With Bootcamp Week behind us, Emerging Leaders started their professional mentorship at 32 different host companies throughout the San Francisco Bay Area last week. Learn more about our partner companies and nearly 300 mentors!
Professional Mentorship
On Monday, September 25, Emerging Leaders independently made their way to their host companies to start the first day of their professional mentorship.
Zainab Saleem of Pakistan, Maya Itani of Lebanon and Saida Temirkhodjaeva of Uzbekistan make their way to their host company, NASA, using public transit.
This year, the Emerging Leaders will be working with 137 Professional Mentors from 32 host companies throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Emerging Leaders will spend 15 days at their host organizations working on a project to help them achieve self-defined learning objectives, which range from exploring next-generation DNA sequencing technologies to developing leadership and technical management capabilities. Professional mentorship also exposes each Emerging Leader to the innovative corporate culture of San Francisco and Silicon Valley, supports development of rich professional and personal networks and inspires a rich exchange of ideas and expertise.
Sumaira Qurban of Pakistan, Ruba Awayes of the Palestinian Territories, Ruth Kaveke of Kenya, Chao Mbogo of Kenya and Fanelwa Ajayi of South Africa begin their professional mentorship at Mozilla.
Lindiwe Matlali of South Africa begins her professional mentorship at Google.
Aliya Meldebekova of Kazakhstan begins her professional mentorship at Illumina.
Cultural Exchange
Emerging Leaders, supported by Cultural Mentors to explore the Bay Area’s unique culture, took advantage of cultural activities that included a visit to Singularity University for a mini-tour of Moffett Field and a barbecue with startup founders, a walking tour of Palo Alto and a picnic in the Presidio of San Francisco (pictured from left to right below). 
Through these cultural activities, participants have formed new connections with Cultural Mentors and solidified friendships with their fellow Emerging Leaders. In the second week of the program, relationships deepen – especially those with housemates! Mpara Faith Muwar of Cameroon and Saida Temirkhodjaeva of Uzbekistan exemplify the strong bonds that form between TechWomen program participants.
“No one is enjoying the roommate aspect of this program as much as I am. Thank you Techwomen for helping me meet my sister from Uzbekistan.” – Mpara Faith Muwar
TechWomen Emerging Leaders also had the opportunity to share their own cultures and contribute to impactful dialogue within their host communities. Hiba Shabrouq of Jordan shared the following story about a conversation she had with a man she met while out for a bike ride at Shoreline Park in Mountain View:
I was riding a bike in the park when I saw an old man, carrying lot of bags and trying to fix his fancy bike… I stopped to check if he needed anything and we started our conversation. He was surprised that I stopped to offer my help and he asked curiously, ‘What if you were in your country? Would it be ok for a girl like you to help a stranger?!’ My answer was definitely yes, which was also surprising to him.
I do believe, stronger than ever, that by treating people nicely as humans, regardless of their skin color or religion, and with the implementation of the very small details related to this, we can fix these unconscious stereotypes about our country or religion.
Leadership Workshop
On Friday, September 29, Emerging Leaders gathered at LinkedIn for a Leadership Workshop. After a welcome and introduction from Mansi Bhorkar, Manager, Technical Program Management LinkedIn App, the TechWomen 2017 cohort heard from women leaders Erica Lockheimer, Senior Director of Engineering Growth and Leading Women in Tech at LinkedIn, and Beth Steinberg, Chief People Officer at Zenefits and Founder of Mensch Ventures. Erica and Beth shared their personal leadership journeys, as well as wisdom for the group on how to be strong, authentic leaders.
Samera Edwards, left, moderated the Leadership Insights panel with panelists Erica Lockheimer, center, and Beth Steinberg, right.
The day continued with a session about strengths development led by Samantha Raniere, President of Raniere Consulting. During this session, Emerging Leaders identified their own strengths and learned to leverage their strengths to become successful leaders. Shannon Stubo Brayton, Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of Communications at LinkedIn, joined the group for a discussion about how Emerging Leaders can use their leadership skills to inspire others, become change agents in their communities and maximize their position as leaders. The afternoon session, facilitated by Elise Falcone Rankin, Founder/Principal of Blue Sequoia Consulting and Head of Coaching at The Coaching Fellowship, focused on expanding one’s leadership range, which emphasized practical ways for Emerging Leaders to enhance their repertoire of leadership approaches.
Emerging Leaders continued to feel encouraged and inspired by one of the final speakers of the day, Amy Errett, CEO and Founder of Madison Reed, who spoke about fighting for happiness and taking advantage of every opportunity to keep learning. According to Ms. Errett, “Finding your genius is a journey, not a moment. Your power comes from your struggle.”
“What makes you a good leader is your ability to own responsibilities and take action.” -Amy Errett, CEO and Founder, Madison Reed
The day ended with a tutorial on networking, led by Jennine Heller, Executive Coach at JHeller Leadership Consulting, and a networking session with mentors and other guests.
Action Plan Workshop 2
On Saturday, September 30, Emerging Leaders came together with their Impact Coaches for the second workshop of the Action Plan series. Hosted at the Google Developers Launchpad in San Francisco, Emerging Leaders continued developing action plans initiated during Bootcamp Week to create positive change in their home communities upon returning home. After welcoming remarks from Catherine Courage, Vice President, Ads and Commerce User Experience at Google, TechWomen mentor Jill Finlayson of Singularity University moderated a panel highlighting inspirational impact models Emerging Leaders could emulate in their home environments. Panelists included Anar Simpson, Global Ambassador of Technovation, Angie Chang, Founder of Bay Area Girl Geek Dinners, and Linda Calhoun, Founder and Executive Producer of Career Girls. Anar and Angie are also TechWomen mentors, and TechWomen fellows and Emerging Leaders have been featured in several Career Girls videos.
Jill Finlayson, left, moderates the Impact Models for Change panel with (from left to right) Linda Calhoun, Angie Chang and Anar Simpson.
The remainder of the day was devoted to work on the action plans, with time set aside for each country group to work with their Impact Coaches to thresh out their ideas and for a speed mentoring session where, in a rotating series of focused discussions, action plan teams presented their plans to and received feedback from other Impact Coaches.
Emerging Leaders are ready for another exhilarating few weeks to come, which continues with the second week of professional mentorship starting today! Follow along using #techwomen17.
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