On March 3, the Women and Minorities in Tech group had an exciting meetup with some esteemed panel guests! After networking and enjoying some appetizers and beverages sponsored by “We Shop and Deliver Orlando,” we interviewed several highly experienced women and minorities from many facets of the technology industry.
Our distinguished panel consisted of:
- Leslie Hielema–Vice President of The Orlando Center, Florida Institute of Technology.
- Cathy Ngo–a Senior Software Engineer at Symantec.
- Tammy Ortiz–an Instructor and Small Business Specialist.
- Eugene Outler–a Senior Customer Program Manager at Xyratex.
- Dr. John Pastrana–a UCF Research Associate with the IEMS Simulation Interoperability Lab
- Melissa Saelzer–an Electrical Engineer at Lockheed Martin, Innovations Garage Research and Development Team.
“We’re so appreciative of our panelists taking time to come out to share themselves and their stories with us,” said Carlos Carbonell, who helped organize the Meetup, “They all showed us how truly diverse the tech industry is, and has the potential to be.”
Each panelist shared his or her career path, discussed obstacles they encountered along the way, and shed some light on what a typical day or week is like for them in their position. All in all, the nearly 60 people that attended left inspired and eager for the next meetup.
Remember to keep an eye on the Meetup page for upcoming meetups we host. All meetups are hosted in the Church Street Exchange building by the Amway Center. Unless otherwise mentioned, the meetups will take place in the Ivanhoe and Eola large conference rooms located in the middle of Canvs.
See you at the next Meetup!
