Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label leadership. Show all posts

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Less Than 2 Weeks Left to Register for The Women in STEM Summit!

Less than two weeks left to register!

Recruit Women in STEM and Drive Diversity in Your Firm

IIR's Women in STEM Summit, taking place October 22nd at Bentley University in Boston, MA brings together students from leading colleges pursuing STEM coursework, professionals in STEM fields, and representatives from top companies looking to increase their STEM firepower. Learn more here:

Join us for a day of learning, networking, and collaboration around talent acquisition and career development for women in STEM.
·         Change the makeup of your current corporate culture and incorporate more diversity
·         Learn from case studies in smart STEM investment and feed the pipeline of STEM talent
·         Facilitate job creation and innovation with data driven research
·         Improve recruitment, retention and motivation with a curated group of case studies
·         Make one-on-one connections between local female college students and women executives in STEM professions
·         Attend with your team for leadership development, employee education, and retention tools

Learn how you can drive diversity in your firm:

Download the brochure for full program details: http://bit.ly/1jcybCh

As a valued reader of our blog, you get an exclusive $100 off when you use code WISBL to register: http://bit.ly/1jcybCh

PLUS! Engage with the motivators and influencers helping to change the future of STEM in the workplace while positioning your company as a leader in diversity in STEM. For sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities, contact Barbara Shapiro at BShapiro@iirusa.com or 646.895.7485.

We hope to see you in Boston!

Cheers,
The Women in STEM Summit Team
@WISSummit
#WomeninSTEM
Steamacceleratorblog.iirusa.com


Wednesday, April 1, 2015

How Powerful Women are Changing the Face of Innovation Leadership

Women's History Month came to a close yesterday, but FEI: Front End of Innovation believes we should honor women driving innovation all year round.

In addition to three can't miss sessions:

2nd Annual Women in Innovation Panel
Kimberly Kleiman-Lee, Senior Executive Leadership Development, GE Crotonville
Denise L. Fletcher, Vice President & Chief Innovation Officer, Healthcare Payer & Pharma, Xerox Karen Freidt, Creativity & Innovation Design Program Manager, NASA Langley Research Center
Donna Sturgess, Formerly, Global Head of Innovation and VP Marketing, GSK

A Quiet Revolution: Changing How We Work, Lead & Innovate
Susan Cain, TED Phenom & Best-Selling Author, QUIET: The Power of Introverts

Shifting Culture & Social Norms through Media & Products
Miki Agrawal, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, THINX & SUPER SPROWTZ

FEI 2015 plays host to amazing roster of female innovation pioneers at our US and EMEA events we think YOU need to meet, including:

Michele R. Weslander Quaid, Chief Technology Officer (Federal), Innovation Evangelist, Google
Michele is Google's Chief Innovation Evangelist supporting the global user base, and has served as Chief Technology Officer for the Public Sector since joining Google in April 2011. Throughout her career, she has taken on the challenge of creating startups and transforming existing businesses in both industry and government. Through consistent success, Michele is recognized and sought after as a leader of change, innovation, and organizational transformation. "DC's Top 50 Women in Tech" ( Feds coop , 2014) "Power 100" list of influencers ( Washington Life , 2014) "The 7 Most Powerful Women to Watch" ( Entrepreneur Magazine , 2014)

Elke den Ouden, Author, Founder, Elke den Ouden BV
Dr. Elke den Ouden is appointed by the board as TU/e Fellow at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) per 1 april 2014 to further develop strategic collaborations of the university with public and private organizations

Erika Ilves, Founder & Idea Capitalist, road:infinity
Erika  co-wrote a book on the future of the human species and continues writing, speaking and spontaneously digressing on this topic. Her calling is space settlement and she splits time between two ventures that fuel the space frontier in two different ways - one literally, by putting refueling depots in orbit (Shackleton Energy) and another figuratively, by making space easier to invest in (Transplanetary).

Karin Schumacher, Global Product Portfolio Director, Food Preparation, Electrolux
Karin is the global product portfolio director of food preparation at Electrolux, where she's been for several years- as the director of the consumer innovation program and also global product portfolio.

Michelle Augustine, Technology & Innovation Champion, Gore Medical Products
Michelle Augustine is a career technology leader with W. L. Gore & Associates.  After earning her Bachelors of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware, and early career experiences in Pharmaceuticals, Michelle joined Gore in 1993 and worked on early front-end innovation and technology development to create the next generation of Gore-Tex™ laminates for footwear and garments.

Aline Wolff, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Stern School of Business, NYU
Aline Wolff is a Clinical Associate Professor of Management Communication at New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business. She teaches courses in innovative thinking for business, as well as business, management and organizational communication for the undergraduates, MBAs and for the Executive Education programs, including the Bankseta program for South African bankers and Communication Strategies: Developing Leadership Presence.

Donna Sturgess, President & Founding Partner, Buyology, formerly, Global Head of Innovation & VP Marketing, GlaxoSmithKline
Donna is a strategist and senior marketer with over 25 years of both US and global experience at GlaxoSmithKline where she led commercial businesses prior to her innovation role. At Buyology she is a visionary proponent of building clients' businesses through a deeper understanding of the non-conscious drivers of attention, engagement and persuasion to better understand customer choice and why people buy what they buy. She also holds the position of Executive in Residence at Carnegie Mellon University where led the strategic plan to create the Integrated Innovation Institute, a unique collaboration of the engineering, business and design schools.

Susan Cain, Best-Selling Author, QUIET: The Power of Introverts
Susan Cain is the co-founder of Quiet Revolution LLC and the author of the award-winning New York Times best seller QUIET: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can't Stop Talking, which has been translated into 36 languages, has appeared on many "Best of" lists, and was named the #1 best book of the year by Fast Company magazine, which also named Cain one of its "Most Creative People in Business". Cain's book was the subject of a TIME magazine cover story, and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. Her record-smashing TED talk has been viewed over 10 million times, and was named by Bill Gates one of his all-time favorite talks.

Tracey A. Dodenhoff, Founding Director, Center for Research Innovation, Northeastern University
An entrepreneurial leader driven by value creation, Tracey specializes in product commercialization and new market initiatives. Tracey is the Founding Director of the Center for Research Innovation (CRI), an exciting new venture focusing on increasing commercialization activity from research initiatives, where she leads the translation of innovations into tangible commercial successes. She also provides leadership for the University's technology transfer practice.

Carin Watson, Managing Director, Corporate Innovation, SU Labs, Singularity University
Carin Watson oversees the Corporate Innovation Program at SU Labs, helping large enterprises establish an innovation outpost in Silicon Valley and leverage SU's unique global community. She has almost 20 years of marketing, product development and corporate innovation experience with Fortune 500 companies. She loves creating simple but delightful products and experiences, informed by a deep understanding of users.

Cristin Moran, Front End Manager, 3M
Dr. Cristin Moran is the Front End Innovation Manager for the 3M Health Care Business. In this role, she is responsible for leading transformational and disruptive programs, developing and teaching innovation science and methodology, and applying that to the seven divisions within the 3M Health Care Business.

Deborah Arcoleo, Director, Innovation Center of Excellence, The Hershey Company
Deb Arcoleo is Director of the Innovation Center of Excellence for The Hershey Company.  She is responsible for enabling innovation capabilities, unleashing creativity and ensuring a healthy portfolio of beyond product innovation across the enterprise.  She has held innovation positions with Campbell Soup Company, J&J Consumer Group of Companies and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare.  She also founded and ran her own organization effectiveness and change management consulting firm for 6 years, and spent 14 years in the management consulting profession, including four years at McKinsey & Company.

Denise L. Fletcher, Vice President & Chief Innovation Officer, Healthcare Payer & Pharma (HPP), Xerox Commercial Solutions
Denise Fletcher serves as chief innovation officer for Xerox Healthcare Payer and Pharma group. Fletcher is responsible for achieving annual group innovation revenue targets, fueling thought leadership strategies, engaging customers in innovation strategies, and driving innovation through a robust research and development pipeline. She has 6 patents pending in healthcare.

Diana Gabbard, Consumer Insights EOR FVC, BP
BP is a company rich in history and tradition but bringing change into any component of the business can be a challenge.  Diana Gabbard believes uncovering deep human truths helps to break some old habits in innovation and inspires new excitement in consumer program innovation. Consumer empathy can spark innovation and take you down paths that may not have been explored without the inspiration; Insight into how uncovering deep human truths about your consumer can be useful for strategic design and a launching point for future innovation.

Gillian Ferrabee, Director, Creative Lab, Cirque du Soleil Media
Gillian Ferrabee wrote and directed her first play at the age of 10. She has been fascinated with storytelling, and with the connection between creativity, technology and our senses for as long as she can remember. Her first professional career was as a contemporary dancer. Later she became an actor and writer for TV and film. In 2004 she joined Cirque du Soleil's casting team; for many years she travelled the world finding extraordinary talent and scouting new trends in performance and design. She was on the team that cast the Beatles LOVE show, as well as others in the company's repertoire. In 2012 she was named Director of the Creative Lab at the new company, Cirque Du Soleil Media. She now leads a team of creatives in developing projects destined for the International TV, film and new media markets.

Kara L. Sterner, Director of Innovation, Bumble Bee Foods
When a company accepts that its bread & butter category won't be that for much longer, the likely outcome is A) continue to ride the wave for as long as it goes, or B) jump off and catch a new wave. Bumble Bee Seafood's created their own option C) keep riding the current wave and send in a new rider for the next big one because innovation needs a place to start so it can learn and grow.  Bumble Bee's Director of Innovation used insights as ammunition to align stakeholders and focus the business in 3 deep fishing grounds, adopted a process that allowed for quick data driven decision making to meet short/mid/long term goals and harnessed the passion of people through idea generation all leveraging lean resources but yielding meaty outcomes.  Jumpstarting innovation is exhausting, but with a little bit of focus and a lot of drive, the exhilaration from the journey wins every time.

Karen Freidt, Creativity & Innovation Design Program Manager, GROW Mentoring Program Manager, NASA Langley Research Center
With a BFA in graphic design and experience in advertising, Karen brings a creative perspective to her work leading programs at NASA Langley Research Center. She specializes in moving minds and ideas forward while piloting new ways of working within government in support of the NASA vision. Karen is driven to challenge assumptions, build better systems and help paint visionary options in the minds of those around her.

Kimberly Kleiman-Lee, Lead, Senior Executive Leadership Development, GE Crotonville
Kimberly Kleiman-Lee heads the Executive Learning Team for GE Crotonville, focusing on the learning and development needs of the company's senior-most leaders.  Kimberly has been with GE for 15 years; 12 of those years at GE Healthcare. Most recently, she served as Senior Faculty Lead for the GE Officers. 

Julia Austin, Former VP of Innovation, VMWare, Advisor, AustinFish, Co-Founder & CTO, Stealth Start-Up
Julia is a Principal at Austinfish, LLC and works with technology entrepreneurs to help them start and scale great companies. She is a board member, investor and advisor to several startups and is often called upon as a leadership coach with a focus on the Engineering process, staffing and operations.

Rudina Seseri, Partner, Fairhaven Capital, Entrepreneur in Residence, Harvard Business School
Rudina joined Fairhaven Capital at its inception in 2007. She has led Fairhaven's investments in CrowdTwist, Jibo, SocialFlow, and Statisfy. She also serves as an Entrepreneur-In-Residence at the Harvard Business School.

Ivy Eisenberg, Founder, Our IdeaWorks
Ivy Eisenberg is the founder and CEO of Our IdeaWorks, LLC, an innovation consultancy that focuses on innovation workshops and deep customer research.  Since the early 1980s, Ivy has been a passionate advocate for connecting creators/business-builders and users/customers. Her early work on technical communications and user interfaces (before there was a discipline of UI/UX) focused on collaborative innovation, employing techniques that included ethnographic research, "all-fidelity" prototyping, and iterative design and development. She raised eyebrows when she pulled programmers out of their cubicles at a large commercial bank and took them on a "field trip" to observe the data entry clerks who were keeping manual ledger books and would soon be using the new processing system.

Debra France, Leadership Development, W.L. Gore
Since it was founded in 1958, the company has operated in a non-hierarchical manner to optimize its ability to innovate.  Debra helps teams articulate Gore's organic processes for developing leaders and for fostering innovation, so this wisdom can be embedded into the design of learning experiences and organizational processes.

Lilliane Geels, Business Process Manager, Change Management Team, European Patent Office

Catherine Eder, Director, Change Management & Internal Communications - Patent Administration, European Patent Office

Celine Farcet, European Open Research Manager, L'Oreal Research & Innovation

Join these amazing women in Boston this May!

Use code FEI15BL for $100 off the current rate. Register today: http://bit.ly/1F3c4BV

All the best,
The FEI Team
@fei_innovation
#FEI15


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

How to Equalize the STEM Workforce


As it stands today, women receive 57 percent of all bachelor’s degrees given in the United States, as well as 60 percent of all master’s degrees.  So why, even when backed with an outstanding number of graduates, are women still underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields?  

There is no doubt this question invites debate.  Do women stray from careers in STEM due to unseen social pressures and gender bias?  Or is it because women believe they are not cut out for success in such fields?  Whatever the reason, Ravishly.com sought out to find an answer to the ever present question of why women are underrepresented in STEM.

The online content site, focused on all-things women, asked seven prominent women to share their ideas on the current situation and possible solutions for recalibrating the STEM workforce.
Here are a few of their responses:

Lisa Chau
Founder of Alpha Vert, private digital strategy consultancy specializing in content marketing and social media
According to the National Girls Collaborative Project, with the exception of engineering and physics, girls in grades K-12 perform as well as boys in advanced science and mathematics classes. However, a divergence materializes between the genders at the undergraduate level of study:

In 2010, 3% of bachelor's degrees in engineering, 6.1% of bachelor's degrees in physical sciences, 5.2% of bachelor's degrees in mathematics, 4.9% of bachelor's degrees in computer sciences, 9.3% of bachelor's degrees in biological sciences, and 13% of bachelor's degrees in social sciences were awarded to minority women (NSF, 2013).

Thus, it is unsurprising that women are underrepresented in the STEM workforce though they comprise 58.1% of the total workforce.

Part of the trouble can be traced to college, where female students lack role models and do not receive equal support from faculty. Katherine Milkman of The Wharton School led research conducted at 259 top-tier schools across 89 disciplines, and found that professors "ignored requests from women and minorities at a higher rate than requests from white males . . . We see a 25-percentage-point gap in the response rate to Caucasian males versus women and minorities."

Lexi Herrick

HuffPo Women contributing writer; marketer for global technology company
There is an issue with trying to determine why STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is still a four-letter word to women: We're asking the wrong question. We should be asking instead, Why is STEM still a four-letter word to girls? Representing women in technology and science begins with raising girls to become a part of those fields. 

If you're a woman and belong to the majority of women not employed in a STEM occupation, can you still remember the moment you lost a genuine interest or confidence in those subjects? Well, I can. I often claim to have always been dreadful at studying anything scientific, but that really isn't true. In fact, I used to excel in the science--I loved everything about it. Until high school, that is. The critical years of shifting between a teenager and a young adult are a main culprit of young girls falling away from STEM.

To read all seven responses, visit: http://huff.to/1pzJIbY

Monday, June 23, 2014

STEM Chat with Courtney Tanenbaum

STEM chat
STEM chat with Courtney Tanenbaum
June 23, 2014
Courtney Tanenbaum, Senior Researcher, STEM Marketing & Research Lead, American Institutes for Research (AIR)
The person who inspired me the most when I was growing up was my grandfather. He was kind, funny, always ready with a hug, and always inventing things—both in the kitchen and in his garage! As I got older, he also listened to all of my ideas with such thoughtfulness and interest; he truly made me believe I could accomplish anything I wanted.

To me, the greatest mathematician/technologist/scientist/ engineer is Amelia Earhart. A woman who broke the mold, and inspired the adventurer in all of us!

If I could tell a young woman pursuing STEM one thing, it would be "persist".

If I could meet one person it would be Eleanor Roosevelt.

My favorite non-fiction book is "The Chosen: The Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton" by Jerome Karabel.

My favorite fiction book is Jane Eyre. Although I was recently introduced to a different kind of love story, "The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics." For anyone who loves STEM and appreciates the creativity and artfulness of science, this is a love story for you!

My favorite source of industry news is Science. The most recent edition is a special issue on the science of equity. I love how they bring to light how integral science and technology are for solving the world's biggest challenges.

To me a successful woman is a woman who is confident in herself, is meaningful in her work, and always willing to listen and learn more.

My favorite technological innovation is Facetime/Skype. Being able to interact with loved ones myself, and to share my son's growth, laughter, and playfulness, with those who are far away with more than just voice, is truly a gift.

In high school, I wish I knew that I actually was good at math and science.

When I first started to work in my field I never realized the issues of equity and opportunity in STEM, and how critically important exposure to STEM is early in one's life in ensuring the widest array of choices to all individuals.
My dream project is visiting the schools and institutions that have successfully fostered STEM talent in neighborhoods and within communities that are too often overlooked or underserved in these fields; and then sharing their strategies and successes to motivate change in behavior, practices, and perceptions among others.

The best advice I ever received was if you don't understand something, ask!

In my free time I...Yikes?! What free time…when I do find some, I curl up with a big book (and not a kindle, but an old fashioned hardback or paperback)!

The best way to unwind after a long day is a nice long walk with loved ones or friends.

The smartest person I've ever worked with...There are too many to name just one! But, I recently attended the Advancing Equity in STEM Symposium in Washington, DC and the physics teacher from a STEM-focused charter school served on one of the panels. A fantastically smart woman when it comes to engaging youth in STEM, and someone anyone would be lucky to work with, I imagine.

My favorite city in the world is Seattle. Perhaps not as exciting as it sounds, but it reminds me of home and I love the water, the mountains, the food, and the coffee!

If I had a one year sabbatical, I would travel and read lots and lots of books.

The biggest misconception about women in STEM is that they are different than other women.

My tools of the trade are in broadening participation in STEM research, I find the most useful "tools" are attending events on the issue, reading diverse perspectives and ideas, and asking questions!

The biggest thing that has changed since I started in the industry is the emerging focus on changing STEM cultures and environments (rather than "fixing" individuals) to successfully engage a wider array of diverse individuals in the STEM community.

I'm happiest when I'm with family and friends.

I lead by sharing my passion and interest for the work with my team. I'm proud that I push myself to accomplish what is important to me in all aspect of my life—career, family, friends, and health.
© 2014 IIR Holdings, LTD. All Rights Reserved.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Women in STEM Stories: Nicole Richard


Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers are characterized by innovation, exploration and progress.  With the right qualifications and the drive to succeed, anyone can thrive in a STEM career, especially women.  The challenge is this: how can we get more women to shrug off the preconceived notion that the STEM world is a man’s world?  

Our solution is to find some of the brightest and most inspiring women in STEM fields today, and have them share their stories and even some advice on how they managed to succeed with all odds against them.  

In her own words, Senior Project Manager at LabVIEW, Nicole Richard, describes her path to working in STEM:

 “I took a programming class in high school, and the logic of it just clicked with me. I found myself spending my lunch hour modifying my hangman program to add an ambulance that would drive across the screen to cart the figure off. Since I liked programming and knew I could make a good living at it, I decided to major in Computer Engineering. However, throughout college and my early career, I struggled with feelings that engineering wasn't the right fit for me. Then one day I got the opportunity to begin working with LEGO to design robotics systems for kids, and a whole new relationship to engineering and the opportunities it offers to really make an impact in the world started to open up for me. I've discovered and developed a passion for using technology to open up new educational opportunities for kids, particularly in underserved areas of the world.”

Stories like Nicole’s are music to our ears.  They are the reason we, at IIR USA, believe the Women in STEM Idea Exchange Summits have the potential to change the world.  If we are able to show just one girl the potential of a career in STEM, we would be making a difference.

The first of four STEM Exchange Summits will take place on October 21, 2014 at the Center for Women and Business at Bentley University in Massachusetts.  Corporations will have the opportunity to make one-on-one connections with students who are possible future employees, while students learn about the rewards of STEM career paths.

Help us change the face of STEM for good.

Register for Women in STEM today to listen, learn, discuss and be inspired: http://bit.ly/1n4b6iI

Monday, June 2, 2014

Women in STEM Stories: Talmesha Richards

In conjunction with our Women in STEM Summits, we are featuring a series of Women in STEM success stories, which highlight everyday inspiration from women making a difference and shaping the future of STEM.

The Women in STEM Idea Exchange Summits, brought to you by IIR USA, have been designed to facilitate discussion and action by addressing the question of ‘how to engage women in STEM education and retain them in STEM careers'.  Join us in Boston, NYC, DC and San Francisco to make connections and participate in the movement to feed the STEM pipelines of America’s corporations. 

One iconic woman in STEM, Talmesha Richards Ph.D. Cellular and Molecular Medicine, STEMconnector, Director of Project Partnerships, has one incredible story to tell.

Here’s an excerpt of Talmesha's story:

My love for math began in the third grade. My teacher, Mrs. Brown, noticed that I was using my fingers during a multiplication quiz. She pulled me aside after class and taught me some of the tricks used to solve multiplication problems. She opened me up to a world where math was fun and at that point I was hooked. My love for math was quickly followed by a love for science.

Read the rest of Tamelsha’s story and her advice by visiting the Women in Stem website: http://bit.ly/1n4b6iI

If you would like to submit your story or recommend an inspirational leader in STEM who we should contact – we would love to hear from you. Contact Ana Kuzmanovic at anak@iirusa.com.

Register for Women in STEM today to listen, learn, discuss and be inspired by Betsy Myers and many other leaders looking to close the gender gap and promote women in STEM careers:  http://bit.ly/1n4b6iI
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