This week's guest is Lisa Heite, a Partner Development Manager at Microsoft with a passion for helping others. Lisa's story revolves around living, studying, and working around the world. She gained a wide range of experience throughout her international travel and has used that to bring a unique perspective to the tech industry. Her ideas and approach give her an edge when it comes to solving problems and bringing people together.

While volunteering at an NGO, Lisa developed a digital strategy and saw how digital transformation could further women's rights and give them a voice throughout the world. This passion for women's rights led Lisa to the WIT Network, and she is now lending her skills to their cause.

Thank you for listening; we hope Lisa's story helps inspire others to grow their tech career. To learn more about the WIT Network, visit their site here: https://thewitnetwork.com/

To Reach Lisa Heite on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-heite/

Suruchi is the Founder & CEO of GIANT, a blockchain protocol that turns a phone number into a bank account and bandwidth into currency via; seamless and secure access to the internet globally; rewards on usage and yield on airtime balances.

Suruchi has extensive telecom, consumer software and blockchain experience and serves as a speaker/panelist at industry events in the US and abroad. She advises and mentors blockchain start-ups at Founders Space (ranked #1 incubator for overseas startups by Forbes) as well as mentoring young girls to cultivate her passion for technology.

Suruchi Likes to identify herself as a passionate, result-oriented, and fun-loving individual. Has an unbeatable self-confidence, undying willingness, and unbreakable perseverance. Strongly believes in “Winners never quit & quitters never win” - Vince Lombardi. Feel free to reach out by adding a quick note about why you would like to connect.

Today we talk about Suruchi’s dream for technology and her passion for influencing young girls to start looking into technology, as early as 8 years old.

Click HERE to learn more about Suruchi on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/guptasuruchi/

Thank you for listening to Suruchi’s story as she encourages young girls to get into tech.

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/

Our next guest on MENtors that Make a Difference is Allen Middleton, Partner Development Manager of North America for Amazon Web Services (AWS). Allen has spent over 20 years in the IT learning and development space, where he has a proven track record of creating positive organizational change. He is a driven leader focused on creating team success and the growth and advancement of his customers.

Today we discuss Allen's professional career and how his past 20 years in the learning development space have led him to Amazon Web Services (AWS). We also cover women's presence in tech and the challenges women face in today's IT landscape. Then, digging in further - we talk about how organizations can advocate for positive change for women to help overcome these modern-day challenges and how the data is trending in the right direction.

Thank you for listening; we hope Allen's story helps inspire others to seek or grow their tech career.

You can reach Allen Middleton at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenrmiddleton/

This week's guest is Lauren Anderson, the Owner and Chief Recruiter for All-In Recruiting & Talent Boutique - an experienced Human Resources & Talent Acquisition Organization delivering exceptional hiring results with urgency. Nationally recognized Business Leader in Human Resources and Talent Acquisition and Founder of All-In Recruiting & Talent Boutique. Specializing in direct-hire placements and contingent workforce solutions, All-In Recruiting has helped top talented candidates across industries to secure over $4M in salaries globally, as well as invested significantly in underrepresented entrepreneurs through initiatives like the Shark-ish. Lauren's impact extends to start-up communities, workforce development, and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs. Her achievements have earned her capital backing, features in Rolling Out Magazine, honors from Black Image Magazine, and recognition from Nevada’s Lt. Governor.

Today we talk about Lauren's career journey and how she found her passion in helping others grow their careers. We also discuss the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion and how it can drive positive results for organizations by showcasing the talent that otherwise wouldn't be acknowledged. We also cover how the hiring landscape has changed during the pandemic and what the future holds for the recruitment process.

Learn more about All-In Recruiting here: https://www.all-inrecruiting.com/

Thank you for listening - we hope Lauren's story helps inspire others to grow their tech career.

Melisa Widner joins Jennifer Didier to talk about Venture Capital for Women in Technology.

Melissa Widner from Lighter Capital talks to us about the evolution of the Venture capital space for Women Entrepreneurs.

Melissa Widner is the CEO of Lighter Capital, the pioneer and leading provider of revenue based financing to SAAS companies. She has a deep understanding of the entrepreneur's journey and the importance of growth capital. Previously, she was the Managing Director of NAB Ventures, the venture capital arm of National Australia Bank, where she invested in and served as a director for several global fintech companies, including Lighter Capital. As CEO, she led two companies to successful acquisitions that provided over a 10X return to investors. She co-founded and was the CEO of Silicon Valley enterprise software company, 7Software (acquired by Concur Technologies NASDAQ: CNQR, acquired by SAP). Melissa served as a general partner at SeaPoint ventures, a US based venture capital firm focused on mobile technologies and SaaS enterprise software solutions. She is an active angel investor who served on the board of US based Alliance of Angels, one of the longest running and most active angel groups in the world. She was a lecturer in the subjects of Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship at University of Washington’s MBA program. In 2009, Melissa relocated to Sydney with her Australian husband. She is the co-founder and chair of Heads Over Heels, an organization that works with women entrepreneurs leading high growth companies. She served on the boards of AIC (The Australian Investment Council--formerly AVCAL), and currently serves on the board of the Shore Foundation and Heads Over Heels. She is the proud mother of four boys.

Find Melissa at https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissawidner/

This week's guest is Tiffani Bova, a Global Growth Evangelist at Salesforce and the author of Growth IQ: Get Smarter About the Choices that Will Make Or Break Your Business, a Wallstreet Journal Bestseller. Tiffani was also named to Thinkers50 2019 Global Ranking of Management Thinkers and one of the "Most Powerful and Influential Women in California." These are just a few of the accolades Tiffani has acquired throughout her years in the tech industry.

Tiffani's current focus is on helping drive customer success within their vast customer ecosystem. She helps companies not only grow bigger but also better with new business strategies and technology. She credits working in sales to her unique perspective on the challenges facing companies and the solutions she creates to solve them. She works alongside sales and customer success teams worldwide to drive change and build them into successful enterprises. She is sharing this experience in her podcast, "What's Next!" to give others a perspective on improving themselves and their business.

Thank you for listening; we hope Tiffani's story helps inspire others to grow their tech career. If you would like to learn more about Tiffani and her accomplishments, visit her podcast site: https://www.tiffanibova.com/whats-next-podcast/

Learn more about her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Growth-IQ-Smarter-Choices-Business/dp/0525534407

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.