Speakers

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  Elise Birkhofer

  Google

  Global Head of Women's Community & Programs

  See Bio
• 

  Camille Selvon

  Animae Caribe

  Founder

  See Bio
• 

  Rana Abdelhamid

  MALIKAH | Google

  Founder and CEO

  See Bio
• 

  Pauline Joseph

  AC Marketing Caribbean

  See Bio
• 

  Kelly-ann Bethel

  SKED Inc

  CEO/ Co-founder

  See Bio
• 

  Jarrod Best-Mitchell

  Help Me Sell

  Owner

  See Bio
• 

  Lashaun Ramdin

  Ramdin Consultancy

  CEO

  See Bio
• 

  Learie Hercules

  Lightspeed Systems

  VP Data & Analytics

  See Bio
• 

  Anuskha Varsha Sonai

  Creative Tech Hub Caribbean

  President

  See Bio
• 

  Amanda Brandstetter

  Airbus

  Business Analyst

  See Bio
• 

  Nicole Pitter Patterson

  Caribbean Girls Hack - SheLeadsIT NGO

  Co-Founder/Director

  See Bio
• 

  Everard J. McBain Jr.

  GemGfx Animation Studios

  CEO

  See Bio
• 

  Myeashea Alexander

  Clinton Global Initiative University

  Senior Impact and Design Manager

  See Bio
• 

  Sara Bernard

  Smart Kids Educational Club Limited

  CEO/Founder

  See Bio
• 

  Donnalee Donaldson

  Moved to Work

  Founder

  See Bio
• 

  Joel Houlder

  TTWesafe

  CoFounder

• 

  Rianna Patterson

  Dominica Dementia Foundation

  Founder

  See Bio
• 

  Khadine Singh

  Google Maps

  Quantitative UX Researcher

  See Bio
• 

  Giselle Carr

  Stardust Life-Centered Design

  Founder

  See Bio
• 

  Sian Cuffy Young

  Siel Environmental Services Limited

  Founder

  See Bio
• 

  Camille Mc MIllan Rambharat

  Canboulay Training & Development

  Founder

  See Bio
• 

  Cindy Ferguson

  Mintel

  AVP Software Engineering

  See Bio
• 

  Joedian Reid

  American Express

  Technical Project Manager

  See Bio

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Elise Birkhofer

Google

Elise is the Global Head of Women’s community and Programs at Google. She oversees initiatives to develop, advance and retain women, and to create a more inclusive culture at the company. This includes talent programs, community-building, and management of Women@Google, our largest Employee Resource Group with 30,000 members and 120 chapters around the globe.Previously, she held roles in Marketing. Since joining Google in 2012, Elise has worked on Marketing’s global strategy & operations, crafted the Chief Marketing Officer’s communications, led award-winning marketing campaigns for hardware and Google Play in the UK, and piloted innovative new ad tech in partnership with large advertisers and agencies. She has also worked at Apple in Communications.

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Camille Selvon

Animae Caribe

Camille Selvon Abrahams is the Programme Coordinator for Animation Studies at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. Here she spearheaded the creation of the Diploma in Animation Studies syllabus which has now evolved into a BFA in Digital Media Arts with specialisation in Animation, Game Design or Music Technology. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Media & Communication with specialisation in Animation, from Goldsmiths University of London. She is the founding director of the NGO Animae Caribe Animation Festival which is celebrating its 19th year. She recently served as Chairman of FilmTT under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Government of Trinidad & Tobago. 

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Rana Abdelhamid

MALIKAH | Google

Rana Abdelhamid is an internationally acclaimed human rights organizer, martial artist and social entrepreneur focused on the empowerment of marginalized communities. She is the founder and CEO of MALIKAH, a global self-defense and empowerment training organization that trains young Muslim women to confront gender based and anti-Muslim violence. In 2017 MALIKAH held the National Muslim Women's Summit at Harvard University, training 50 Muslim American women in leadership and organizing. Over the past seven years, MALIKAH has engaged thousands of participants through its self-defense programs across the US and Europe. Abdelhamid is also the Founder of Hijabis of NY, an online platform that highlights the stories of hijabi women. Rana Abdelhamid is an anti-hate crime martial artist and self defense instructor with a 1st Degree Black Belt in Shotokan Karate certified under the New York State Black Belt Association. She has been practicing martial arts for the past 12 years and has taught for over 8 years globally.Abdelhamid is also a longtime activist with Amnesty International USA and currently serves as the youngest member of their National Executive Board of Directors. Her work has been featured in the Huffington Post, Elle.com, Mic.com, Aljazeera, BBC, CBS and PBS. Abdelhamid is a recipient of the UNAUSA Leo Nevas International Human Rights Youth Award, a New York City Council Proclamation, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship and the Running Start Rising Political Star Award and has been invited as a speaker at the Apollo Theater, Harvard University, Rutgers University and the United Nations, among many other prestigious institutions. She is a recent graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government where she received a Masters in Public Policy with a focus on social and urban policy. 

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Pauline Joseph

AC Marketing Caribbean

I suffer from an identity crisis. With an upbringing in Trinidad and Barbados, I belong to both, yet society doesn't agree. AC Marketing Caribbean was born out of the desire to make sense of the collision of cultures within me while using digital to share my clients' stories. The business model is centred around remotely working. From inception, I never saw the need to rent an office; instead, used resources to build a digital infrastructure. My team is project-based, and we work directly with clients to translate their requirements into content creation. I am also passionate about content management systems, which reduces the back and forth with content approvals. While working at Microsoft, I was able to gain an understanding of their platforms and have created an environment that fosters productivity for my clients. We use a custom workflow through Microsoft Teams & Sharepoint. I drink my own Kool-Aid and use content to create leads for my business. An example is a story behind one of our B2B clients, First Atlantic Commerce. I tagged the CEO on one of my LinkedIn posts, and he responded in my Direct Message with a desire to render our services. We worked with their team three months before briefly meeting their CEO in person, while he was visiting Trinidad. We currently create all the content on their blog & LinkedIn page.LinkedIn has recognised my obsession with their platform. I am a beta user for the event and live products. Follow my journey as I navigate the world of Digital Marketing from a Caribbean perspective. https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/linkedinlocalcaribbeanhttps://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/acmlive/https://www.slideshare.net/secret/f53fWOuWRL7oUi

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Kelly-ann Bethel

SKED Inc

Kelly-ann Bethel fondly called “Kelz” is a 3 time tech entrepreneur and is currently the co-founder and CEO of two startups, SKED & Recess.Kelly-ann Bethel first bust into the tech scene in 2007 while at her local university. There she launched shopawaytt.com, one of the first Caribbean platforms that facilitated online purchases from foreign retailers like Amazon and Ebay without the use of a credit card. Merging her passions; psychology, tech & entrepreneurship, Kelly-ann and her co-founder Lisanne Fellinger has been working on an innovative wellness tech startup called Recess. Recess is mobile app that digitizes a trauma informed therapy through VR & AR to help optimize performance and mental fitness of entrepreneurs, creatives & executives. Launching soon in April 2021. Kelly-ann also spends her days running SKED (skedonline.com) where she is the co-founder/CEO. After launching in 2015, as a marketplace mobile app for services, SKED has passed through many iterations but at its heart a tool to help hyperlocal businesses grow online. After serving over 300 businesses across over 10 countries. SKED continued to develop easy-to-use business tools to help low tech-savvy community businesses thrive online. As a response to post COVID reality, & with more persons joining the gig economy, SKED launched a Pro version, SKED makes it easy for anyone to get up and running online; no code, no developers, no hassle. SKED pro provides a powerful website builder with integrated appointment booking software, business management tools, payments, and custom domain for low tech, community-based services businesses and side giggers. For her work in the technology she has won many awards & competitions and have represented the Caribbean tech in many spaces in Canada, Europe & US. Kelly-ann as presented on a global stage in conferences such as Web Summit Lisbon Portugal, Afrobytes Paris, Tech Beach Retreat, Jamaica and she sat with Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Keith Rowley to discuss digitization of the country. She sits on advisory board for many Caribbean based startups and have been responsible for the launch and development of other tech businesses in the region as a launch consultant. Within the tech ecosystem in Trinidad and Tobago she has sat on the founding team of ecommerce association to help develop the payment ecosystem within the country. With over 14 years in the Caribbean tech entrepreneurship Kelly-ann Bethel is a leader and pioneer as a Woman in Tech for the region. 

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Jarrod Best-Mitchell

Help Me Sell

In 2020 I was able to generate $200KTTD/$30KUSD in business and generate $480KTTD/$70KUSD in pipeline, 90% of it inbound. 90% of it generated through LinkedIn from the content I've created.It sounds crazy but LinkedIn is the top platform for Business.I never thought I would be working for myself but after spending 14yrs in Sales I realized that my passion was in training persons how to sell. How to achieve their desired results. Along this journey, I also realized that my passion for this powerful platform can also be used to help others as it has helped me.I've been able to transition from corporate life and create a business that I love. Helping persons/ companies sell better and how to utilize LinkedIn to achieve their goals.LINKEDINI help individuals understand how to use the platform attract recruiters, build their personal brand and establish themselves as an expert in their field.For companies, I show them how to make LinkedIn a lead generation channel for their business.Over the last 18months, I've successfully helped over 100 persons better understand and utilize this platform to achieve their professional goals.SALES TRAININGOrganizations (SMB, SME, Enterprise) bring me in when they want to- Increase their revenues- Coach their sales team- Audit their sales process- Help launch a product or service- Be the speaker for their annual sales kick offMy greatest benefit throughout my 14+ years in Sales has been my passion. When I believe in your product or service the competition gets worried. I become an evangelist speaking the benefits to everyone and making them convert.Proven success in B2C and B2B roles- LinkedIn Training- Sales Training- Retail, Major Accounts- Vendor Management.- Sales (B2B and B2C)- Account Management- Go To Market Strategies- Product Training- Market Growth and Development- Relationship ManagementIndustry: Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Telecom.Favourite Quote : People don't like to be sold but they love to buy - Jeffrey Gitomer.#sales #salesmanagement #linkedin #salestrainingfeel free to message me or email helpmesell@jarrodbestmitchell.com

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Lashaun Ramdin

Ramdin Consultancy

LaShaun Ramdin is a Digital Marketing & Sales Professional who works with top-tier companies to entrepreneurs to help them grow their brand in a digital landscape. After spending 14+ years in the sales and marketing industry, she knows what truly drives conversions and build customer loyalty. It’s how well you connect with your audience in a truly meaningful way, where they are most present to respond.She has worked at the Caribbean #1 online news source Loop News and was part of the integral team that grew the brand across the Caribbean with responsibility for Barbados, Guyana, Suriname, FWI and Trinidad & Tobago.LaShaun is certified in Google Analytics, AdWords - Search, Video, Mobile & Display and a graduate of Google Squared Online with a distinction in Digital Marketing

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Learie Hercules

Lightspeed Systems

• I love ideating, bringing the abstract into solid customer centric value using technology.• I believe we can use technology to enrich the lives we live and significantly scale up the delivery of that value.• I believe in building diverse teams that are inclusive and I have delivered technology "firsts" several times in my career with such teams.• I'm a life long learner who is attracted to solving big problems.• 15+ years of outstanding leadership that includes expertise in Lean Methodology, Design Thinking, Big Data, AI , Cloud Computing Frameworks, Big Data Streaming, Analytics & Visualization Frameworks.• Past serial entrepreneur that can shape high impact, delivery focused teams.• Have taken several high visibility projects from concept to execution to delivery across a number of industries. 

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Anuskha Varsha Sonai

Creative Tech Hub Caribbean

Anuskha Sonai is the President of the Creative Tech Hub Caribbean: a cluster of companies with the mission to develop the Creative Technology Ecosystem in the Caribbean. She is a serial entrepreneur and has (co-)founded 4 companies so far. It is her dream to create an ecosystem in the Caribbean where youth, women and creative talents can have a flourishing career and solid future. The cluster collaboratively offers web development, mobile app development, social media services and cloud services to companies in the Caribbean, Europe and USA. The profit form these companies are used to fund the Digital Talents Academy. An Academy designed around the Learn.Work.Grow concept, where youth (13 - 30 years) are educated in Creative Tech Jobs: Animators, Game Developers, Digital Designers, Virtual Assistants etc. The cluster works from Suriname, Guyana and Trinidad and has a customer base in the Caribbean, Europe and USA. Companies currently part of the Creative Tech Hub are: 21Q Caribbean n.v., Digital Talents Academy, Cloud Engine n.v., Spang Makandra n.v. and Creative Talents foundation. Anuskha is also the Chair of the ICT Association Suriname and the Chair of the Marketing & Communications Committee of CANTO (The Caribbean ICT & Telco Association).  

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Amanda Brandstetter

Airbus

I'm Amanda and I work as an IT Business Analyst at Airbus; the leading aerospace manufacturer in the world! Currently, I lead a team of IT specialists to migrate and implement digital warehouse management IT logistic solutions for Airbus. I have a keen interest in digital technologies, Thinking out of the box and multi-cultural teams.My last talk was at a Women in Tech event @ Google, Hamburg, in January 2020. 

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Nicole Pitter Patterson

Caribbean Girls Hack - SheLeadsIT NGO

Speaker experience includes:Public speaker on womens empowerment - ITC Women's Economic Empowerment Speaker Women's Economic Empowerment Nigeria 2017WEIForward.org workshop session speaker 2018 Panelist - Africa Fashion Guide London 2018Panelist: IBM Call for Code Caribbean 2020Panelist: ICT Pulse Podcast (with IBM, IADB, National Commercial Bank Jamaica, & CGH Youth Ambassador 2020Speaker: OSCON Livestream Super Series (IBM NGO guest) 2020Panelist: IBM Master the Mainframe 2020Panelist: Building Inclusive Boards UK 2021

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Everard J. McBain Jr.

GemGfx Animation Studios

I've had a passion for comics and animation for as long as he can remember. Thanks to my mother's wisdom, who saw the creativity in me and nurtured it, I became a professional graphic designer. I've been involved in the creative and design industry for the last seventeen (17) years. When I met my wife Dixie Ann in 2007, she inspired me to revisit my childhood passions of art and animation. It was then they decided to create Celflux their flagship title. It was first published as a graphic novel and grew into an animated series. Since then, they have begun work on several projects two of which are God of the Wilderness, and Jumbie. The latter is about a superhero from Trinidad and Tobago. I refer to my work as a labour of love and pursue my work with a passion that demonstrates his love for the craft. I am working to develop stories that I hope will inspire and encourage people to pursue achieve their dreams.

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Myeashea Alexander

Clinton Global Initiative University

Myeashea Alexander is the Senior Impact and Design Manager for Clinton Global Initiative University. While an undergraduate student at The New School in New York City, Myeashea developed an informal leadership and media literacy production program for girls and women that ran for 3 years and began volunteering as a Commitment Mentor for the CGI U program. After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Culture and Media studies, Myeashea went on to finish her Master’s in Biological Anthropology and continues to volunteer as a science communicator based in New York.

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Sara Bernard

Smart Kids Educational Club Limited

Sara Bernard is the CEO and co-founder of Smart Kids Educational Club Limited (Smart Kids), an educational services company that equips kids ages 2-17 years with the Digital and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) Skills they need for the future. Smart Kids is renowned for being one of the leading Summer Tech Camps in Trinidad & Tobago training over 100 students annually and was recognized by the Ministry of Planning & Development as one of the best Tech Startups in Trinidad & Tobago in November 2018. The reason for Smart Kids’ success is Sara’s focus on ensuring that their workshops don’t just expose kids to technology but impart functional and advanced STEM Skills.

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Donnalee Donaldson

Moved to Work

Donnalee Donaldson is an education product strategist, leading teams that build innovative ed tech and blended learning products serving hundreds of thousands of youth and teachers across East Africa. She has expertise in collaborating with governments on the design and implementation of national education reforms, and integrating technology into education. She is an ed tech enthusiast with a knack for technology integration in low-resource settings. Her work in education spans seven countries in Africa, and she has been recognized as a sector changemaker by UNESCO, Ashoka, and UNLEASH. Donnalee is also a career coach to women seeking high impact international careers in Africa. She is a noted speaker and trainer on issues related to education and ed tech, and career growth for young professionals. Her speaking engagements have spanned Cote D'Ivoire, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Switzerland, and the USA. She is proudly Jamaican and PanAfrican, and serves as the Policy and Advocacy Lead for the Global Jamaica Diaspora Youth Council. She currently lives in Kenya.Sample prior speaking engagements: eLearning Africa, Africa Tech Summit, Kigali Global Dialolgue, She Codes Africa (forthcoming March 2021).Speaking/ hosting reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq_mQIhvNh0

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Rianna Patterson

Dominica Dementia Foundation

I am an entrepreneur, global speaker and mental health advocate. I have openly spoke about my experiences and journey of find my purpose at the tender age of 18 as I founded a youth led dementia charity in memory of my grandfather in 2016.In June 2017, I was awarded her Majesty the Queen as a Queens Young Leader. I was also selected to speak on BBC One Show with Prince Harry during the Queens Young Leader award ceremony.In 2018, I participated in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting hosted in the UK, attended a panel discussion with HRH Prince William and other global leaders during CHOGM.In 2019, my grandfather passed away whilst at University. I have shared my experiences on dealing with loss at University on Student Minds. In 2020, I graduated from the University of Kent with Psychology.I have spoken at various conferences and radio shows and events including, BBC One with Prince Harry at Buckingham Palace, Alzheimer’s Association’s International and the University of Kent as a fellow TEDx speaker, on finding the youth in you. I have spoken at the Royal Commonwealth Society Virtual Cyprus Leadership Workshop in 2020.I have also spoken at Alzheimer’s Association of the Caribbean Conference in 2020, on Dementia in COVID Times. I am also leading a virtual dementia support group for families in the UK and Dominica during COVID. I have also spoken to over 300 students in Dominica on respecting your elders.I use my platform to discuss and advocate for mental health, sustainability, and social-economic issues.Given the various initiatives and projects I have developed over the last 6 years I am also a brand strategist, helping small companies to understand their values and deliver social impact projects. I can also help with employee wellbeing as I have delivered campaigns to promote mental health in the workplace.Personal Development Talk (Mini- Clip):https://youtu.be/xwl-t3l0SGATEDx speech: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mBdvb7hewkY

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Khadine Singh

Google Maps

From Trinidad & Tobago, Columbia University alum, Engineer, Googler.Passionate about using technology to drive sustainability, combat climate change, and allow humans to live in more harmony with nature and each other.Passionate about giving back to my country and helping to build the tech ecosystem in Trinidad and in the Caribbean.

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Giselle Carr

Stardust Life-Centered Design

Giselle is a Design Strategist and Founder of a Life-Centered Design practice called Stardust, based in Trinidad and Tobago. Previously, she worked primarily in design, marketing and brand strategy, most recently with a global charity to address climate change through tropical reforestation and women’s empowerment. Evolving from design thinking, to business leadership and then to sustainable design has made her more specialized, but more expansive in her ability to create impact. Giselle enjoys working with bright people on massive, complex problems, in service of our collective, thriving future. Also, she does everything with a whole lot of love. Giselle works with fierce compassion to shape brands and tell stories that are meaningful and powerful. Why? Because the twenty-first century calls for agile, inclusive leadership, new thinking, and a new kind of business. She once heard Bruce Mau describe a designer as a living revolution of possibility, and her aim is to live up to that definition.- - - - - - - -Most recent public speaking:- January 2021, International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Virtual Workshop. "Patterns in Nature: How Life-Centered Design Can Create Endurance for Organisations"- November 2020, NASA Biocene. "Wild Resilience: Learnings from Islands for a World Navigating Disorder"

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Sian Cuffy Young

Siel Environmental Services Limited

Mrs. Sian Cuffy-Young is a Waste Management Educator, Consultant and Social Entrepreneur. She holds a master’s in Environmental Engineering, a Diploma in Environmental Management and is a Fullbright Hubert Humphrey fellow from Cornell University where she specialized in Natural Resource management and climate change policy. Sian is the founder, CEO and principal consultant of Siel Environmental Services Limited. With over 16 years’ experience in the field, Sian works in the areas of waste education and literacy, circular economy and waste reduction as well as waste project consultancies as she encourages individuals and businesses to become waste efficient.

www.linkedin.com/in/sian-young-0675a342

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Camille Mc MIllan Rambharat

Canboulay Training & Development

As a target of Workplace Bullying and Harassment, that inhumane and traumatic experience created an avalanche on Camille’s mental and physical health, marriage and relationship with her 3 beautiful children leaving chaos and a struggle to find a way out of this silent epidemic. Her mission is to ensure that Workplace Bullying and Harassment ends. Married to a politician, social justice is not new to Camille. She is a mother, advocate, author and champion for change. She ran a successful campaign to bring an end to laws which permitted child marriage in Trinidad and Tobago and has been an advocate for ending the practice of gender selection and the preference for male first-borns; highlighting the illegality of child brides; and filling skills gaps among minorities, especially women.With a decade of combined experience as a Career Development Practitioner, Mentorship Specialist and a Certified Personality Dimensions®️ facilitator, Camille builds people up. She’s known for providing workplace training to clients (youth and professionals) with potential barriers to employment. In particular, Camille was part of a team who developed strategic interventions for professional immigrants as part of BC HR Task Force on recruitment strategy for its skilled immigrant recruitment and retention for the BC Mining Industry project. Still, she loves a good Caribbean meal and laughter among friends and always looks forward to hugging family and friends and seeing the world.

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Cindy Ferguson

Mintel

B.Sc. Computer Science UWI St. Augustine; MBA Open University UK; Scaled Agile Framework Advanced Scrum Master. I do lots of internal workshops/ training sessions for my company but this would be the first external one.

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Joedian Reid

American Express

I am a passionate Woman in Tech with 14 years of technical experience as a Software Engineer & TPM. I hold a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of the West Indies and Masters of Science in Software Engineering from the University of Hertfordshire. My career has enabled me to live and work in Jamaica, Costa Rica and the USA - where I continue to work on building tech communities and helping others along.I have an Android app in the Google Play Store, have authored a kids' book on Amazon, and have multiple revenue generation websites based on Caribbean content.I believe in building communities because everyone needs support. I have built from the ground up and supported ongoing D&I efforts in Companies like Intel, Intertec and American Express.