OKWIT meets monthly on the last Tuesday in Tulsa and the last Wednesday in OKC for leadership luncheons, networking or workshops.
March Power Luncheon – OKC: TAKING THE NEXT STEP TO IT WORKPLACE DIVERSIFICATION
When: Wed, March 27th
Time: 11:30PM – 1:00PM
Where: Renaissance Waterford Oklahoma City Hotel | 6300 Waterford Boulevard | OKC, OK 73118
Paid Members (Advocate & 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 (Advocate & 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.
This event is made possible by our corporate sponsors, Devon Energy, Coretopia and our event sponsorOracle.
Rescheduled From February!
Negotiating Your Worth – OKC
When: Mon, April 1st
Time: 6:00PM – 8:00PM
Where: West on Western | 6714 North Western Ave. | OKC, OK 73116
This event has been rescheduled from February 27th. If you previously purchased a ticket, you do not need to purchase another. If you would like to request a refund, please email info@okwit.org with the subject ‘OKC February Refund’ by 03/25/2019.
Save the date on Wednesday, February 27th from 6-8 at Starspace46 to join Oklahoma Women in Technology’s OKC chapter as we talk through how to negotiate your worth in this interactive workshop led by Dr. Teresa Cullen & Kim Thomas. We will be discussing tips & strategies on how women can achieve better negotiation outcomes, as well as sharing resources to help you be the best & most confident version of yourself. This will be an event that you won’t want to miss!
Ticket price for non-members: $10
OKWIT members on the level of ‘Advocate’ or ‘Contributing Executive’ will receive discount codes via email to waive ticket price. Want to become a member today? Visit okwit.org/membership/ to learn more about our different levels.
This event is made possible by our corporate sponsors, Devon Energy and Coretopia.
Behind the Scenes Mentor Session: OKC
When: Wed, April 3rd
Time: 11:30PM – 1:00PM
Where: West on Western | 6714 N Western Ave | OKC, OK 73116
- Lunch provided
- You must be an Advocate or OKWIT Contributing Executive to register. However, as one of these members – you may register for yourself plus one (your plus one does not have to be an OKWIT member).
- Seating is limited to 15, so be sure to register early.
- Use your MemberID to access tickets!
OKWIT’s Behind The Scenes Mentor Sessions are a great opportunity to meet with IT leaders in a small-group setting. Often we have set for ourselves the goal of being a manager, director, or a CXO because the path to that role seems logical for one’s career. Yet do we really understand the day-to-day activities and challenges of holding such a position? What is it really like to head a department or lead a division? What skills, knowledge, and credentials are needed to sit in that seat? Were there specific preparations to obtain the position? And once in the role, how does one traverse the day? This session mentor will share “a day in the life of their role” and what it took to get there and retain the position.
About Diana Bittle:
An Asian American, born in Adana, Turkey, I serve as the Vice President, Chief Technology Officer for American Fidelity. Altogether, I have been in technology at American Fidelity for 20 years and absolutely love my job and company. I spent most of my time at AFA in software development and was reassigned to oversee infrastructure, IT operations, and IT security in 2018. While working at American Fidelity, I completed my undergraduate degree in Mathematics (the true love of my life) with an emphasis on Computer Science from the University of Central Oklahoma (Go Bronchos) and a Master’s degree in Administrative Leadership from the University of Oklahoma (Boomer Sooner!). Additionally, I have earned 35 industry and technology certifications, because I find myself easily bored when not studying something.
I currently serve on the Board of Trustees for the Oklahoma Engineering Foundation and also serve as the board Secretary. As a part of the OEF, I am the state co-chair for the Oklahoma MATHCOUNTS program, which is a middle school math competition program (shameless plug: mathcountsok.org). Additionally, I serve on the Advisory Board for Oklahoma Women in Technology, am the IT Sector Chief for the Oklahoma Infragard FBI program, am the board President for the Center for MIS Studies at the University of Oklahoma, and my family founded the Bittle Family Scholarship for women pursing Math or Technology degrees at Oklahoma universities. I love working in the community and have served on the Board of Directors for Free to Live, served as assistant den leader for my son’s Boy Scout den, and have volunteered for many non-profit organizations through Leadership OKC Class 35 (BCE) and membership in Beta Sigma Phi sorority.
My main hobbies are photography and silversmithing, but I never met a craft I didn’t like. I have been married for 25 years to my high-school sweetheart, Steven – IT professional by day/musician by night, and have a 14 year old son who loves baseball, track and wrestling. So, my other hobbies include attending metal concerts, baseball games, track meets and wrestling matches.
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March Power Luncheon – OKC: TAKING THE NEXT STEP TO IT WORKPLACE DIVERSIFICATION
11:30 am
March Power Luncheon – OKC: TAKING THE NEXT STEP TO IT WORKPLACE DIVERSIFICATION
@ Renaissance Waterford Oklahoma City Hotel
Mar 27 @ 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
 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. This event is made possible by our corporate sponsors, Devon Energy, Coretopia and our event sponsorOracle.
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