Women in Tech community conversation coming to the Sault

NEWS RELEASE

SAULT STE. MARIE INNOVATION CENTRE

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The Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre is hosting a Driving Women in Tech (Driving WinTech) Community Conversation on Oct. 2, 2017. Driving Women in Tech, a community based research tour to better understand and support women in the technology industry, is presented by Women in Tech World, a Canadian grassroots organization that seeks to promote and celebrate women in tech of all ages. The local event is sponsored by the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre and OLG, and will be taking place at Grand Gardens Downtown.

This is the first event of its kind focusing on women in technology in Canada, and Sault Ste. Marie is one of 30+ cities participating in a Community Conversation as part of the cross-country tour. Driving WinTech was backed by 87 community pledgers who helped raise $32,320 through a Kickstarter campaign to bring this project to life.

The information gathered during the session will be vital and used by Women in Tech to publish a National Report on the experiences of women in tech in Canada, as well as a Sault Ste. Marie Regional Playbook.

The Sault Ste. Marie Community Conversation will help to define the women in tech community in Canada, as well as uncover women’s experiences in the tech industry in Sault Ste. Marie, and identify best practices for inclusion and promotion of women in the tech industry in Sault Ste. Marie.

“To our knowledge, there has never been an event of this kind in Sault Ste. Marie that specifically looks at our technology sector and the experiences of women who are working within it,” said Angela Corcoran, marketing and communications manager, Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre. “The Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre is excited about this opportunity to bring together women working in tech, and allies and supporters of women in tech, to network and share experiences and thoughts.”

This research activity is for people who: Self-identify as a woman working in the tech industry (or recently left in the past 5 years.); are allies or advocates of women in tech (men or women); and/or are stakeholders in the tech industry (including government, non-profit, educational organizations or service providers.)

Attendees will have the opportunity to listen to and engage with a panel of local trailblazing women in tech, as well as participate in facilitated research activities. The panel in Sault Ste. Marie includes: Melissa Kargiannakis, master of health information science and founder and CEO of Heuristext Inc., a Sault Ste. Marie based tech startup which aims to make information easier for anyone to understand by changing the reading level of any webpage, instantly; Linda Clargo, product manager, Lottery IT with OLG, who joins us with more than 28 years’ progressive experience in IT, software development, and project management; and Marie Alexander, senior software engineer/developer with Community Geomatics Centre, a division of the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre, who is a Certified Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Professional with 16 years of experience in IT, computer programming and GIS, as well as teaching computer science and GIS courses at Sault College.

“OLG is proud to support the Driving Women in Tech Community Conversation hosted by the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre. OLG has a long history of supporting events that bring people together and strengthen communities,” said Derek Whitmell, VP IT Lottery and Gaming, OLG. “It is all part of OLG’s commitment to make Ontario better. From healthcare, to education, to community festivals and events, OLG proceeds are hard at work all across the province. We are excited to participate with our employees in an event that supports women in the field of technology.”

The event will include networking, lunch, panel of trailblazing local women in tech, research activities (community conversation), and closing questions/next steps. Tickets are free, but registration is required and limited spots are available. Lunch is provided. Register here: https://www.picatic.com/event15026334417366. 

Visit https://drivingwomenintech.com/ for more information about Driving Women in Tech. Email [email protected] or [email protected] with general inquires or questions. Follow the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre and Women in Tech World on Facebook for updates and event information.

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