Impact Stories from Professional Growth Policy Area
Mentor(s): Sreeja Nair (mentor)
Company: Qualcomm
Mentor Type: Professional
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
This month, TechWomen mentor Sreeja Nair was named a YWCA Silicon Valley’s Tribute to Women Awards honoree for her work empowering other women in her sector. Sreeja, a Professional Mentor, is a staff product manager for wireless infrastructure and networking at TechWomen host company Qualcomm.
YWCA is a local organization that works to eliminate racism and empower women in Silicon Valley. Their yearly awards honor up to 50 women executive leaders and emerging leaders throughout Silicon Valley. Sreeja was honored in the Empower category, recognized for her exceptional leadership and significant contributions to her company and her field. “As women leaders we need to look at empowerment at each stage of the career funnel,” she said. “We need to have women leaders more visible to inspire young women into leadership roles.”
Report Date...: 9/21/20
Fellows mentor 23 women in AEIF-winning pilot program
Fellow(s): Nazira Sheraly, Aiturgan Zulpukarova, Elena Chigibaeva, Gulzire Minbaeva
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2016, 2017, 2018
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
2016 fellow Nazira Sheraly, 2017 fellow Aiturgan Zulpukarova and 2018 fellows Elena Chigibaeva and Gulzire Minbaeva have completed a pilot program that brought 23 women from seven regions of Kyrgyzstan through online mentorship. The fellows’ initiative, Techaim, provides mentorship to women and girls to grow and develop their STEM skills and expand their knowledge in business, leadership and project management. Techaim was a recipient of a 2019 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund grant.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fellows held the mentorship program online, bringing 26 guest speakers, weekly webinars and nearly 30 hours of mentorship sessions to the mentees. “They are TechWomen’s future Emerging Leaders,” says Aiturgan. Through Techaim, the fellows continue to bring free online sessions and weekly live broadcasts themed on soft skills, mentorship and more.
Report Date...: 9/21/20
Emerging Leader of South Africa kicks off guest post series
Fellow(s): Reneiloe Seodigeng
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
TechWomen 2020-2021 Emerging Leader Reneiloe Seodigeng shares her story of growing up as a black woman in South Africa and finding her confidence in the latest post on the TechWomen blog. Her piece is a part of Emerging Leader Voices, a yearly blog series that invites incoming Emerging Leaders to share their perspectives and experiences with the TechWomen community.
In her post, “Journey outside the comfort zone: my pathway to growth,” Reneiloe describes the challenges she faced enrolling in a predominately white school as a young girl. Without models or mentors, Reneiloe overcame barriers to find her voice, discover her talents and understand her worth: “I found that I began to gain the confidence that I was meant to be there; maybe not to see faces that looked like me, but to be one of the faces that every black child and every girl child needs to see to know that they also have a place there,” she writes. With a master’s degree in chemical engineering and a passion for designing sustainable technology solutions in waste and sanitation, Reneiloe is determined to serve as a model for young people. She co-founded Kitso Technology Excellence Academy (KTEC), a STEM education center that offers programming in coding, robotics, entrepreneurship and more to young students in South Africa. “I got here by getting a good education,” she writes, “and the only way we can ensure our young ones have the opportunity to solve the world’s challenges is to provide them with quality education and encourage them to do their best.”
Report Date...: 9/14/20
Fellow receives Chevening Scholarship
Fellow(s): Tangulu Diushakhmatova
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Professional Growth
2019 fellow Tangulu Diushakhmatova was selected as a recipient of the prestigious Chevening Scholarship, a program that awards global leaders a fully-funded scholarships to pursue a one-year master’s degree at a UK-based institution. With over 50,000 alumni worldwide, Chevening aims to empower passionate leaders who can create a better future.
Tangulu, a senior consultant for a firm that provides audit and advisory services, will pursue a Master of Public Policy at the London School of Economics. “This will strengthen my understanding of the financial market from the angle of policy-making and analysis,” she says. “It will build a solid foundation for helping to develop structured policies and solutions for the people in Central Asia to access finance.” Already Tangulu has landed in London for her classes, which begin this week. “I’m excited for the new adventure and learning experience,” she says.
Report Date...: 9/14/20
Campaign names fellow a leading woman in business
Fellow(s): Nabila Bashir
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
2018 fellow Nabila Bashir was recognized as a leading woman in business by Women in Business Arabia in partnership with Etihad Bank. Their campaign, 365 Inspiring Arab Women, features an Arab woman in business each day of 2020.
Nabila is the senior business development manager at Queen Rania Teacher Academy, an initiative of Queen Rania of Jordan that empowers young people with 21st century skills. Previously, Nabila worked for 17 years at Repton New English School as a teacher, academic director and head of the IT and computer science department. There, she received the Queen Rania Outstanding Teacher Award. “I am fortunate to be a member of the Queen Rania Teacher Academy, surrounded by professional educators and great leaders,” says Nabila.
Report Date...: 9/14/20
Fellows come together in online conference to inspire girls
Fellow(s): Gisele Beatrice Sonfack, Oluremi Hamid, Saida Yusupova, Lamia Fikrat
Country: Cameroon, Morocco, Nigeria, Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2016, 2019
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2016 fellow of Cameroon Gisele Beatrice Sonfack recently gathered TechWomen fellows from Morocco, Nigeria and Uzbekistan to share their stories as women in engineering and speak about ways to inspire the next generation of girls. Gisele is the founder of Women in Engineering and Technology (WENTECH), an association that organizes workshops and conferences with a mission to inspire girls interested in STEM fields.
The online conference featured Gisele as well as 2016 fellow of Nigeria and CEO of Hydren Energy Oluremi Hamid, 2016 fellow of Uzbekistan and CEO of Green Business Innovation Saida Yusupova and 2019 fellow of Morocco Lamia Fikrat, a renewable energy and environment consultant. The audience, mostly comprised of young students and their parents, learned about the gender gap in STEM fields and why women have been historically underrepresented. Each fellow described their pathway to success, sharing how they remained motivated despite being outnumbered by men in their fields. They also answered questions from the students, encouraging them to pursue their interests and passions. Despite the cancelation of WENTECH’s scheduled in-person conferences, Gisele hopes to organize and record bi-monthly virtual conferences, making them available for a wider audience of girls.
Report Date...: 9/7/20
Fellow wins Volkswagen Lioness Den competition
Fellow(s): Bathabile Mpofu
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This month, 2018 fellow Bathabile Mpofu was named the third prize winner of the Volkswagen Lioness Den competition, a pitch competition for women entrepreneurs leading innovative businesses on the African continent. The initiative is held in partnership with Lionesses of Africa, a social enterprise that supports and advances Africa’s women entrepreneurs.
Bathabile is the co-founder and managing director of Nkazimulo Applied Sciences, an initiative that encourages young children to discover a love of science through ChemStart, a series of portable, customizable science kits for various age groups. As third prize winner, Bathabile will use the funding to bring an educator onto her team who will record online science lessons. The lessons will be for sale on Nkazimulo’s website, but Bathabile plans to provide them to underserved schools free of charge.
Report Date...: 9/7/20
Mentor and fellows collaborate for Iraq’s first accelerator
Fellow(s): Eileen Brewer (mentor), Shahrazad Shehab, Shatha Jayyousi
Country: Jordan, Lebanon, United States
Cohort: 2013, 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
Recently, longtime TechWomen mentor Eileen Brewer moved to Sulaymaniyah, Iraq to serve as the director of Takween Accelerator, Iraq’s first startup accelerator based at The American University of Iraq Sulaimani. This week, Takween selected 12 local startups for their first cohort as well as 18 mentors and experts to help train and develop the founders.
Of the 18 mentors selected are 2013 fellow of Jordan Shatha Jayyousi and 2019 fellow of Lebanon Shahrazad Shehab. Shatha is the digital factory manager at Orange Jordan as well as a co-founder of Code on the Road, a 2018 AEIF-winning project that empowers women, girls and vulnerable populations through ICT skills, business and entrepreneurship training. Shahrazad is the managing partner and digital strategist at Creative Consults as well as a digital marketing trainer. Over the next 18 months, Eileen, Shatha and Shahrazad will support the Iraqi entrepreneurs, training them on product and market development, creating sustainable business plans, pitching and more.
Report Date...: 9/7/20
Fellow launches agro-waste initiative to empower rural women
Fellow(s): Linah Anyango
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth
In rural Kenya, women walk long distances to collect firewood for cooking in their homes. 2019 fellow Linah Anyango wanted to create a solution that would not only provide cleaner, cheaper and more renewable energy sources, but also bring income to the women and their communities. Her newly launched CBO, Kanyadhiang’ Briquettes Nyale – which translates to “Briquettes are our solution” – aims to use readily available agricultural waste to provide sustainable fuel for women in rural Kenya.
Inspiration for the project began with the Girls in STEM Club that Linah founded at her school. Together, Linah and her students create clean energy solutions from waste products, including using charcoal dust to make briquettes. “I extended this project to women in rural parts of Kenya, since women are the most affected when it comes to access to clean and renewable energy,” she says.
This month, Linah hosted a one-week training where she guided groups of women in making briquettes from agricultural waste. The training focused on making briquettes from water hyacinth, an invasive plant species that threatens water sources and creates health risks. Moving forward, Linah will use her network to help the women sell their briquettes. “Ensuring that women and girls have energy access is not just about women’s rights – it’s a fundamental human rights issue,” she says.
Report Date...: 8/31/20
Fellows collaborate for webinar on solar energy
Fellow(s): Aia Abul-Haj and Amaal Al-Khatabeh
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth
2018 fellows Aia Abul-Haj and Amaal Al-Khatabeh were recently featured in a live webinar event, sharing their perspective on solar power and the future of energy. The webinar was hosted by Phi Science Institute, a Jordan-based non-profit that brings science education to youth in Jordan and the Arab world.
In “Outside the Barrel: Solar Energy, Opportunities and Challenges,” Aia, the co-founder of renewable energy company SOLVillion Co, and Amaal, a renewable energy engineer, discussed the latest solar technologies and entrepreneurship within the solar field. The attendees, comprised of new graduates and researchers, had the opportunity to ask Aia and Amaal about their career choices as well as solicit advice on breaking into the energy fields. The fellows also spoke about solar energy during the COVID-19 pandemic, sharing how Jordan and other parts of the world have responded to an increase in solar consumption.
Report Date...: 8/31/20
