovators? My my, that glass ceiling is looking mighty shiny today.

One of our missions at Girls in Tech University is to change these numbers. Young women in college shouldn’t feel discouraged by the ubiquity of men in the industry they wish to call their own. This isn’t a pity party!  We’re quickly starting to see more and more women gain momentum and really rise to leadership positions in which they excel.

The intelligent, motivated ladies passionate about new technologies are out there; with the right resources, a network of serious innovators, and a dash of empowerment, we can exceed our own expectations and change the face of the industry like Mayer has.

*****
Event Details:
A. Richard Newton Distinguished Innovator Lecture Series
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 5:00pm
UC Berkeley Bechtel Engineering Center

The WebCast of Mayer’s talk will be available to stream online here after the event.

2010 is right around the corner, and the San Francisco chapter is starting to build our events calendar for the year!

I’m reaching out to our members to get an insight from you all on our events thus far and any/all ideas you may have for upcoming events in 2010.

Do you think we need more workshops? More Mixers? Do you have a hot topic that you feel isn’t getting enough attention and would make a great event? Feel free to email me your ideas and I’ll be sure each suggestion is considered for an event we produce next year!

Thanks!!

Please send all emails to:

allison@girlsintech.net