Bethini ‘Syx’ Williams is a data analyst, product manager, singer/songwriter and all-around creative who has worked in non-profit, photography, education, business analytics and is constantly learning. Read her inspiring interview to learn how she got into data analytics and product management, her best advice for working with a mentor, what she learned in Accra, Ghana (and her other favorite travel memory), plus where you can listen to her music!
Amy Giddon is the cofounder and CEO of collaborative media and empathy-building app, Daily Haloha. Coming from a career in management consulting, Amy recognized our relationships at work and in our lives affect our sense of belonging and well-being – and that this social wellness was increasingly strained by polarization and social media. Read on to learn how she became an entrepreneur after 50 and launched her business, the best thing she’s ever taught herself (it’s a good one) and the one place in the world that is not only her favorite, but that taught her the most too.
Weslie Iza is a jack of all trades who works as a product specialist at a SaaS in Chicago and lives in Uptown. She’s had an untraditional (and exciting) journey; studying abroad in Kenya, beginning her post-collegiate journey as a marketing strategist before teaching ESL in Bangkok, working for the Kellogg School of Management and then completing a 6-month full-stack coding boot camp before transitioning into AdTech/MarTech. Read on to learn the best thing she’s ever taught herself, where she’s traveled she feels she’s learned the most, and what gets her out of bed every day.
Ariana Pineda is the founder and executive director at STEM-focused Font Femme magazine living in Los Angeles. She is passionate about promoting change in her community, her favorite resource for ongoing learning is YouTube and she wants to teach herself pottery and ceramics next. Read on to learn how she launched a publication during a pandemic and her favorite spot in LA!
Kelly Nash is a principal success manager at software company Salesforce and the founder of Lipstick & Ink®. She’s passionate about growing her own career, as well as helping others navigate their own. Read on to learn her best tips for finding/working with a mentor for career and personal development, and her favorite place in the whole world.
Brianne Caplan is a serious force to be reckoned with. Unsatisfied with feeling like coding wasn’t ‘for her’, she persevered and made technology – and all the world-changing power it stands for – her life’s mission. In addition to acting as the program director of Careers in Computer Science at the University of Chicago, she is also the Executive Director and Founder at tech education organization Code Your Dreams and most recently, she launched CoderHeroes to help underserved children access the amazing power of code.
Samantha Keil is a postdoctoral research fellow in neuroscience, who lived most recently in Chicago but is transitioning to Seattle. She loves being a constant sponge of information, NPR podcasts and would go to Kyoto, Japan, a million more times. Read on to learn what gets her excited to wake up every day, and the one thing she wishes people would ask her.
Renee Watts works in IT help desk cyber security and currently lives in Chicago. Read on to learn how she fostered her love of lifelong learning from a young age, why she loves what she does (especially malware removals – yes, the bad kind of software) and her favorite restaurant in the Second City!
Jessa Lynn is an SEO specialist and petite blogger at Dollface Diaries living in Chicago. Read on to learn how she fell into this interesting mix of professions, the thing she’s going to teach herself next and why – and what her favorite place in all of Chicago is.