Infinity Park Event Center
Program Overview for WICT Network: Rocky Mountain Region
Since its debut in 2009, the WICT Network’s “Tech It Out” initiative has been focused on forging robust female leadership in technology. This program not only highlights the expansive opportunities available for women in the tech fields but also underscores the importance of gender diversity as a catalyst for innovation and corporate success. “Tech It Out” provides our participants with the essential tools to keep abreast of technological advancements and facilitates connections with industry leaders and innovators, building a vibrant community of pioneers.
Program Objectives:
- Raise Awareness: Increase knowledge about the numerous career paths available to women in the technology sectors of the media and entertainment industry.
- Showcase Achievements: Highlight the successes and milestones of women who are technology leaders, celebrating their contributions to the field.
- Explore Developments: Delve into the most recent technological trends and solutions that are shaping the media and entertainment landscape.
- Strengthen Connections: Enhance the network of peers and leaders within the tech community, fostering collaborations and support among professionals.
Eligibility Requirements:
- The program is open to all, welcoming both members and non-members of The WICT Network, ensuring broad access to the insights and networking opportunities provided.
Attending Tech It Out:
- We would love for you to join us at Tech It Out!
- The tickets to the event are available through our Sponsorship team. Please contact them at mailto: wict.rm.sponsorship@gmail.com
Event Information
2024’s Keynote Speaker: Tricia Broderick
Tricia Broderick, co-author of Lead without Blame: Building Resilient Learning Teams, is a recognized seasoned leadership advisor with over twenty-five years of experience in the software development industry. As a former executive, she specializes in igniting growth for leaders and teams to achieve quality outcomes through authentic, inclusive, and engaging collaboration. Known for a people-first approach, Tricia is a sought-after expert and motivational keynote speaker. In 2020, she founded Ignite Insight + Innovation.
2024’s Keynote Speaker: Dale Wilsher
Dale Wilsher is an executive leadership coach and personal development expert, known for her deep understanding of personality dynamics, authenticity, and mental resilience. As a certified DISC trainer and the author of an acclaimed book on personality, Dale’s expertise empowers individuals and organizations to use their purpose to reach their full potential.
She has a robust background in sales and science, holds accreditations by the International Coach Federation and National Career Development Association. She is a member of both the National Speakers Association and the Forbes Coaches Council from her hometown of Boulder, Colorado, where she is committed to helping others make the most of their time and talent.
Directions to Parking at Hyatt Place with TIO’s Jay’s Valet Shuttle Service
A. Event Parking
Corner of S. Cherry St and Kentucky
B. Hyatt Place
4150 E. Mississippi Ave, Glendale, CO 80246
Directions:
- Start out going west on E Kentucky Ave toward S Cherry St
- Take 1st left on S Cherry St.
- Take the 1st right on to E Mississippi Ave.
- Take the 2nd left on Bellaire St.
- Hyatt Parking is on the right
Look for the yellow Jay’s Valet signs to direct you to the parking entrance. Our attendant will direct you to our parking area. If inclement weather, please remain in your vehicle until the shuttle arrives (2-3 minutes).
Our Silent Auction will open on the day of the event, October 30th, 2024 at 7 a.m. MT and will run through 5 p.m. MT.
To learn more, click HERE.
Tech It Out Archives
2023’s Keynote Speaker: Shane Portfolio
Keynote Topic & description: Cultural Transformation
Shane Portfolio joined Charter in 2022 as Senior Vice President, Network Engineering & Technology. He and his team are responsible for creating and implementing the company’s future network and engineering infrastructure with a focus on DOCSIS/PON access technologies, optical, core routing, data center/cloud and security. Shane also led the technical deployment of two company initiatives: high split and network convergence.
Prior to Charter, Shane rose through the ranks during a 26-year tenure at Comcast. He began as a customer representative and later served as Senior Vice President, Network Services, where he oversaw the health and reliability of Comcast’s network, as well as change management, deployment and capacity planning.
Shane is a doctoral candidate in organizational leadership with North Central University, and holds master’s degrees in telecommunications from the University of Denver and organizational leadership from Regis University. He also received a bachelor’s in computer information systems and management from Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Shane served in the United States Army for nearly 15 years, first as a platoon sergeant and then as a leadership instructor at the Officer Candidate School, where he trained officers to prepare for leading soldiers into combat.
2023’s Morning Keynote Speaker: Courtney Walsh
Keynote Topic & description: How Drones are Transforming the Night Sky into a Storytelling Canvas
Courtney Walsh is the Communications Director at Nova Sky Stories, a drone technology company that aims to bring awe to live audiences around the world with visual art experiences that are created to move the soul. In addition to this role, Ms. Walsh is an Advisor to Kimbal Musk, owner and CEO of Nova Sky Stories, The Kitchen restaurants, and Big Green non-profit. She is the new Lead Organizer of TEDxBoulder, a yogi, skier, and storyteller raising two children in Boulder, Colorado.
2023’s Mid-morning Keynote Speaker: Sandy Howe
Keynote Topic & description: From Insight to Action: Aligning Trends, Investments, and Technologies to Drive Real Transformational Change in Organizations
Sandy Howe is a seasoned operating executive known for her leadership and proven results. Having led global B-to-B and B-to-C businesses, she has established herself as a trusted leader. Sandy currently serves on the NCTA – The Internet and Television Association Board and Past Chair of The WICT Network Global Board.
Sandy is a technology leader with over 25 years of experience in the global telecommunications, consumer and media industries and has proven experience in business development and operations and leading marketing, sales and business unit teams to exceed company sales and profitability targets.
2023’s Tech It Out Speakers:
Katie Collins
Senior Director, Mobile Product
Charter Communications
Topic: Wireless communication technology evolution and impact on humanity
Samuel Cummings
Chief Executive Officer
Dataplant
Topic: AI + CX = Digital Empathy
David Debrecht
Vice President
Wireless Technologies, CableLabs
Topic: Creating a User Centric Network
Nameet Dutia
Senior Solutions Architect
Amazon Web Services
Topic: Building Secure In-context Q&A applications with Generative AI on Amazon Web Services
Niamani Knight
Founder, S.T.R.E.A.M. Kids Expo™
Co-Founder, S.T.R.E.A.M.
Topic: EdYOUcation’s Role in Next-Gen Transformation
Barbara Nelms
Director, Digital Strategy & Operations
Charter Communications
Topic: Artificial Intelligence Panel Moderator
Jan Neumann
Vice President
Machine Learning, Comcast
Topic: Artificial Intelligence Panelist
MacKenzie Roebuck-Walsh
Principal Sales Executive
IntentHQ & AI Martech & Adtech
Topic: Artificial Intelligence Panelist
Kat Saks
Senior Principal, Global Digital Strategy
Slalom
Topic: Artificial Intelligence Panelist
Deirdre Toner
Managing Director
AWS, Go To Market
Topic: People, Process, and Technology in data transformation
Wendy Turner-Williams
Founder & CEO
TheAssociation.ai & Culstrata-ai
Topic: TheAssociation – The Practitioner led charge to ethical, quality AI and data!
2022’s Keynote Speaker: Christopher Lafayette
Christopher Lafayette is an emergent technologist, humanitarian, architect, speaker, and virtual worlds explorer. He is bringing thousands of communities and millions of people into the metaverse, humanely. He works for a more equitable culture of technology as a thought leader and advocate for greater inclusion and cross-cultural community building. He is the founder of GatherVerse and The Black Technology Mentorship Program. An expert on the metaverse, medtech, ai, education, Web3, and applied sciences, he has served with and advised companies, organizations, and universities around the world.
Jennifer Andreoli-Fang
Senior Manager
Service Provider Cloud Architecture – AWS
Tracy Baumgartner
Vice President
Business Process Effectiveness- Environment, Comcast
Jenna Ficula
Engineer
Slalom Element Lab212
Sheri Byrne Haber
Senior Staff Architect
Accesibility, VMare
Petr Kucheryavyy
Senior Accessibility Manager
Charter Communications
Amber Longtin
Student of Industrial/Organization Psychology
Bruno Sarda
Partner/Principal
Climate Change and Sustainability Services, EY
Evan Shapiro
Lead
ESHAP
Kat Stracquatanio
Senior Director
UX Engineering and Design Systems, Comcast
Carmela Stuart
Director
Future Infrastructure / CableLabs
Susie Tomenchok
Executive Coach
John Tomik
Managing Director
Slalom Strategy / Slalom Element
Rob Wilmoth
Senior Principal Architect
Red Hat
Sofia Rossato
SVP of Strategic Partnerships
TeamSupport
BJ Daisey
Vice President, Emerging Experiences
Comcast Product Experience
2020 Tech It Out Speakers & Topics
- Rich DiGeronimo – Chief Product and Technology Officer, Charter Communications, & Cynthia Carpenter – VP/Human Resources and Employee Experience, Charter Communications
- In Conversation: Cynthia Carpenter and Rich DiGeronimo: Charter execs Cynthia Carpenter and Rich DiGeronimo discuss what it took to survive and thrive during the extraordinary events of 2020 – including what positive developments arose from the worldwide shelter-at-home transition, and what innovations are helping to shape Charter for the future.
- Jan Hofmeyr – Executive Vice President and Chief Network Officer, Comcast Cable & Leslie Ellis, Technology Writer
- In Conversation: Leslie Ellis and Jan Hofmeyr: Comcast EVP and Chief Network Officer Jan Hofmeyr joins technology writer Leslie Ellis in a candid conversation about the year so far, innovations prompted by the pandemic, relevant new technologies, and what’s coming next.
- Dana Filip-Crandall – Senior Vice President, Customer Experience and Call Center Operations, Comcast West Division & WICT Rocky Mountain’s 2020 Woman of the Year
- Current Events at the Intersection of Customer Care & 2020: Dana Filip-Crandall speaks about what it’s like when you need to very quickly pivot thousands of care employees into home-based workflows. Also: How consumer behaviors and demands are changing, coincident with the freakish events of 2020 – and what’s working to adapt along with them.
- Jana Henthorn – President and CEO, The Cable Center, & Janice Silver, Vice President, Programs and Marketing, The Cable Center
- MythBusters: Innovation Edition: Are entrepreneurs responsible for the majority of groundbreaking innovations? Are most innovations the result of that “light-bulb” moment? Are innovators born or made? Join us as the Cable Center duo, Jana Henthorn and Janice Silver, examine 6 common innovation beliefs, a la MythBusters style, to determine if they’re fact or fiction, and how intrapreneurship can be your key to success.
- Rama Sreenivasan – Cofounder & CEO – Blitzz Inc.
- TECH TALK: Part customer care evangelist, part scientist, part Zen master, Rama exudes a passion for service that is powerful and infectious. Hear how his company, Blitzz, is helping industries to adapt to mid- and post-pandemic customer realities using Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality.
- Teresa Elder – Chief Executive Officer and Director, WideOpenWest, Inc., & Camilla Formica, Chief Revenue Officer of NCTI
- In Conversation: Camilla Formica and Teresa Elder: Camilla Formica interviews Teresa Elder about her journey (so far!) as a female leader, pro tips for overcoming obstacles, and what it means to lead an organization heart-first – with compassion and kindness.
- Joe Hunt – GVP, Software Development and Architecture, Charter Communications
- TECH TALK: As a film enthusiast with a proclivity for “future-facing” themes, Joe shares what ideas from the movies made it into our day-to-day lives, and reflects on what’s coming next.
- Rachel Beisel – Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, CableLabs
- What COVID Is Teaching Us About Leadership: As CableLabs’ first-ever Chief Marketing Officer, Rachel Beisel is a powerhouse of ideas, action, and energy. Learn what the COVID pandemic taught her about the human side of leadership, how COVID gave new depth to the WICT Touchstones, and what matters when communicating during a global pandemic.
- Ruha Benjamin – Education Equity Advocate; Sociology & African American Studies Scholar; Author; Princeton University
- KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Ruha imparts actionable wisdom about biases in technology, and recommendations about challenging predispositions when building new products and services.
- Dr. Jennifer Andreoli-Fang – Distinguished Technologist, CableLabs & WICT Rocky Mountain’s 2020 Technology Woman of the Year
- TECH TALK: When she was growing up, Jennifer Andreoli-Fang thought it was normal to get to school an hour early to help her physics teacher get set up for class, and to attend science and math camps in the summer. Since then, she’s risen to become our industry’s leading technologist when it comes to the inevitable intersections between mobile and fixed networks. She’s also an artist, and will illustrate her journey with some of her own sketches.
- Jessica O. Matthews – Founder and CEO, Uncharted Power
- KEYNOTE SPEAKER: She invented a soccer ball that provides off-grid energy for the developing world – when she was 19. At 22, she founded Uncharted Power, a global, full-service power technology company that builds, owns and operates renewable power infrastructure. Jessica is a dynamo! Don’t miss this … powerhouse (ahem) of a keynote.
- Revisit the highlights with access to all of the webinars, videos, and photos here.
2019 Tech It Out Speakers & Topics
- WICT Champions – Shane Portfolio
- How Tech can Leverage Diversity and Inclusion to Win
- Morning Keynote – Dr. Davidson
- Leadership/Facing Challenges Head On
- Panel Discussion – Maria Rothschild (Moderator) with Kate Tummarello (Engine,) Debbie Fitzgerald (CableLabs,) Chris May (Comcast,) Manish Jindal (Charter)
- Oh Gs! Wired and Wireless at the Edge
- Tech Talk – Eilisa Reed, Woman in Technology Winner
- Perspectives from the Engine Room: IT Operations at a Major Cable Operator
- Tech Talk – Daisy Henderson, Young Woman in Technology Winner
- Being a Young, Ambitious Woman in Tech
- Tech Talk – Sarah Vergara
- Near Future Video and Behind the Tech
- Fireside Chat – Leslie Ellis interviewing Stephanie Mitchko
- Show & Tech Demo – Jodi Robinson
- Demo Tech House
- Leadership Talk – Cynthia Carpenter
- Dare to Shine
- Tech Talk – Rebecca Rusk
- Ethics in Design – How do we Keep Human-Centered Design Human?
- Tech Talk – Mona Kessel
- How to Communicate Effectively in Male-Dominated Fields
- NextGen – Shreya Nallapati
- Never Again Tech – Using Machine Learning Algorithms to Detect Markers of Mass Shootings
- Tech Talk – Lisa Schwab
- The Innovator vs The Entrepreneur: Why we Need Both
- Keynote Speaker – FlyGirl
More Info
Sponsorship Opportunities
Interested in sponsoring the 2024 Tech It Out event? Please email us at wict.rm.sponsorship@gmail.com.
Strategic Partnership Opportunities
Interested in becoming our strategic partner? Please email us at wict.rm.partnerships@gmail.com.
Student Ambassador Opportunities
Interested in becoming our student ambassador? Please email us at wict.rm.partnerships@gmail.com.