Careers
Empower Your Identity, Elevate Your Career
CAREER DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS 2024
Real people, real issues, real talk.
The UW Alumni Association is proud to present three free online conversations about navigating our rapidly changing working world. They will touch on topics affecting people with diverse identities and allies as they navigate the realities of the modern workforce. Join us Fridays from April 5 to April 19 for these live, interactive online workshops.
In order to encourage candid discussions, these workshops will not be recorded.
Empowered Ascent: Navigating Your Career Compass in an Intersectional, Diverse Landscape
Fri. April 5, 2024 | 12 p.m. PT
Speaker: Lindsay Hua
Technology leader Lindsay Hua takes you on a compelling and pragmatic journey into career development. Along the way, she will share tips on navigating the professional terrain as a wife, mother, immigrant and person of color. Explore the nuances of networking, examine the impact of community engagement and delve into the vital importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. We’ll also discuss cultivating advocates to accelerate your career growth.
Join us for the insightful session that transcends borders and offers a practical guide to achieving success in a multifaceted professional world.
Meet Lindsay Hua
Lindsay Hua has over two decades of track record as a global technology leader. She has grown her technology career in various industries such as consumer packaged goods (Procter & Gamble), hardware and software services (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise) and telecommunications (T-Mobile USA). Lindsay is currently a VP, Global Deployment and the Head of Diversity in Technology at Afiniti, an AI/ML company. She currently serves as a board advisor in two organizations: Ignite Worldwide, an organization whose mission is to bridge the gender gap in STEM, and World Affairs Council, an organization dedicated to providing opportunities for everyone to be a world citizen.
Navigating Career Growth and Parenthood
Fri. April 12, 2024 | 12 p.m. PT
Speaker: Rashmi Rao | Sponsored by HLWF™ Alliance
In this session, we’ll explore strategies for professionals to balance career advancement with parenting responsibilities. With entrepreneur Rashmi Rao and Stephanie Lemek, we’ll delve into systemic challenges unique to parents in the corporate sphere, emphasizing empowerment through self-advocacy and resilience. A key part of this session will be the “Decades Exercise,” an empowering activity that helps participants envision their career trajectory over the next 10, 20, or 30 years. This exercise encourages long-term planning and goal setting, helping professionals to take control of their career paths and make strategic decisions that align with both their professional aspirations and parenting duties.
Meet Rashmi Rao
Rashmi Rao is an accomplished entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the consumer, automotive, and healthcare industries and the holder of more than 40 patents. She has built and launched innovative products and businesses that have generated over $500M in revenue. As a passionate advocate for innovation and sustainability, Rashmi constantly seeks new ways to drive change and positively impact people’s lives through technology.
With a proven record of accomplishment, Rashmi has been instrumental in building and launching new products and businesses in three distinct industries at Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung, and Philips Healthcare.
As the founder of rcubed | ventures, Rashmi is committed to leveraging her expertise to help identify and disseminate transformative ideas with the potential for global impact. rcubed | ventures is focused on fostering innovation by providing investment and strategic guidance to select startups especially founded by women and minorities.
In addition to her leadership experience, Rashmi is an active STEM advocate and passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has received numerous awards for her contributions to the technology and business fields, including being inducted into the Women in Technology Hall of Fame by WITI.
About HLWF™ Alliance
HLWF™ Alliance is a non-profit community of women leaders, health heroes and wellness wizards who take a holistic view towards working on the intersections of health and wellbeing. Through expert opinions, life changing stories and thought-provoking articles written by our authors, we’re driving positive change to break down silos and making a real difference in HLWF™ (Health, Life sciences, Wellness and Fitness) industries. We delve deep into expert insights, perspectives and aspirations, unraveling how new technologies, scientific breakthroughs, cultural shifts, innovative solutions and investment landscapes have the power to revolutionize health and well-being for individuals today and generations to come
How to Foster Allyship at Work
Fri. April 19, 2024 | 12 p.m. PT
Speakers: Elizabeth Hunter and Nancy Benter
BIPOC communities have historically experienced significant barriers in the workplace that extend into the current evolving workplace, that lack of diversity remains. This workshop explores strategies for BIPOC professionals to navigate supporting and doing DEI work in organizations. Elizabeth Hunter and Nancy Benter share ideas, advice and tools to create boundaries, take action, rest and determine your needs in your work life.
Meet Elizabeth Hunter
Elizabeth Hunter is a nationally recognized executive in product management, IT, pre and post-merger integration and cross-functional program leadership. Currently, Elizabeth is the SVP of Partner Technology at Starbucks. Most recently, Elizabeth was the Senior Vice President of Technology at T-Mobile, leading transformation, device financing, insurance, banking, big data, AI, CRM, B2B, IoT, emerging business, billing, finance, payments, supply chain, HR and risk and compliance. She previously led the integration management office for the T-Mobile/Sprint merger. Her prior experience includes leading the merger integration organization and managing product and customer experience while at AT&T, and a variety of roles in corporate development, product management and IT at Dobson Communications. Elizabeth serves on the boards of the Girl Scouts of Western Washington and IGNITE Worldwide as well as on the board of the Mutual of Enumclaw insurance company. She lives in Bellevue, WA with her husband and two children and enjoys reading, drawing, fashion, and mentoring diverse future technology leaders.
Meet Nancy Benter
Nancy Benter is currently a leader at Starbucks within Retail Implementation Strategy furthering Starbuck’s mission: with every cup, with every conversation, with every community — we nurture the limitless possibilities of human connection. As a social impact, mission-driven-minded leader, Nancy has more than 11 years of experience focused on strategic planning for global customer experiences. Most recently, Nancy managed Business Development for Plaster Group LLC, a Seattle tech management consulting company. At Remitly, a mission driven financial tech company transforming the lives of immigrants and their loved ones, Nancy led Customer Success initiatives for ~2K customer success associates across the world. During her career at T-Mobile, she led go-to-market teams to drive sales enablement for ~100K frontline employees. Most notably, Nancy is a fierce advocate for outcome driven equitable cultures with a knack for designing people experiences centered on diverse lived experiences. In addition to the impact Nancy drives in tech, she also serves as a mentor for Ceresa, a mentorship community of growth-minded leaders around the world that support a new generation of global and diverse leaders. Nancy is currently on the World Affairs Council board, dedicated to providing opportunities for everyone in greater Seattle to be a world citizen.
