Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are changing the world. Our leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, and are all doing their part to have an impact in their communities and at their workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their background and path to success.
What is your name and title?
Amy Jackson, SVP Sales at 97th Floor.
Briefly (1-2 sentences) describe your current role.
My main role is to drive new business growth by leading a team of reps that source, research, pitch, and close deals. In addition to new business growth, I have a responsibility to work with fulfillment to expand growth within existing accounts. I am on the executive team and drive strategic initiatives for the company at large.
What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?
Leaning into accountability. Even when there isn’t accountability, I create a system and way to measure my progress and value.
What’s the number one challenge you face as a woman in your industry?
As a woman entering new situations with new people, it is easy to be under-minded. Establishing a strong, valuable position in an elegant way is something I’ve mindful of and have refined over the years.
Do you have any mentors? What does mentorship mean to you?
I do not have a dedicated mentor, however there have been several individuals whom have impacted me greatly and whom I look up to. I have tried to acknowledge and develop their gems and nuggets of wisdom I’ve picked up along the way.
What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?
Your voice is needed. Don’t shy away from sharing your opinions. In doing so, leverage your critical thinking away from being a critic and channel it into collaboration.
What women inspires you the most? Why?
My grandmother. She commands in the most gentle, elegant way. She is firm, yet kind. When she speaks, people listen. She changes perceptions and minds without people even realizing it, and she draws the very best out of people. As a 94 year old woman, she still seeks improvement and learning and participates in distance learning college courses.
Are you reading/listening to anything interesting at the moment?
I am currently finishing Essentialism which rings true in so many ways. Especially as being a single mother who is committed to being the best mother I can be, as well as being an executive in work, and serving as President of a women’s charitable and welfare chapter there are a lot of things competing for my time. Essentialism is causing me to conduct a self-audit of what’s truly important and my priorities. After Essentialism, I want to focus on fiction books for the remainder of the year. A book that can entertain and enlighten me is incredibly valuable.
There are a number of podcasts I work through each week. I have really been enjoying Robin Hood’s Snacks podcast. Not just because of the content (there are others I like better for content). It is the overall podcast itself. They produce it so well, with great energy, personalities, succinct content that keeps me very aware.
Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are changing the world. Our leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, and are all doing their part to have an impact in their communities and at their workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their background and path to success.
What is your name and title?
Angela Bee Chan, Eco-Innovation Leader at Schneider Electric. I am also the CEO and founder of Hackathons International.
Briefly (1-2 sentences) describe your current role.
My role is to foster a culture of innovation that is sustainable and drives growth. I hope to inspire an entrepreneurial mindset and help connect the dots to make a positive impact on the world.
What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?
Running a hackathon at Schneider Electric!
It’s not easy to merge two passions together but the hackathon gave me an opportunity to showcase my other world, enabling me to create my own role at Schneider Electric. Now I can do both at once which has opened many more doors!
What’s the number one challenge you face as a woman in your industry?
I believe everyone has unique skills that should be recognized and developed. Confidence is a trait I’ve needed to develop over time. I’ve had great colleagues, mentors and friends who have continuously given me feedback and helped me develop in this area. I think many people struggle with this in general!
What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you don’t know something, ask for a clarification. If you don’t have a mentor, ask someone to be your mentor. If you don’t have a strong network, ask for a referral. If you don’t have a strong support network, ask people to be your accountability partners. You’ll be surprised by how generous people are!
What women inspires you the most? Why?
Emma Watson. She is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in and uses her influence to give back to the community. Michelle Obama is also a great role model. She is vulnerable, honest and prioritizes family, friendships and children’s health.
Are you reading/listening to anything interesting at the moment?
The women of Schneider Electric have put together a book club on Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead. There are exercises online so we are going through that monthly.
What is something coming up that excites you?
I’m just excited about changing the world! I’m really getting into clean, renewable energy and making it sustainable for people, communities and the planet.
Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are changing the world. Our leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, and are all doing their part to have an impact in their communities and at their workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their background and path to success.
What is your name and title?
Jaime Brown, Client Success Manager at Appluent.
Briefly (1-2 sentences) describe your current role.
As the Client Success Manager, I oversee operations and ensure we are delivering quality and successful projects for our clients.
What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?
The extra homework to learn the necessary skills. To grow, I needed to work to expand my knowledge.
I took the time to work on my weaknesses and improve. Once I was able to be confident myself, I could help my team grow and get to where they wanted to be.
What’s the number one challenge you face as a woman in your industry?
As a woman in the tech industry, you sometimes need to prove your abilities before others will trust you can get the job done. Unfortunately, many people don’t just take your word for it.
What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?
Speak up and set goals for yourself. The tech industry is very large and there is plenty of room for growth. You will not excel by sitting in a room and not providing value. If you participate and show your value, you will be appreciated, recognized and ultimately end up where you belong.
What women inspires you the most? Why?
My mom has always been a great influence in my life. She is hard working and always pushes herself to do better. She was a great example as a child, and now as an adult. She helps me strive to do my best and always look to where I can improve, whether it is personal growth or career growth.
What is something coming up that excites you?
My family vacation to Disney. I love going to Disney and experiencing it with my nieces. Seeing their excitement makes the experience even more fun.
Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are changing the world. Our leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, and are all doing their part to have an impact in their communities and at their workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their background and path to success.
What is your name and title?
Jenny Chung, Head of Distribution at Humanitix.
Briefly (1-2 sentences) describe your current role.
As one of the generalists at Humanitix, my role is primarily focused on sales and business development. However, as Humanitix is experiencing exponential growth, many generalists in the team also tackle a bunch of other duties. For me, this includes marketing, account management and operations.
What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?
Taking a step back from the expected career trajectory to evaluate a handful of things.
- What I want from my career from a holistic perspective (passion, growth & development, use of my skill set, contribution to the world, etc.)
- What I am motivated by in my professional life.
- Working out how to fulfill these two criteria (narrowing down industries to enter, leveraging networks for introductions etc.).
What’s the number one challenge you face as a woman in your industry?
Being taken as seriously as my male counterparts.
Do you have any mentors? What does mentorship mean to you?
I look up to, and work closely with, our co-founders as well as the rest of the Humanitix team. I’d love to be mentored by a more experienced woman of color in the tech & events industry to learn from their insights and advice.
What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?
Be intentional about the roles you take on, but remember that your current or next job is not the be-all end-all.
Every step in your career is an opportunity to improve your skills and explore what you’re good at, what motivates you and what is valuable to you in a professional, and even personal, sense.
What women inspires you the most? Why?
My mother. She has made huge sacrifices to put me first in every aspect of her life, including moving to a new country for my education and growth. I wouldn’t be who I am and where I am in my life without her.
Are you reading/listening to anything interesting at the moment? Please share your most recent favorite book or podcast!
Dissect hosted by Cole Cuchna is an amazing podcast that delves into one hip hop album per season, Analyzing it song by song and lyric by lyric. The episodes provide an amazing insight into an artist’s process of building a concept album. It’s a dazzling peek into the amount of hard work, creativity and discipline that goes into song writing and production. Listening to it has made me appreciate albums both familiar and new a lot more by elevating my theoretical and emotional understanding of the music.
What is something coming up that excites you?
At the time of writing, Humanitix just pushed to production the key changes needed to launch our platform internationally! It’s a big step in the direction of globalization.
I can’t wait to see Humanitix launch outside the Australia/Asian market. With continued growth, we can start tapping into the global multi-billion dollar industry and redirect an exponential amount towards social impact. As we grow, we will be closer to achieving our mission of closing the education gap. Education is at the root of a lot of inequality and poverty in the world. It’s mind-boggling to imagine the potential impact we will be able to generate as Humanitix expands.
Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are changing the world. Our leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, and are all doing their part to have an impact in their communities and at their workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their background and path to success.
What is your name and title?
Anna Barber, Managing Director at Techstars.
Briefly (1-2 sentences) describe your current role.
I invest in, advise and coach early stage startups at Techstars LA, which is part of the global network that helps entrepreneurs succeed. I am also a partner at The Fund LA and invest in seed and pre-seed companies there.
What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?
Being open to talking to strangers has helped my career, and also helped me grow as a person. You never know where your next great idea or opportunity will come from. Expanding your field of vision beyond people you already know is incredibly valuable.
What’s the number one challenge you face as a woman in your industry?
I am incredibly fortunate and have been lucky to get amazing opportunities in my career and to be surrounded by a strong support system.
I think in general, a subtle problem women face in the tech industry is not being in the room when new projects are coming together. When you think of the process of starting up a company or a venture fund – often these things come together as a project between friends. It’s often part of male friendship to talk about how to make money together, and less so for women.
Do you have any mentors? What does mentorship mean to you?
The mentors I have now are different from the wonderful mentors I had early in my career. Now, I have a core group of people I call, both within my company and my larger peer group when I need help thinking through a big decision.
To me, mentorship is about supporting people to trust their own decision making. All advice is just one experience generalized, so helping people make better decisions themselves is more valuable than telling them what to do.
What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?
Early in your career focus on building a strong network and skillset. Network and ability are much more important than resume building in today’s market.
Build a crew of friends who will support your career, while you support theirs. They may be your business partners down the road!
What women inspires you the most? Why?
My mom has always been my inspiration. She grew up in a small town in rural Virginia, and went on to get a PhD in English, move to New York and build an incredibly successful literary agency.
She had a strong moral compass and would do literally anything to support her clients. She was financially independent and an equal partner with my dad. She championed other women in all realms, but was always incredibly kind. The word I most like to describe her is fierce and I hope I’ve retained a bit of that quality myself.
Are you reading/listening to anything interesting at the moment? Please share your most recent favorite book or podcast!
I recently finished Prepared by Diane Tavenner, one of the founders of Summit Public Schools. I’m interested in how we can rethink both K-12 and higher education to better prepare students for life and work in the new global economy.
Originally posted: March 31, 2020
Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are changing the world. Our leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, and are all doing their part to have an impact in their communities and at their workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their background and path to success.
What is your name and title?
Andrea Perdomo, Senior Project Manager of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Techstars.
Briefly (1-2 sentences) describe your current role.
My role is to ignite Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives across the Techstars Network. Every day, I work to achieve our vision to create a global entrepreneurial network that reflects the diversity we see in the world.
What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?
Asking for what I want. I have adopted a mentality of hoping for the best and planning for the worse. What I have found is that the worst-case scenario is never as bad as you think.
What’s the number one challenge you face as a woman in your industry?
The societal perceptions of what success and a leader look like.
Do you have any mentors? What does mentorship mean to you?
Yes. Mentors to me are people that I can always go to for guidance during tough times and to celebrate the big & little wins. They are a part of my support system that helps me with my career and, more importantly, my mental health.
What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?
Take risks. Be proud of what you know. Admit what you don’t know and ask for help.
What women inspires you the most? Why?
Maya Angelou. Her words of courage and radical compassion guide my day-to-day life. Maya called courage “the most important of all the virtues” and lived her life accordingly. She once said, “My life has been long, and believing that life loves the liver of it, I have dared to try many things, sometimes trembling, but daring still.”
Maya had many roles including poet, novelist, educator, producer, actress, filmmaker, dancer, mother, and civil rights activist and ultimately broke the long silence for Black women. Although she passed in 2014, her words live forever and inspire me every day.
Are you reading/listening to anything interesting at the moment? Please share your most recent favorite book or podcast!
Hidden Brain is one of my favorite podcasts. I love learning about the science behind human behavior. I am also reading The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World by Jacqueline Novogratz. It is a great book, I highly recommend it.
What is something coming up that excites you?
Hope. Over the last year, I have met inspiring people who are working hard every day to support underrepresented communities by creating access to opportunities.
I have hope that together we can create positive social impact worldwide that transforms the world, one great leader at a time.
Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are changing the world. Our leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, and are all doing their part to have an impact in their communities and at their workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their background and path to success.
What is your name and title?
Heather Sittig, CEO and Founder of Relola.
Briefly (1-2 sentences) describe your current role.
As the CEO, I am responsible for executing upon all the strategic initiatives of the company, keeping clients happy and employees compelled, all the while providing meaningful returns for investors.
What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?
There is no one big decision that helped me grow my career. Rather, my career is the result of making many smaller decisions all the time. Execution is key and deliberation is death. I’ve learned to listen to my advisors, trust my gut and take decisive action without fear.
What’s the number one challenge you face as a woman in your industry?
This is impossible to answer because I have no idea what it is like to be a man in my industry.
I can relate to the stories of female founders having limited access to capital, being held to a different standard and being inappropriately flirted with during pitches, meetings, conferences and business gatherings. In many ways, these are challenges that all women face in one shape or form, and are not particular to the tech industry.
I have attributes that may unfairly hold me back. I have advantages that may help me unfairly succeed. One thing I know is that life isn’t fair, but you can make the most of what you have every single day.
Do you have any mentors? What does mentorship mean to you?
I am quite fortunate to have numerous relationships with experienced people that I look up to, who I can reach out to for advice and who have a point of view that is unique to their experience and their character. In many ways, these individuals are my mentors and have helped me make tough choices, see alternative paths or provided support when I needed it most.
What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?
Don’t be afraid, unless you are being chased by a bear.
Remember it’s hard to be human. Everyone is going through something difficult, so always be kind to yourself and others.
What women inspires you the most? Why?
Today, it’s gotta be Greta Thunberg. Holy moly, that girl’s got courage, guts and smarts. I want to grow up to be just like her.
Are you reading/listening to anything interesting at the moment? Please share your most recent favorite book or podcast!
When I need to chill out, I listen to Radio Lab or This American Life. I love that every story is a surprise. The only common thread is that the stories are esoteric and wonderfully produced.
What is something coming up that excites you?
The NIST Tech to Protect Final competition in May and the November elections.
Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are changing the world. Our leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, and are all doing their part to have an impact in their communities and at their workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their background and path to success.
What is your name and title?
Madeline Duva, CEO of Fluxx.
Briefly (1-2 sentences) describe your current role.
Fluxx is a mission driven company, whose goal is to democratize philanthropy by creating the go-to grants management platform powering giving and impact in the world. As CEO, my role is to drive the strategy and lead this incredible team in achieving their individual and company goals.
What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?
Not worrying about what other people think. I have always had a clear set of values. I have found that staying true to those values makes seemingly hard decisions easier. You will never please everyone.
Being clear about what is important to you, and making decisions based on what that means, means you never have to compromise who you are. At the end of the day, integrity is everything.
What’s the number one challenge you face as a woman in your industry?
Taking up space. As a woman, it was a hard thing to learn as we are taught to be “sugar and spice and everything nice”. When we speak up or have a strong opinion, it is often taken completely differently than it would be if a man had said it. It was a scary thing to do at first, but it is critical to speak up and voice your opinions.
Do you have any mentors? What does mentorship mean to you?
I didn’t grow up in the era of mentorship that I see today.
That being said, I had amazing parents and siblings who shaped who I am today. Additionally, as someone who loves to learn, many teachers from grade school to grad school left lasting impressions on me.
On the other end of that, I do a lot of mentoring. One, because I love it; and two, because I wish I had more formal mentorship when I was first in my career. To me, mentorship not only provides a sounding board and insights, but it offers a view of the forest for the trees. Often, you get caught in the details or the minutia of the day and it is super helpful to get perspective.
What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?
Build your network from the point of view not of what someone can do for you, but how you can be helpful in return. I love connecting people that I think will benefit from that connection.
I get so much joy hearing, sometimes years later, how an introduction or feedback helped someone or really changed their trajectory. I believe in karma and the idea that if you help others, it will come back to you in surprisingly wonderful ways.
What women inspires you the most? Why?
That is a hard one! There are so, so many awesome women I look up to – some of whom I have admired from afar and others I have worked for, have worked for me or have been my colleagues.
If I had to pick one, it would be Ruth Bader Ginsberg. RBG is a total badass. She is fierce and speaks truth to power, and always has. She didn’t seek fame, she just sought justice. The tenacity she has displayed her entire life shows that you should never give up pursuing what is right.
Are you reading/listening to anything interesting at the moment? Please share your most recent favorite book or podcast!
I love podcasts– from Reveal, to The Daily, to This American Life to How I Built This.
Right now, I am also listening to Darren Walker’s book From Generosity to Justice. He is the President of the Ford Foundation. His personal story and the work they do at Ford is so inspiring to me.
Originally posted: March 27, 2020
Pledge 1%’s #WomenWhoLead series celebrates female leaders who are changing the world. Our leaders come from a variety of backgrounds and industries, and are all doing their part to have an impact in their communities and at their workplace. We’ve asked them to share a bit about their background and path to success.
What is your name and title?
Olivia Khalili, VP of Global Social Impact at PagerDuty.
Briefly (1-2 sentences) describe your current role.
I lead PagerDuty.org with the goal to generate long-term value through integrating social impact into the business. PagerDuty.org is responsible for delivering 1% of product, employee volunteer time and equity to help nonprofits expand their impact and improve lives.
What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?
Don’t wait to be asked, or for the job. I started this work 12+ years ago by spinning up a blog on mission-driven business, interviewing leaders and then publishing those interviews so others could learn with me.
This connected me to an incredible network in this field, gave me a living thought leadership portfolio, and brought visibility to a new model of business.
What’s the number one challenge you face as a woman in your industry?
Acceptance and respect for a style of feminine leadership that is rooted in empathy & curiosity and draws on intuition and intelligence.
Do you have any mentors? What does mentorship mean to you?
My previous boss and an exceptional, innovative and generous braintrust of peer social impact heads that lead with incredible integrity.
What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?
Honor exercise and tend to your light. Discover what makes you special and powerful, and realize the world and business need more that.
Are you reading/listening to anything interesting at the moment? Please share your most recent favorite book or podcast!
Recently, I read Ruth Reichl’s “Save Me the Plums”, a delightful read about her years transforming Gourmet Magazine. I admired her joyous and non-self-conscious leadership style. A friend turned me on to the podcast Buddha at the Gas Pump, which consists of interviews with ordinary “spiritually awakened” people.
What’s something coming up that excites you?
We recently launched the PagerDuty.org Fund with a focus on Time-Critical Global Health. We are on a mission to help organizations provide essential medical care for everyone who needs it, when they need it most. I’ve been on an incredible journey learning about this space, from Community Health Workers to drone delivery, and am excited to deepen our work and partnerships in this new field.