Tech in the Right Direction

Enjoy this conversation between Jennifer Didier and Jeff Butler from Cask Canada.  Jeff tells us about the foundations of how Cask was founded and grown into the company it is today. Jeff Butler Bio: At Cask Canada, I am the General Manager of the most awarded pure-play ServiceNow partner in the world. I bring over six years of experience in the ServiceNow ecosystem, where I have helped clients and prospects achieve their digital transformation goals by planning and implementing the ServiceNow platform to deliver business value and reduce costs. I am passionate about developing long-term trusted relationships with clients and strategic alliance partners, leveraging my skills in new business development, customer relationship management, and channel strategy. I have successfully managed and grown the ServiceNow practice and alliance at KPMG Canada and Kyndryl, where I was responsible for generating over $50 million in revenue and delivering over 40 projects across various industries and sectors. I am committed to delivering excellence, innovation, and value to my clients.

Join Jennifer Didier as she interviews President of Cask NX, Stacey Fournier-Thibodaux.  They will be discussing the many facets of AI, including how it is and will continue to affect culture. Bio: Stacey Fournier-Thibodaux serves as the President of Cask NX, a leading ServiceNow consulting and implementation partner. Under her leadership, Cask NX drives transformative initiatives for clients leveraging ServiceNow to automate and reshape their business processes, elevate technology strategies, and foster innovative workplace cultures. With over 20 years of experience, she has delivered innovative solutions and operational excellence for Fortune 200 companies while championing strategic growth and customer success. A passionate advocate for women in tech, Stacey is dedicated to empowering the next generation of leaders to thrive in the evolving landscape of the AI era.

Join Jennifer Didier as she has a lively conversation with Shelley Copsey.  They discuss Shelley career path and her goals to have a diversified workforce. Jennifer also adds a new place to travel on her bucket list. More about Shelley Copsey:  As the co-founder and CEO of FYLD, I lead a venture that empowers utilities field teams and managers to make data-driven decisions in real-time, leading to greater safety, productivity and quality assurance. I have over 20 years of experience in the intersection of physical infrastructure and digital technologies, as well as the human transformation required to deliver on the promise of emerging technologies. I have created and led multiple enterprise SaaS start-ups in this domain, including GeoSLAM, a world-leading geospatial company that transformed the way the real world was mapped (exited to Faro). I was a founding board member at Coviu, an award-winning telehealth platform that scaled from 400 to 25,000 consultations a day during the Covid-19 pandemic (on board through to completion of Series A). I also contributed to spinning out multiple companies from research powerhouse CSIRO, including drone technology company Emesent and regtech platform PaidRight. I have a strong background in finance, innovation, and commercialisation, having held senior roles at CSIRO's Data61, PwC, and KPMG. I am a Chartered Accountant and have undertaken executive education at MIT and Stanford on AI and corporate entrepreneurship. My roles have seen me hold numerous board positions and partner with scaling companies to achieve strong funding outcomes and exits, aligned to business strategy. Connect with Shelley Copsey on LinedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelleycopsey/

Join Jennifer Didier as she speaks with Amber Ivey.  Amber has a unique career path that eventually lead her from the private sector to the government sector.  Listen as she shares her journey and educates us on the positive work that is going on.  More about Amber Ivey: Amber Ivey “AI” is currently a Vice President at a non-profit where she leads a team that helps governments drive impact. In her prior role, as the Senior Director for the Bloomberg Philanthropies Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University, she led a team that assisted governments in utilizing data and performance management for decision-making. Furthermore, she played a key role in the design and launch of the Bloomberg Philanthropies City Data Alliance. The program aims to train 100 mayors and their senior leaders throughout the Americas on utilizing data to achieve better outcomes. Formerly, she worked at The Pew Charitable Trust—a nonprofit focused on solving today's challenges by using data-driven, nonpartisan analysis. Here, Amber led the data collection and organization efforts of a first-of-its-kind research study on how all 50 states and the District of Columbia use data to solve complex problems, improve the delivery of government services, manage resources, and evaluate effectiveness. Most recently, Amber led a team that provided technical as well as strategic assistance to states and counties, who were working towards streamlining their business processes and launching technology, like legal assistance websites and online courts, to modernize and improve access to the legal system. Before joining Pew, Amber served at Maryland StateStat, a performance-measurement and management office established by former Governor Martin O'Malley (D). Following the change in administration, she helped facilitate the transition by demonstrating the effectiveness of data-driven decision-making through StateStat. Additionally, she played a key role in the establishment of the Governor's Office of Performance Improvement under Governor Larry Hogan (R). Before joining the State of Maryland, Amber was a logistics manager for a Fortune 50 company where she used data to drive efficiency, productivity, and profits. She switched from private to the public sector to use her skills in service of government efficiency. She has her MPA and J.D. and is excited to serve at the intersection of data, technology, public policy, and law. She is also the creator and host of the AI for Kids podcast–a series of podcast interviews with industry experts and everyday people who help explain topics related to AI for kids and their parents and the creator of AiDigiTales—an edutainment platform that focuses on AI for kids. LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amberivey/

Jennifer Didier interviews a veteran in the Technology space, Rupal Parikh. Get to know Rupal Parikh as we hear how she got started on her tech journey and how she is helping companies understand how to retain their sales teams and build their presales programs. Bio: Rupal Parikh is a veteran in the technology space, from tech startups to Fortune 500 companies. As the head of a global Presales team at SAP, Rupal and her team help customers achieve efficiency gains and process improvements across their critical enterprise incentive management systems through SAP's Sales Performance Management portfolio. Rupal is also an advocate of the Presales function. She advises technology startups on best practices in building Presales teams and creating value-added Presales technology to master the craft. Rupal is also passionate about helping elevate and connect women in their professional journeys. She is New York City chapter director for WNORTH, a membership network that brings together women at a high level to share their networks, knowledge, and experience. Connect with Rupal Parikh rparikh26@yahoo.com or on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/rupal-parikh-b99a5b/overlay/contact-info/

Jennifer Didier Interviews Alexandra West of Nerd/Noir.  Alexandra shares her journey from the world of Art to technology, back to Art and making her final career in the world of Technology. Listen to her story of how her art background had allowed her to experience and share a unique technology experience and focus. About Nerd/Noir: Founded in 2015, Nerd/Noir is a consulting firm specializing in transforming large-scale product engineering organizations. ​​The company is dedicated to fostering a culture of continuous improvement and helping businesses rethink digital transformation. Nerd/Noir helps clients build self-sustaining coaching capabilities, ensuring long-term success in today's rapidly evolving tech landscape; focusing on outcome-driven strategies and impacts, versus process-centric approaches. The Nerd/Noir team has more than 25 years of experience in modernizing processes and increasing the success of engineering and product teams, from startups to Fortune 500 firms. For more information, please visit https://nerdnoir.com/.   Alexandra West, Cofounder & Creative Director Alexandra West is an award-winning designer, international speaker, and corporate trainer. She is passionate about culture, creativity, and collaboration. Her focus is on bringing both a visual thinking mindset and a strong sense of psychological safety to the world of collaborative work. Alex has a long history as a creative. After earning her degree in Art History from Emory University, Alex spent her early career in commercial and nonprofit art galleries. She then spent a decade managing large-scale software implementations for Fortune 500 HR teams before leaving corporate America to return to her creative roots. Alex worked as a production designer and art director on feature films, television shows, and commercials for over ten years. Alex works with organizations on product discovery and development projects, as well as corporate culture and diversity & inclusion initiatives. When not busy curating and coaching, Alex can be found eating cheese. All kinds of cheese. You can find Alexandra West on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-west-nerdnoir/

Join Jennifer Didier as she talks technology and fashion with entrepreneurs Kotryna Jukneviciute and Cassie Huang from Arete.  Here about their journey to build Arete and their story of how they got there.  A little more about Kotryna Jukneviciute: Kotryna immigrated to the US from Lithuania as a kid. Thanks to her artistic mother, she grew up loving fashion. She started her first venture in third grade and has been an entrepreneur ever since. Kotryna received her BA and MA from Georgetown University and was in the School of Foreign Service. She spent a few years working at the RAND Corporation, where she spearheaded international business partnerships and became known for her research on Russia.  You can reach Kotryna on LinkedIn or email her at kotryna@areteforyou.com More information on Cassie Huang: Cassie Huang grew up in Shanghai and came to the US when she was 16. A Georgetown University graduate, she started her career at Morgan Stanley as an investment banker, then joined The Cranemere Group as a private equity investor. Driven by her passion for building and entrepreneurship, she deferred her Wharton MBA to join Forum Brands, gaining experience in startup operations, e-commerce, and team building. Alongside Kotryna, she's now focused on growing Arete, leveraging her business acumen and a shared vision for impactful change. You can reach Cassie on LinkedIn or email her at cassie@areteforyou.com

Jennifer Didier has a lively conversation with Lilian Dutra of AEN Talent Search. They discuss Lilian's own path to the creation of AEN Talent Search and how she is helping other women connect with great jobs and represent themselves at the highest levels. More information on our Guest: Lilian Dutra CEO & Founder, AEN Talent Search For more than a decade, Lilian has been adeptly handling the rigors of being a mother and a CFO. She has decided to share the secrets of her success in simultaneously managing both by founding AEN Talent Search. Its mission is to enlighten companies on the richness of adding diversity and to empower women to take back their careers and bring their talents to new, rewarding positions. As a Latina herself, Lilian has made great strides in challenging corporations of all sizes to re-evaluate their workforce and re-focus on inclusivity. One of her biggest strengths is the ability to connect the right people to the right jobs, ones which will bring them success and joy. Prior to founding AEN, Lilian was the CFO of Sublime Communications, an independent marketing communications company with global reach. She also worked as a Research Specialist and Analyst at several asset management companies, including the Commonfund Group, Greenwich Associates and Gartner, Inc., where she managed reporting, productivity, and expenses to help clients improve their business results. Lilian is also an expert in International Business and is fluent in Portuguese. You can reach Lilian on LinkedIn or at the company website: AENTalentSearch.com

Jennifer Didier interviews Kerry Adams, Founder and Managing Director at Velvet Badger. Kerry shares about her journey to start Velvet Badger and how she has juggled the fields of broadcast, brand design, digital experience as well as content production. Listen as they highlight some of the challenges of the constant necessary learning of new software including AI and VR. About Kerry Adams: Kerry Adams is a seasoned professional with nearly two decades of experience in the fields of broadcast, brand design, digital experience and creative content production. Born with a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for visual aesthetics, Kerry's journey in the industry has been nothing short of remarkable. Kerry's educational foundation was laid at the prestigious University of Lincoln in 2001, studying ‘Television & Film Design'. She honed her skills and developed a deep understanding of the principles that underpin creative work. With a thirst for knowledge and a strong academic background, Kerry set out on a career path that would see them become a trailblazer in the world of media and design. From crafting stunning visual identities for brands to producing captivating stories for a diverse range of media platforms, Kerry's work has consistently captivated and resonated with audiences. In a constantly evolving media landscape, Kerry Adams continues to be a beacon of innovation and a trusted expert, leaving an enduring legacy of creativity and impact. Her journey from University graduate to agency founder in 2017 and peaking her Career aspirations in leadership today. A testament to her unwavering passion, dedication, and talent growth in the world of design. Beyond their professional achievements, Kerry Adams is known for her commitment to excellence, her relentless pursuit of creative perfection, and her ability to inspire and lead teams towards success. Kerry remains dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in broadcast, brand design, and creative content production.

Sit with Jennifer Didier and Jean Anne Booth as they discuss the world of Venture Capital.  After a great career and millions of dollars made, Jean Anne Booth come out of retirement for a corporate adventure that would change the life of loved one and those like her.  As a serial entrepreneur, Jean Anne Booth has 30 years of experience in high technology. Her background spans from P&L business unit management to marketing; product definition; systems, software, and applications engineering; silicon development engineering; and operations and product engineering. Jean Anne was the founder of Luminary Micro, the creators of the Stellaris® microcontroller (MCU) platform and the first to market with ARM® Cortex™-M3-based microcontroller solutions. Luminary Micro was purchased by Texas Instruments in May 2009. Jean Anne left TI in November 2011 after serving as the General Manager for TI's Stellaris family of products. Early in her career, Jean Anne worked with AMD's embedded microprocessor products for 10 years in a number of management, marketing and engineering roles. Jean Anne holds a BSEE from the University of Texas and an MSCE degree from National Technical University. Reach her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanannebooth/ Website: https://www.unaliwear.com/

Jennifer Didier speaks with Darshini Santhanam bout her road to success in the technology world. She shares extensively about the importance of certifications and how to know which are the best ones to move you to a better hiring position.   More about Darshini Santhanam: A global leader with 17 years at Google and Microsoft, building and leading highly skilled international teams to solve skills gaps & knowledge barriers • Proven track record of turning complex problems into sustainable and measurable learning interventions ranging from impact at leading multinational corporations to the developer community at large, delivering award-winning work • Exceptionally-rated people manager with a mind for business; coach; sponsor of diversity initiatives; currently pursuing an Executive Masters in Change from INSEAD • An active member of women's organizations internally at work and in the industry, serving as a sponsor, mentor and coach • Passionate about lifelong learning, personal fitness, experiments in the kitchen and upcycling • Proud parent of two young children and two older dogs   LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dsanthanam/

In this episode Jennifer Didier interviews Jennifer Murray. Jennifer Murray shares her journey from graduating college with a Marketing degree, navigating it through a technical job she received.  From there she found her purpose and started her own company.   She discovered that small and medium businesses could create the same industry-leading employee programs by leveraging proven principles and program frameworks to increase employee engagement for the long-term. She earned her BBA in Marketing from The College of William and Mary and attended the Poole School of Management at NCSU to earn her MBA. She is actively involved in RMSHRM as VP of Membership, mentors, and volunteers with Dress for Success and St. Mary Magdalene Church in Apex, NC. Jennifer adopted a servant leadership style while leading and developing a team of sales professionals at Cisco Systems and working cross-functionally to launch Channel Partner training programs to hundreds of team members at both Cisco Systems and AT&T. She launched the first college hire sales program at Cisco Systems – immersing over one hundred recent college graduates in a multi-year training program in preparation for independent field sales positions. She and her partners believe that organizations of all sizes can create a strategic advantage to win and retain top talent. You can reach Jennifer Murray on her website www.onboardwithus.com  Or by email: Jennifer@onboardwithus.com 

Join Jennifer Didier as she interviews Lynn Letukas and Melissa Hortman. Listen as Lynn and Melissa share with us their journey from the world of Academia to their current place in the world of technology.  Lynn Letukas: For more than 17 years, I have dedicated my career to leveraging technology to build innovative programs, products and learning. Dynamic leader with expertise in learning and development, talent development, training delivery, scaling programs and products, and using data to drive and inform decision-making. Insights featured in: The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Atlantic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, Business Insider Specialties: team leadership, learner success, education strategy, learning and development, user experience, data analytics, strategic planning, product management, product strategy, secondary/post-secondary education, assessment, edtech, learning management, credentialing. Reach out to Lynn Letukas on LinkedIn to find out more.     https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynn-letukas/   Melissa Hortman:  Melissa Hortman, EdD is an experienced higher education leader and innovator who has expertise in leading digital transformation and accelerating academic research in U.S. higher education. Dr. Hortman is passionate about empowering faculty innovation and student resiliency to make higher education more agile and stronger during disruptions now and in the future. Dr. Hortman spent over 12 years in higher education working in student success and institutional transformation at community colleges, liberal arts, and academic medical centers. She has presented over 30 sessions in the past five years at regional, national and international conferences along with being featured as a keynote speaker as well as in various podcasts and blogs. Dr. Hortman is passionate about empowering faculty innovation and student resilience to make higher education more agile and stronger during disruptions now and in the future. As a “realistic visionary”, she will push the boundaries but make sure there is a practical plan for the future. Dr. Hortman can also be reached on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissahortmanedd/  

Jennifer Didier has a wonderful conversation with Courtney Quinn, Senior Director of Career Change Marketing at CompTIA. As they reminisce gain wisdom in  the importance to Own it, Know it, and Grow it. These steps can help you set the stage for the next chapter of your career.  You should definitely Consider a career in the IT field.   Bio: Courtney Quinn is the Senior Director of Career Change Marketing at CompTIA, the largest trade association for technology professionals. Courtney has played a vital role in the organization's efforts to help over 2 million people earn tech certifications and gain the skills they need to succeed in the tech industry. With a strong background in both technical and leadership roles, Courtney is a valuable resource for anyone looking to start or advance their career in technology. Connect with her to know more about your potential to launch a tech career and how to get ahead in the industry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneyquinn1/. Passion areas: Helping job seekers develop career transition strategies through the OWN IT, KNOW IT, GROW IT framework - Transferable Skills (OWN IT) - Own the skills you have and make them your competitive advantage - Financial Goals (KNOW IT) - Know where you want to go in life and how long it will take to get there - Skill Building (GROW IT) - Grow the skills you need to take your first step towards a new career Courtney thrives on Instilling confidence in job seekers about their ability to work in tech and achieve job satisfaction. Comtia.org 

Jennifer Didier sits down with Director of client Services as Clear Digital, Annie Raygoza.  Listen to their conversation as they go deeper into Annie's career path and the importance of being empathetic to the team around you.  About Annie Raygoza  Annie serves as the Director of Client Services at Clear Digital, a digital agency specializing in marketing and advertising for B2B brands. She dedicates her time to building client relationships, and as a result of that, her team has garnered a 90% client retention rate. Active in the community, Annie sits on the board of the Silicon Valley chapter of the American Advertising Federation and works with other tech professionals working toward advancing leadership opportunities for women.  As a woman in marketing, advertising, and technology, she understands the importance of representation and advocating for women in the field, and she consistently supports women of all career levels to find their confidence to reach their full potential.

Join Jennifer Didier and Maggie Reed as they discuss joining the technology industry a little later in Life.  Faced with a health disability Maggie strives for the fullness of life through her career.  Bio: Maggie Reed's journey as a working woman has been defined by her relentless pursuit of personal and professional growth, fueled by a thirst for knowledge and a readiness to adapt to new technologies. After overcoming a chronic illness that left her bedridden for over two years, she fearlessly re-entered the workforce at the age of 53, forging a successful career in Technology.  Today, Maggie holds the prestigious position of Sr. Customer Success Manager & Engagement Lead at a Fortune Global 500 company.  In addition to excelling in her role, she actively mentors other women within the organization, and holds leadership positions on committees dedicated to advancing the causes of Women in the Workforce and Women in Technology.  Passionate about promoting women's issues, Maggie leads discussions to find solutions for the challenges faced by women in the technology industry. Her unwavering commitment to gender equality and inclusivity serves as an inspiration to her colleagues and peers.   Reach Maggie at Pearlpower61@gmail.com and on twitter @pearlpower61  

Jennifer Didier interviews Samantha Bufton on how she has leveraged her skills to assist her in building her career.  Her journey will take us from her arts and English literature start to COO of Poppulo.  A little more information about Samantha Bufton: Highly-accomplished business, product, and innovation leader adept at growing global business lines via sophisticated B2C/B2B, product, and technology strategies. Over 20 years of success driving transformational growth for organizations of all sizes. Be sure to connect with her on LinkedIN.

Today Jennifer Didier is joined by Shannon Reedy from TeraKeet.  Shannon shares her journey from school up the ladder to help put in better practices for TeraKeet employees. These practices have helped TeraKeet to embrace Women in Technology and assist in bringing them work-life balance.    More on Shannon Reedy: Shannon Reedy Chief Revenue Officer Shannon Reedy is the Chief Revenue Officer at Terakeet, the Fortune 500's preferred owned asset optimization (OAO) partner for strengthening brand and consumer connections online. With a demonstrated history of leadership, data analysis, and results-driven business development, Shannon has helped Terakeet, as well as its global customers, achieve breakthrough performances. As CRO, Shannon guides Terakeet's company growth and revenue-generating processes, including sales, marketing, and client success strategies, which have collectively driven 66% more revenue under her leadership.

Join Jennifer Didier and Elise Carmichael and they track their roads to success in the tech industry.  They will share about networking, the importance of learning, and growing inside the industry itself. More About Elise Carmichael: As Lakeside's Chief Technology Officer, Elise is responsible for building and delivering the next generation of Digital Employee Experience solutions. She has over 20 years of experience working with enterprise organizations on high-tech, big data, and machine learning-based products. Before joining Lakeside, Elise held senior technology and product leadership roles at Functionize, Tricentis, QASymphony, and Mobiquity throughout the last ten years. Elise founded a nonprofit in Florida to encourage more women and minorities to enter and stay employed in high-technology fields. She studied Computer Science and Music at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  The best way to Reach Elise,  is to find her on LinkedIn and engage her about things that are not sales related.  :)

Jennifer Didier speaks with Rachel Meranus about how the products we all love get from one place to the next.  She shares about the industry itself and how women have been making an impact.  More about Rachel Meranus: Rachel Meranus, CRMO, Transfix Rachel Meranus is the Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer of Transfix. Rachel has spent the last two decades leading marketing and communications across a variety of venture-backed B2B SaaS companies in the CommsTech, MarTech, and AdTech sectors. Rachel's expertise lies in building high-performance marketing teams; establishing go-to-market strategies, processes, and infrastructure to create long-term scalable growth; developing cross-departmental alignment to drive opportunity and accountability across sales, customer success, product, and marketing; understanding the market and the customer through primary research; building differentiated, empathetic, and trusted brands; and managing multi-million dollar marketing budgets.    She has built and led marketing teams most recently as CMO at Botify, an enterprise SEO technology company, CMO at Olapic (now Olapic by Social Native), a leader in visual marketing technology, CMO at MediaMath, a leader in AdTech, and SVP at PR Newswire/Cision. Rachel is a native New Yorker hailing from the Upper West Side who now lives in Montclair, NJ with her husband, two children, and a 15 lb cockapoo. When she is not marketing high-growth brands or acting as an Uber driver for her two teenagers, Rachel can be found swinging kettlebells or doing yoga.

Jennifer Didier and Jasmin Guthmann talk about how building a team of networks to support working together.  This network can help you source solutions in marketing that can provide encouragement and opportunity. Jasmin Guthmann bio:  Jasmin Guthmann is a marketing trailblazer on a mission to translate complex technology into compelling stories and amplify Contentstack's reputation as the leading Content Experience Platform (CXP) platform. She currently serves as the Head of Corporate Communications at Contentstack. With more than 10 years of experience, Jasmin and her team elevate the business and help usher in a new era of content management.  She currently serves as the Vice President and Executive Board Member of the MACH Alliance, empowering brands to adopt best-of-breed enterprise technology ecosystems that provide never-before-seen business benefits. She is a fierce advocate of Women in MACH, constantly pushing the envelope on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) in the tech industry. Additionally, she is the host of a new Contentstack thought leadership podcast, People Changing Enterprises, where she interviews people who have transformed big businesses from the inside to share their secrets for success. Before Contenstack, Jasmin held multiple executive positions at Valtech and served as a marketing leader at BlackRock. 

Jennifer Didier and Stephanie Shreve have a great conversation about the ELITE group that finds ways to empower other Women and the next generation of women to join the world of technology.  A little more about Stephanie Shreve: Stephanie Shreve currently is the Chief Marketing Officer at PowerChord, Inc. She is a software and digital marketing executive with 20+ years experience leading high performing teams to support global brands and strategic partners. With a track-record of performance, her goal is to build strong relationships with customers to create solutions that drive business results. She embraces opportunities presented by emerging technologies to reach new markets and grow business.

Join Jennifer Didier and Beth Attwood as they share great tips and insight on how to build confidence.  Todays Technical Industry needs confident people to take the lead with bold moves to ask the hard questions and negotiate the best contracts.  Bio: Beth Attwood is Vice President, Growth Marketing for Nitro Inc, the document productivity company, specializing in market-leading PDF, eSign and Digital Identity solutions. With over 20 years' experience in technology marketing, Beth's had the privilege of working for leading brands such as Ingram Micro, Brocade, Veeam, Snow and Nitro Software. She believes in leading with authenticity, challenging the status quo and developing long-lasting connections with employees, partners and customers alike. Beth is passionate about mentoring and supporting young women navigating their way through the tech industry. Her hope is that through sharing inspiration, with a sense of humour borne of experience, she can make a positive difference to the new generation of female leaders.

Join Jennifer Didier and she speaks to Nimia Amaya. They will discuss the importance of education and the need to have confidence, even it it takes you in a different direction than you thought. Bio for Nimia Amaya: Nimia Amaya is the Demand Generation Director at Younium. A digital media and marketing professional with expertise in the North American and Latin American markets. She holds a BA in Broadcast Media from the University of North Texas and has worked with brands such as Univision Communications, Verizon, Levi's, Macy's, and Cedar Fair Entertainment. She resides in Dallas, TX with her 9-year-old daughter.

Jennifer Didier sits down with co-founder of Kumospace Brett Martin.  Listen to their conversation about the changes that are available in the digital work space. (Virtual Office) Brett Martin Bio: I am an entrepreneur, angel investor, pragmatist, and optimist. Having spent most of my career in the startup trenches, I now focus on supporting other entrepreneurs as Managing Partner of a small seed-stage venture fund: Charge Ventures. Charge is a NYC-based pre-seed/seed stage venture fund. We invest 200-500k at the earliest stages of company formation and then help founders take things from 0 to 1. When not working directly with startups, I spread the startup gospel as an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. My teaching focuses on product strategy and entrepreneurial finance but also have a few war stories to tell, having co-founded Switch, a mobile job discovery application, and Sonar, a location-based social network. I began my career on Wall Street as an equity research associate. In my spare time, I've been fortunate enough to write for Harvard Business review, launch a little website called Vice, found a rock band, and sail thousands of miles on a 30ft sailboat. Brett's Profile linkedin.com/in/brettlucasmartin Twitter brett1211

Join Jennifer Didier and Amy Buckley with a very frank conversation about fertility and some of her personal experiences with the currently available options.  Amy got tired of the process and decided to take actions into her own hands.   Bio for Amy Buckley: Many of our listeners are silently struggling with infertility. From mixed messaging in media to fear of failure, people often struggle to find the right path forward in their fertility journey. Amy Beckley is Founder and CEO of Proov.  She went through the exact same challenges and has used her experience to craft an accessible solution. For Amy and many others, the key to becoming pregnant was deceptively simple: learning about hormones, their individual functions, and how to keep them balanced. This knowledge completely changed Amy's approach to fertility - ultimately resulting in the birth of her second child!

Join the conversation as Jennifer Didier and Radhika Narayana discuss the opportunity of technical certifications. Bio for Radhika Narayana: Radhika Narayana is Director of Cloud and Managed Services for enterprise solutions provider, Calian IT and Cyber Solutions, where she is responsible for the Managed Services Network Operations Center for collaboration, network, datacenter and cloud services. She brings over 20 years of experience in enterprise solution design, installation and complex global infrastructures support, and she is highly certified with Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Collaboration – 15670 (Emeritus) and ITIL Certifications. Customer success and customer satisfaction drive Narayana. During her career, she has designed, planned, and executed several large Unified Communications and Contact Center deployments, migrations, and upgrades on new and existing telephony environments. Prior to joining Calian IT & Cyber Solutions, Narayana served as a Senior NOC Manager for General Datatech where she worked across various managed services groups to standardize customer facing change management processes. Narayan holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communications from Bangalore University.

Listen as Jennifer Didier and W. Curtis Preston talk about the importance of backing up your technology. Mr. Preston is an advocate for women and he encourages women to join his team.  W. Curtis Preston Bio: W. Curtis Preston (AKA Mr. Backup) has specialized in designing data protection systems since 1993, and has designed such systems for some of the largest organizations in the world. His lively prose and wry, real-world approach has made him a popular author and speaker. He has written four O'Reilly books, the latest of which is Modern Data Protection, published in 2021. He is also the host of BackupCentral.com and its Restore it All podcast. He is now the Chief Technical Evangelist for Druva, the only at-scale SaaS provider of data protection.

Join the conversation as Jennifer Didier and Kristie Grinnell talk about how important the words are you use for yourself and in speaking to those around.  These words can open or close doors of opportunity. Kristie Grinnell Bio: Kristie was recently named a top CIO to watch in 2022 by WashingtonExec, is a member of the CIO Executive Council, and she serves as chair of the Capital CIO Advisory Board and is a member of STEMforHER Advisory Board. A strong supporter of academic STEM programs for young women, she is a recipient of the 2018 Women in Technology STEM Leadership award, Washington Business Journal's 2020 Women Who Mean Business Award, a 2020 Capital CIO of the Year ORBIE Award Winner and a 2021 National CIO of the Year ORBIE Award Winner. • Kristie earned her BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and holds an MBA from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management.

Jennifer Didier interviews Ann Garnier. They discuss Ann's exit from being a healthcare employee to opening a business that collects the necessary data needed to further healthcare for all women.  She also shares about her journey and tools that help her to be confident and successful as a woman in technology. Ann Garnier Bio: Ann Garnier, the co-founder and CEO of Lisa Health, is a seasoned healthcare leader and operator, helping to create, launch, and scale innovative tech companies and products that have improved patient outcomes and access to care. Prior to Lisa Health, Ann was COO at CarePayment, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Operations at RelayHealth (McKesson), and Vice President, Strategy and Marketing for Paradigm Health (Optum). She is passionate about using technology to transform women's health, advancing research on menopause and healthy aging, and helping women thrive in midlife and celebrate the start of something great.

Jennifer Didier speaks with Hayden Orme as she shares how she left the corporate world to become an entrepreneur.  In this process she has developed a system to help individuals as well as companies find their life, work balance. Hayden Orme Bio: For over 13 years, prior to launching her own business, Hayden supported top executives and teams at companies such as Partners Healthcare, Brightcove, Inc., Novartis and McKesson. She most recently managed the office of the Chairman and CEO of McKesson (a Fortune 5 company at the time). Now as an entrepreneur herself, Hayden leverages her corporate experience and her unique “get it” factor. Handled. By Hayden & Co. is a business elevation and optimization firm, providing a unique approach to remote support and business development. Hayden and her Crew utilize their combined experiences and expertise to provide top-notch strategy and high-caliber support for their clients in order to claim their space and authority as Empowered CEOs and create sustainable growth and holistic success for their businesses and lives. They combine elements of strategic consulting, executive assistance, and digital marketing services to give their clients back the time and freedom to operate solely in their zone of genius and joy while delegating the rest. As part of Hayden's vision, her employees are empowered by playing an integral role in the company's mission and are holistically successful. She believes in a culture where everyone is celebrated in what they do best! Hayden is also a speaker, a two-time international bestselling author, an award-winning leader in her field, and a 50 Ton Master Merchant Mariner Captain

Listen in as Jennifer Didier and Josh DeTillio talk about the opportunities in the medical industry for Women.  More About Josh DeTillio: DeTillio has more than sixteen years of experience in health care and hospital administration, including creating a popular hospital-wide wellness program. In Healthy You, Healthy Team, Healthy Company, he presents an essential how-to guide on building and maintaining your own wellness plan. In eight stages, ranging from learning how to be an inspiration to incentivizing participation to using data to refine practices, DeTillio will show you how to increase loyalty and morale while decreasing healthcare costs.

Join Jennifer Didier and Danica Bunnett as they discuss the operations of Bluon.  Danica will share how her childhood experiences have helped to find her passion and use it to build Bluon to it's current status in the marketplace.  Danica Bunnett Bio: As Bluon's Chief Operating Officer, Danica manages the day-to-day operations of Bluon, a rapidly growing technology company in the HVAC space that has grown from 30 people to 130 in just over a year. As is typical in a company of Bluon's size, Danica directly oversees several critical teams while working hand in glove with managers on several others.  Danica is a true hands-on manager and player coach, who utilizes her unique skill set to manage a diverse group of technicians, professionals and software engineers with equal skill, grace and authority. Danica has been with Bluon from the virtual beginning and has been instrumental in its growth as well as its one-of-a-kind culture. In many ways, Bluon is a direct reflection of Danica and her unworldly work ethic, unmatched enthusiasm, seemingly always positive attitude and direct style of communication. She is a graduate of Stanford University with a Bachelors in Product Design Mechanical Engineering. She was also the co-president of Stanford Women in Design (SWID) and believes in bridging Silicon Valley's high-tech innovation with the HVAC world.

Meet Breno Araujo from BOTO as he discusses with Jennifer Didier how the hiring practices of BOTO pursues qualified women for Technology jobs. Breno shares his unique ideas on how to maintain the candidates they hire. A little more about Breno Araujo: Breno Araujo is the Founder and CEO of BOTO, a no-code platform that allows anyone to build and share automation. Before BOTO, Breno was head of Revenue Intelligence for Ripple and has been in the blockchain space since 2016. Breno has been coding since he was 12 years old, and has an MBA from INSEAD and a BSC in Mechatronics Engineering from PUC-Rio (Brazil).

Tech in the Right Direction host, Jennifer Didier and Manager of People and Culture at Curate Partners,  Natasha Thomas talk about how she got involved in the Technology industry.  Natasha also shares some great insight on how to represent yourself to be considered for technology opportunities. Natasha's Bio: Natasha Thomas is the Manager of People and Culture at Curate Partners. She studied at SUNY Fredonia, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sociology and currently resides in the North end of Boston, MA. With over a decade of IT industry experience, Natasha is passionate about building programs and opportunities to support people of all backgrounds in achieving their career ambitions. A major focus in her current role is expanding DEI&B initiatives for internal/external employees and clients.

Join Jennifer and Laura Bell Main as they talk about the importance of Software security.  Software security is not just a business challenge, but a challenge for home computer users as well.  Laura Bell Main shares some great insights and tips that everyone can use to have a safer online experience. A little more about Laura Bell Main: Laura Bell Main specializes in securing some of Australia and New Zealand's fastest-growing organizations. She has over twenty years of experience in software development and information security. It's her mission and passion to bring security into organizations of every shape and size. Laura is the founder and CEO of SafeStack Academy, an online education platform offering flexible, high-quality, and people-focused, secure development training for fast moving companies, with a focus on building security skills, practices, and culture across the entire engineering team. SafeStack is a value's driven company on a mission to make cybersecurity accessible for everyone and any organization. “To protect each one of us, we must protect all of us” This is the underpinning belief that drives Laura. Her company pushing hard into this issue by attempting to train all of our organisations, big and small. Through free plans, student sponsorships and sponsored communities, she is working towards a future where we no longer spend 99% of our security resources on 1% of our organizations. She is an experienced conference speaker, trainer, and regular panel member, and has spoken at a range of events such as BlackHat USA, Velocity, and OSCON on the subjects of privacy, covert communications, agile security, and security mindset. She is also the co-author of Agile Application Security and Security for Everyone.

Jennifer Didier gets to know Weili Dai. Hear their conversation about Understanding how to make next-gen Conversational AI in the metaverse a reality. Weili Bai Bio: Weili Dai is one of the most successful women entrepreneurs in the world. Widely considered a technology visionary, she is the only woman Co-Founder of a global semiconductor company, Marvell Technology Group. For her contributions to technology and society, Newsweek named Ms. Dai one of the “150 Women Who Shake the World” and was profiled by CNN International for the Leading Women Series: Leading the Female Tech Charge, Leading Women Principles Fair and Care, Educating for Future Success, and Leading Women Inspire Others. Forbes Magazine listed Ms. Dai as one of the “World's 100 Most Powerful Women” and 2021's “America's Richest Self-Made Women”. The Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) recognized Ms. Dai along with her husband Dr. Sehat Sutardja, Co-Founder and former CEO of Marvell, with the prestigious 2013 Dr. Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award, selected due to their exceptional success in creating Marvell, their individual contributions to today's modern semiconductor age, as well as the talents and expertise they've continuously leveraged to address and overcome pressing global issues like education and smart energy. Ms. Dai was also named to the prestigious Committee of 100, an organization representing the most-influential Chinese Americans. Weili Dai holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley. In recognition of their generosity, her alma mater named Sutardja Dai Hall for Ms. Dai along with her husband Sehat Sutardja. Sutardja Dai Hall is home to the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS). Celebrated as the glue behind her companies, family and community, Ms. Dai is the proud mother of two sons, Christopher and Nicholas who both received their Ph.D degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Berkeley. Ms. Dai was selected as the first woman commencement speaker for the University of California, Berkeley, College of Engineering graduation ceremony on May 12, 2012. Ms. Dai is the Chairwoman of Lark Health through which she has become a powerful advocate for the better use of technology to improve the human condition. Ms. Dai continues to have a relentless passion to innovate through her various active roles in semiconductor technology and software companies, including FLC Technology as the Co-Founder and President and Meetkai, as the Co-Founder and Executive Chairwoman where she is leading the charge to make next-gen Conversational AI in the metaverse a reality.

Listen to hear Jennifer Didier converse with Estelle Giraud about Estelle's firsthand experience navigating the maze that is beginning of life medical care. Estelle will share how using her own struggles to inform a solution, She Co-founded Trellis Health . Trellis Health is an all in one platform that takes frustration and anxiety out of coordinating and curating pre and postnatal health.  Bio: Estelle Giraud is a PhD scientist (population genetics) turned commercial operator and leader in biotech and frontier medicine @Illumina, and now turned founder. Estelle believes people don't neatly fit in single boxes, and some of the most interesting insights about people and the world come from the unplanned intersections. She brings authenticity and openness to tough conversations about the hard problems we face, and thrives in finding new understanding through conversation.

Jennifer Didier and Shannon Meadows talk details on education technology.  How it came to be a necessary service for our daily lives.  Some additional information about Shannon: Shannon was previously VP of Sales & Operations for Blackboard Inc. where she worked on $182M in Acquisition between NTI Group & Blackboard Connect. As Chief Revenue Officer, Shannon leads the Sales and Customer Success organizations at BibliU. She is an industry expert in Ed Tech and Digital Publishing sales and go-to-market strategies. She has led companies in C-level roles in Sales, Marketing and Business Development, building several start-up businesses resulting in successful company equity events. About BibliU BibliU is a learning enablement platform that empowers higher education institutions to streamline their textbook and courseware workflows to achieve greater student outcomes, affordability and social mobility. With BibliU, colleges and universities can finally deliver on the promise of digitalization, guaranteeing all students have first-day access to the learning content they need.  

As Jennifer asks questions, Liya helps us explore and gain understanding of web 3 and blockchain.  This is a detailed conversation of where we are now and where this technology may take us.  Liya Safina Bio: Liya is a digital design director and web3 strategist living in Honolulu, Hawaii. Through her work in blockchain innovation, Liya is building with a mission to help people get educated, connected, and empowered in web3. She has established creative for Fortune 500 companies and startups alike: Nike, Google, Alibaba, Sotheby's, StreetEasy, Brandless and Coinbase to name a few. Liya has experienced a variety of leadership scenarios, from bootstrapping a startup to designing for future citizens of a city built by Toyota in Japan. Recognition closely followed: she was selected as a fellow at Estee Lauder's Vital Voices Leadership program and awarded as Innovator of the Year by Falling Walls Conference in Berlin.   Liya's vision is to build a future where technology serves human needs, instead of humans serving revenue models.

Join Jennifer Didier and Shruthi Rao, as they discuss how the data blockchain can resolve communication problems for companies and offer better customer and data interactions. Shruthi Rao Bio: Shruthi Rao is the Co-Founder & CBO at Vendia, a serverless, multi-cloud platform inspired by the tenets of blockchains, that enables IT firms to manage distributed data and code. Rao has spent most of her professional life scaling businesses, investing, and as an advisor for projects in technology and crypto. Before Vendia, she led the business development for AWS, as well as high-profile deals for enterprises such as Bank of America and AT&T.  

Join us on this episode as Jennifer speaks with Kimberly Fox. Kimberly will share with us how she used the pandemic to start a food blog and turn it into a variety of corporate cooking experiences.  A little about Kimberly: Kimberly Fox leads virtual corporate cooking classes and is a recipe developer and writer for her food blog, From Market to Table. Kimberly developed her signature corporate cooking experiences after spending 10+ years working in STEM and experiencing the gender inequities and micro-cultures in corporate cultures. Now, she leverages her understanding of STEM culture and well-tested recipes to help leaders build inclusive teams and close the gender gap. "Learn more about Kimberly's Cooking Classes here: https://frommarkettotable.com"