Mentors help women identify with the computing field and persue careers in technology.

Schedule

Pacific Ballroom

  • 9:05 am
  • Opening Keynote: Tara Brown
  • 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
  • Lunch and Mixer
  • 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
  • Career Expo
  • 3:50 pm - 4:15 pm
  • Coffee Break
  • 4:15 pm - 4:35 pm
  • How to Balance it all and Take on the World: Katrina Jefferson
  • 4:35 pm - 6:00 pm
  • Mentorship Program Event
  • 6:00 pm - 6:30 pm
  • Closing Keynote: Sophia Viklund

Woods Cove Room

  • 10:00 am -10:50 am
  • Linking up and LinkingIn: Connecting and Networking to jumpstart Career
  • 11:00 am - 11:50 am
  • Janet Hansen: Crafting Wearable Technology
  • 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm
  • Changing the World Through Technology
  • 3:00 pm - 3:50 pm
  • Featured Speaker: Q&A with Kim Swift, co-creator of Portal

Moss Cove Room

  • 10:00 am -10:50 am
  • Building the "Technical Toolbelt" for your Career
  • 11:00 am - 11:50 am
  • Making Your Ideas a Reality: Building a Startup
  • 3:00 pm - 3:50 pm
  • Creative Expressions: Art and Design in Technology

Lobby

  • 8:00 am
  • Badge Pick-up Opens

Crescent Bay CD

  • 10:00 am -10:50 am
  • Being a Woman in Technology: Session 1
  • 11:00 am -11:50 am
  • Being a Woman in Technology: Session 2

Opening Keynote

Pacific Ballroom 9:05-9:50am

Opening Keynote to be given by Tara Brown. Tara Tiger Brown is an accomplished tech entrepreneur, educator and opinion writer with over 15 years experience as Technical Director and Product Manager working at UC Irvine, Born This Way Foundation, USC, Shazam, Topspin and Microsoft. Brown's latest projects include Los Angeles Makerspace, a non-profit community space for makers and tinkerers of all ages to create and collaborate and Represent.LA, an open-source map to put Los Angeles tech startups on the map. Tara co-founded DIY Girls for women in Los Angeles who want to hack on software and hardware projects while maintaining a sense of humor. She is passionate about getting more women into the technology field and supporting tech startups in Los Angeles which she blogs about for Forbes.

Linking up and LinkingIn: Connecting and Networking to jumpstart Career

Woods Cove Room 10:00-10:50pm

Whether it's today at init(together) or throughout your college career, it's important to learn how to develop and cultivate professional relationships. Are you shy or unsure how to approach professionals, professors or mentors? Come to this workshop for tips and strategies to make the connections that will boost you to that dream internship, job or entrepreneurial venture! This workshop will help you maximize your success at the Career Expo, Mixer, and Mentorship Program at this conference!

Building the "Technical Toolbelt" for your Career

Moss Cove Room 10:00-10:50am

There are numerous skills important in the tech industry that you never learn in the classroom, so it can be hard to know what you want to do and how to get there before you're in the field. Five female engineers from varying backgrounds in technology will share the knowledge and skills that were important to them of the course of their careers and where they are now. Featuring:

Being a Woman in Technology: Session 1

Crescent Bay Room 10:00-10:50am

Three women in engineering will tackle the topic of what it's like to be a woman in the tech industry, including their experiences, obstacles, and advice for women entering the field . This panel is much smaller (approximately 50 seats) and much less formal, so we highly encourage more discussion and questions from the attendees.

Making Your Ideas a Reality: Building a Startup

Moss Cove Room 11:00-11:50am

Do you dream of one day starting your own company? Are you interested in the fast-paced tech startup culture burgeoning in LA and Silicon Valley? In this panel session, four women from different backgrounds who have become leaders in the tech startup world share their motivations and experiences in realizing their ideas through tech startups. They're here to answer your questions on where to start and how to become the tech leaders of our own generation.

Janet Hansen: Crafting Wearable Technology

Woods Cove Room 11:00-11:50am

Janet Hansen is the founder and Chief Fashion Engineer of Enlighted Designs, a California-based company that has been creating custom illuminated clothing and costumes for nearly 15 years. Her clothes are worn by rock stars, acrobats, dancers, theater performers, team mascots, and a variety of other international clients, including Kanye West, Katy Perry, Pink, Daft Punk and numerous others. Janet's work combines her interests in art, fashion, design, and entrepreneurship, as well as her formal training in engineering. With nearly fifteen years of experience in this highly specialized field, Janet is well known as a pioneer and innovator, and is arguably the most prolific lighted clothing designer in the world. She will talk about her work, including her unusual career path starting as a rocket scientist, and showcase some of her work with illuminated clothing.

Being a Woman in Technology: Session 2

Crescent Bay Room 11:00-11:50am

(This panel is in the same format as Session 1, but will feature three different engineers.) Three women in engineering will tackle the topic of what it's like to be a woman in the tech industry, including their experiences, obstacles, and advice for women entering the field . This panel is much smaller (approximately 50 seats) and much less formal, so we highly encourage more discussion and questions from the attendees.

Lunch and Mixer

Pacific Ballroom 12:00-2:00pm

An Italian buffet and refreshments will be served. Professionals, faculty, graduate, undergraduate, and a handful of high school students will be present at this lunch and mixer. Take this opportunity to network in a less structured environment, and make sure you have your business cards with you. Professionals are here just to mentor and connect with YOU, so don't be shy. Make sure to connect with other students; they will be your colleagues the industry just a couple years from now.

Career Expo Participants

Pacific Ballroom 12:00-3:00pm

The Career Expo features startups, a few recognizable names, some DIY crafts, resources for women to start their own Women in Computing college groups, and resources on how to host technical workshops for younger girls to inspire interests in girls early on.

...with swag, mini-competitions, networking opportunities, internships, and job positions.

Changing the World Through Technology

Woods Cove Room 2:00-2:50pm

Are you pursuing a career in technology because you want to make a difference in the world? This panel features three women who have made an impact on others through their their research in computing, through sustainability and bringing technology to underprivileged communities, developing tools to assist individuals with disabilities, and through understanding the role of design in technology for social change.

Q&A with Kim Swift, co-creator of Portal

Woods Cove Room 3:00-3:50pm

Kim Swift made her first splash in the game industry as co-creator and lead designer of the wildly popular game Portal by Valve, which has won numerous awards and has been lauded by many as one of the most influential games of its time. Since then, she's worked on both Left 4 Dead titles and made a jump to Airtight Games where she was the Creative Director on Quantum Conundrum, and has recently been promoted to Studio Creative Director. Kim will talk about her personal journey as a game developer, and will answer all your burning questions about breaking into the game development industry.

Creative Expressions: Art and Design in Technology

Moss Cove Room 3:00-3:50pm

For many, the pursuit of aesthetics and computing are in direct opposition to each other. However, numerous careers in technology increasingly utilize art and design. Our panelists are both artistically and technically inclined, and demonstrate that not only is it possible to merge creative and artistic expression with technology, but it is often what makes their work distinctive and innovative.

Coffee Break

Pacific Ballroom 3:50-4:10pm

Coffee, tea, and various snacks will be served. Relax, fill up, and head to the Pacific Ballroom for the mentorship event! Make sure to sit at the table with the number assigned to you in your badge.

How to Balance it all and Take on the World: Katrina Jefferson

Pacific Ballroom 4:15-4:35pm

So we're not superhuman...well...right??? This brief talk is going to do 3 things: 1. Inspire you to go after what you REALLY want, 2. Inform you on how to balance everything you want to do, and finally 3. Set you on an action plan to achieve major goals within one year. I've had many obstacles, challenges, pitfalls, setbacks, successes,...and all because I never gave up. I hope after hearing me speak you're encouraged to stop being a dream chaser and start being a dream DO-ER!

Mentorship Kickoff

Pacific Ballroom 4:35-6:00pm

Each table has 8-9 students and 1-2 mentors who will host a brief discussion and Q&A in three 25-minute sessions where mentors rotate to a different table of students for each session.

Closing Keynote: Sophia Viklund

Pacific Ballroom 6:00-6:30pm