tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28085466539510846622024-02-01T23:08:48.700-08:00Charis Lovelandcharismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-21090569504810277662020-10-22T10:17:00.001-07:002020-10-22T10:17:53.653-07:00Break into product management<p>When <span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa fgxwclzu a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto">I teach the Intro to Product Management class at General Assembly, my
most asked question is how to break into the product management field when you don't have experience. In fact, I see this question so frequently that I decided to summarize my best advice into a blog post. </span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa fgxwclzu a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto">I advise people to volunteer to work with the </span><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa fgxwclzu a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa fgxwclzu a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto">product manager</span> at their company to gain experience. I shadowed my product manager at SAP on a <a href="https://designthinking.ideo.com/" target="_blank">design thinking</a> project interviewing attorneys to understand their frustrations and pain points.<br /></span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa fgxwclzu a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.nivancontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/lawyer-review-sites.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="785" height="157" src="https://www.nivancontent.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/lawyer-review-sites.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa fgxwclzu a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto">If you don’t have a product manager to shadow at your company, go to the meetup and
startup community to get some pro bono experience. Given coronavirus, most of these opportunities have moved online. Check out www.metup.com and www.linkedin.com for groups of interest. I have expanded my network through affinity groups like She Geeks Out and Tech Ladies, as well as Women in Product.<br /></span><p></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa fgxwclzu a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto">You should also leverage your transferable skills. For instance, are you good at juggling multiple priorities? Have you worked on an agile team? Understand technology? Review your resume to look at the skills you do have and highlight these transferable skills on your product-focused resume.</span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa fgxwclzu a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa fgxwclzu a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto"><a href="https://generalassemb.ly/" target="_blank"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa fgxwclzu a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto">General Assembly</span></a> has some great
workshops and bootcamps to build your skills in product management, agile, and other topics. Good luck!</span></span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa fgxwclzu a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa fgxwclzu a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto"> </span></span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql oi732d6d ik7dh3pa fgxwclzu a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto"><br /></span></p>charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-20571019354706700242019-12-16T14:00:00.000-08:002019-12-19T10:39:10.082-08:00Hour of Code 2019During the second day of my new job at Amazon Web Services as a business development manager for cloud intelligence specializing in artificial intelligence, I discovered that Amazon is a premiere sponsor of The Hour of Code.<br />
<br />
From code.org, "Code.org is a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to computer
science in schools and increasing participation by women and
underrepresented minorities. Our vision is that every student in every
school has the opportunity to learn computer science, just like biology,
chemistry or algebra. Code.org provides the leading curriculum for K-12
computer science in the largest school districts in the United States
and Code.org also organizes the annual <a href="http://hourofcode.com/"> Hour of Code</a>
campaign which has engaged 15% of all students in the world. Code.org
is supported by generous donors including Amazon."<br />
<br />
The Hour of Code is held during December in celebration of Navy rear admiral Grace Hopper, one of the founders of COBOL programming language and the engineer who coined the term "bug" to mean a computer defect after finding a moth in a mainframe computer. <br />
<br />
Despite having missed the initial deadlines with my November start date, my fantastic and dedicated Amazon colleague Jacqueline Olliges <span style="background-color: #e8e8ea; color: #212f3e; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "ember" , , "blinkmacsystemfont" , "segoe ui" , "roboto" , "oxygen" , "ubuntu" , "cantarell" , "open sans" , "helvetica neue" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;"></span>enabled me to order swag including stickers, Amazon Future Engineer certificates of completion for students, and t-shirts for volunteers. The look on students' faces when receiving their stickers and certificates was priceless. They felt so proud having spent the hour learning about coding and imagining a future in engineering.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjycPHKOQgvBQIoBVYoLtd2oCBbtDy12qhBmh_x48hyphenhyphenV409wfTz39ePZOwZe_5rFlbmBRw9grx4HLrRgfOBcVW4Ipub9mZOxY4LTDNAPkiVp2h9sIA3hg3jU3Blx7qO3PH1iXQbpejozIk/s1600/Hour+of+Code.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="465" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjycPHKOQgvBQIoBVYoLtd2oCBbtDy12qhBmh_x48hyphenhyphenV409wfTz39ePZOwZe_5rFlbmBRw9grx4HLrRgfOBcVW4Ipub9mZOxY4LTDNAPkiVp2h9sIA3hg3jU3Blx7qO3PH1iXQbpejozIk/s200/Hour+of+Code.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Amazon Future Engineer sticker</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwN1OSjUFJI9Mp_jVOSMafYCHuLjUToVK7Fk-DEwUq0RlXA93IumIBpAvqOqa5ATUCCVmoKGZq26M0e442dKLWCDyViPCFwvQhc0uoaDAA0fFIR8XZc8mYiJJ0Q2Eu7JBladzcI1kDzY/s1600/Hour+of+Code+t-shirt.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="588" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieqkQRlSiBdDmtaEffIMFTAV_tp55TM6Y3czbTL0v0OaXOcwavLZZ1-tG7QNggXdOhcyzgmuCJrw9JAbGx7zUKVFF5q3-buWrxo5CD-GYVgsN5aRMbDnY_3i-MW1ywfOiBCqjdqXFPbj0/s200/Hour+of+Code+Certificate.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Amazon Future Engineer certificate</i></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
On December 11-13 at Philbrick Elementary in Boston, MA, kindergarten through 5th grade students participated in the international movement to teach programming and logic skills to kids. This year, Amazon sponsored an expansion of the Dance Party game, including an expanded hit song list, new characters, and effects.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAWROn6884fi7i1kemx4H98eForbawMGAYbClYkq9am67VOROAUEd_PHt0p2v999fdH6BcFZwlKRupRxLirPFxUTUxuvAmEHN0FWeDiQ4I9i9Cs44vax2TCGECumIctpvuCr_d4aYed8/s1600/209AADF5-B21B-49B5-B503-8D9DE4C8FFE6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHAWROn6884fi7i1kemx4H98eForbawMGAYbClYkq9am67VOROAUEd_PHt0p2v999fdH6BcFZwlKRupRxLirPFxUTUxuvAmEHN0FWeDiQ4I9i9Cs44vax2TCGECumIctpvuCr_d4aYed8/s200/209AADF5-B21B-49B5-B503-8D9DE4C8FFE6.jpeg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dance Party from Blain's perspective</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggfu0ao1qWGM1EVEWYyJ6Mo161MqzTtDH21gQw2AlRF1JjqgfCIX6h-EuSA3BCISFvlaGlyO0LQaSgR1ZJySxAoCVeXN20bq8MgG3t8bHGuZKXjqNt5-VgZd0LstU8Ls00kv9WLR9vva8/s1600/7DCB5736-8E99-47A1-8BC1-C8513C657890.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggfu0ao1qWGM1EVEWYyJ6Mo161MqzTtDH21gQw2AlRF1JjqgfCIX6h-EuSA3BCISFvlaGlyO0LQaSgR1ZJySxAoCVeXN20bq8MgG3t8bHGuZKXjqNt5-VgZd0LstU8Ls00kv9WLR9vva8/s200/7DCB5736-8E99-47A1-8BC1-C8513C657890.jpeg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katia Inezian, 4th grade, creating a Dance Party scene</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4YR8pdj5K0cgxC1l7PNxXlnDMeM1uLuuy4sZIFBprs_D-rAxSk5_9NAKCCC3bM3GjUQhdNHOk5_GRo3vL0S438i0ncaA95LeVukg7kurj9iWRQJWDiyiSOiCnYBUaxZWrMxqyAHmx7gg/s1600/80FC7548-7ED6-4F43-9882-318E3E66F427.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4YR8pdj5K0cgxC1l7PNxXlnDMeM1uLuuy4sZIFBprs_D-rAxSk5_9NAKCCC3bM3GjUQhdNHOk5_GRo3vL0S438i0ncaA95LeVukg7kurj9iWRQJWDiyiSOiCnYBUaxZWrMxqyAHmx7gg/s200/80FC7548-7ED6-4F43-9882-318E3E66F427.jpeg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aiden Alexander, 3rd grade, codes using Dance Party</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-LuAJUblNleULHPRI3OyZCTxBRdoHVgvkacXvH4NF2-G8tWT0m1S8RKEkJ7NcAXr7gKcRHAip0MRlat1rDR9wnK9s9TlWwsXE9r6VUKPlNvn4fBLMORzPFbWroLr_0IrpnZOB2OZ75d4/s1600/39A8D64B-9D27-4989-A3A4-95DEE40C903C.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-LuAJUblNleULHPRI3OyZCTxBRdoHVgvkacXvH4NF2-G8tWT0m1S8RKEkJ7NcAXr7gKcRHAip0MRlat1rDR9wnK9s9TlWwsXE9r6VUKPlNvn4fBLMORzPFbWroLr_0IrpnZOB2OZ75d4/s200/39A8D64B-9D27-4989-A3A4-95DEE40C903C.jpeg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chloe Alexander, 3rd grade, finished her Dance Party level</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugi_fVun4lxR-o-erOtmmdf9Xkd1eXBerr0N_VsU2UiCSNSrx6_DzKYbjfLIQn7tTdlF9k3TpLuEZoMTOtgSdYJsD-PHhWSv0c8CwY_d2yiyVrGVG_l7ytMLRRt3IXUJlhzci5zkS2lQ/s1600/6FAFE942-748B-4E1A-9A44-507F640E3B03.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhugi_fVun4lxR-o-erOtmmdf9Xkd1eXBerr0N_VsU2UiCSNSrx6_DzKYbjfLIQn7tTdlF9k3TpLuEZoMTOtgSdYJsD-PHhWSv0c8CwY_d2yiyVrGVG_l7ytMLRRt3IXUJlhzci5zkS2lQ/s200/6FAFE942-748B-4E1A-9A44-507F640E3B03.jpeg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charis watches 5th grader Blain Assefa's creation </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79UDJff9FOoku0f0Y4fWzCKsRlMOiqJqWuEVMHXUhcdWO9-Jjt6sh9zoSQ6dd9S8McvcT1nmkLpUSiCU4dFikKUHywaFr0mlmNwxMP1tsFgwpcDgkZEyLRdF22ce5svWqZAkqboaMKvI/s1600/9A82E200-7752-451B-872A-1646B824B904.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj79UDJff9FOoku0f0Y4fWzCKsRlMOiqJqWuEVMHXUhcdWO9-Jjt6sh9zoSQ6dd9S8McvcT1nmkLpUSiCU4dFikKUHywaFr0mlmNwxMP1tsFgwpcDgkZEyLRdF22ce5svWqZAkqboaMKvI/s200/9A82E200-7752-451B-872A-1646B824B904.jpeg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Using the drag and drop Sketch interface to teach programming</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmd58x1sZg7oL2zC6jkPNmn32qjMSg_wgO0wjiGxXAlVEhYOTtubbYKe7BmFJFYhh2WLjKIXCKg6e9oRYWJBCWDud85UcmT2IllYsNxs6jltz_yjLLVYyAF65ak1Sq29-HVnKh4C9_NE/s1600/84EC7FB8-9382-4BAA-AB3D-8AB270B615E6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmd58x1sZg7oL2zC6jkPNmn32qjMSg_wgO0wjiGxXAlVEhYOTtubbYKe7BmFJFYhh2WLjKIXCKg6e9oRYWJBCWDud85UcmT2IllYsNxs6jltz_yjLLVYyAF65ak1Sq29-HVnKh4C9_NE/s200/84EC7FB8-9382-4BAA-AB3D-8AB270B615E6.jpeg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5th graders Blain Assefa and Yasniris </td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39YrNydpA5ncZFGH3xGuJs6QYq1yl2CGaaLMV40SjwO6ni2bjrJgI4jb3J8w0nY-ORsONdyEfZv__Ng8GtlrqzPoEQH61pIHGTLCt0i8OMm7aPQK-94VCBikKnSdI3kLR-yvjS26glTE/s1600/950DADF2-D25E-4FC2-9FC2-D64E4138F295.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39YrNydpA5ncZFGH3xGuJs6QYq1yl2CGaaLMV40SjwO6ni2bjrJgI4jb3J8w0nY-ORsONdyEfZv__Ng8GtlrqzPoEQH61pIHGTLCt0i8OMm7aPQK-94VCBikKnSdI3kLR-yvjS26glTE/s200/950DADF2-D25E-4FC2-9FC2-D64E4138F295.jpeg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hazel Hartung, third grade</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJi8GOtUrXtKxnm0PaZsDCk0MnmAf5zwQekRZYXVpVqnW1DhmJi34WsQtZeBcFRQkVjX37jtWTx14qZ-fDftWg_OwlBqHGhSJBaZAVidAggDbJBMywo0jRGYxDIsgN6JVgd8zn0TeKAw/s1600/A24AF34A-BB6E-4895-A92F-EA42BD7AE4B0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJi8GOtUrXtKxnm0PaZsDCk0MnmAf5zwQekRZYXVpVqnW1DhmJi34WsQtZeBcFRQkVjX37jtWTx14qZ-fDftWg_OwlBqHGhSJBaZAVidAggDbJBMywo0jRGYxDIsgN6JVgd8zn0TeKAw/s200/A24AF34A-BB6E-4895-A92F-EA42BD7AE4B0.jpeg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">De'Ana Florence, Philbrick science teacher and Zipei Wei, Amazon volunteer, assist 5th grade students</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Dance on!</span></div>
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Science teacher De'Ana Florence graciously welcomed me and my colleague Zipei into her classroom. We had an excellent, memorable time and can't wait to return for next December's Hour of Code.charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-5025151088348171312019-06-20T09:26:00.000-07:002019-06-20T09:26:10.591-07:00All about podcastsI've had the pleasure of being interviewed a few times recently, both on Facebook Live as well as 2 podcasts.<br />
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My first interview was with Linda <span class="_5znp">Ugelow<span class="_3a4y"></span></span>. We talked about artificial intelligence, working in tech, and working styles.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lindaugelowbiz/videos/1956528011321745/" target="_blank">Click here to watch the video</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The next was a podcast out of the Carribean run by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/12minconvos/" target="_blank">Engel Jones</a>. It was really fun to have this conversation with Engel, which I found out about through <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbiecarlton/" target="_blank">Bobbie Carlton's</a> <a href="https://innovationwomen.com/" target="_blank">Innovation Women</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://twelveminuteconvos.com/charis-loveland/" target="_blank">You can listen to my conversation with Engel here</a></td></tr>
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Finally, I have been writing a newsletter about <a href="https://www.cohort3.com/subscribe-to-all-things-ai-news" target="_blank">AI news for nonprofit professionals</a>. Nonprofits are near and dear to my heart, as I've been a volunteer for <a href="https://epilepsynewengland.org/" target="_blank">Epilepsy Foundation of MA/RI</a>, <a href="https://www.myalfondgrant.org/" target="_blank">The Alfond Scholarship Foundation</a>, and the <a href="http://www.code.org/" target="_blank">Hour of Code</a>. I recently began working as a product manager for a nonprofit <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/" target="_blank">Mozilla</a>, whose parent company <a href="https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/about/" target="_blank">Mozilla Foundation</a> (hilariously abbreviated as MoFo) believes the Internet is a global public resource that must remain open and accessible to all.<br />
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As part of my AI newsletter work, I moderated a podcast introducing Google's AI for Good award winners.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/e82df9ca93bab66140565a478/images/c2b65766-70fe-4142-a5e0-ad8299d03cd8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="250" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/e82df9ca93bab66140565a478/images/c2b65766-70fe-4142-a5e0-ad8299d03cd8.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.npoinnovators.com/" target="_blank">You can listen to their stories here, Episode 18</a></td></tr>
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charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-9384849849971473092018-12-19T07:50:00.004-08:002022-04-06T12:49:43.624-07:00How do you get into artificial intelligence?When I tell people I work in artificial intelligence, the most common question I get is how I got started. I followed the learn on the job approach. I was offered an amazing opportunity at Microsoft in 2016 and I took it, and have been learning ever since. I've held product management roles creating or expanding on AI projects for several industries, and now I work for myself in this domain. I have taken some massively open online classes (MOOCs) that offer a solid foundation in machine learning. I've attended dozens of conferences, meetups, and affinity groups.<br />
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Here's a roundup of the resources that I've found most useful.<br />
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<a href="https://geospatialmedia.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAhPAAAAJDlkMWMwNTA1LTZkZjUtNDA5MS1hYT.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="493" data-original-width="800" height="197" src="https://geospatialmedia.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAhPAAAAJDlkMWMwNTA1LTZkZjUtNDA5MS1hYT.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Blogs and Online</h3>
This is my friend Brandon Rohrer's blog: <a data-cke-saved-href="https://brohrer.github.io/blog.html" href="https://brohrer.github.io/blog.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" title="https://brohrer.github.io/blog.html">https://brohrer.github.io/blog.html</a> We worked together at Microsoft and he's a data scientist at Facebook. This is the most comprehensive and easily explained resource I've encountered. You can find him and other influencers in the field on Twitter and LinkedIn to keep informed about new resources.<br />
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Brandon is in good company on this <a href="https://interestingengineering.com/9-youtube-channels-that-will-teach-you-everything-you-need-to-know-about-artificial-intelligence" target="_blank">list of 9 YouTube channels to subscribe to for ML learning</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/" target="_blank">Khan Academy</a> is an excellent resource for brushing up on concepts like <a href="ttps://www.khanacademy.org/math/ap-statistics/summarizing-quantitative-data-ap/measuring-spread-quantitative/v/sample-standard-deviation-and-bias" target="_blank">standard deviation</a>, which can be a tricky concept.<br />
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KDnuggets has a variety of resources including this <a href="https://www.kdnuggets.com/2018/12/predictions-machine-learning-ai-2019.html" target="_blank">2019 predictions article</a>.<br />
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Andrew Ng’s <a href="https://landing.ai/ai-transformation-playbook/" target="_blank">AI Transformation Playbook</a> provides a business-oriented roadmap for your company to transform into a great AI company. His newsletter <a href="https://read.deeplearning.ai/the-batch/?utm_source=thebatch&utm_medium=email&utm_content=subscribe-cta&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--g-cWczDdex8hDSLvjHrz4GaFcPqlfFBFeTcbc4Doeoo8AonEc4m4KLTBxSMrIWoNfuRHb" target="_blank">The Batch</a> is a great resource.<br />
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<a href="https://www.kaggle.com/" target="_blank">Kaggle</a> provides a fun way to improve your modeling skills, complete with cash prizes! The Titanic dataset is a good introduction, as are the Iris classification and the diamond linear regression. <br />
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Here's an <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1KapNPxG2A0mFhAZBaLhrEnW12I1DYh0JW-uO0UB0p7E/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">AI in 3 minutes presentation</a> I wrote for my local friend PowerPoint Club.<br />
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MOOCs </h3>
Most of the major online sites offer classes you can audit for free or get certified for a fee. I recommend the following platforms:<br />
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<a href="https://generalassemb.ly/" target="_blank">General Assembly</a><br />
<a href="https://professionalonline1.mit.edu/machine-learning/" target="_blank">Emeritus's MIT Professional Education machine learning class</a> (for which I'm a learning facilitator)<br />
<a href="https://www.coursera.org/learn/machine-learning" target="_blank">Coursera </a><br />
<a href="https://www.edx.org/course/subject/data-science" target="_blank">Edx</a><br />
<a href="https://www.udemy.com/end-to-end-machine-learning-polynomial-regression/" target="_blank">Udemy</a><br />
<a href="https://www.datacamp.com/" target="_blank">DataCamp</a><br />
<a href="https://www.thinkful.com/" target="_blank">Thinkful</a><br />
<a href="https://www.lynda.com/learning-paths/Developer/become-a-python-developer" target="_blank">Lynda.com</a>. I am taking a python class through my local library's subscription.<br />
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Books</h3>
<a href="https://hbr.org/product/prediction-machines-the-simple-economics-of-artificial-intelligence/10195-HBK-ENG" target="_blank"><i>Prediction Machines</i></a><br />
<i><u><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20527133-superintelligence" target="_blank">Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies </a></u></i><br />
<a href="https://automatetheboringstuff.com/" target="_blank"><i>Automate The Boring Stuff With Python: Practical Programming For Total Beginners </i></a><br />
<a href="https://weaponsofmathdestructionbook.com/" target="_blank"><i>Weapons of Math Destruction</i></a><br />
<a href="http://algorithmstoliveby.com/" target="_blank"><i>Algorithms to Live By</i></a><br />
<a href="https://www.statisticsdonewrong.com/" target="_blank"><i>Statistics Done Wrong </i></a><br />
<i><a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Machine+Learning+For+Dummies-p-9781119245513" target="_blank">Machine Learning for Dummies</a> </i><br />
I recently read and really enjoyed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Master_Algorithm" target="_blank"><i>The Master Algorithm</i></a>, but I'd save it for after you have a fundamental understanding of machine learning.<br />
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Developers may benefit from this <a href="https://dragan.rocks/articles/18/Programmers-Teach-Yourself-Foundations-of-ML-AI-With-These-X-Books" target="_blank">more technical reading list</a>.<br />
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Conferences</h3>
If you are an extrovert or a hands-on learner, I recommend learning from the experts at one of these conferences.<br />
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<a href="https://conferences.oreilly.com/strata" target="_blank">Strata</a>: all things big data, expect announcements from large companies about their latest tech<br />
<a href="https://www.papis.io/" target="_blank">PAPIs</a>: a mix of expert and more entry-level sessions, organized by an awesome European-based committee<br />
<a href="https://odsc.com/" target="_blank">ODSC</a>: really friendly, volunteer organized, more accessible sessions<br />
<a href="https://iacs.seas.harvard.edu/" target="_blank">Harvard's Institute for Applied Computational Science</a> holds Computefest and some other excellent lectures and events<br />
<a href="https://icml.cc/" target="_blank">ICML</a>: big names in data science attend this, very expert-level<br />
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Meetups</h3>
I'll provide a Boston listing here, but look for similar resources in your city.<br />
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<a href="https://generalassemb.ly/locations/boston" target="_blank">General Assembly</a><br />
<a href="https://www.meetup.com/So-You-Want-To-Be-A-Data-Scientist/" target="_blank">So you want to be a data scientist</a><br />
<a href="https://www.meetup.com/open-source-data-science/" target="_blank">ODSC</a><br />
<a href="https://www.meetup.com/aittg-boston/" target="_blank">Boston AI Tech Talks Group</a><br />
<a href="https://www.meetup.com/Data-Women/" target="_blank">DataWomen</a><br />
<a href="https://www.meetup.com/ConnectAI/" target="_blank">ConnectAI</a><br />
<a href="https://www.meetup.com/Learn-to-Code-Thinkful-Boston/" target="_blank">Thinkful Learn to Code</a><br />
<a href="https://www.meetup.com/Boston-AI-Meetup/" target="_blank">Boston AI Meetup</a><br />
<a href="https://www.meetup.com/bostonml/" target="_blank">Boston Machine Learning</a><br />
<a href="https://www.meetup.com/Boston-TechBreakfast/" target="_blank">Boston TechBreakfast</a><br />
<a href="https://www.meetup.com/Boston-WITI-Meetup-Group/" target="_blank">Boston WITI Meetup - Women in Technology</a><br />
<a href="https://www.meetup.com/Women-Who-Code-Boston/" target="_blank">Women Who Code Boston</a><br />
<a href="https://www.meetup.com/Boston-Predictive-Analytics/" target="_blank">Boston Predictive Analytics</a><br />
<a href="https://www.meetup.com/Boston-Deep-Learning-Meetup/" target="_blank">Boston Deep Learning Meetup</a><br />
<a href="https://www.meetup.com/Boston-Data-Science-Meetup/" target="_blank">Boston Data Science Meetup</a><br />
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<br />charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-1937922765022680102017-09-07T16:50:00.000-07:002017-09-07T16:50:34.748-07:00Why New England is not all that great in the fall<div style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Text"; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: normal;">
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<span style="color: #282828; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">A local friend of mine with whom I share several personal and professional interests, Inci Kaya, and I recently discussed my blog. She mentioned that she'd like to try her hand at blogging. I am happy to introduce the second in a series of guest articles penned by Inci! </span><br style="color: #282828; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;" /></div>
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<span style="color: #868686; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; text-transform: uppercase;"><u>Why New England is not all that great in the fall</u></span></span></h2>
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BY INCI KAYA</h2>
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<span style="font-family: ".SFUIText"; font-size: 17pt;">Come the beloved fall foliage season of New England, its agricultural bounty atrophies rapidly, dwindling to 1) apples, 2) pears and 3) root vegetables. And all that cheering for beets you hear, yeah, it's actually crickets.</span><span style="font-family: ".SFUIText"; font-size: 17pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".SFUIText"; font-size: 17pt;">Just think how much more joyous (!) the task of packing school lunches for kids is about to become - especially if you have a kid or two who routinely return their lunchboxes untouched. What is the one thing that you try to put in those lunchboxes all the time? A piece of fruit, right? Well come fall guess which fruit I have to choose from? This kind of apple or that type of apple or umm the other freaking kind of apple. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".SFUIText"; font-size: 17pt;">Before Halloween rolls around I've already had it with the various varieties of apples that I can never remember to distinguish - (same with potatoes, by the way). Was it the Cortland that was good? No, maybe Empire... Or the Macintosh - oh wait, those absolutely sucked and should only be used as puréed baby food for some innocent one who doesn't know any different... are those Granny Smiths going to be overly tart? And Why are the Honeycrisp apples so expensive? Should I get organic, or will my kids survive eating the regular kind?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".SFUIText"; font-size: 17pt;">Of course my kids are asking why they can't have mangos and pineapples as part of school lunch instead. Ugh, do I have to go into explaining the carbon footprint those delightful fruits bring with them at the crack of 7:00 am in the morning...? Also, is my name Martha Stewart? Please don't even....</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".SFUIText"; font-size: 17pt;">Here's the thing: my bathing suit has barely dried from summer and I'm just nowhere ready for fall. I will complain and deny the fondness New Englanders have for autumn viewing and apple picking until some kind New Englander out there takes mercy on me and points me to a delightful New England bounty I have been missing (roasted carrots and turnips don't count). Please tell me and help put an end to my autumnal complain fest as the leaves turn color (which means my husband will want to go rake, wasting many a precious weekend time better spent doing other things); and as shopkeepers are wringing their hands with the anticipation of the snowy-star-lit-street holiday season. (Halloween is so last July, puhlease). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: ".SFUIText"; font-size: 17pt;">Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to fill a couple of lunch boxes with a child and mom accepted fruit or vegetable that does not come from tropical places, but is also not in the apple or root vegetable family. </span></div>
charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-63932926461930199822016-12-21T07:29:00.000-08:002016-12-21T07:29:04.545-08:00Hold your sexist tongueA local friend of mine with whom I share several personal and professional interests, Inci Kaya, and I recently discussed my blog. She mentioned that she'd like to try her hand at blogging. I am happy to introduce the first in a series of guest articles penned by Inci! Welcome to Inci, and without further ado:<br />
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<u>Hold Your Sexist Tongue</u></h2>
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by Inci Kaya</h2>
During a recent conference call with several colleagues regarding trends in the workplace that allow workers to work remotely, one of the highly knowledgeable, educated males on the call uttered that this technology "could be good for women who are at home with children”. I blinked for a moment with disbelief and surprise and jumped in "or for men...".<br />
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My reaction came partially from the fact that I live in a very progressive, almost utopic neighborhood where it is not uncommon to see men carrying babies in those wearable baby carriers; and those men do not feel emasculated. Oh, and partially because it’s 2016.<br />
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So, which neighborhood or decade was this guy from exactly?<br />
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This co-worker’s (let’s call him Mike) remarks, though inadvertent, were fifty plus years old, and did not belong in today’s workplace. Or did they? Was I just overreacting? I looked up the US Bureau of Labor Statistics site for statistics on women in the workplace; and found ample proof that I was not overreacting:<br />
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<ul>
<li>In 50% of households, both parents work outside the home </li>
<li>In 30% of households, women outearn their husbands </li>
<li>In 20% of households, only husbands are employed</li>
<li>In married households, %70 of women and 81% of men work (ages 25 to 54 years)</li>
</ul>
Not convinced? No problem. There’s more where that came from:<br />
87% of men who are married with children under 18 work but when men are separated or divorced or widowed that share drops to 73%.<br />
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While the reasons for the 14% gap are not listed in the statistics, as an analyst, and as somebody with common sense, I’d say that the presence of a woman remaining at home is what enables men to go to work.<br />
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Let’s stay on the topic of those women for a moment longer: Let’s try outsourcing the tasks that a woman typically does inside the home (for free) to third-party service providers. Between services like Task Rabbit, center-based daycare or a nanny, food delivery services, concierge, cleaning and driving services, the value of that woman doing all these errands would be around $150,000 or so a year (happy to give you the breakdown of that). What a deal men get! I want that deal too.<br />
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One more statistic, this time for the single men out there:<br />
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The percentage of single men that work full time is under 50%. So, dear men, if you want to improve your chances of full-time employment I suggest that you hold your sexist mouth shut for starters; you just might get lucky and find a woman who will agree to marry you and help boost your chances of full-time employment.<br />
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After my study, I realized three things:<br />
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<ol>
<li>I had enough ammunition to put Mike to shame for our next conference call.</li>
<li>I made sure that I wasn’t being an insane crazy bitch, and that I was using my rational mind to present irrefutable facts and a cool and calm manner.</li>
<li>I believed that aware Mike's words were completely unintentional; and that he didn't mean anything bad by it. His slip of the tongue was not uncommon to hear, even from women.</li>
</ol>
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For better or worse, I gradually climbed down off of my soapbox, and put my boxing gloves down. I decided that instead of shaming Mike over a phone line, that I should put the word out to a broader audience. Because I know there are so many well-intentioned Mikes out there, and they – we – all just need to remember to hold our sexist tongues sometimes.<br />
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<br />charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-44724620731485175322016-12-12T12:37:00.005-08:002016-12-12T12:39:59.152-08:00The Hour of Code 2016This week, I had the pleasure of spending 2 days at my daughter's Boston public school, the Philbrick Elementary School. I was helping the school's fantastic science teacher Erin Flynn to teach the <a href="http://code.org/" target="_blank">Hour of Code</a> for <a href="https://csedweek.org/" target="_blank">Computer Science Education Week</a>, celebrated on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Hopper" target="_blank">Grace Hopper</a>'s birthday.<br />
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<i>Erin and Charis</i></div>
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This was my fourth year teaching the Hour of Code, which coincides with the program's existence. Here are my <a href="http://charismama.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-hour-of-code.html" target="_blank">2014</a> and <a href="http://charismama.blogspot.com/2015/12/hour-of-code-2015.html" target="_blank">2015</a> recaps, which detail the drag-and-drop program Skitch. You can view all of the code-based games on the <a href="http://code.org/learn" target="_blank">Hour of Code's website</a>. Thanks to my employer <a href="http://www.ruelala.com/" target="_blank">RueLaLa</a> for making this opportunity happen with their volunteer days program!<br />
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Every year, I am astounded by the students' boundless energy and impressed by the teaching staff who keeps them engaged on a daily basis. This year, we worked on the students' ability to solve difficult problems, and talked about the determination and perseverance required to end up at the correct solution.<br />
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Although it's exhausting to teach programming to 170 students in just 2 days, the <a href="http://code.org/" target="_blank">Hour of Code</a> is a rewarding experience every time and I am so grateful to be a part of it. This year was especially gratifying when my daughter came home after day 1 and we spent 2 hours coding on a Monster High platform from <a href="http://code.org/">code.org</a> before I finally convinced her it was bedtime. I am so proud of my little coder and all of the wonderful students at the Philbrick. It's really special to be able to have lunch and attend recess with my daughter two days in a row, and a great side benefit to this volunteer experience!<br />
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<br />charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-40623284075218294422016-09-21T19:22:00.002-07:002016-09-21T19:22:43.849-07:00Field Trip to the Boston Nature CenterLast week, I had the pleasure of taking Mr. Berg's 2nd grade Philbrick Elementary School class to the Boston Nature Center (BNC).<br />
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Ms. Maciunas and Ms. Brown assisted us on the walk over to the BNC, about a quarter mile from the school. The students did well maintaining a safe, straight line.<br />
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Once we arrived, Andrew and Chelsea from the BNC greeted us and went over the day's planned activities, including collecting bugs in the meadow and harvesting the community garden.</div>
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We broke into 2 groups and headed toward the garden. On the way, we spotted bees pollenating a flower and passed several beehives.</div>
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In the garden, Andrew showed the class how to harvest green zebra sausage tomatoes.<br />
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The tomatoes were delicious!</div>
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Next Andrew asked the class to identify the parts of the plant.</div>
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Then it was time to switch groups. Off to the meadow we went to sweep for insects!<br />
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Before long, it was lunchtime, a picnic enjoyed outdoors. Afterward, the children viewed the insects they'd gathered and illustrated and labeled a drawing and wrote about them.</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Finally, it was time to work together as a class to build a structure. Although the scene was a bit reminiscent of </span><i style="text-align: left;">Lord of the Flies</i><span style="text-align: left;">, everyone successfully collaborated to build a huge fort.</span></div>
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<br />charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-21472271959062587772016-07-20T10:30:00.000-07:002018-09-25T06:12:17.114-07:00Girls Who Code Visit Microsoft NERD Center for Mentoring Event<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>Author's note: This blog originally appeared in, and was written for, <a href="http://www.microsoftnewengland.com/" target="_blank">the Microsoft New England blog</a>.</i></div>
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For the second year in a row, Microsoft hosted 20 girls this summer at the Microsoft Cambridge campus to teach coding in partnership with the <a href="http://girlswhocode.com/programs/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Girls Who Code</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Summer Immersion Program. The girls apply for this competitive program and spend 7 weeks learning Python and other programming languages, as well as building their business and networking skills. When I participated in a speed mentoring session at the NERD office on July 11</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">th</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, I had the chance to speak these 20 remarkable young women. They mostly live in Massachusetts, but some attend Girls Who Code from as far away as Virginia. Over 25 women Microsoft employees participated from both sales, marketing, R&D, data science and machine learning, as well as from our intern program.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;"> We started the event with lunch and informal mingling.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjItSx_9NIpbTrEwaVMRkMDNrpQgoc7TtYxa2TCLlDQVG0ylfurpKsfvXkQsnpeuJpoIVAj7Ypp6I4Kvk-WKS1HC3J-uTFtkI_VwfuCym4bbR9uck_pxVTzHEtSNK2xjly9tQ5pgp5JqcA/s1600/IMG_5631.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjItSx_9NIpbTrEwaVMRkMDNrpQgoc7TtYxa2TCLlDQVG0ylfurpKsfvXkQsnpeuJpoIVAj7Ypp6I4Kvk-WKS1HC3J-uTFtkI_VwfuCym4bbR9uck_pxVTzHEtSNK2xjly9tQ5pgp5JqcA/s320/IMG_5631.JPG" width="320" /></a></span>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">The Microsoft mentors and students shared stories about</span> how their interest in technology developed, from whom they drew their inspiration, and what type of projects they were working on.<br />
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Through the mentoring program, Girls Who Code aims to provide girls with the invaluable opportunity to interact with strong, powerful, and exemplary female role models. Through mentoring relationships, students gain deeper exposure into the professional world and career opportunities once deemed impossible or unattainable. Mentoring sessions provide a safe and encouraging space for girls to ask questions and get both academic and career advice. Mentors had the opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of ambitious and talented girls interested in technology.<br />
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I very much enjoyed being able to spend 10-15 minutes individually with nearly a dozen girls. I told them what I liked best about my job, which is that I use technology to make a global impact to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160824102121/https://microsoft-my.sharepoint.com/personal/chlovel_microsoft_com/Documents/aka.ms/decodesignals" target="_blank">improve communication outcomes for neurological patients</a> and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160824102121/https://microsoft-my.sharepoint.com/personal/chlovel_microsoft_com/Documents/aka.ms/womenshealth" target="_blank">improve health screening for women in developing nations</a>. I honestly addressed questions about maintaining work-life balance and coping in a male-dominated environment. Most of my advice revolved around confidence. I explained <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160824102121/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome" target="_blank">imposter syndrome</a> and suggested that they read <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160824102121/http://leanin.org/book/" target="_blank">Sheryl Sandberg’s book <i>Lean In</i></a> and watch <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160824102121/http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are" target="_blank">Amy Cuddy’s TED talk on body language</a>.charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-59461686225669081622016-07-15T10:51:00.000-07:002016-07-15T10:51:01.668-07:00Contribute to Women’s Health Outcomes Via New Data Science CompetitionCheck out the latest competition I just launched at work!<br />
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According to a <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs334/en/" target="_blank">World Health Organization (WHO) report released in 2011</a>, about 820,000 women and men aged 15-24 were newly infected with HIV in developing countries. Over 60% of these were women. Among so many other challenges, developing countries are plagued with serious reproductive health illnesses such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), unintended pregnancies, and complications from childbirth. A key priority for policymakers, researchers, and health care providers working in developing nations is to emphasize prevention and distribution of information about STIs and other reproductive tract infections (RTIs). This report on <a href="http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pnacr613.pdf" target="_blank">Improving Reproductive Health in Developing Countries from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences</a> contains additional information on the topic. <br />
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To achieve the goal of improving women’s reproductive health outcomes in underdeveloped regions, Microsoft has <a href="http://aka.ms/womenshealth" target="_blank">created a competition</a> calling for optimized machine learning solutions to allow a patient to be accurately categorized into different health risk segments and subgroups. Based on the categories that a patient falls in, healthcare providers can offer an appropriate education and training program to patients. Such customized programs have a better chance to help reduce the reproductive health risk of patients. <br />
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<a href="https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/machinelearning/2016/07/13/womenshealthdatasciencecompetition/" target="_blank">Read more ...</a>
charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-47517670174237641512016-07-14T10:49:00.003-07:002016-07-14T10:49:54.428-07:00Game On! Introducing Cortana Intelligence CompetitionsCross-posting an interesting project I spent this winter and spring working on.<br />
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Machine Learning algorithms powered by intelligent applications serve useful functions in our daily lives in ways we may not even be aware of. For instance, predictive analytics allow businesses to retain key customers, help assembly lines and buildings to run more efficiently, and help us find movies that we are likely to find intriguing. The ML field has gained tremendous traction and respect over the last decade, prompting Harvard Business Review to name the Data Scientist <a href="https://hbr.org/2012/10/data-scientist-the-sexiest-job-of-the-21st-century" target="_blank">the sexiest job of the 21st century</a>.
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To encourage new ML applications and foster a vibrant online community, we are thrilled to launch Cortana Intelligence Competitions, a gamification feature of Cortana Intelligence Suite, as well as our first competition <a href="https://aka.ms/decodesignals" target="_blank">Decoding Brain Signals</a>. This platform provides an intuitive and fun environment to hone users’ data science and analytics expertise, and our first competition will allow you to have the chance to contribute to the important field of neuroscience to win prizes and recognition.
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<a href="https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/machinelearning/2016/03/30/game-on-introducing-cortana-intelligence-competitions/" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<a href="https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/machinelearning/2016/03/30/game-on-introducing-cortana-intelligence-competitions/" target="_blank">Read more ...</a>charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-86614142115954354052016-05-05T18:25:00.001-07:002016-05-05T18:25:08.281-07:00Resume tips and tricksAs a former editor, I'm often asked to give feedback to friends and colleagues on their resumes.<br />
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<i>Photo credit <a href="http://www.flazingo.com/">www.flazingo.com</a></i></div>
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Here are the guidelines that I follow:<br />
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<ul>
<li>One page is no longer the norm, especially for a professional in their 30s or 40s.</li>
<li>Omit "references available upon request." Duh.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/charisloveland" target="_blank">Update your LinkedIn profile</a> at the same time.</li>
<li>Include a description of your company's mission and revenue at the top.</li>
<li>Add an objective statement.</li>
<li>Add some bullet points to the top that describe your professional persona. Are you driven? Passionate about sales? Personalize this section with adjectives that colleagues would use to describe you.</li>
<li>Ensure that your resume doesn't read like a job description. How did you add value to your job above and beyond your job responsibilities?</li>
<li>Proofread for typos early and often, and have other folks review it. Only use 1 space between sentences.</li>
<li>Make it a habit. I update my resume at least twice a year, and preferably after each quarter. It allows me to keep my accomplishments fresh in my mind and always have the latest copy available as an example. This also helps at performance review time.</li>
<li>Consider a professional. I used <a href="https://www.jcresumes.com/" target="_blank">JC resumes</a> for my resume a few years ago, and I could not be happier with the result. This is not an affiliate post, they paid me nothing for this testimonial. They really did a fantastic job.</li>
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Best of luck with your resume updates!</div>
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charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-59691669040076286552016-04-08T13:29:00.000-07:002018-09-25T06:16:51.828-07:00Exploring STEM Careers at Boston Public Schools Job Shadow Day<i style="background-color: white; color: #282828; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; text-align: center;">Author's note: This blog originally appeared in, and was written for, <a href="http://www.microsoftnewengland.com/" style="color: #cb6464; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the Microsoft New England blog</a>.</i><br />
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Friday March 11, 2016 was job shadowing day at Microsoft for <a href="http://blog.microsoftnewengland.com/2016/03/23/exploring-stem-careers-at-boston-public-schools-job-shadow-day/" target="_blank">Boston Public School</a> students. I signed up to participate in the job shadow experience because I love to introduce students to my work in technology. I think STEM educational programs are critically important. Because my daughter is 6, I’ve focused on elementary school educational opportunities in STEM and hadn’t yet had the chance to work with older kids. I was matched up with James and Billy, two seniors from East Boston High.<br />
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<i>Charis, James, and Billy</i></div>
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We began with a group overview of the roles of the participating Microsoft employees, then paired off and began with individual meetings. I shared a short video of my project and explained how to set up a machine learning experiment.<br />
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I attended my team’s scrum meeting via Skype in my office, and the students got to hear the day’s progress, roadblocks, and next steps. Then we went directly to a meeting about our backup strategies and options. After the meeting ended, I was impressed with how much the students had picked up on during our meeting.<br />
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We ended the brief shadow with a group lunch. I’m looking forward to participating in the next event!<br />
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-38139866823897294962016-02-04T05:06:00.002-08:002016-02-04T05:06:49.135-08:00Takeaways from Managing Time Mindfully workshopI walked into <a href="http://www.pamelakristan.com/" target="_blank">Pam Kristan's</a> time management workshop in Jamaica Plain on January 30 feeling that I was already somewhat of an expert on time management. After all, I had successfully completed an MBA with honors while working full time while I had a two-year-old. I am somewhat of a time management aficionado, picking up tips from a wide variety of sources. So I was pleasantly surprised when I learned a huge amount from the two hours I spent at the workshop.<br />
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Pam's system revolves around the ABCs: attention, boundaries, and choices. She started off with a quick tip for us to deal with interruptions. She suggests that if someone interrupts you, pick a word so that you can return to that spot in your project, somewhat like a pause button.<br />
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As you might expect, she was very mindful with time, informing us how long she expected something to take, how long until a break, etc. this was useful for participants' planning purposes. I plan to apply this at home in the mornings with my daughter to better manage our morning time with a timer.<br />
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A highlight of the program for me was when Gabriel led the room in a guided meditation. I realized how much better I respond to a guided meditation than going it alone, so I found several good tracks by <a href="http://www.meditationoasis.com/" target="_blank">Meditation Oasis</a> that I've downloaded onto my phone to do each morning.<br />
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Pam left us with nuggets of wisdom around each of her ABCs. For example, when she discussed attention, she suggested a system of catch, distribute, and review. To put that in practice, when idea comes in, catch it by writing it down. Then, distribute it where you need it. Finally, in the review stage, assign this task to where it needs to go. You might add it to a calendar or a list, for instance.
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Another wise suggestion regarding attention is that we each control our own attention. Sometimes, a bit of empowerment can allow us to feel more comfortable with a never-ending to do list. As she reminded us, our to do list is impossible to finish and never ends. She encouraged audience participation and suggestions, so I chimed in with my favorite to-do list, <a href="http://peterbregman.com/new-site/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/6boxestodolist.pdf" target="_blank">Peter Bregman's six box to-do list</a>. Pam stressed that different systems will work for different people, so do what works for your specific circumstances.<br />
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One of the most useful takeaways for me was a technique that Pam outlined as satisfaction reflection. She pointed out that most people rush through their days focusing on what they haven't done yet. Instead, she urged us to focus on what we <i>have</i> accomplished rather than dwelling on what we have not. This is essentially optimism for time management, and as an eternal optimist, I'm drawn to the idea.<br />
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Pam suggested a timing your work using a block of 20 minutes, and 17 minutes in, closing the segment down. She suggested to first reflect on the past via a satisfaction practice and note down what was effective. Then, looking forward, identify your next steps. Finally, remain in the present. This reminded me of a working technique that I really enjoy, the <a href="http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/" target="_blank">Pomodoro technique</a>. Combined with the three-minute closing, I think it will be very effective in managing my competing priorities.<br />
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When establishing boundaries, Pam suggested that we consider a cell membrane and its semi-permeable nature. She suggested that rather than being completely rigid, that we allow for flexibility in terms of our schedule. This tip is especially good for the chronically late. Pam suggested thinking of both/and rather than either/or and finding creative solutions to accomplish more.
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Pam led an interesting heartbeat tracking activity that drilled into attendees that it is very difficult to be in touch with your own agenda while paying attention to that of others. As a people pleaser, this one hit home for me very intensely. As part of my satisfaction practice, I set an intention for myself to be very firm in ensuring that my activities align to my priorities.
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One of the last takeaways I jotted down before I had to leave at the lunch break was about perfection. Pam reminded us that perfection is the enemy of production, and 85% effort is a perfectly acceptable cruising altitude. Certainly, some tasks can be given less effort and attention, well some absolutely require more. But you can't give your 100% to everything all the time without burning out.
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I feel honored that Pam allowed me to be part of the promotion and marketing of her very successful event. I strongly encourage you to check out <a href="http://www.pamelakristan.com/" target="_blank">Pam's website</a> and her <a href="http://www.pamelakristan.com/books.html" target="_blank">books</a>.<br />
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charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-66460441376622693002016-01-10T16:09:00.000-08:002016-01-10T16:09:03.362-08:00Managing time mindfullyI strongly advocate for time management awareness and best practices because I've seen the positive impact that good time management has had on my life, especially in terms of achieving my goals. I've been at my most successful, both personally and professionally, when my work and personal life are in balance. Through my awareness practices such as meditation and organization, I can avoid and minimize feelings of chaos and overwhelm and achieve an optimal flow and rhythm to my days.<br />
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I want to share this awesome new time management resource with my blog readers. For those local to Boston, Pam Kristan is hosting a workshop entitled <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/419930358201531/" target="_blank">Managing time mindfully</a> on January 30th. I recently met <a href="http://www.pamelakristan.com/" target="_blank">Pam Kristan</a> through the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jptimeexchange/" target="_blank">JP Time Exchange</a>, an interesting time and skill sharing site that I joined about a year ago. Both the Time Exchange and Pam's workshop operate under the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_economy" target="_blank">gift economy</a>. The folks who meet and collaborate on these type of projects enjoy giving back and learning new skills.<br />
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Here's a sneak peek at <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">some brainstorm sessions Pam used to create the event.</span><br />
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I'll be at Pam's workshop on the 30th where I plan to acquire new skills and techniques for managing stress and organizing my life. I'll also bring with me some of my favorite resources, like the <a href="http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/" target="_blank">Pomodoro technique</a> and <a href="http://peterbregman.com/18minutes/6-boxes/" target="_blank">6 box to-do list</a>. I hope to see you there!<br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s6">Here are some additional details about the event:</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s6">W</span></span><span class="s6">orkshop e</span><span class="s6">xercises </span><span class="s6">dissolve individual</span><span class="s6">/</span><span class="s6">cultural</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2808546653951084662" name="_GoBack"></a><span class="s6"> patterns that no longer serve</span><span class="s6"> and </span><span class="s6">let attendees try out</span><span class="s6"> new ways of being, thinking, and feeling</span><span class="s6">. Pam says, "</span><span class="s6">the</span><span class="s6"> practice cycles between Awareness and Action -- each informing and generating the other." </span><span class="s6">A</span><span class="s6"> mix of hard skills and reflective</span><span class="s6">exercises reinforces the </span><span class="s6">new </span><span class="s6">cycle.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s6">Time </span><span class="s6">management loosens the hold of distressing feelings such as</span><span class="s6"> being overwhelmed</span><span class="s6">, </span><span class="s6">anxiety</span><span class="s6">/</span><span class="s6">guilt from not doing enough</span><span class="s6">, and </span><span class="s6">despair from feeling powerless to change</span><span class="s6">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s6">Attendees can expect to reframe how they think of time management, get hands-on techniques to live more powerfully, </span><span class="s6">give substance to </span><span class="s6">their personal </span><span class="s6">visions</span><span class="s6">, and</span><span class="s6">lay groundwork for continuing</span><span class="s6"> after</span><span class="s6"> the work</span><span class="s6">shop.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s6" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Parish Hall will be set up with a gallery of powerful images and signs, music/video stations, and areas dedicated to specific topics so participants can explore time management through several modalities.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s6">The session is offered by f</span><span class="s6">ree will donation</span><span class="s6"> in the spirit of the gift economy. Bring your own lunch or patronize </span><span class="s6">JP's</span><span class="s6">local lunch places.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s6">P</span><span class="s6">am is </span><span class="s6">author of </span><span class="s5" style="font-style: italic;">Awakening </span><span class="s5" style="font-style: italic;">In</span><span class="s5" style="font-style: italic;"> Time: Practical Time Management For Those On a Spiritual Path</span><span class="s6">. She</span><span class="s6"> has been giving consultations and workshops</span><span class="s6"> in spiritually</span><span class="s6">oriented time management for 30 years. She moderated speak-outs for National Take Back Your Time Day. </span><span class="s6">More at </span><span class="s9"><a href="http://www.pamelakristan.com/">www.pamelakristan.com</a></span><span class="s6"> and </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/419930358201531/"><span class="s9">Facebook page</span></a><span class="s6">.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s5" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: italic;">"There is so little time, we must go slowly" (traditional Taoist saying)</span></div>
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If you're not from Boston, you can <a href="http://www.pamelakristan.com/books.html" target="_blank">check out Pam's books here</a>.charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-47109146527711860192016-01-09T07:57:00.003-08:002016-01-09T08:02:41.141-08:00Violet Loveland's extraordinary rescueSince our cat Violet went missing on Monday, I've been patrolling my neighborhood, a complex of townhouses, calling her name and shaking toys and treats, hoping to entice her to come out. We publicized our search on Tuesday, and received lots of good wishes, thoughts, and tips. We put up posters, set an alert with <a href="https://www.homeagain.com/" target="_blank">Home Again</a>, and shared on Facebook and local news sites like <a href="http://nextdoor.com/">nextdoor.com</a>.<br />
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<i>Violet and Isabella in calmer times</i></div>
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One neighbor suggested looking at construction sites, as their family pet was found at one after a 17-day search. Others suggested setting a humane trap outside along with her litter box. All of the buildings look the same, so we figured it was quite likely she was lost very close by, and scared.<br />
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My family was growing more distraught and hopeless as the week progressed. On Friday afternoon, I went for a walk with a friend and brought my flashlight and a cat toy. We were talking and calling for Violet when after about three minutes, we heard a frantic meowing. The next door neighbor came out from her back porch and we asked if a cat lived there. She said that she'd called the neighbor that morning around 10 am to make sure the cat was OK because the meowing was louder than normal, and that the neighbor had just told the cat to be quiet and moved on with her day. But the next door neighbor agreed that the meowing sounded frantic, so she called the other neighbor a second time, around 4 pm. We waited for a couple of minutes in this neighbor's house, and she got a call from the adjacent apartment that the meowing was coming from the wall and that it was not her cat!<br />
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I called to Violet from the vent opening in the second floor and heard her and her bell jingle very clearly. I was so, so relieved to have located her! I was crying and hugging my friend and neighbors. Little did we know, our rescue effort would take us until the next day.<br />
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I sat in my neighbor's bedroom calling Violet for about 5 hours. I phoned everyone I could think of: Boston Fire Department, Animal Control, Angell MSPCA, the building management company, HVAC specialists. The Boston Fire Department and Animal Control tried for hours to get her out, with no luck.<br />
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It seemed Violet was trapped next to, not in, this duct in the wall.<br />
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Finally, a contractor from our town came to our rescue. Greg, an employee at Step by Step Construction, owned by Todd Vaughan, came out and spent 3 hours trying to get her out. By 10 pm, we had a few holes in the first-floor ceiling but no Violet. We decided to regroup in the morning.<br />
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After a night of little sleep, Greg returned with Todd. They cut open the duct work in the second floor and had her out within 45 minutes!<br />
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This little cat caused quite a disturbance and a lot of repairs! We suspect that she somehow fell through a small hole in my townhouse in the attic and crawled across to the neighbor 3 doors down. We have sealed off the attic and Violet is readjusting nicely to her surroundings, albeit with a lot fewer than her original 9 lives! We are so, so happy to have her home, and so grateful for everyone's searching, thoughts, tips, and good wishes. And if you need a reliable, honest contractor, please call Todd Vaughan, 617-504-0914 or stepbystepconst@aol.com.<br />
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<br />charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-23366388992958579792016-01-05T11:37:00.003-08:002016-01-07T13:57:14.920-08:00My cat Violet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Our black tuxedo cat Violet is missing! Please keep your eye out if you live in Boston. She's 10 months old and was wearing a purple collar with a yellow tag. Please call 1-888-466-3242 with any information. Her microchip number is 985-112-005-396-256. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Her sister Isabella (right) and her people family miss her so much.</span></div>
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<br />charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-90961755505871321902015-12-17T19:32:00.000-08:002015-12-17T19:34:39.179-08:00Hour of Code 2015Today and yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending my day at Lu's awesome Boston Public School, the Philbrick, teaching the Hour of Code. Thanks to my employer EMC for making this opportunity happen with volunteer days and for their <a href="http://charismama.blogspot.com/2015/12/stem-education-ftw.html" target="_blank">generous grant of $5,000 for technology to support learning at the school</a>. I also want to thank our amazing science teacher Erin Flynn for allowing me to spend time in her classroom.<br />
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Kids as young as age 3 up through 5th grade enjoyed the challenge at their own ability level. This year, the kids had the choice to code using Star Wars, Minecraft, or Frozen. See <a href="http://charismama.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-hour-of-code.html" target="_blank">last year's writeup for details about Blockly</a>, the graphical language the kids learned to code in.<br />
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With the new movie coming out, the Star Wars game was a big hit.<br />
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Minecraft was very popular with all of the classes.</div>
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Last year's favorite, Frozen, made a special guest appearance in science class.<br />
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The games really were fun and neat. But the kids' concentration and focus, especially in the lower grades, astounded me!</div>
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The hour of code has quickly become my favorite STEM outreach activity. Technology is so fundamental to our, and especially our children's lives, that being exposed to it at a young age is crucial. I urge you to give it a try in your local school or community. It's quick, easy, fun, and so rewarding! Please check out the <a href="https://code.org/" target="_blank">hour of code's website to get started</a>.</div>
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charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-40691046301689818682015-12-10T15:21:00.001-08:002015-12-14T12:54:07.199-08:0011th Annual MA Conference for WomenThis was my second trip to the <a href="https://www.maconferenceforwomen.org/" target="_blank">MA Conference for Women</a>, the largest Massachusetts-based women's conference. It was a misty, grey day but the weather did not dampen the enthusiasm within the convention center.<br />
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First up were morning keynotes. EMC's Erin McSweeny, EVP of HR, helped kick off the day. We started with an entertaining panel of <a href="https://www.maconferenceforwomen.org/speakers/tim-gunn/" target="_blank">Tim Gunn</a> of Project Runway and <a href="https://www.maconferenceforwomen.org/speakers/sophia-amoruso/" target="_blank">Sophia Amoruse</a> (who was refreshingly authentic and unscripted). I really enjoyed hearing <a href="https://www.maconferenceforwomen.org/speakers/adam-grant/" target="_blank">Adam Grant</a>'s take on givers and takers, including specific tips on how givers can get ahead. Specifically I appreciated hearing his idea that you should block your giving time in your calendar so it does not overtake the rest of your schedule. He emphasized the importance of givers taking care of themselves too.</div>
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Mayor Marty Walsh spoke about his commitment to compensation equity.<br />
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Next were the breakout sessions. Panelists Jody Adams, Melody Lee, Anita Santos, and Kathryn Schoenborn-Sobolewski spoke about courage and innovation. They gave examples of when they stood up for themselves in their careers despite obstacles.</div>
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Next I attended a session that included EMC's ML Krakauer, EVP of business development. I've benefited greatly from ML's leadership at EMC, and was very interested in hearing about lessons she learned early in her career. She related an inspiring story when she taught several assembly line workers to read and add to enable them to adopt a program she wrote. What an excellent lesson that she took the extra time to investigate why her program was not having the desired effect, and then enabled her team to be successful.</div>
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Next was a lunch<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> with 10,000 of my closest friends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">During lunch I had the opportunity to hear from Shonda Rhimes. As a Grey's Anatomy fan, this was definitely a highlight. I was surprised to hear her advice to turn your phone off between 7 pm and 7 am. If Shonda can do it, so can I!</span></div>
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I was excited to see in the program that a local mom blogger I know, <a href="http://www.lifewithroozle.com/" target="_blank">Casey Carey-Brown</a>, was going to be speaking. I attended her session and picked up some expert Instagramming tips. Instragram is just for photos, folks: keep the contests on Facebook! And also don't insta-share, go in and re-share your photos manually to Twitter and Facebook to increase their visibility. Casey also recommends not using a scheduler and just live posting your photos. But not 10 or more at once, spread them out.</div>
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I ended the day with an excellent, and did I mention free, coaching session that confirmed that my life's is heading in the direction I want it to go in for 2016! Here's to new adventures.</div>
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<br />charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-68538300200193580302015-12-09T10:55:00.000-08:002015-12-09T11:02:39.284-08:00STEM education for the win!I just received some very exciting news! My employer <a href="http://www.emc.com/" target="_blank">EMC</a> recently awarded several community service awards. I applied for one for my daughter's school, <a href="http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/Page/1182" target="_blank">Philbrick Elementary in Roslindale</a>, a neighborhood of Boston. They routinely face budget cuts and do not have a technology budget. So I was thrilled to hear that EMC has made a generous grant of $5,000 to support technology at the school! This will enable technical support for the teachers and staff, enabling the teachers to focus on learning rather than troubleshooting technology problems.<br />
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In addition, this grant will allow the Philbrick to purchase additional hardware to support parallel instruction in technology. Currently, the teachers do not have access to equipment if the laptops and iPads are being used in another classroom.<br />
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This grant will greatly enhance technical learning at the Philbrick. The staff, students, and parents at the Philbrick would like to thank EMC for this generous gift that will have a lasting impact for our students.<br />
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<i>Facilitating the hour of code at the Philbrick last year</i></div>
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I'll be donating 2 volunteer days next week to teach the Hour of Code to the entire school. Come back on the 18th for a new blog post on that topic!charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-66965471382097655872015-11-24T07:29:00.000-08:002015-11-24T07:29:17.637-08:00Little Ms. Crate: gift idea for kidsIf you read my blog, you know I'm an active supporter of STEM education, especially when it comes to girls. As a girl, it never occurred to me that working in technology was an option for me because I did not see any women role models. I fell into this field that I love in my mid-20s, but I wish I'd found it sooner. So one of my biggest volunteer missions is to be an active volunteer in my community so girls see that they, too could have a career in tech if they so choose.<br />
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Today, I want to share a new crate subscription that was launched recently on Kickstarter.<br />
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The service, Little Ms. Crate, introduces young girls to a new career in STEM or leadership each month, and spotlights female role models in the featured field. Crates samples are Little Ms. CEO, Little Ms. Digital Animator, Little Ms. Scientist, etc.<br />
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I think it's a great idea and I have supported it. If the venture is funded, then Lu will get a Little Miss CEO kit for Christmas. If you'd like to support the venture, <a href="http://kck.st/1NHjPSu" target="_blank">here's a link to the Kickstarter page</a>.charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-19215985543612019872015-11-11T17:48:00.001-08:002015-11-11T17:52:02.943-08:00Moms as Mentors Building Bridges workshopIt's been a hectic few weeks at work trying to launch 2 marketing websites, complete with new links and assets. But when I read on <a href="https://www.bigtent.com/groups/gardenmoms" target="_blank">my local moms' forum</a> that Moms as Mentors was hosting a <a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/e/build-bridges-mini-workshop-on-november-11-tickets-19333711652" target="_blank">STEM mom/daughter bonding event</a>, I decided to take the day off and go with Lucinda. I'm so glad we went.<br />
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It was a dreary day as we trudged out to Uncle Chris's prized Saab wagon, a loaner while my reliable-but-worn 10 year-old Camry was in the shop, courtesy of Uncle Chris. After a struggle with locks and a fight with the umbrella (who lost), we were on our way to Dedham.<br />
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We were the first participants to arrive, and Lucy made me a lovely name tag.<br />
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We visited the amazing science room at the Dedham Country Day School and its classroom pets, turtles. We ran into another JPmom Hillary and her daughter, who brought a friend.<br />
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We started the session with a big circle. The organizer kicked off the event with a fun activity where she asked questions such as "who has a purple toothbrush?" and if you fit the description, you ran into the middle of the circle. Then the daughters introduced their moms to everyone in the room.<br />
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Our main activity was pairing off with our daughter to build roller coasters for marbles using foam tubing, cardboard, masking tape, and some cardboard. The activity progressed in difficulty. The first challenge was to build a roller coaster that included a hill. Then we were to add a loop. Finally, we tried to incorporate both a hill and a loop.<br />
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We got right to work and Lucy started brainstorming. She surprised me with how many creative ideas she offered, and how easy it was to work together on this project. I noticed no resistance, only enthusiasm, as we worked through the various obstacles of the activity.<br />
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We finished the hill challenge quickly and set about the loop. We had a few failed attempts, wherein I held the tubing and Lucy let the marble go and she would retrieve it from across the room. I think I impressed her by introducing new vocabulary such as minimum viable product, beta, and testing phase.<br />
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On about the 5th or 6th run, we got the loop working. We spent the remainder of our time securing the loop with tape, cardboard, and trying to repeat our early success. Lucy was overjoyed when she got the whole thing working!<br />
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I was struck by how fun loving yet determined Lucy was throughout the morning. It struck me, as a scholar of <a href="http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=491042" target="_blank">Amy Cuddy and her research on power poses</a>, how after each success, Lucy automatically threw her hands over her head, beaming and exclaiming. I use the <a href="http://charismama.blogspot.com/2014/10/8-tips-to-feel-confident-articulate-and.html" target="_blank">power pose and a pep talk as part of my interview preparation</a>, and it is very effective.<br />
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We had the chance to recreate the victory pose after we finished our third challenge.<br />
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Then we had a few minutes to walk around and admire the other teams' work.<br />
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For our final, much shorter, activity, we made bracelets for each other. Each bead was intended to signify something we appreciated in our relative.<br />
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At the end of the activity, we filled out surveys and a few participants offered observations. I shared that I was impressed by Lucy's patience. She told the group that she thought I was good at angles. and engineering.<br />
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We went to lunch afterward and shared the meanings behind the bracelets we'd made for each other. I told her that hers meant she was a true friend, excellent leader, loved the water, was a princess, had true love and kindness in her heart, and was a hard worker. Her bracelet for me had all sorts of holiday symbolism, and told me I was beautiful, kind, and loving, and a leader.<br />
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Don't worry if you missed this event! There's another one right around the corner this <a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/e/build-bridges-mini-workshop-on-november-11-tickets-19333711652?utm_campaign=event_reminder&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eb_email&utm_term=eventname" target="_blank">Saturday 11/14 in Boston</a>.<br />
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<br />charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-83569243727505443372015-10-21T14:55:00.000-07:002015-11-04T11:20:37.269-08:00Grace Hopper conference reflections <div style="color: #575757; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;">
Last week, I had the amazing opportunity to attend the <a data-mce-href="http://www.gracehopper.org/" href="http://www.gracehopper.org/" style="color: #2989c5; text-decoration: none;">Grace Hopper conference</a> in Houston, Texas. I first attended this energizing, motivating event in 2010. I spent that week in Atlanta, Georgia with 3,000 technical women, and meeting so many outstanding female colleagues inspired me to further my education. Three years later, I earned my <a data-mce-href="http://www.damore-mckim.northeastern.edu/academic-programs/graduate-programs/mba/high-tech/" href="http://www.damore-mckim.northeastern.edu/academic-programs/graduate-programs/mba/high-tech/" style="color: #2989c5; text-decoration: none;">high tech MBA</a> with high honors from the <a data-mce-href="http://www.damore-mckim.northeastern.edu/academic-programs/graduate-programs/mba/" href="http://www.damore-mckim.northeastern.edu/academic-programs/graduate-programs/mba/" style="color: #2989c5; text-decoration: none;">D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University</a>.</div>
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2015's Grace Hopper event quadrupled in size to 12,000. It was a fast-paced event with many wonderful sessions and keynotes.</div>
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Leaving Boston, I smiled to see my neighborhood represented in this poster at <span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">Logan </span>airport.</div>
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<span style="color: #575757; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">After I arrived in Houston, I checked into my hotel and ensured that I was organized and ready to go. </span><span data-mce-style="font-size: 13.3333px;" style="color: #575757; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">The <a data-mce-href="http://www.houstonconventionctr.com/" href="http://www.houstonconventionctr.com/" style="color: #2989c5; text-decoration: none;">George Brown Convention Center</a> is a quarter-mile long from end to end, and I walked it several times daily.</span></div>
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<i style="color: #575757; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">I hope I packed enough shoes!</i></div>
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<i style="color: #575757; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">The view of downtown Houston from the elevator of the Hyatt </i><i style="color: #575757; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">Regency</i><i style="color: #575757; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">, where I had dinner with EMC Distinguished Engineer and friend Helen Raizen</i></div>
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<span style="color: #575757; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">On Wednesday afternoon, October 14, I watched Clara Shih, founder of Hearsay Social, deliver an opening keynote. I admired her tenacity and composure in the face of discrimination. Here's an article summarizing her </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/bizwomen/news/profiles-strategies/2015/10/what-the-founder-and-ceo-of-hearsay-social-learned.html?ana=twt" href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/bizwomen/news/profiles-strategies/2015/10/what-the-founder-and-ceo-of-hearsay-social-learned.html?ana=twt" style="color: #2989c5; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;">tech startup experiences</a><span style="color: #575757; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #575757; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;"><i>Clara Shih, founder of Hearsay Social</i></span></div>
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I attended 2 interactive workshops on Wednesday,<i> Showcase Your Work: How to Give Your First Lightning Talk </i>and <i>Build your brand as an emerging leader or technical expert</i>. These sessions offered a fantastic opportunity to get to know some women working in tech and share my experiences. I mentioned my favorite way of sharing my personal brand with the world, a <a data-mce-href="http://mashable.com/2011/12/14/twitter-resume/#u8CC_kJjP5q0" href="http://mashable.com/2011/12/14/twitter-resume/#u8CC_kJjP5q0" style="color: #2989c5; text-decoration: none;">twesume</a>: a 140-character version <span data-mce-style="font-size: 13.3333px;" style="font-size: 13.3333px;">of your resume that you can tweet. </span><br />
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I also had a chance to pop over to Helen Raizen's session. At an interactive student lab, she was sharing her 4 decades of experience in the tech industry to an eager crowd of students.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWffcbPg9miA87yEJhzhARzzVoPU2uUOjFY-xU2eqieSRy3DTCGTOLOl0ipiCRG_XlEjDuD-jmbjctisKHG4gwWMHyt2ayuh0cG8KRr4QhOH0Z9x-bK6QaUTty2Or3cE5VWGTg0xHj284/s1600/IMG_3631.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWffcbPg9miA87yEJhzhARzzVoPU2uUOjFY-xU2eqieSRy3DTCGTOLOl0ipiCRG_XlEjDuD-jmbjctisKHG4gwWMHyt2ayuh0cG8KRr4QhOH0Z9x-bK6QaUTty2Or3cE5VWGTg0xHj284/s320/IMG_3631.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #575757; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">On Thursday, Hadi Partovi, founder of the </span><a data-mce-href="https://code.org/" href="https://code.org/" style="color: #2989c5; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;">Hour of Code</a><span style="color: #575757; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">, spoke to the crowd and encouraged all of us to participate. I do as well; it's a really amazing volunteer opportunity! Please <a href="http://charismama.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-hour-of-code.html" target="_blank">read about my experiences here</a>.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzSdATgp1SWw1IAtzcOYFR-ZEk6ECviY0HfuQYtS6uCvFActWqqH1RBH1VjNzfjwCyW_4sv0INTNXCZbFcJ5cGkcMbktBv_bZNl_XTCXvDnnTJaSFmbkHW6ypt5rT-smAdr5DX68MQdM/s1600/IMG_3636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzSdATgp1SWw1IAtzcOYFR-ZEk6ECviY0HfuQYtS6uCvFActWqqH1RBH1VjNzfjwCyW_4sv0INTNXCZbFcJ5cGkcMbktBv_bZNl_XTCXvDnnTJaSFmbkHW6ypt5rT-smAdr5DX68MQdM/s320/IMG_3636.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #575757; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">I attended a cool session, </span><a data-mce-href="http://schedule.gracehopper.org/session/driving-success-through-innovation-change/" href="http://schedule.gracehopper.org/session/driving-success-through-innovation-change/" style="color: #2989c5; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;">Driving Success Through Innovation & Change</a><span style="color: #575757; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">, that got you out of your technical mindset and into a problem solving way of thinking. I went with a new friend Jenny I met in the coffee line. She's an entrepreneur from Dallas. We became fast friends and have been keeping in touch after the conference via text. I love how a chance meeting at an event like this can present you with professional contacts or personal friends, or both!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5hhWQU1dMLIgckZEGiFpR0bKsyg5C4UAYH5LR7sRmlOinFH337coNs8N42wXHt5FE6ql4XbG2BGfEcMwd3tsZJSQPg-sKjnDTpYCCbbSc2c6DyK0dim3M68Xiw4Yc0qQPZzYy1oO5ybg/s1600/IMG_3637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5hhWQU1dMLIgckZEGiFpR0bKsyg5C4UAYH5LR7sRmlOinFH337coNs8N42wXHt5FE6ql4XbG2BGfEcMwd3tsZJSQPg-sKjnDTpYCCbbSc2c6DyK0dim3M68Xiw4Yc0qQPZzYy1oO5ybg/s320/IMG_3637.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg_N3LY4xOQDiyNaer3wnIF6ofAp0VOhDUhvvV8SYflNBwmExVyVVeMLlOfTNoCl9GyEj0dFR-ZaNtPE796tiWxIeLLhjo4C3g5vC1B9fRbLwLTJc3ib61IXhVwDHDoZHzx7bOFlqLq10/s1600/IMG_3638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg_N3LY4xOQDiyNaer3wnIF6ofAp0VOhDUhvvV8SYflNBwmExVyVVeMLlOfTNoCl9GyEj0dFR-ZaNtPE796tiWxIeLLhjo4C3g5vC1B9fRbLwLTJc3ib61IXhVwDHDoZHzx7bOFlqLq10/s320/IMG_3638.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i style="color: #575757; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">Learning strategies for adapting to quickly changing circumstances</i><br />
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Not surprisingly, this tech conference came with an app. It integrated with Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and allowed you to post status updates. I really enjoyed using it, and was able to connect to lots of attendees in this way.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_jCRq6_Ww6IyUIFIyy4E4tFkLxBiJNbYWBl6_gl4n9e5tc7kztlWkif4qbMtOoXUUZ8iLf32vMpn6W_wpXxxUKlm_iyKO09d2qNMoNTL1hTdp4CMXQyOC0QwGtiXirFDwb_2cYznDio/s1600/Ashley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_jCRq6_Ww6IyUIFIyy4E4tFkLxBiJNbYWBl6_gl4n9e5tc7kztlWkif4qbMtOoXUUZ8iLf32vMpn6W_wpXxxUKlm_iyKO09d2qNMoNTL1hTdp4CMXQyOC0QwGtiXirFDwb_2cYznDio/s320/Ashley.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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<i>A post with Ashley Trotman, also from Boston</i></div>
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<span style="color: #575757; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">Finally, what would Grace Hopper be without the parties?! I attended a reception Cisco hosted and landed the coolest swag, an LED fiber optic barrette that my 6 year-old daughter quickly absconded with.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnpKjoyrUrB2-xalwh4_Ut8Wu7v2x9XN_cJkT5gW_-MzecsMVeGuCXDEuXDxgNO-sQJpZCckrUW2AB3aA_5Zp1JeFgIN8ETnRZsTRzW5p5pkuTEmzrGhzAKu8FOaFr7y6tqGlcCOMgvk/s1600/Laura+Tenney+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnpKjoyrUrB2-xalwh4_Ut8Wu7v2x9XN_cJkT5gW_-MzecsMVeGuCXDEuXDxgNO-sQJpZCckrUW2AB3aA_5Zp1JeFgIN8ETnRZsTRzW5p5pkuTEmzrGhzAKu8FOaFr7y6tqGlcCOMgvk/s320/Laura+Tenney+8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span data-mce-style="font-size: 13.3333px;" style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><i>At the EMC reception (photo credit </i></span><i>Laura Tenney</i><span data-mce-style="font-size: 13.3333px;" style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><i>)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiwKL9RLvKLrppjJSF71HW3ZG8AR0IFEPEDC9nmyPSqhiQmayT5JfK5cBaIQd2URYyDEgvOQuhZUHtg1Qlv_v_30BlPHdfqEtqoQKmgUH8jnQ8iFMlwIt1_tuoG7QMV2g51H01JIcWJUo/s1600/IMG_3647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUfeTu7_qYPAOEf1pKqiUa9a_AF_8yhw9DqrVKxCRlmVmBCTMdVTIA409B9ltLGTsuFvJbIf4QxV2y71eRuekAaNwaC3m8azd6Ppe3bjmAP9U2iwd6VRE1xQBBNQvIRMX0QR-yqKM9Cs/s1600/IMG_3651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUfeTu7_qYPAOEf1pKqiUa9a_AF_8yhw9DqrVKxCRlmVmBCTMdVTIA409B9ltLGTsuFvJbIf4QxV2y71eRuekAaNwaC3m8azd6Ppe3bjmAP9U2iwd6VRE1xQBBNQvIRMX0QR-yqKM9Cs/s320/IMG_3651.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
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<i style="color: #575757; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">Google's TechMakers event had these cool, frequently changing lights they called sugarcubes</i></div>
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<i style="color: #575757; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiwKL9RLvKLrppjJSF71HW3ZG8AR0IFEPEDC9nmyPSqhiQmayT5JfK5cBaIQd2URYyDEgvOQuhZUHtg1Qlv_v_30BlPHdfqEtqoQKmgUH8jnQ8iFMlwIt1_tuoG7QMV2g51H01JIcWJUo/s1600/IMG_3647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiwKL9RLvKLrppjJSF71HW3ZG8AR0IFEPEDC9nmyPSqhiQmayT5JfK5cBaIQd2URYyDEgvOQuhZUHtg1Qlv_v_30BlPHdfqEtqoQKmgUH8jnQ8iFMlwIt1_tuoG7QMV2g51H01JIcWJUo/s320/IMG_3647.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i style="color: #575757; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">Sucarcubes from further away</i></div>
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<span style="color: #575757; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">Here are some photos from the ending reception held at Minute Maid Park.</span></div>
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<img alt="IMG_3681.JPG" class="image-15 jive-image" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtQ9ZQy0qpITG2fHJkST4fpbYOj257DdU_a-DjPSdL1ES2MxNbDrcYMoLQa0UOR0fIU7y6JQUD73rHAy_qdHck4kjgGQG5jcLammlyjmlEMqfwdFqDxQIbmhQ9PHCJvEKOpFdo55Gq8A/s320/IMG_3681.JPG" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin: 12px auto;" /><i style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;"></i><br />
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<i style="font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: 13.3333px;">With my new friend Lisa</i></i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVX2CiLIWc1gRpAlcux-THi-W1RRk7vROxdyz5UVucusagJ_DEYnQcTZUbXjN5Q4WQ6PElvwD0qkCGdeeiZrW3hGfz68Y_pScIhR4DgD3AUOtvFlwHdb1tdoxErVPydMg-16LsA1uSgNw/s1600/IMG_3689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVX2CiLIWc1gRpAlcux-THi-W1RRk7vROxdyz5UVucusagJ_DEYnQcTZUbXjN5Q4WQ6PElvwD0qkCGdeeiZrW3hGfz68Y_pScIhR4DgD3AUOtvFlwHdb1tdoxErVPydMg-16LsA1uSgNw/s320/IMG_3689.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i style="color: #575757; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">With new friends Jenny, Alex, and Alon</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiO0dnNsEhrmIiNCMAPNPK4mS4XBS7MBQkgsGi2MPdRqb-wGpz07scDqUBEYMdH_W5pnthiOS40Ec2PFqQ0n0n0z9rfHRpMz-tNxSNFG83qREWoDeZkahnz7FrRyNAgPP0EUIRtebqugM/s1600/IMG_3677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiO0dnNsEhrmIiNCMAPNPK4mS4XBS7MBQkgsGi2MPdRqb-wGpz07scDqUBEYMdH_W5pnthiOS40Ec2PFqQ0n0n0z9rfHRpMz-tNxSNFG83qREWoDeZkahnz7FrRyNAgPP0EUIRtebqugM/s320/IMG_3677.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQBC20aX1zQ70BMX4I13yEY6R5gMWFyeXysGYdX53IPOh6DH0Thkyp8JX8jJZofjQISGxZmMbYh4q30btzOYZyzf5Qrvmgr4mZB40BmLF2amnClDfnSZjYNjL8QjTRMGlITWHaddx17o/s1600/Laura+Tenney+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQBC20aX1zQ70BMX4I13yEY6R5gMWFyeXysGYdX53IPOh6DH0Thkyp8JX8jJZofjQISGxZmMbYh4q30btzOYZyzf5Qrvmgr4mZB40BmLF2amnClDfnSZjYNjL8QjTRMGlITWHaddx17o/s320/Laura+Tenney+5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #575757; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;"> <i>Sheryl Sandberg's keynote </i></span><span style="color: #575757; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;"><i><span data-mce-style="font-size: 13.3333px;" style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><i>(photo credit </i></span><i>Laura Tenney</i><span data-mce-style="font-size: 13.3333px;" style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><i>)</i></span></i></span></div>
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<i style="color: #575757; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: 20px;">Adding my contribution to the pride wall: "I am most proud of my daughter"</i></div>
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<i><img alt="IMG_3674.JPG" class="image-13 jive-image" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZE5aIkWf5gYmWqPEtMOR1ztKEODrWt-_7mFwuu3yrzpjXK0Bbv-eE5hJ7Gm9ByK3Rw7YNFlyARNKlQEbQ4vHYLI-gmDUlnAKMX80ztrhvD8pC26Qqm9tpZBcDuE5gImIwDjWCc60pyuM/s320/IMG_3674.JPG" style="border: 0px; height: auto; margin: 12px;" /></i></div>
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<i>Shuttle selfie at the end of the conference</i><br />
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<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5em;">Please check out the <a class="" href="http://systers.org/wiki/communities/doku.php?id=wiki:ghc:ghc15" style="color: #2989c5; text-decoration: none;">Grace Hopper wiki</a> for access to most of the conference material. </span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">The group <a href="http://www.systers.org/" target="_blank">Systers</a>, a technical listserve, maintains it. Definitely sign up if you are a technical woman; they have many interesting discussions. </span><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5em;">Additionally,here is a </span><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e8zprm8ymje4ch9/AAB1uxKFMIJuCQG4tZTlwEDIa?dl=0" target="_blank">link to download some PPT slides from the event</a><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 1.5em;">. </span></div>
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My heartfelt thanks goes to my manager Jay Chitnis for supporting my professional development and giving me the chance to share the unique qualities and culture of EMC with so many new colleagues and friends.</div>
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<br />charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-65711908609168830092015-10-09T05:21:00.002-07:002019-04-03T09:40:09.856-07:00Loving Kindness MeditationI've had a lot of changes in my life lately, so I've taken up regular meditation as a way to introduce some calm into the chaos. I found one ritual especially useful.<br />
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I swim once or twice a week in the amazing pool my company maintains. It's always a calming experience. This week, I decided to introduce a loving kindness meditation into my swim.<br />
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As I learned in the book <i><a href="http://smile.amazon.com/Real-Happiness-Meditation-28-Day-Program/dp/0761159258/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444392921&sr=8-1&keywords=real+happiness" target="_blank">Real Happiness</a></i>, a loving kindness meditation focuses on the following mantra:<br />
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May you be safe<br />
May you be loved<br />
May you be happy<br />
May you live with ease<br />
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First, you apply this to yourself. Then, you can focus on loved ones, family members, and friends, and the universe if you like. The book recommended that you test your compassion by directing your meditation at a challenging person in your life.<br />
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I was amazed by how much this small exercise calmed my brain and made me feel at peace. I had a brighter outlook and a calmer mindset that lasted for the rest of the day.<br />
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Next time I'm having a challenging day, I'm going to recall this feeling of goodwill, and pause to do a loving kindness meditation.charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2808546653951084662.post-81087973087755235202015-08-31T15:52:00.000-07:002015-08-31T19:05:31.426-07:00Summer check inWow, it's been longer than I realized since my last post back in June. I have certainly had a busy summer. Lu has been to 9 weeks of interesting, enriching camps. We took a trip to NH and ME to visit family and friends. We've all been enjoying the frenzied pace of summer and all of its activities.<br />
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Work has been busy, with a <a href="http://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2015/20150831-02.htm" target="_blank">successful launch of my latest project</a> today. And I've been working on my personal growth, specifically on <a href="http://charismama.blogspot.com/2015/01/surrender.html" target="_blank">my intention early this year to relinquish control over more and to go with the flow. To surrender</a>.<br />
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With over half of the year behind me, I'm reflecting on what has changed by fully embracing my new attitude. It's nearly universally positive. I'm still putting in every effort at work. I am being the best mom and wife that I can. I am slower to anger and arguing less. I am still busy, but somehow I am learning to stress less over little details and embrace the moment.<br />
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I'm off to Jamaica early tomorrow morning for a relaxing beach vacation with my husband. Unknowingly, he booked the same property we had stayed at 15 years ago on our first trip. The resort has a new name, but I'm sure it will feel like returning to a familiar friend's house after a long hiatus. I can't wait! Now to pack ...<br />
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<a href="http://www.jewelresorts.com/resorts/paradisecove/sites/default/files/styles/gallery_image/public/dsc_3757.jpg?itok=7a_35v7x" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.jewelresorts.com/resorts/paradisecove/sites/default/files/styles/gallery_image/public/dsc_3757.jpg?itok=7a_35v7x" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />charismamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17145150038502630249noreply@blogger.com0