Written by: Narissa Wallace\u00a0(DSN CEO)<\/p>\n
It was really good to see the number of sistas attending the Philly Tech Week<\/a> festivities this year.\u00a0 Due to my schedule, I haven\u2019t been able to attend the last few years, but I made a concerted effort to attend at least 3 events this year.<\/p>\n The first event that I attended during the Philly Tech Week was a Women in Tech Workshop that was organized by The Professional Women\u2019s Committee of The Pyramid Club <\/strong>which was\u00a0held @ on Monday 5\/2 from 6 \u2013 8.\u00a0\u00a0 The focus was on \u201cGender and Equality in Tech\u201d and how Philadelphia could position itself to lead the way.\u00a0 It started out with a very nice networking session from 5 \u2013 6 and then a brief opening by City Councilman David Oh followed by a lively discussion on “Gender & Equality in Tech”\u00a0by 5 female and 1 male panelist.\u00a0 This panel was moderated by Franne McNeil<\/strong>, president of Significant Business Results<\/strong><\/a>. and consisted of\u00a0Eileen Gadsen<\/strong>, owner of E-Region Enterprises<\/strong><\/a> and former president of the local chapter of\u00a0Black Data Processing Associates,\u00a0Brigitte Daniel<\/strong>, Executive VP of Wilco Electronic Systems<\/a>,\u00a0NaTasha Richburg<\/a><\/strong>, an IT consultant, author and adjunct professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Tiffanie Stanard<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>founder and CEO of Prestige Concepts<\/strong> <\/strong>and We are MENT<\/strong><\/strong>, and the only male panelist,\u00a0<\/strong>Philip Jaurigue<\/strong><\/strong>,\u00a0President of\u00a0Sabre Systems, Inc.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n On Tuesday, Tuesday, 5\/3, I attended an event hosted and coordinated by The ITEM.\u00a0 This event was titled \u201cTechnology & Talent Development\u201d and focused on skills (technical and soft) that employers are looking for to fill existing employment opportunities within their firms and that potential candidates need to have to acquire those positions.\u00a0 This panel included Tom Elliot<\/strong><\/a>, API Engineer from Thomson Reuters, Anthony Clabaro<\/strong>, Principal Software Engineer, Momentum<\/strong> Dynamics<\/strong><\/a>, Christopher Coor<\/strong>, Director of Technology, Tonic Design<\/a><\/strong> and Tiffanie Stannard<\/strong>, founder wearement<\/strong>.\u00a0 The panel was moderated by Arie Mangrum, IV of Agile Hires<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The last one that I had the pleasure of attending was the 2nd<\/sup> Annual Women in Tech Soiree, held on Wednesday, 5\/4 from 6 \u2013 9 pm.\u00a0 This networking event was a collaborative effort coordinated by Girl Develop It Philly, Candidate Philly and Mogulette.\u00a0 The keynote speaker at this event was Amanda Steinberg<\/a><\/strong> who was followed by an all-female panel that included Darla Henning-Wolfe<\/a><\/strong>, Desiree Peterkin Bell<\/a><\/strong>, Amber Wanner<\/a><\/strong>, Tiffanie Stanard<\/a><\/strong>, and Simone Berkower<\/a><\/strong> (NYC) and was moderated by of\u00a0 Yasmine Mustafa<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n As a former Technology Coordinator of the Workforce 2000 Advisory Council and Project Manager for the Mayor\u2019s Commission on Technology for the City of Philadelphia from 1996 – 2007, I used to be very active in the Tech scene in the city when it was just in its infancy.\u00a0 Now there are start-ups all over the City and the industry appears to be booming.\u00a0 Although I\u2019m still looking forward to the day when the crowd is more diverse, it was still great to see more young African American women, and men among the crowd and to have the opportunity to move around in this circle once again.<\/p>\n Since I\u2019m currently pursuing several endeavors in addition to the DSNetwork, my schedule stays pretty busy, but I have been making an attempt to keep my finger on the pulse of what\u2019s going on in the Philly Tech scene.\u00a0 It is my hope to identify the sistas who are actively engaged in the Philly Tech scene and get them to share their experiences, successes, achievements as well as their struggle to position themselves accordingly within the industry.\u00a0\u00a0 The workshops that I attended barely scratched the surface of the number of the informative workshops scheduled.\u00a0 However, I can say that I acquired some valuable information and made some great connections.\u00a0 Hopefully next year the members of the DSNetwork will be able participate in the planning process as well.<\/p>\n