CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER OF BANDWIDTH
As Chief Marketing Officer, Noreen Allen is responsible for building the Bandwidth brand and driving revenue across all lines of business.
For the past 16 years, she’s held leadership positions with both private and publicly traded companies. Most recently, Noreen served as Vice President, Global Marketing for e-commerce software provider, ChannelAdvisor.
Noreen graduated from Rider University with a B.A in Public Relations.
VICE PRESIDENT OF PRODUCT MARKETING AT THOMSON REUTERS
Majaliwa Bass is the Vice President of Product Marketing at Thomson Reuters in the Tax and Accounting Professionals Division. In her role, she helps to drive the power and scale of Thomson Reuters to best serve their customers by identifying new growth opportunities and defining strategic priorities. She inspires her organization daily to redefine what success means, be more customer-focused and data-driven, push beyond the status quo, test and learn, and align on how to best achieve new and higher aspirations.
Prior to joining Thomson Reuters, Majaliwa was the Director of Product Management where she led the product innovation strategy and helped drive the adoption of design thinking principles into Agile squads. Preceding that role, she led Capital One’s Consumer Auto business as a Director of Digital Product Strategy. From 2011 through 2017, Mrs. Bass held several positions of increasing responsibility at Intuit, including leadership roles in marketing and product management driving the sales retention and go-to-market strategy for their flagship tax products and Quickbooks Online.
Majaliwa holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Michigan. Outside of work she enjoys cycling and spending time with her husband and four children.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF GIRLS WHO CODE
Dr. Tarika Barrett is the current Chief Executive Officer and former Chief Operating Officer at Girls Who Code.
Girls Who Code is an international non-profit organization working to close the gender gap in technology by inspiring, educating and equipping young women with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. In her role, Tarika oversees the organization’s free Summer Immersion Program and after-school Clubs Program, which have reached 300,000 girls around the world, in addition to International Programming, Alumni Programming, and People & Culture teams.
Tarika also serves on the board of McGraw Hill, a leading learning science company creating world-class educational content and providing best-in-class digital platforms for learners and educators. She also sits on the board of Eskolta, a nonprofit dedicated to helping urban public schools re-engage at-risk teenagers.
Previously, Tarika worked as the Chief Program Officer at iMentor, leading the organization’s
programmatic efforts to build mentoring relationships that support students from low-income communities in graduating high school and succeeding in college.
Prior to iMentor, she worked in the Office of Postsecondary Readiness at the New York City Department of Education overseeing options for students significantly off-track academically, as well as developing new schools models including the Academy for Software Engineering. Tarika’s previous experience includes serving as Deputy Network Leader of the Brooklyn-Staten Island Network of New Visions for Public Schools, designing and implementing research and program evaluations for New York University’s Center for Research on Teaching and Learning, teaching high school students, and working as a political organizer. A graduate of Brooklyn College,
Tarika has an M.A. in Deaf Education from Columbia Teachers College and a Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning from New York University.
Tarika lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.
VP OF TECHNOLOGY AND CUSTOMER SUCCESS HRBP AND PEOPLE ANALYTICS, RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY COE AT INTUIT
Olga Braylovskiy is a business and technology executive that empowers companies of all sizes to scale and reinvent themselves.
She has had significant executive leadership experience at Fortune 500 companies in addition to building two successful technology consulting practices. An expert in enterprise technology and customer experience, Olga pairs an entrepreneurial mindset with savvy corporate strategy to uncover blind spots, navigate complexities, balance growth and risk, and deliver transformational results at scale.
Her keen operations mentality, ability to balance strategy and execution and breadth of experience across IT, finance, HR, and operations make Olga a valuable adviser to companies looking to expand and scale.
SR. ORGANIZATIONAL LEADER, PR SPECIALIST, WRITER AND SPEAKER
Michele is a senior organizational leader and PR specialist experienced in scaling education, technology, workforce development programs for underserved communities (particularly women). Michele is also a writer & speaker passionate about the future of work’s impact on Latinxs. She has also served as Program Director for The Grace Hopper Program, owning its women-only and no upfront tuition software engineering program.
VICE PRESIDENT OF TECHNOLOGY AT PRECISIONHAWK
Early in her career, Kristen saw the promise of artificial intelligence—as a tool to ensure that source data is accurate, precise, and high-quality—and her work in product development is guided by this principle today. She started as a engineer, moved into product, and now works in technology leadership.
In her early work to design and optimize human capital management systems and human resources software, Kristen quickly expanded from technical contributions to helping create great software products are built by great teams.
That’s what drew Kristen to PrecisionHawk—the opportunity to build software solutions that integrate data gathered from the field throughout an organization’s existing systems.
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE AND CUSTOMER SUCCESS AT CISION
Nikki Grigsby is the Senior Vice-President of Customer Service and Customer Success where she leads a team focused on providing an integrated and enhanced client experience. Her team is committed to helping our clients achieve their desired results and drive their business forward through delivery of world class service, innovative strategies, process standardization and continuous improvement.
Prior to joining Cision, she was the Vice President of Service at ADP, where she held various leadership roles in L&D, Implementation Operations and Services. She also served as the Chair for the International Women’s Inclusion Network business resource group leading initiatives in support of 5000+ members and was awarded the 2017 Women of Distinction award.
In 2019 she was recognized by the Illinois Diversity Council with the Power50 award for inspiring and influencing others to help shape the future.
Grigsby believes in authentic leadership, diversity and taking risks as keys to success and is passionate about developing people and fostering leadership opportunities.
CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER OF CAROO
Since joining Caroo, Chelsie has driven customer growth and experience strategies for Caroo’s half million B2B and B2C consumers.
A native Angelino, Chelsie earned an MBA and PMP License from the University of LaVerne. Chelsie brings over 15 years of experience managing teams of all sizes, from startups to fortune 500s and everything in between.
When she’s not seeking ways to ignite measurable growth for our organization, customers and team members, you can find her playing strategy board games and rock climbing.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF WHISTLE LABS
As an entrepreneur and executive, Aihui has built innovative products and a company that ranked as one of the TOP 50 fastest-growing female-led companies in America by Inc. She is an active speaker at tech conferences globally and has been interviewed by Inc, CNBC, Today Show, Fast Company, TechCrunch, and others.
As founder & CEO of EdgiLife (acquired), she’s built a pioneering platform that helped CPG companies rapidly perform A/B test their products, concepts, messaging by leveraging a large nationwide health and wellness community called LoveWithFood.com (acquired), one of the nation’s fastest-growing snack subscription business.
She built the company from the ground up, from writing the initial software on Ruby on Rails to growing sales from zero to multi-million dollar in revenues to raising millions in venture capital and acquiring 4 other subscription companies since its founding in 2012. Her company was also accepted by 500 Startups accelerator program which has a ~2% acceptance rate. EdgiLife and LoveWithFood were acquired by SnackNation in June 2018.
CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF AMERICA ON TECH
Jessica Santana is one of the co-founders and CEO of America On Tech (AOT), an organization on a mission to prepare the next generation of technology leaders. AOT provides students with access to the development, mentoring, networking and professional experiences that prepare them for degrees and careers in technology. Their work has been featured in major media outlets such as Forbes, CNN, Wells Fargo, Sirius XM Radio, Huffington Post, TechCrunch, BET, Black Enterprise, AlleyWatch and The Network Journal. AOT has offices in NY and LA.
Prior to AOT, Santana worked as a technology consultant for global brands such as JPMorgan Chase, Accenture and Deloitte. She has been named an Inaugural Leader to the Robin Hood Foundation’s Power Fund, Forbes 30 Under 30 list and NYN 40 Under 40 Rising Stars list. In 2020, Causeartist named her 1 of 37 Social Entrepreneurs to watch and EdLoC named her a Compass Leader in Ending Generational Poverty. For her work during COVID-19, Jessica was also named a 2020 Brooklyn Hero by City and State NY.
Among her accolades, Jessica is an Ashoka Emerging Innovator, Pahara Institute Next-Gen Leader, Wells Fargo Millennial Activist, JPMorganChase Global Enterprise Technology Leader, Morgan Stanley Emerging Leader, Deloitte Future Leaders Apprentice and one of 50 Visionary Women Leaders to Watch by Innov8tiv Magazine.
She has received prestigious fellowships with REDF, Camelback Ventures, Points of Light Civic Accelerator and 4.0 Schools. Jessica was also one of the inaugural technology anchors on Univision, part of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community and formerly served as an Entrepreneur in Residence at General Assembly.
She has presented and spoken to over 100+ different audiences that include SXSW Edu, TechCrunch, Google for Entrepreneurs, White House, Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg. Her commitment to philanthropy and community engagement is evidenced by her world travels and work in parts of Europe, China and South America to work with nonprofits, private companies and social enterprises that better local communities and economies. She is a board member of PowerMyLearning and the Office of Multicultural Advancement at Syracuse University. She graduated with degrees in Accounting and Information Technology from Syracuse University and completed her Executive Education at Columbia Business School.
DIRECTOR, HR BUSINESS PARTNER AT AUDIBLE, INC.
As a strategic HR Partner, I align Human Resources Management practices to effectively support business needs. Areas of expertise:
– Organizational Development & Effectiveness: talent engagement & culture, employer brand, learning & development, community outreach and internal communications
– Talent Acquisition: sourcing, recruitment strategies, selection and on-boarding
– Talent Management: Performance Management tools and processes; coaching and consulting; talent review; succession planning
– Rewards management: compensation strategies, salary benchmarking, benefits administration and incentive programs
– Compliance: knowledge of employment laws; immigration process; policy development and interpretation; employee relations; investigations
I am a strong believer of effective employee communications, setting clear goals and establishing fair processes.
SENIOR PM, PRODUCT & GROWTH AT MICROSOFT
I am a Senior Product Manager with eight years of product, technical and leadership experience in incubating, strategizing, designing, launching, and growing experiences and services used by 100+ Million users on a monthly basis.
My experience spans Feature PM as well as Growth PM roles. I currently drive the strategy for Microsoft Teams growth and adoption for SMBs and Emerging Markets. Teams was launched in 2017 and is the fastest growing business app in Microsoft’s history.
Prior to Teams, I launched five successful V1 services in Office 365 (SharePoint spaces, SharePoint home, SharePoint mobile apps, Groups in O365, Videos in O365). As the founding member of the SharePoint spaces incubation, I had the opportunity to lead the product and execution strategy for the first enterprise AR/VR service which made the top spot on Techmeme the day it was announced (keynote video in the media section). I’ve also worked on the strategy for enterprise social after Yammer was acquired by Microsoft.
I’ve filed 21 patents for my work at Microsoft. I have a strong bias for action, high bar for quality, data-driven mindset, and am known to generate energy and build a culture of trust across stakeholders.
I also believe that to be a well-rounded product leader, one has to look beyond their comfort zone for opportunities. My side hustles include speaking at tech events and leading initiatives in the D&I space. I am the General Chair of the 2019 and 2020 Grace Hopper Conference, which is the largest conference for women in tech. I have over seven years of public speaking experience on a broad range of product, technical and career topics. I’ve also won awards at Hackathons including the Grand Prize at Microsoft OneWeek hackathon amongst 1200+ hacks (Project Ability Eye Gaze), Tech for Good Award (Project Smart Neck Brace), Most Inspiring Project Award (Project Emotion Band).
I have been profiled by / my work has been featured on several US and International media outlets including: Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, The Verge, Engadget, TechRepublic, Venture Beat, GeekWire, eWeek, ZDNet, Channel 9, Crosscut, Huffington Post, The Women in Tech show, Microsoft Research to name a few. I’ve also been featured on seven podcasts.
FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF COLLECTIVE
Kellie Wagner is a speaker, practitioner, and founder of the industry-leading diversity, equity, and inclusion consultancy Collective––A DEI Lab. Motivated by her experiences as a Black woman in tech, Kellie spent nearly a decade innovating DEI council and ERG strategies before launching her own consultancy in 2017. Since then, Collective’s grown into a diverse team of DEI practitioners spearheading inclusive workplace cultures and policies for millennial-driven brands like Spotify, Glossier, and Food52.
Kellie’s thought-leading work on inclusive recruiting, intersectionality, and mental health has been featured in Forbes, AlleyWatch, and Like A Boss Girls, and she has been a featured speaker at places like Culture Amp’s Culture First conference, HR Redefined, The Muse, and The Wing. She’s a graduate of NYU’s Managing Workplace Diversity & Inclusion program, holds an MFA from The New School, and sits on the board of Experience Camps, a grief camp for kids who have experienced loss. She lives and thrives in LA with her trusted companion Dylan, her 15-year old Schnoodle.
VICE PRESIDENT OF QUALITY ENGINEERING AT APPLIED SYSTEMS
Dai Whaley is a technology leader who is passionate about software quality assurance and aiming to build the right digital products through building the products right.
With 20+ years of working in software development in Chicagoland and feeling grateful for the journey Dai has traveled and, having participated in tremendous technological transformation in human history, Dai is more excited than ever about the future and how technology will make even bigger evolution change in our lives. What’s even better than this evolution is seeing more and more women joining this force shaping and leading this technological direction.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF 1871
Elizabeth “Betsy” Ziegler is the first female CEO of 1871, now the Number 1 ranked university affiliated-tech incubator in the world.
Previous to 1871, Betsy was the Chief Innovation Officer at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, responsible for portfolio innovation as well as integrating technology into the Kellogg educational experience. From 2011 through September 2015, she served as associate dean of degree programs and dean of students.
Prior to Kellogg, she served as a principal in McKinsey & Company’s Chicago office where she led the firm’s Life Insurance Operations and Technology practice and co-led its Financial Institutions Operations and Technology practice.
Ziegler holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and received a B.A. in economics from The Ohio State University, where she graduated with distinction. She is a member of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and the Museum of Science and Industry Boards of Directors and an advisor and investor in many young technology companies.
