LWT

TechFutures 2026 is calling 📞 Don’t miss your chance to secure your pass for $200 off general tickets with early bird pricing. 🎟️ Secure your ticket now :: https://hubs.la/Q03N_hW30 Special thanks to Sophia Bush, Cari Champion, Nik Harris, Esq., Vivian Tu, Nneka Ogwumike, Madame Gandhi, and Erin Throlopolis for bringing your energy and expertise to #TechFutures 2025!

A week back in Greece, and I keep catching myself smiling at random moments. That’s usually a sign that something truly meaningful happened. TechFutures LWT 2025 in New York City was one of those experiences that stay with you. Part learning, part inspiration, part pure human connection. Pier 17 was the perfect backdrop: the skyline glittering across the Hudson, the energy of so many people talking about the future of technology, business, and culture. It felt like the city itself was part of the discussion, bold, restless, and full of possibility. Hearing Roger Premo and Nicholas (Nick) Fuller on stage was a standout moment. Their message landed clearly: many experiment with generative and agentic AI, but only a few truly transform because of it. What makes the difference isn’t just the tech.... but it’s the leadership,the vision, and the courage to scale what works responsibly. Still, what I’ll remember most goes beyond the stage or the skyline. It’s the people! Conversations that started over coffee and turned into new ideas. The mix of languages, backgrounds, and perspectives from more than 60 IBMers from across the world reminded me why this community is so special. it’s global, it’s curious, it’s diverse and it’s deeply human! [pause to see the photos again 😁] Special thanks to Marco Mazza, Heather Lavergne, Maria Menendez, Erica Webber, and Jeffrey Welser for making this experience possible, and of course to Ana Paula De Jesus Assis, Adam Lawrence, and Kitty Chaney-Reed for their sponsorship and leadership. I’m also deeply thankful to my local IBM Greece leadership, Minas Koulisianis, Thelma Eleftheriadou, Olga Tsirogianni and Harris Dimitriou, for making it real. Your encouragement and support made this experience possible. I came home full of gratitude, inspiration, and a renewed drive to keep building technology that reflects both our values and our vision. #TechFutures2025 #IBM #Innovation #AI #Leadership #Community #Culture #BusinessTransformation #ResponsibleAI #IBMer

✨ One Year Later: Returning to LWT Summit in NYC ✨ Last week, I had the honor of returning to the Epic Lesbians Who Tech Summit—this time with Expanded branding in motion, featuring Tech Futures and Women Who Code. Held on Pier 17 in New York City, this summit was more than just a tech event—it was a reunion with purpose. Coming back one year later felt like stepping into a space that had grown even more vibrant, inclusive, and powerful. I worked across four incredible days as the Registration Manager. The energy, passion, and sense of community were unmatched. This isn’t your typical tech conference. It’s a celebration of diversity, innovation, culture, and empowerment. From the opening to the closing keynotes, we heard from leaders who are breaking barriers and using their platforms to drive real change. LGBTQ+ trailblazers in AI, cybersecurity, and entrepreneurship reminded me—again—how powerful our voices are in shaping the future of tech. 💫 Networking = Magic I reconnected with familiar faces and met so many brilliant women, men, and non-binary tech professionals—some just starting out, others already making waves. The mentorship and collaboration happening here are exactly what our industry needs more of. It’s a safe space where everyone is welcome, valued, and encouraged to thrive. 🌟 Personal Highlight Seeing my hero AJ Hikes again was unforgettable. As the Deputy Executive Director for Strategy and Culture at the ACLU, AJ continues to be a guiding light—moving, shaking, and shining a north star for so many of us. Their passion and leadership are a masterclass in impact. Thank you TechFutures Leanne Pittsford and LWT for creating this space and welcoming me back with open arms. I left even more inspired than I did last year—and I genuinely can’t wait to return again. #LWT2025 #TechFutures #WomenWhoCode #LGBTQinTech #InclusionMatters #LesbiansWhoTech #RepresentationMatters #Empowerment #CommunityInTech #AJHikes #Pier17 #NYC

Last week's TechFutures summit in NYC was epic and ServiceNow showed up BIG! 🗽 Our Chief Brand Officer Jim Lesser and SVP of Global Enterprise Marketing Nalina Athyantha started the day by captivating the crowd with “Inside the AI Marketing Wars: How ServiceNow is Winning with Brand + Demand.” They shared how ServiceNow is redefining the B2B playbook — blending brand storytelling with measurable business outcomes — and what it takes to be a top 5 B2B brand in the AI era. That afternoon the ServiceNow University team, led by Stacey Bailey, hosted a hands-on workshop, “So You Want to Build an AI Agent,” where participants got to roll up their sleeves and build AI agents using AI Agent Studio. Attendees dove into real-world exercises that demystified AI agent design, testing, and deployment, leaving with a practical framework to bring these capabilities back to their own organizations. As both a LWT Executive Board Member and longtime summit attendee (since 2015), it was inspiring to see ServiceNow show up strong for the third year in a row — helping people skill, upskill, stay inspired and reinforce how we truly are the AI platform for business transformation. 🚀

Last week I had the opportunity to present at LWT with Kristen J. It was such a rewarding experience and a reminder of what I love about working at LinkedIn — the chance to show up as my authentic self and be part of a company that continues to invest in affinity spaces where connection, learning, and belonging truly come to life. What stood out were the conversations that followed — meeting new people (including some fellow LinkedIn colleagues I hadn’t crossed paths with yet!) and attending conversations focused on AI (TLDR: agents will allow for more creativity and make jobs more enriching, not necessarily redundant), and the growth of women's sports. Grateful to be part of a culture that keeps creating space for these moments. Thank you to Jessica Ly Chelsea Snow Jacqueline Jones Rosanna Durruthy 💙 #LinkedInLife #Belonging #WomenInTech #LWT

Not only did Women Who Code TechFutures summit bring together some of the BRIGHTEST ideas, BIGGEST names, and BRILLIANT #womenintech + allies leaders across the #technology industry and beyond; it brought together the power of Amazon Web Services (AWS) #AWSNovaPro + #AWSBedrock + the art of perfumery from distinguished mixologists of Paris. Anyone who knows me (IRL, not through social proximity) knows that I thoroughly enjoy making things; I handcraft 4 custom fragrances (seasonal) amongst many other body, beauty, and home goods throughout the year. 🤗 I had a "Scent-sational" experience co-crafting my newest signature fragrances with #GenerativeAI + #TheFragranceLab activation—this wasn't just a demo; it was a peek into the future of ultra-personalized commerce. As a technologist and engineer who has built many applications and Knowledge Bases on AWS Bedrock, I walked in skeptical and left absolutely captivated and in awe by the seamless blend of human creativity and machine intelligence. The core power wasn't just in mixing fine oils; it was in the #NLP (Natural Language Processing) driven by Amazon Nova Pro—we are moving beyond clunky dropdown menus and quizzes; I simply had a natural conversation, sharing a few words describing my vibe, and detailing my preferences but Nova Pro didn’t just transcribe; it interpreted and intelligently converted raw subjective data into perfectly tailored product specifications. Think about the complexity: a simple phrase like "I want something that feels like an cosmic flower" has to be mapped to a precise olfactory taxonomy. Nova Pro handles this complex, multi-modal translation, transforming human desire into concrete, curated fragrance notes from the deep, grounding base notes to the bright, fleeting top notes... and wallah, my newest fragrance "ASTRALUNA". This is generative AI augmenting, not replacing, the art of perfumery. This proof-of-concept didn't just create me a custom product; it immediately addressed the next logical step in the customer journey; personalizing campaign assets. Imagine, the same data that defined my unique scent can instantly inform a generative model on Bedrock to produce a hyper-targeted ad, banner, or email campaign that authentically connects with me! 🤯 That’s not just personalization; that's authentically tailored commerce at scale! 🥰 As an technologist and a creative, I can't wait to see the evolution and adoption of this for industries far beyond fragrance—like health & wellbeing from personalized supplements and meal ingredients; to fashion with custom apparel. TRULY a game-changer! 💥 🙌🏾

Last week, I got the opportunity to attend the TechFutures conference in NYC with my pals from GE HealthCare Pride Alliance. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not what you would call a "techy" person, but this conference was so much more than tech. There were some fantastic keynotes highlighting how important it is to advocate for yourself, some serious "girl power" on stage with members of the WNBA talking about their experiences in the league, and fantastic workshops with real learning opportunities (like the one I took to teach me how to write better prompts for Copilot) But the real highlight was the time spent with my colleagues - sharing experiences and laughs over meals and drinks and even a Broadway show. So grateful for this opportunity! (PS those last few pictures highlight just a few of the awesome speakers we got to see - Vivian Tu (your rich BFF) and Sophia Bush, Brianna Stewart (WNBA) and her kickass agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas, Megan Rapinoe & Sue Bird (and Tasha Cloud from the WNBA who came on stage right after I took the picture)