By Edwina Dueñas, Communications Associate
The panel of judges at the 2015 DevelopHer Hackathon. Photo Credit: Tony Chung
TechWomen mentor Anar Simpson served as a judge at LinkedIn’s fourth annual DevelopHer Hackathon on August 29. Along with LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, Anar served as one of four judges at their new offices in Sunnyvale, Calif. The LinkedIn DevelopHer Hackathon is a competition that aims to foster a strong sense of community among women in engineering. This particular hackday focused on hacks that empower women. More than 90 participants ranging from high school students to industry professionals and entrepreneurs participated in the event organized by LinkedIn’s Women in Tech (WIT) group, which TechWomen mentor Erica Lockheimer leads at the company.
Mentors Anar and Erica at LinkedIn. Photo Credit: Anar Simpson
TechWomen cohorts have participated in the hackathon in previous years. TechWomen is proud to partner with companies that support women in technical fields through mentorship, events and collaboration. Reflecting on her TechWomen experience, Anar noted, “What started five years ago as an initiative of the State Department has come to full fruition. The TechWomen program has forged strong ties between women in technology in the Valley, which has led to greater collaboration both here and with the women in the 21 countries that participate in the program. The network effect is large and growing globally – exactly premise of the TechWomen program.”
Anar has been a TechWomen supporter and mentor since 2011. Erica has mentored with TechWomen since 2012, and worked with alumnae from Jordan, Rwanda and Algeria in previous programs. Both women will serve as Cultural Mentors for the 2015 program.
To learn more about DevelopHer 2015 and the winning hack, visit the LinkedIn Engineering blog.
Speak Your Mind