Education & Learning:

• Bachelor of Computer Engineering

• Halfway through completing my MBA at Boston College (doing it part time)

• My favourite author (and business leader) is Sheryl Sandberg. I am a passionate advocate for the principles of her book Lean In.

 

"Everyone talks about how there is a huge shortage of qualified technical people (especially women). This is partially true, but the full truth is tech is highly competitive if you are ambitious. I started my MBA after working for seven years. I realized this was essential for me to get to the next level of management. The best thing is my company is sponsoring my MBA. Consider education a lifelong challenge."

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Employment Experiences:

• Help desk technician while in university

• Did internship with local utility as an application developer. Focus was on customer support applications.

• At graduation, hired as a display quality associate for a global handset manufacturer. Transitioned to firmware development group.

• After three years, I took a transfer to their hardware design centre in Boston as a hardware engineer

 

"Start your career now; if you wait until you graduate, you will already be far behind. Reading about how to do something is important, but doing it (and failing) is your real education. My career has spanned a lot of experiences and all with a clear purpose. As a help desk technician, I worked with real customers. My utility internship gave me experience in working as an application developer. Both set me up for getting a job with a large handset manufacturer at graduation."

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Community Experiences:

• I was the president of Women in Engineering and Computer Science at my university. This is a personal passion of mine and I remain active in the local chapter of Women in Engineering Canada and facilitate a Lean In Circle.

• Part of my volunteer work is speaking at local high schools about the importance of women pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)

• I am also an active member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

 

"I have been passionate about the issue of women pursuing careers in technology since high school. Speaking at high schools inspires me as much as I suspect it inspires them. Part of my commitment is to encourage female students to pursue careers in science and technology."

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Contextual Experiences:

• I’m a passionate traveler. My personal goal is 30 by 30. Visit 30 countries by age 30.

• Did a three-month temporary posting with my current company in their Boston design centre. This opened a full-time opportunity.

 

"Travel taught me the reality that “context matters.” For me, this recognition has triggered an intrinsic and authentic curiosity in people. Traveling also exposed me to the real need to empower women through involvement in the technology industry."

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Relationships:

• I’ve built a diverse mentor team of engineers, technologists and business leaders over the years. Much of my mentoring team is intentionally made up of women, because of my desire to make a significant impact in fostering the participation of women in the technology age.

 

"My mentors coached me to avoid specializing too early and to get out of the cubicle and into the field. I owe them a lot for pushing me."