Women in Business & Technology

Colleen and Sonia are officially closing up shop! This is the final episode of Women in Business & Technology. We’re celebrating with a phenomenal guest: Microsoft’s Chief Marketing Officer and committed ally, Chris Capossela. Chris shares more about his career as well as his broader team’s culture journey. Our hosts wrap with a conversation about legislation banning race-based hair discrimination.  

Colleen and Sonia share their plans for closing out 2019. Colleen interviews Amy Nelson, the Founder and CEO of The Riveter, a modern union of women fighting together for equity of opportunity for all working women. They talk about Amy’s journey into entrepreneurship and positioning motherhood as a superpower to investors. Finally, our hosts wrap the show with a study that shows that women are addressed less often by their formal professional titles than their male counterparts.

Our hosts start the show with Sonia’s recap of a month on the road. Then, Colleen interviews Jennifer Brown, an award-winning entrepreneur, diversity & inclusion speaker, consultant, and author of the new book: How to Be an Inclusive Leader. The two discuss the responsibility of leaders to get educated on and invest in diversity and inclusion initiatives. Colleen and Sonia wrap with a conversation about a letter of solidarity from women members of parliament to Princess Meghan Markle.

Our show starts with a segment spotlighting the Female Founders Alliance Ready Set Raise accelerator. Then, Microsoft Content Strategist Ashley Walls interviews Minda Harts—the Founder and CEO of The Memo. They discuss Minda’s new book, The Memo: What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table in front of a live audience of Microsoft employees affiliated with Women@Microsoft and Blacks@Microsoft. Our hosts wrap the show with a conversation about the first all-woman spacewalk.

Our hosts kick off the show by amplifying M12’s announcement of the second Female Founders Competition. Sonia interviews Mihika Iyer, a young podcaster who has been producing the show InspireHER. Then, Colleen has a conversation with Legalpad Co-founder and COO Sara Itucas about immigration, work visas, and the necessity of global talent. Finally, our hosts wrap with a conversation about a study that showed that startups with female founders raise more venture cash.

Sonia provides a recap on the recent #MicrosoftEvent in New York City where seven new Surface products were revealed. Colleen interviews Microsoft Senior Program Manager of Mixed Reality, AR, and VR and General Chair of the Grace Hopper Celebration, Vidya Srinivasan. Finally, our hosts wrap up the show with a conversation about gender diversity on boards, and how important it is to actual board directors.

Our show intro is now Sonia’s Travel Corner, and she brings us up to speed on her globetrotting. Colleen interviews serial entrepreneur Linda Rose about her new book, Get Acquired of Millions: A Roadmap for Technology Service Providers to Maximize Company Value. Our hosts then discuss the list of the Forbes 100 Most Innovative Leaders, and the aftermath of featuring only one woman on that list.

Colleen interviews Dr. Cheryl Ingram, the Founder and CEO of Diverse City LLC—a DEI consulting firm—and Inclusology—a company building DEI enterprise software. Sonia and Colleen discuss the McKinsey Global Institute report titled “The Future of Women at Work: Transitions in the age of automation.” Sonia distributes a challenge to commit to more inclusive hiring practices.

We kick off our Community Connect segment with Sarah Haggard, the founder and CEO of Tribute, a modern mentorship add for the enterprise. Then, Colleen interviews Les Alfred, the founder of Balanced Black Girl Media and the host of the Balanced Black Girl Podcast. Our hosts wrap the show with a conversation about Greta Thunberg’s carbon-neutral journey to the UN Climate Action Summit.

Sonia and Colleen reflect on a recent speaking engagement supporting early-in-career professionals. Colleen sits down with Chloe Csadenyi-Benson, the founder of Gather Seattle—a platform bringing together creatives in the Pacific Northwest. Producer Lexi Swanson interviews University of Washington Professor of History Margaret O’Mara about her book, The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America. Our hosts wrap the show with a conversation about Athleta’s sponsorship of Allyson Felix.

Sonia and Colleen celebrate the milestone of Episode 50! Then, we hear from Intentionalist Founder and CEO Laura Clise about intentional spending. Sonia interviews Tori Dunlap, the founder of Her First $100K—a money and career platform for millennial women. Our hosts wrap the show with a discussion about 25 Dutch venture capitalists who have committed to realizing more equitable funding of female founders.

Sonia and Colleen are back from (separately) vacationing in Alaska! We hear from Cheri Wells, a program manager of TechRoots, a community for diverse talent in the tech industry. Then, Colleen interviews author Maxie McCoy about her book, You’re Not Lost: An Inspired Action Plan for Finding Your Own Way. Finally, our hosts wrap with a conversation about the U.S. Women’s National Team’s win at the Women’s World Cup, and the fight for equal pay.

Our hosts start the show by chatting about Sonia’s recent travels. Sonia interviews Lindsey Wilson, the Co-Founder and Board Director of Unloop, a nonprofit organization building the pipeline from prison to tech. Then, Colleen interviews Avni Patel Thompson, a serial entrepreneur dedicated to making parents’ lives easier. Finally, our hosts wrap with a conversation about an Illinois law aimed at diversifying corporate boards

Colleen recaps the iFundWomen Seattle Pitch Competition. Microsoft Software Engineer and guest producer Jingyi Du interviews Microsoft Partner Director of Program Management Kevin Lee about his participation as a male ally in women-sponsored mentor circles. Sonia interviews CoverWallet Co-founder Rashmi Melgiri about diving into entrepreneurship. Our hosts wrap with a conversation about the disproportionate displacement of women workers by artificial intelligence.

Colleen hosts this solo mission of an episode while Sonia is traveling for work! She interviews Deena Pierott and Heather Ratcliffe of Black Women in STEM 2.0. Then, Microsoft storyteller and keynote speaker Miri Rodriguez shares tips on building a strong personal brand. The show wraps with a look at the 33 women-led companies on the latest Fortune 500 list

Our hosts report from the inaugural Future For Us Assembly—a sold-out conference for women of color with big dreams. Sonia interviews Future For Us founders Sage Quiamno and Aparna Rae about how they’re building a platform dedicated to advancing women of color at work. Then, Sonia and Colleen interview the CEO and President of Dreambox Learning, Jessie Woolley-Wilson, who delivered the keynote address at The Assembly about fellowship and scaling impact for good.

Sonia and Colleen report from Seattle’s Women in Tech Regatta, a gathering to connect women in tech to mentors, peers, and resources. They interview Melody Biringer, the Founder of the WIT Regatta, and Sonya Trejo, a Board Member of the Seattle Chapter of Women in Bio—an organization recruiting onsite. Finally, our hosts moderate a panel on True Allyship featuring allies Anthony Suarez (Code.org), Jeremy Modjeska (Highspot), Krish Srinivasan (PCC Community markets), and Scott Enhert (Moz).

Our hosts head to the Female Founders Alliance Champion Awards gala, and interview founder Leslie Feinzaig as well as the award winners: Julie Pham, Molly Moon Neitzel, Yoko Okano, Jill Angelo, Shellie Willis, Judy Loehr, Laura Espriu, Jennifer Arlem Molina, and Mar Brettmann. Colleen speaks with Lisa Hufford, the Founder and CEO of Simplicity Consulting, and the author of Navigating the Talent Shift. The show wraps with a conversation about Ellevest’s recent $33 million funding raise.

Sonia and Colleen report from Microsoft’s Executive Industry Summit, an event designed to give C-suite leaders an immersive view of business transformation. Our hosts join a women’s luncheon onsite, and chat with industry leaders in retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services about why conference spaces for underrepresented people are important. Finally, Sonia interviews Kate Johnson, the President of Microsoft US, about her approach to leading an organization through change.

Colleen landed a new job with M12—the team that manages Microsoft’s corporate venture fund. Sonia interviews Alice Chen and Jasmine Ong of Arise Seattle, an organization that aspires to see a world where more Asian women are leaders in their careers. Our hosts interview the Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, Reshma Saujani, about her book Brave, Not Perfect. Colleen and Sonia wrap with a conversation about The New York Times Magazine feature, The Secret History of Women in Coding.

Sonia is back from Amsterdam! Colleen meets Karen Okonkwo, the Co-Founder of TONL—the destination for premiere diverse stock photos. Then, Colleen interviews Melisse Shaban, the Founder & CEO at Virtue Labs, a biotech company creating products to repair hair. Our hosts wrap with a Cutting Edge conversation about the correlation between a company’s ROI in building diverse teams and the larger cultural importance of diversity.

Our hosts kick off the show with a conversation about Black History Month. Colleen chats with Nancy McSharry Jensen, the CEO and Co-founder at The Swing Shift—the destination for women in career transition. Sonia interviews Ruchika Tulshyan, the CEO and Founder of Candour, an inclusion strategy organization. Live on Microsoft’s campus, they discuss Ruchika’s book, The Diversity Advantage. The show wraps with a conversation about Pixar’s new short film, Purl.

Sonia and Colleen share progress on their new YouTube show, Microsoft Unboxed. Colleen chats with Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Nuevo Foundation, Beatris Mendez Gandica about her work to inspire kids to be curious, confident, and courageous by discovering the world of STEM. Our hosts interview the Founder of Mismatch.design and the Author of Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design, Kat Holmes. The show wraps with a conversation about The Wing’s updated admissions policy.

Our hosts kick off the show with rave reviews about the multi-level marketing investigative podcast, The Dream. Then, Sonia and Colleen play a round of Persist the Game with creators MaryBeth Pecha and Kathryn Ekloff. Sonia interviews bestselling author, workplace strategist, and Founder of The Spaghetti Project, Erica Keswin. Our hosts wrap with a conversation about entrepreneur Alexa von Tobel’s $200M capital raise.

Sonia and Colleen kick off 2019 by sharing their New Year’s resolutions. Our hosts chat with Edaena Salinas, the host of The Women in Tech Show podcast, about her show origins and how she sources great guests. Sonia interviews Mobile Device Architect, D&I Speaker, Rock Musician, Storyteller, and Science Wonk Ginger Chien about serial patenting and her commitment to greater workplace inclusion. Our hosts wrap the show with a look at how onscreen demographic trends translate at the Box Office.

Sonia delivers a weekend debrief on ALPFA’s fundraising gala. We hear from Female Founder School Co-Founders Katie Doherty and Brittney Riley about their work to empower early stage founders with the skills and community to build successful companies. Colleen interviews Alisha Ramos, the Founder and CEO of Girls’ Night In, a community of women who’d rather stay in tonight. Our hosts wrap up with a conversation about Michelle Obama’s book tour comments on the strategy of leaning in.

Sonia recaps Dona Sarkar’s latest book, Spin Your Tale: The Fiction Writer’s Guide to Your Personal Brand. Colleen learns more about the Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA) from local Seattle leaders Carlos Ruiz and Lester Moses. Guest host Pamela Soberman interviews CEO of the Tracie Group and former Microsoft Chief of Staff to the CEO, Jill Tracie Nichols. Our hosts wrap the show with a conversation about how Britain’s Equal Pay Day highlighted the gender pay gap.

Colleen shares a debrief on her experience enrolling in a Dale Carnegie Immersion Seminar. Sonia connects with Microsoft employees Kristin Carr and Briana Roberts about Returnity, a program to support mothers reentering the workplace. Colleen interviews Dr. Stacy Smith, the founder and director of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and the originator of the concept of an inclusion rider. Our hosts take a look at how brands celebrated International Day of the Girl.

Colleen and Sonia chat about WorkParty, a new book by Create & Cultivate Founder Jaclyn Johnson. Producer Lexi Swanson reports on Ready Set Raise, an accelerator program launched by the Female Founders Alliance. We hear from FFA Founder Leslie Feinzaig as well as members of the first accelerator cohort. Colleen interviews Johnson, and the show wraps with a conversation about the Geekwire profiles of 50 women VCs and angel investors in the Pacific Northwest.

Sonia returns from the launch event for four new Surface devices. Then, women of Microsoft share their stories from the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. Colleen speaks with the President and CEO of the AnitaB.org, Brenda Darden Wilkerson. Our hosts wrap with a conversation about the California state law that mandates female board directors. Find us at www.wibt.com. Send feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen.

Our hosts are in Orlando, FL at Microsoft Ignite, a conference where IT pros are skilling up. Sonia interviews Microsoft Diversity & Tech Community Lead Shona Chee about the onsite activations promoting inclusion. Colleen interviews Silicon Valley startup Technical Advisor Claudia Galván about her commitment to getting more women into STEM. Please subscribe, rate, and share the episode. Find us at www.wibt.com. Send feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen.

Sonia returns from the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Amsterdam. Our hosts chat with Microsoft summer interns before they head back to school. Colleen interviews Tenshey founder and CEO Maggie Chan Jones about advancing gender diversity in the workplace through coaching programs. The show wraps with a conversation about information sharing across cultural boundaries. Please subscribe, rate, and share the episode. Find us at www.wibt.com. Send feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen.

Sonia and Colleen chat with SassyBlack, a singer, songwriter, and producer who composed a new set of songs for this show! Our hosts celebrate one year of podcasting with a live interview with the Founder of PandoMedia and Chairman Mom, Sarah Lacy. They wrap the show with recommendations on how to better support friends’ careers. Please subscribe, rate, and share the episode. Find us at www.wibt.com. Send feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen.

Sonia and Colleen kick off the show at the Microsoft One Week Hackathon, the largest private hackathon on the planet. Colleen interviews teams at Imagine Cup, a global competition that empowers the next generation of computer science students to create new applications. Sonia interviews ShaoLan, the Creator and Founder of Chineasy. Please subscribe, rate, and share the episode. Find us at www.wibt.com. Send feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen.

Sonia and Colleen head to Las Vegas for Microsoft Inspire, the company’s biggest partner event. Global Chairperson Christine Bongard shares more about the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners Women in Technology community. Colleen interviews Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of the One Commercial Partner team, Gavriella Schuster. Please subscribe, rate, and share the episode. Find us at www.wibt.com. Send feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen.

In episode 25, Sonia celebrates her first half marathon and Colleen learns about Women in Cloud, an organization empowering female tech entrepreneurs. Sonia interviews Piera Gelardi and Finola Austin of Refinery29, the leading global media company focused on young women. To end, both discuss a profile of Lauren Simmons, the only full-time female NYSE stockbroker. Please subscribe, rate, and share the episode. Find us at www.wibt.com. Send feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen.

We hear from writer, director, and producer Serena Schuler about her upcoming comedy TV series focused on a female founder, Makeshift Society (www.MakeshiftSociety.com). Our hosts interview Microsoft’s Chief People Officer Kathleen Hogan about the company’s culture transformation. We wrap with Procter & Gamble’s pledge to have women direct 50% of ads by 2023. Please subscribe, rate, and share the episode. Find us at www.wibt.com. Send feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen.

Sonia and Colleen play Robot Turtles, a game that teaches kids about programming. We hear from attendees at a STEM Exploration Day coordinated by Young Women Empowered. Colleen interviews Glowforge CEO Dan Shapiro about building inclusive teams and products. Our hosts wrap with coverage of BCG’s recent analysis, “Why Women-Owned Startups are a Better Bet.” Please subscribe, rate, and share the episode. Find us at www.wibt.com. Send feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen.

Colleen and Sonia debrief after Daring Women Seattle, an event hosted by Seattle Business magazine featuring local women leaders. The duo then visits Lights, Camera, IGNITE!, a gala to support programming that introduces girls in grades 6-12 to technology and engineering careers. Sonia interviews Werk Co-founder and Co-CEO Annie Dean about work flexibility. Our hosts then discuss Backstage Capital’s recent announcement of a $36M fund to invest in black female founders. Please subscribe, rate, and share the episode. Find us online at www.wibt.com. Send any and all feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen.

Recorded at Build, Microsoft’s ultimate annual developer event, Colleen and Sonia debrief after Satya Nadella’s vision keynote on the Expo floor at the Washington State Convention Center. Then, Sonia heads to The Lounge onsite to speak with a few Cloud Developer Advocates—a community-based team at Microsoft with a goal to empower developers to do more with the cloud. Colleen connects with Nina Baliga, the founder and CEO of ersity, a website that showcases insiders’ perspectives on company diversity and inclusion initiatives. Finally, Colleen is joined by Charlotte Yarkoni, the Corporate Vice President of Growth and Ecosystems in the Cloud + AI group, to talk about her team’s involvement with the conference and her support of organizations encouraging girls and young women to pursue their interests in STEM. Please subscribe, rate, and share the episode. Find us online at www.wibt.com. Send any and all feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen.

Recorded at Seattle’s Women in Tech Regatta, Colleen and Sonia connect with the event creator, Melody Biringer to learn more about her motivation to curate a week of educational events, workshops, and conversations. Then, Colleen interviews Fethya Ibrahim, the secretary of the local professional chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. Sonia interviews Cynthia Tee, the former Executive Director of Ada Developers Academy and an Advisory Board Member for the WiT Regatta. Our hosts wrap it up with some reflections on their favorite panel of the week, #WhatWouldChadDo. Please subscribe, rate, and share the episode. Find us online at www.wibt.com. Send any and all feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen

Sonia recaps her recent experience at Beyond 98052: When the Customer Isn’t You, an event focused on inclusive marketing hosted by BlackLight, a community of black marketers at Microsoft. Then, Colleen chats with the Founder and Chief Strategist of Success Bully, Keita Williams, about the criticality of community in forming and achieving big goals. Sonia interviews General Manager of Microsoft Digital Stores and Microsoft.com Services Steve Petitpas about his role as a Co-Executive Sponsor of diversity and inclusion on the Marketing and Consumer Business team. Our hosts wrap it up with some commentary on a recent study that documents the lack of awareness of women tech leaders amongst the general public. Please subscribe, rate, and share the episode. Find us online at www.wibt.com. Send any and all feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen.