Impact Stories from Professional Development Policy Area

Mentor shares TechWomen impact in Dell Tech feature

Fellow(s): Mentor Anne-Marie McReynolds

Country:

Cohort: 2023

Policy Area(s): Professional Development

Mentor Anne-Marie McReynolds recently discussed her role as a TechWomen mentor in a feature for Dell Technologies’ Thought Leadership Perspectives. In this feature, “Empowering women in tech to build equity in innovation,” Anne-Marie, a senior principal product manager at Dell, discusses STEM education accessibility, ethical AI and “turning observation into a superpower.” Delving into her experiences feeling unseen due to disability as a teen and later as a minority and woman in STEM, Anne-Marie expounds on her journey through tech, her lessons on turning negative into positive, and why she became a mentor for TechWomen. “As a Black woman in this space, I’m used to working in a vacuum,” she explains. “Not everyone is permitted the same access to these opportunities, so it’s important to nurture new talent and encourage participation.”

Report Date...: 10/9/2023

Fellow earns multiple international fellowships and grants for public health research into snakebite therapies

Fellow(s): Hadiza Lawal Abdullahi (Nigeria, 2022)

Country: Nigeria

Cohort: 2023

Policy Area(s): Professional Development

Fellow Hadiza Lawal Abdullahi (Nigeria, 2022) recently completed a short research stay at the Center of Excellence in Mycotoxicology and Public Health at Ghent University in Belgium, representing one of seven postdoctoral fellows of this year’s Open Doors Fellowship program. Hadiza is a biochemist in toxinology and medical laboratory scientist seeking to improve food security by addressing mycotoxin contamination in food, animal feed, and agricultural products in Nigeria and the world over. In addition to the Open Doors Fellowship, she has won a grant for £32,000 GBP from the UK-based Africa Research Excellence Fund to complete a 6-month research development fellowship to study modern approaches to snakebite therapies at the Venoms and Toxins Unit of Institut Pasteur of Morocco. Furthermore, she has won a $50,000 USD grant from the Association of American University Women’s (AAUW) postdoctoral fellowship with the National University of Singapore and the National Natural Toxins Research Center (NNTRC) at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. In her permanent post, she is an associate professor and postdoctoral researcher at Bayero University in Kano, Nigeria where she also serves as head of the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry.

Report Date...: 10/02/2023

Mentor(s): Mentor Jill Finlayson

Company: Berkeley Lab

Mentor Type: Professional

Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Development

Mentor Jill Finlayson was recently featured in an episode of Aarna’s News podcast, “Knowing When to Leave, Finding the Right Fit,” where she shared her career journey and the importance of adaptability, transferable skills, and diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Hosted by Aarna Sahu, Aarna’s News is a collection of stories from leading women in STEM who’ve influenced the workforce and inspired others to join the fields. During her interview, Jill emphasized the importance of pivoting, pursuing growth opportunities, and finding career-value alignment. “Embrace change and stay curious,” she advised. “Your career path doesn’t have to be a straight line.” Jill currently works at the University of California, Berkeley where she serves as the managing director of CITRIS Innovation Hub and director of the Expanding Diversity and Gender Equity in Tech (EDGE) Initiative.

Report Date...: 10/02/2023

Fellow leads Dell design thinking workshops

Fellow(s): Zeinab El Sayed (Egypt, 2020-2021)

Country: Egypt

Cohort: 2020-2021

Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Development, Youth Engagement

Fellow leads Dell design thinking workshops

Fellow Zeinab El Sayed (Egypt, 2020-2021) recently led the delivery of two design thinking (DT) workshops at Dell Technologies Egypt for high school and undergraduate university students. At the Dell star and summer academy workshops, Zeinab, along with a team of coaches, taught design thinking methodology to over 100 students engaging in interactive technical, soft skills, and career workshops with experts from Dell Technologies. The students would go on to utilize their learnings to develop and pitch practical solutions for real world issues as part of their mentorship programs. Zeinab currently serves as lead on all design thinking programs at Dell Technologies in Cairo. She is also a certified lean six sigma—yellow belt instructor.

Report Date...: 10/02/2023

Fellow earns Mini-MBA from Felestineya Business Program

Fellow(s): Abeer Saidam (Palestinian Territories, 2020-2021)

Country: Palestinian Territories

Cohort: 2020-2021

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Development

Fellow Abeer Saidam (Palestinian Territories, 2020-2021) recently earned her Mini-MBA from the Felestineya Business Administration Program, an initiative offered by the Bank of Palestine in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and in partnership with the Business Women Forum (BWF), and Ernst & Young Company (EY). The program provides skills and leadership development for women entrepreneurs and project leaders across Palestine who possess demonstrated business acumen. “It has been an intense and rewarding experience and I’m proud of the knowledge I’ve gained,” Abeer shared in a recent post. “I now feel more confident than ever in tackling complex challenges.” Abeer is the founder and CEO of Khzanty, an e-commerce platform for women wishing to buy, sell, and donate bespoke clothing

Report Date...: 9/25/2023

Fellow founds STEM Sensitization Talks for Nigerian girls

Fellow(s): Adeola Aremu (Nigeria, 2022)

Country: Nigeria

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Development, Youth Engagement

Fellow Adeola Aremu (Nigeria, 2022) recently launched her first event for nonprofit initiative, STEM Sensitization Talks, which was held for secondary school girls in Kwara State, Nigeria. The purpose of the event was to educate girls on the gender gap in STEM and encourage them to enroll in science and technology classes for the upcoming academic year. “It was an eye opening session for the girls as they affirmed that STEM seeds have been sown in their hearts,” Adeola shared in a recent post. She has launched this initiative to steer girls toward STEM courses on their promotion to Senior Secondary classes, which is a major determinant for continuing on into higher education and careers in STEM. “It’s a ‘catch them young’ approach,” Adeola wrote in recent communications with the team. “It’s a way of giving back to TechWomen.”

Report Date...: 9/18/2023

Fellow arrives in SF Bay Area to start 12-month research scholar role at Berkely Lab’s Molecular Foundry

Fellow(s): Raushan Nurdillayeva (Kazakhstan, 2020-2021)

Country: Kazakhstan

Cohort: 2020-2021

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

This August, fellow Raushan Nurdillayeva (Kazakhstan, 2020-2021) arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area to start a 12-month research scholar role at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (Berkeley Lab/LBNL) Molecular Foundry. She credits access to this momentous opportunity to her supportive TechWomen mentor, Virginia Altoe, who made her aware of the research possibilities at Berkeley Lab, and Kazakhstan’s Republican Commission for Training Personnel Abroad, which awarded her a grant this June covering the travel and cost of living expenses for a fellowship program at a leading scientific center of the world. Her project “Investigation of 2D-passivated 3D halide perovskite thin films” is being conducted at two lead centers, the Inorganic Nanostructures Facility, where her assigned scientist is Dr. Carolin Sutter-Fella, and the Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures Facility, where her assigned scientist is Virginia Altoe. Both of these scientists will be serving as 2023 TechWomen mentors. Raushan is the Head of her Department at Ahkmet Yassawi University in Kazakhstan. She has an M.S. in Environmental Science from Almaty University of Power Engineering and Telecommunications. “I’m proud to share my success story of the impact of the 2020-2021 virtual TechWomen program,” she expressed in recent communications.

Report Date...: 9/11/2023

Fellow organizes AI-centered hackathon for Arab youths

Fellow(s): Ruba Awais and Rasha (Hammo) Abu Dayyeh (Palestinian Territories, 2017)

Country: Palestinian Territories

Cohort: 2017

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Development, Youth Engagement

Ruba and Rasha organized the fourth hackathon of their platform, Vtech Road, which empowers Arabic youth to develop UN SDG-focused innovations.

Cofounders of Vtech Road, fellows Ruba Awais and Rasha (Hammo) Abu Dayyeh (Palestinian Territories, 2017), recently organized their fourth VTech Road hackathon, AI4us. Composed of six teams charged with utilizing artificial intelligence to develop entrepreneurial ideas targeted at United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Vtech Road is an innovation platform that empowers Arabic youth to develop SDG-focused tech projects. Each team was provided access to educational content from the platform, AI4us.tech, which included mentor-led live training sessions centered on the ethics and applications of AI. “Seeing the passion and enthusiasm of young Palestinian entrepreneurs, their creativity and commitment to making a difference through technology, has always been incredibly inspiring,” Ruba shared in a recent post.

Report Date...: 9/11/2023

AFITech

Fellow(s): Aziza Krimaa, Fatima-Zahra Benyaaqoub, Hajar Salamat, Manar Ouaritni, Meriem Haddouchi (2022)

Country: Morocco

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

VMWare has donated an additional $3000 USD to Team Morocco 2022 for their impact project AFITech, Alert Fire on Time Initiative.

Fall 2022 Team Morocco has recently received just over $3,000 USD in additional seed funds from program partner and sponsor VMWare, to assist in the development and implementation of their seed-grant winning impact project, AFITech, Alert Fire on Time Initiative. Earlier this year, Aziza Krimaa, Fatima-Zahra Benyaaqoub, Hajar Salamat, Manar Ouaritni and Meriem Haddouchi launched a fundraiser seeking additional capital for the launch of AFITech. Mohna Dhomse, a VMWare Information Experience Leader and TechWomen mentor since 2011, spearheaded the company’s donation. Mohna shared that her extensive volunteer hours made her eligible to “further amplify my service learning contributions by recommending a VMware Citizen Philanthropy Investment grant to a nonprofit of choice.” VMWare’s funding will supplement costs for AFITech’s early wildfire-detection system, which will protect precious argan trees by deploying a network of tree sensors that measure temperature, humidity and carbon monoxide levels in argan forests. These sensors will then send alerts to local emergency authorities when fire is indicated, triggering early firefighting efforts and reducing the devastating environmental and economic impacts of argan forest wildfires. The pilot program will defend women farmers of Amskroud Village, whose livelihoods depend on the harvesting of argan oil, a globally-marketed skin and hair care ingredient.

Report Date...: 09/04/2023

Fellow advocates for youth sexual health on panel

Fellow(s): Ngwashi Christabel, MD (Cameroon, 2020-2021)

Country: Cameroon

Cohort: 2020-2021

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Professional Development, Youth Engagement

Ngwashi spoke on a panel focused on helping youth break the stigma around sexual health education and discussion this August.

Fellow Ngwashi Christabel, MD (Cameroon, 2020-2021) recently spoke on a panel, “Normalizing Age Appropriate Sex Education and Conversations,” at a summit produced by Sexual Health Companion in Buea, Cameroon. The aim of the event was to empower youths in understanding their sexual and reproductive health and rights by breaking the stigma around the topic. During the panel, Ngwashi focused on “the 3 ‘I’s of sexual education: being intentional, incidental and inclusive.” Ngwashi is a medical doctor and global health specialist focused on maternal, adolescent, reproductive and child health (MARCH) care services and counselling, particularly in conflict-affected areas in Cameroon. She is also the founder of More Than Just An MD (MT-JAM Health), a platform that utilizes storytelling as a tool to increase health literacy and patient-centered care. She also serves as a Health Specialist African Fellow for the World Bank.

Report Date...: 09/04/2023

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