Learnings from Women in Tech Symposium on Innovation & Entrepreneurship

On Thursday, November 30, 2017, I attended a Women in Tech Symposium on Innovation & Entrepreneurship. This public half-day symposium spotlighted the experience of women in the tech industry–from established companies to startups and the venture capital firms that support them.

How do you pledge to move diversity in tech forward? 

Here are some of my main takeaways from the conference: 

• From the Keynote: Be the Token and Be Proud of It, Poornima Vijayashanker, Founder, Femgineer; Founding engineer, Mint.com: "Be the token and be proud of it."
• From Catherine Berman, Co-Founder and CEO, CNote: "Like any power, we can use that power for good or not so good. Invest in the status quo, inclusion." 
• From Sue Carter, Professor, Physics Department, UC Santa Cruz: "Having key people on your side that see something in you can help greatly in your trajectory."
• From Laura Teclemariam, Lead Senior Product Manager, Electronic Arts: "Go to the meetups, conferences. Connect with people on LinkedIn. It doesn’t matter if it’s not in your industry."
• From Sophia Velastegui, Executive in Technology: “The reason I’ve been so successful in changing industries, is because I’ve had this personal Board of Directors to show me how my engineering lens interacts with other facets of business. They also encourage me to pursue leadership roles beyond of engineering despite imposter syndrome.”
• From Jessica Ladd, Founder and CEO, Callisto: "How do we meet survivors where they are at and increase the probability that action will be taken if they do come forward?"
• From Rebecca Stuart, Attorney, Employment Law Practice, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich Rosati: “The sexual harassment issues are not worse now than it was 6 years ago or 16 years ago. It’s just being talked about now.”

“If you want to move the ball forward, you have to play the game.” -Jo Yuen, Executive Director of @WITIatUC

Moonshot life: Stock photo model

Random and funny occurrence: When I worked at the Tang Center, I helped consult on directional signage for a redesigned primary care experience. When I went to visit the final result, the architects were taking photos for their portfolio and needed a new stock photo face. I happily volunteered and these are the results. 

Sigh, my parents would have loved for me to be a primary care provider! :) 

Year 26: Bucket List

On October 17, 2017, I turned 26.

My 25th year was full of wonderful surprises and experiences: I tried reiki and SUP yoga! Started a new job. Got three new stamps in my passport. Took a 6 week meditation course and 12 week fitness bootcamp program. Became a mom to a fish. Perfected my tofu recipe. Won a design award. My year was challenging in the best way possible. So much so that I was inspired to come up with a bucket list for this next revolution around the sun.. ta da!

Year 26 Bucket List
1 Learn how to swim. 
2 See a life coach again. 
3 Figure out how to line dance (cha cha slide, wobble, etc. I know shame on me. I'm the worst Filipino ever.). 
4 Learn the ukulele.
5 Begin an annual memory box tradition. 
6 Take a pottery class.
7 Run (or walk) a 10k. 
8 Make time to watch the sunrise and sunset on the same day. 
9 Donate $1,000+ to local and personal causes throughout the year. 
10 Go a full 24 hours without Internet. (I know, this is a big deal for me) 
11 Buy some stocks!
12 Make a new Pasco-Villanueva family tree. 
13 Become certified in something. 
14 Take the family out on a weekend getaway. 
15 Go “glamping.” 
16 Pay my portion of the family phone bill. 
17 Begin a scholarship in my parent’s name. 
18 Have my first new year’s away from home. 
19 Get custom fit ergonomic shoes and sandals. 
20 Take one step closer to capsule wardrobe.
21 Write some poems.
22 Try a new hair style! 
23 Condition myself to project louder when speaking out loud. 
24 Transition to a fully plant-based fridge. 
25 Curate more local artwork. 
26 Continue to feed the travel bug :)

Peace and love!