2020 Women of Color Conference Attendee

Being that this conference would happen virtually due to the global pandemic, I mentally prepared myself by blocking out the 2.5 days on my calendar. This meant not scheduling any podcast interviews, taking a break from the passion project, ensuring that I was taking time off from work, and getting the things I needed to get done earlier in the week since I would have a much shorter weekend. One of the highlights of being a conference attendee is receiving wonderful perks like a customized box of healthy snacks that delivered straight to my doorstep. These snacks were catered by Snack Magic and helped to energize me throughout the conference. This was definitely a nice touch!

Prior to the conference, my employer had a virtual kickoff celebration with the Executive Leadership across the company to help promote women of color in leadership, especially in STEM fields. This entire conference took place in Eastern time, so I woke up extra early Friday & Saturday mornings at 5AM! Thank goodness for those energy drinks! I was ready to learn from women of different backgrounds and industries. Something that came to mind was how I was going to network with others through this virtual platform. In a face-to-face conference, it's way easier to talk to someone when you can physically see them and have more meaningful interactions. Despite this challenge, I made it a goal to meet a minimum of 2-3 individuals. I reviewed the agenda ahead of time and registered for the breakout sessions I was interested in.

Here was what the agenda looked like:

1st DAY (more of an evening)

• Women Empowered to Engage

2nd DAY

• Does Your Career Path Align with Your Personal Values?
• The Next Big Wave in Technology: Keeping Up with Innovation
• The Many Faces of Bias: The Types of Bias that Create Reality & Alter Outcomes
• Building a Communication Strategy During Crisis
• Technology Recognition Event
• Develop Your Best Self & Bring Her to Work
• Stepping into Power: Becoming a Leader that Makes a Difference
• The Power of Leaning In: How Do Great Leaders Leverage Adversity & Technology to Lead Change?
• Managing Combat: Turning Conflict into Collaboration as a Women in Leadership
• Pathways to Success for Women in Stem by NASA
• Networking Receptions
• Women to Woman: Up Close & Personal

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3rd DAY

• Breakfast with Leaders and Legends
• Global Health Security: People & Perspectives: Best Practices for Managing Pandemics, People & Process
• Views & Voices! Women Leaders Debate the Top 10 Issues and Advantages for Women in STEM
• Changing Systemic Racism in the Professional Workplace
• Global Health Security: Preparing to Innovate
• Diversity & Inclusion in 2021: Looking Forward, What More Do We Need to Do?
• Empowering Women Leaders: Mentoring Partnerships that Matter
• Career Resilience: What to Do When You Feel Stuck
• How to Be Your Authentic Self While Being a "Good Fit" for Company Culture
• How to Build the Right Relationships Up, Down and Across the Organization
• The Communication Edge: What Great Leaders Talk About
• The Control Paradox: Take Control & Let Go to Win
• The Skills to Master Growth: High Impact Solutions & Technology for Complex Business Challenges
• Position Your Real Self: Curiosity, Courage, Confidence & Connection
• How to Manager an Unsupportive Manager
• What to Do if You're Not Viewed as "Technical Enough"
• WoC Gala Awards Ceremony & After-Party

As you can see, an incredibly busy weekend planned! I even had the time to attend a virtual EDI Fundraising Gala event Saturday night. If you can imagine, I was quite mentally exhausted after all the festivities. 

I'm so grateful to be selected for an award and attend this conference. Over the next few weeks, I will be writing a short reflection and key takeaways of all the top sessions I attended. Since it costs $650-$1,000 per attendee, which is a barrier for many, I figured the best way to give back is to share what I've learned with all of you!

Stay tuned,
Mellissa

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