• Rola Dagher, Global Channel Chief, Dell Technologies

Leadership is not simply a role that you fill; it is an action that you take each day. It is this philosophy that guides Dell Technologies’ Global Channel Chief, Rola Dagher. Over her career of more than two decades, Dagher has worked with some of the brightest minds in the technology industry while honing her natural leadership style.

Dagher returns to Dell Technologies after leading as President of Cisco Canada for three years. Prior to this, she held various sales leadership roles at Dell and Bell Canada. While Dagher is a proven sales and channel champion, she will be the first to say that her success is a direct reflection of the dedication and drive of the entire sales organization.

Dagher believes in diversity of thought and has made it her mission to empower, support, and foster diverse talent. Her commitment to empowering women is shown through her recognition as one of the 2020 Top 25 Women of InfluenceTM, by WXN as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100TM, and by Women in Communications and Technology (WCT) as the 2019 Woman of the Year. She was selected as one of RBC’s Top 25 Canadian Immigrant winners for 2019, was named the “Lady of the Cedar” by the Lebanese Embassy, and received a 2018 Leadership Award from the Lebanese Chamber Business of Commerce.

This guided breathwork practice will connect you to calming energy, enhance your focus and inspire deeper clarity and connection throughout the day.

• Jessica Thurman, Founder & CEO, Nourish by Jessica

Women make up 57 percent of all employed adults in the U.S., but as of 2020 they hold only 25 percent of computing roles. The panel will take a deep dive into this year’s event theme “For Women | For All” and explore how investing in women – and diversity overall – benefits everyone. This is an especially important conversation as we navigate the “Shecession” created by the COVID-19 pandemic where from February 2020 – February 2021 more than three million women dropped out of the workforce due to the challenges presented by the pandemic. Join us to hear from this panel of experts on strategies to support diversity on your teams, in your workplace, and beyond.

“Leadership is not about titles or the corner office. It’s about the willingness to step up, put yourself out there, and lean into courage. The world is desperate for braver leaders. It’s time for all of us to step up. – Brené Brown

The greatest barrier to courageous leadership is not fear—it’s how we respond to our fear. Our armor—the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that we use to protect ourselves when we aren’t willing and able to rumble with vulnerability—move us out of alignment with our values, corrode trust with our colleagues and teams, and prevent us from being our most courageous selves.

Built on Brené Brown’s seven year study of brave leadership, this session will focus on building our tolerance for vulnerability, deepening our wisdom around building trust with ourselves and others, and embedding resilience in the face of challenge and stumbles.

WIT Luminaries are female-identifying technology executives and community leaders who join the event to meet our attendees and share their leadership journey. Attendees will have the opportunity to join our Luminary Mentor Hours to chat with these women to hear more about their career and their advice for other aspiring leaders.

A fireside chat with Marissa King, Professor of Organizational Behavior at Yale School of Management and author of Social Chemistry: Decoding the Patterns of Human Connection.

• Moderator – Frannie Matthews, President & CEO, Colorado Technology Association
• Marissa King, Professor of Organizational Behavior, Yale School of Management; Author, Social Chemistry: Decoding the Patterns of Human Connection

Marissa King is the author of the new book Social Chemistry. She is also Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Yale School of Management, where she developed and teaches a popular course entitled Managing Strategic Networks. Over the past fifteen years, King has studied how people’s social networks evolve, what they look like, and why that’s significant. King’s research and book have been featured in outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, and on National Public Radio.

There are many different forms of stress. Being anxious is different than being frustrated, for example. No form of stress should rule your life though. Join this session to learn some simple tools to meet each specific stress reaction appropriately. Amy Harris will guide us through simple yoga movements (that can be done from your desk) as well as meditation.

While many of the principles of marketing have stayed the same, the tools that drive marketing have changed dramatically. From data analytics to user experience to the use of AI, hear of this panel of experts on the evolving world of technology within customer experience and marketing.

Despite our good intentions to be inclusive managers, our unconscious biases can sometimes cause us to act in harmful and demeaning ways without giving it a second thought. Microaggressions and micro-inequities are products of implicit bias. It’s not about walking on eggshells when having conversations but rather recognizing how the things we say and do either perpetuate the inclusion or exclusion of marginalized groups. Great managers and leaders make all the difference in breaking down barriers in the workplace.

In this interactive session, participants will develop the ability to understand the impact of unchecked biases, identify different forms of microaggressions and learn helpful language to address and practice allyship when witnessing or committing a microaggression. Culture Energized is a black and queer-owned company that provides consulting and training services to build and transform inclusive organizational and team cultures. They specialize in providing foundational education on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging *(DEI&B) for all levels to support holistic and sustainable growth.

• Dorie Clark, Communication Coach // Author // Professor, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Columbia Business School

Hear from these Colorado tech leaders on their perspective of a variety of leadership topics, including leading through a challenging year, navigating career development, supporting a diverse tech workforce, how women rise and much more.

• Amy Zupon, CEO, Vertafore
• Angie Klein, CEO, Visible

During this session we will connect to conscious breath and start the day from a place of inspiration and empowerment. This transformative practice is a way to connect more deeply to the creativity and expression within.

• Jessica Thurman, Founder & CEO, Nourish by Jessica

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the way we do business. Building an AI roadmap includes identifying goals, knowing what to prioritize, analyzing data and implementation. It is also important that implementing an AI strategy is done so responsibly. Hear from this panel of AI experts to scale impact and maximize the value of AI in your organization.

• Dr. Tarika Barrett, CEO, Girls Who Code

Dr. Tarika Barrett is the CEO of Girls Who Code, an international non-profit organization working to close the gender gap in technology that has served over 450,000 students to date. Tarika started her career as an educator and has spent two decades building educational pathways for young people at organizations like iMentor, the New York City Department of Education, New Visions for Public Schools, and New York University’s Center for Research on Teaching and Learning. 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 serves on the board of McGraw Hill and is the recipient of the New York University’s Steinhardt School Dorothy Height Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.