March Power Luncheon – OKC: TAKING THE NEXT STEP TO IT WORKPLACE DIVERSIFICATION

March Power Luncheon – OKC: TAKING THE NEXT STEP TO IT WORKPLACE DIVERSIFICATION

Paid Members (Adovcate & Contributing Executive Level): Enter your Member ID under Promotions above for a $10 discount! Not a member? Visit okwit.org/membership to get started!

TAKING THE NEXT STEP TO IT WORKPLACE DIVERSIFICATION

Engage yourself, while engaging others!

So often we hear about the lack of women working IT and the importance of changing the dynamics when it comes to the diversity of workplace teams. We also know that diverse teams increases a company’s profitably and overall productivity. But what are we (*cough* YOU) doing to make that happen?

• As a potential female employee, are the recent statistics playing out in real-life – do you only apply for the IT job if you meet all of the job listing criteria?
• As a current employee (both men and women) on a team striving for diversity, are you reaching across the aisle to personally recruit/advocate for people you KNOW can do the job?
• As a manager, how do you diversify the team when the pipeline of diverse candidates just isn’t there?

Stop waiting for these statistics to change and actively engage yourself and others, in order to diversify the state of IT today.

Our amazing panel of IT leaders will discuss what really goes behind the scenes when receiving job applications for those IT jobs, the importance of team culture driving the current employees’ outreach to those within their network, and how to diversify a team when the pipeline itself is not diverse.

Our amazing luncheon line-up includes –

Panelist: Alan White, Director of Information Technology, SEF Energy

Alan White is a technologist, strategist, innovator and leader with over 20 years’ experience in IT. He is a graduate of Queen’s University of Belfast, Ireland. Alan has worked in start-ups, SMB companies, as well as multi-national corporations in varying leadership and technology roles.

A firm believer in being a change agent and challenger of the status quo, Alan is always looking at new and innovative ways to use technology. He is a passionate believer in the Steve Jobs mantra “Technology alone is not enough. It’s technology married with the liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our hearts sing”.

Alan is a competitive ultra endurance cyclist, 2 time cancer survivor and currently resides in Edmond, Oklahoma with his wife, 3 children and 4 dogs.

Panelist: Crystal Heard, Cyber Systems Integrator, USAF

Crystal Heard is a Certified Information System Security Professional for the United States Air Force and has been in the industry for almost 23 years. In her current position, she serves as the Cyber Systems Integrator providing engineering support on cyberspace designs, contract acquisitions, implementation, policy, and doctrine.

Crystal received her Bachelors of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Oklahoma in 1996 and her Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Oklahoma City University in 2000.

Crystal is a proud wife and mother of two great sons!

Panelist: Dr. Cynthia Rolfe, Seven Wheels, LLC.

Dr. Cynthia E. Rolfe fosters personal and professional growth in others as a caring coach, fabulous facilitator, workshop wizard, successful strategist, and energetic entrepreneur. Highly energetic, she traverses easily between her analytical mind and her calm, creative presence.

Dr. Rolfe has been tapped as a Top Female Executive, Professional and Entrepreneur and was honored as the inaugural Oklahoma Women in Technology Trailblazer. She has served in executive roles for – more than twenty-five years and has owned businesses in Pennsylvania and Oklahoma. Formerly the Senior Vice President at the University of Central Oklahoma, Cynthia is now the founder and CEO of Seven Wheels, LLC, a consulting company that focuses on executive coaching, strategic facilitation, and writing.

Among her many certifications Dr. Rolfe is a certified facilitator in creative problem solving and various profiles and a certified corporate mentor program manager who has presented at numerous leadership and creativity conferences. She is engaging and invaluable as a facilitator for strategic planning sessions, meetings, corporate retreats, and workshops. She developed a coaching model surrounding seven environments for living a life of balance.

Moderator: Mike Slack, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Clevyr, Inc.

Mike Slack is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Clevyr, Inc. His responsibilities encompass sales, marketing, and partner relationships. Clevyr researches, designs, and builds custom software solutions for businesses large and small.

Outside of his duties with Clevyr, Mike serves as a co-founder and partner at StarSpace46, Oklahoma City’s largest coworking facility. StarSpace46 is a hub for the technology and entrepreneurship communities.

Mike’s previous work experiences include nonprofit fundraising, education, ministry, and consulting. He has a BA and an MA from Oklahoma City University.

At home, Mike is husband to Renee and dad to Luke (6) and Mora (2).

Paid Members (Adovcate & Contributing Executive Level): Enter your Member ID under Promotions above for a $10 discount! Not a member? Visit okwit.org/membership to get started!

*Seated lunch will be provided. Please inform us of any food issues by emailing info@okwit.org before Friday, March 22nd.