Navixha, a dynamic mindset mentor, women's leadership advocate, and seasoned corporate leader is a vibrant changemaker in Greater Philadelphia. With 23 years in corporate IT, her strategic leadership has helped organizations align with their strategic vision and optimize processes for enhanced value realization.

Bringing over 25 years of life coaching and personal excellence mentoring, Navixha empowers individuals and organizations to unlock their full potential, fostering their most dynamic and effective selves. Beyond mental health, she passionately champions women's leadership, recognizing women as a societal cornerstone with insightful, effective, and inherent leadership qualities.

In a trailblazing initiative, Navixha curated the inaugural 5K Saree Walk outside of India in September 2022, challenging century-old stereotypes and spotlighting women's leadership. Her transformative mindset mentoring programs guide individuals to reconnect with their inner powerhouse for heightened life experiences. Simultaneously, her leadership development and women empowerment programs enable organizations to unleash the true potential of their diverse and highly productive workforce.

As Chief Revenue Officer at Per Scholas, Caitlyn leads strategic development and partnerships to foster the growth of a national organization changing the face of technology. She builds partnerships with companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies seeking diverse technical talent, and governments and donors that support no-cost training and professional development to foster economic mobility. To date, 25,000+ individuals have been trained through Per Scholas, propelling their professional trajectories into high-growth tech careers with salaries three times higher than their pre-training earnings, and more than 1,000 employers benefit from their talent pipeline today.

Since she joined the organization in 2017, Caitlyn has helped increase Per Scholas revenue 6x, providing the fuel needed to bring tuition-free training to 25 U.S. cities. Caitlyn has more than 20 years of experience in the public and non-profit sectors in fundraising and communications, program evaluation and design, research, policy advocacy, and organizational development. She is an accomplished speaker and was named to the “Top 100 Women Leaders NYC” list by Women We Admire in 2021.

Lisa Delly is a Senior Business and Technology Executive with 25+ years’ experience helping organizations achieve outcomes through technology innovation. Lisa has a passion for and commitment to people development while building, leading, and growing diverse teams. She takes pride in being a collaborative leader, a trusted partner and advisor with a “roll-up your sleeves” approach to driving business outcomes. Her passion for technology has afforded her opportunities to do “work that matters” and continues to fuel her strong commitment to coaching and mentoring young women to shape tomorrow’s Technology leaders. Lisa is a loving wife and proud mother of two boys.

Elizabeth Collins is a Sales Engineering Manager at Juniper Networks with 17 years of expertise in the technology and telecommunications sectors. Currently she leads a team that drives solutions for Enterprise locations across the New England Region, leveraging her expertise in sales management and customer service. In her prior career, Elizabeth served as a Wal-Mart Manager, where she started her servant leadership journey and honed her business acumen. With a solid foundation in both technical and leadership capabilities, Elizabeth brings a relentless commitment to delivering excellence in every endeavor, consistently growing, and improving diversity in the technology sector.

Ricardo De La Cruz oversees internal tech operations as the Head of IT for The Barbarian Group, a digital advertising agency. Aside from his tech leadership, he educates the next generation of leaders as a lecturer for the Technology Management program at Columbia University. He serves on the board for Society for Information Management (SIM) NY Metro Chapter, the Black Alumni Council for Columbia University, as well as the Latino Alumni Association of Columbia University. Staying close to his values, Ricardo prides himself as a human-centered leader and an advocate for his communities, paying it forward and elevating the voices of the unheard.

Yatin Dhareshwar leads a team of Digital Transformation enablers engaged in providing thought leadership and technical advice, defining IT strategy and roadmaps, creating new products and services, optimizing business processes, and reducing technical debt. He has over 35 years of industry experience, 16 of which with the YASH family.

Gladman Dibi is the Global Managing Director of Security Architecture & Cyber Incident Response at Omnicom Group (OMC) celebrating 18 years leading and speaking about security transformation. Recognized globally as a security thought leader for his track record of creating security strategy and transformation plans for companies with 100,000+ employees, Gladman has expertise in cyber defense strategy, the application of such techniques in disparate business environments, and a comprehensive engineering background. He is a renaissance man who earned a Masters of Science in Security Engineering from Southern Methodist University and who enjoys spending time with family, cattle ranching, and playing the violin.

Candice is a non-profit leader with more than 15 years of experience supporting local (Atlanta), national, and international organizations. Her work has centered on community building, workforce development, gender equity, health equity, human trafficking, and programs empowering women and girls.

Candice has raised more than $20 million for nonprofit organizations and currently serves as Command Shift Executive Director for NPower. Command Shift is a coalition of corporate, nonprofit, and community leaders committed to accelerating more women, especially those from under-resourced communities, in tech. The Coalition’s goal is to increase women of color in tech from 5% to 10% by 2030.

Candice is a committed community leader, having volunteered for Whitefoord.org, United Way of Greater Atlanta, and LEAD Atlanta. She is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the LEAD Atlanta Class of 2015. Candice was recognized as one of Atlanta's 40 under 40 by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and is a member of the 2022 PRovoke Media Innovator 25 class.

Joy is an experienced institutional investor, M&A advisor, and startup programming developer. She has worked across sectors and verticals and is now leading two of PVP’s funds: the Impact and Womens funds. Joy has served as a faculty member at Columbia Business School where she organized the university’s first cross-campus startup hackathon and taught the impact venture incubator course.

Joy’s specialty is international scaling, exit strategies, M&A transactions, turnarounds, and product management.

Joy is an active supporter of entrepreneurial ecosystems at incubators and accelerators across the US and abroad such as the Blackstone Launchpad, Techstars, Stanford, Columbia, and NYU among others.

Joy’s superpower is identifying high potential founders and guiding them to success."

Bio coming soon!

Anu Ganesh - Deputy Chief - Enterprise Architecture, Strategy and Planning at Metro Transportation Authority (MTA), New York. She Joined MTA March 2023. She is responsible for defining, upholding, and communicating the vision of IT architecture and solutions. Anu leads the architecture team and provides overall direction and guidance in building business capabilities. She works collaboratively across the MTA to enable business and technology leaders to make investment decisions that balance and prioritize operational demands, opportunities, and disruptions with strategic vision.

She has 25 years of hands-on experience in nuclear industrial control systems engineering, technical training, enterprise architecture, systems integration, project management, change management, data science, and operations technology within the defense nuclear industry.

Prior to joining MTA, Anu was the Principal Research Director and Technical Counselor of Info-Tech Research Group. She led the Architecture, Digital Twin, Data, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence practices. Anu has also served as researcher and technical advisor for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), NASA’s Glenn Research Center, Goddard Space Center, and the Kennedy Space Center, supporting mission-critical initiatives. During her tenure with Washington River Protection Solutions, Anu was the Chief Enterprise Architect and Project Security Officer for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Nuclear site. She established an Enterprise Architecture Center of Excellence, implemented Technology Business Management with an adaptive governance model, and led the Enterprise Data Management and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning initiatives for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management. She has served as a lead Technical Advisor to the Federal CIO/CTO/CTAIO and others across all nuclear sites for managing CISA Emergency Directives, Executive Orders, FISMA and FedRAMP compliance.

Anu is devoted to the cause of elevating the career goals of young women through coaching and mentoring.

Joan Holman is the Chief Information Officer at Barnes & Thornburg LLP in Dallas, Texas. Joan joined the firm in 2023 and is responsible for all strategic and operational aspects of Information Technology for the firm. Prior to Barnes & Thornburg, Joan spent 10 years in legal at Clark Hill and Strasbuarger. Joan also has experience in life sciences and environmental services. Telecomm and financial industries. Joan has over 20 years of experience leading Information Technology, Strategy, Development, and Operations for several public and private companies in the Environmental Services, Telecommunications, and Financial Services industries.

Outside of the workplace, Joan spends her time promoting STEM initiatives and giving back to her industry and community through her efforts in the Society for Information Management, participation in Dallas CIO, and as an active member of T200, an executive women in technology peer group. She is an active member of the board of Make-A-Wish North Texas and participates in Executive Women’s Roundtable as part of the Dallas Regional Chamber. Joan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Texas at Dallas. In August 2016, Joan was recognized by the Dallas Business Journal as one of its 2016 “Women in Technology” for her contributions to the technology community both professionally and philanthropically.

Hsing Hsing Li is COO of Aceler8.ai. She is a technology executive, operational integrator, and transformation leader with 20+ years of experience accelerating scale and new revenue, modernizing businesses, and driving global digital innovation for Fortune 500 companies such as Marsh McLennan, Goldman Sachs, AIG, Fidelity, Omnicom, Publicis.

Hsing Hsing has led strategic planning for AI, D&A, client experience, and cost efficiencies and delivered digital products and roadmap execution across 130 countries. She has helped high-tech players take B2B and DTC products to market, develop digital B2B2C marketplaces, and increase digital and recurring revenue for industries managing disruption. She is a speaker on the topics of enterprise AI, digital strategy and operations, corporate innovation and portfolio performance. She has served on fiduciary and advisory boards of organization such as SIM, BoardStrong/Governance Matters, and the United States Venture Council. She holds a BS in Engineering from Columbia University and an MBA from NYU.

An accomplished executive and business leader, Fern is passionate about driving positive change, creating collaborative and inclusive work environments, and building highly effective, high-performance teams. After 32 years of service, Fern recently retired from PepsiCo in February 2024. Her immediate past IT executive role was CTO Vice President, a role she held since Jan 2021. In this role, Fern led a large global organization to ensure high-quality delivery and availability of sector-based IT infrastructure, while delivering exceptional end-user experiences. Before this role, Fern led a global program to extend and build cybersecurity capability across PepsiCo’s supply chain (350 manufacturing plants; 2,500 distribution centers/ warehouses). She has broad technical and functional expertise with global program management best practices and delivery, collaborative senior management partnerships, a drive for increased productivity, and strong organizational leadership.

In addition to her work within IT, Fern was an active champion of PepsiCo’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. Her efforts led to best practices and programs in Diversity which effected positive change, helped advance the careers of hundreds of employees, and vastly improved the organization. She led and worked with affinity groups to enhance awareness through educational and community-based events, activities, programs, and projects encompassing all dimensions of diversity. She was recognized for her contributions with three Harvey C. Russell Chairman’s Awards for Diversity.

Fern has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pace University in Pleasantville, NY. She sits on several boards and advisory councils - IT Senior Management Forum, North Texas Business Council for the Arts, DFW Alliance of Technology and Women, Forrester’s North American Technology and Innovation Advisory Council, and is a board of trustee for the Dallas Museum of Art. Fern is quite the world traveler and foodie! She enjoys entertaining her family and friends in her home in Frisco, TX.

Cher Jones is the founder of Socially Active, a corporate training company that specializes in personal branding for the hybrid workplace. She teaches leaders, consultants, and experts how to develop a professional digital presence that makes people want to work with them, for them and champion them. To do this, she leverages well over two decades of PR, marketing and broadcasting experience while tapping into her love of technology which is clearly hardwired into her personality. Over the years she has worked internationally with Lockheed Martin, BNY Mellon, Fannie Mae and HP to name a few.

You can experience her deep knowledge, infectious energy, and genuine conviction for what she teaches in the content she creates. In fact, LinkedIn’s Editor and Chief publicly recognized Cher as a “Creator to Watch”. The network has also used her content to highlight best practices and hired her as an official LinkedIn Learning Instructor 3X. Cher is also the creator of a popular LinkedIn Live series called #JustAskCher where she offers tips and advice to help you develop a powerful and professional brand online! She also produced and cohosted Icons & Insights, a podcast featuring iconic leaders from the tech industry and hosted The Black Professionals in Tech Network’s weekly global masterclass series too.

Daphne E. Jones is a Fortune 50 technology and business leader whose disruptive digital strategies focus on business objectives, culture, capabilities & technology to drive innovation and transform corporate business models. A retired SVP and Chief Information Officer; Daphne is highly regarded as a global executive, business advisor and digital strategist who has led organizations to reimagine their businesses with agility, customer centricity and market speed.

Maria Lensing is Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Infrastructure, Engineering and Operations for McKesson Corporation.

Maria is responsible for developing McKesson’s technology stack vision, strategy, and architecture, which are fundamental to the business portfolio for data and digital technologies. Her responsibilities also include a strong focus on engineering design and operational excellence to optimize performance levels. With extensive and consistent leadership experience, Maria is focused on empowering McKesson through the technology platform that her team develops and sustains.

Prior to McKesson, Maria served as Vice President of Healthcare Solutions at AT&T Business, where she was responsible for developing and delivering integrated technology solutions to fuel large-scale digital transformations in the top 1500 healthcare companies worldwide. During her 11-year tenure at AT&T, she held leadership roles of increasing responsibility, including serving as the chief of staff to the CEO for AT&T Business, where she oversaw all operations and business planning for this $70B business unit. She also worked at Rockwell Collins, where she was responsible for global IT operations and solution delivery across all business segments.

Maria has a long legacy of engineering, sales and leadership success built on a foundation of innovation. She has a strong track record of delivering results, including transforming an organization to focus on the company’s strategic imperatives and collaborating across many groups to secure its implementation. She was very successful in providing solutions to AT&T’s largest clients to enable their own digital transformations and in accelerating Rockwell Collins’ technical operations to exceed their goals.

Maria has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science in Engineering Management from Christian Brothers University (CBU). She completed her Executive Education from Harvard Business School and is actively involved in many local and national nonprofits. Maria is a director for the Hispanic IT Executive Council (HITEC), an Orbis International Board Member and a trustee for CBU.

Maria is passionate about STEM opportunities for our youth, as well as minority inclusion and women in leadership. She is active in these areas and has invested time in multicultural programs to further promote STEM for youth and women in business. She has received many awards and recognitions for her work, including being named among the 100 Most Influential Hispanic Leaders in Technology in 2020 by HITEC, the 2019 Women in Business by the Dallas Business Journal and the Top 12 Latina Corporate Executive of the year in 2018 by Latina Style, Inc. Maria is fluent in English and Spanish and has been published by the Huffington Post. Maria and her family reside in Dallas.

Amanda works as Director, Research, People & Leadership at Info-Tech Research Group. She is responsible for researching, developing and delivering leadership development programs and providing tools, resources and processes to build and drive the success of leaders in a disruptive world.

Joining ITRG in 2019, she brings experience from 20 years of leadership and learning development that includes various industries Pharmaceuticals, Retail and Financial Services. She takes a practical, experiential approach to learning grounded in adult learning methodologies and leadership theory. She is passionate about identifying and developing potential as well as ensuring leader success as they transition into more senior roles.

Amanda has her Master of Arts, Leadership & Organization Development from Feilding Graduate University and Bachelor of Commerce Degree.

Dr. Quintin McGrath, D.B.A., is SIM Research Institute’s Executive Director. He is a retired Deloitte IT executive and founder of QplusAI LLC. He advises business leaders on the impact of the latest emerging technologies, most recently focusing on AI, ethics, and risk management. Quintin serves on the CXO Advisory Network of the A.Team and Blumberg Capital’s CIO Council. He is a board member of The Mentor Project and the SIM Tampa Bay chapter and a Research Fellow at AI and Faith. Quintin is a popular speaker, panelist, and Adjunct Professor at USF’s Muma College of Business, teaching Executive MBA students.

Elaine Norman is Vice President of Member Services & External Affairs for the IT Senior Management Forum (ITSMF). ITSMF increases the representation of black professionals at senior levels in technology, to impact organizational innovation and growth. ITSMF accomplishes this by developing and nurturing these dynamic leaders through a series of rich, developmental, and career-advancing programs.

As an accomplished technology, strategy and operations management-focused executive, Elaine has always been drawn to companies dedicated to innovation and improving the human condition. She has previously served as Vice President, Support Services for Elekta, Inc, Senior Director, within Hewlett Packard’s Global PMO Office & Office of the CIO; Senior Director of the Enterprise PMO for SageNet, Vice President Technology for The American Cancer Society; Senior Director of IT Strategy and Planning for Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and Chief Information Officer for The United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta.

Throughout her 25+ year career, Elaine has been a driving force behind numerous key technology initiates and programs that have led to significant cost savings, increased productivity, and improved enterprise wide operations. And as an accomplished executive and business leader, Elaine is passionate about driving positive change, creating collaborative and inclusive work environments, and building highly effective, high-performance teams. Her industry expertise includes High-Tech, Telecommunications, Consumer Products, Healthcare and Human Services.

Elaine has served as an advisory board member for the Global Leadership Forum, Georgia CIO Leadership Association, IT Senior Management Forum and as an advisor for the Women in Technology (WIT) Foundation. She serves on several industry committees for organizations such as the Women’s Business Council, and SIM Women Leadership Summit. She has also received numerous industry awards for her contribution to technology leadership such as Woman of the Year in Technology by WIT (Women in Technology); CIO of the Year, by the CIO ORBIE; Atlanta's 100 Most Influential Women from Women Looking Ahead Magazine, and as a featured MBA alumnus from the Gouizetta School of Emory University.

Elaine has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and Behavioral Science from Oglethorpe University and an MBA from Emory University.

Within five years of starting her online genderless clothing brand, it is now a seven-figure company on a mission to revolutionize the genderless fashion movement. Vicky has always had a passion for compassion and believes that so many of us do not fit in today’s binary norms in the retail world. By creating a body-positive, accepting community, we can all build confidence within ourselves and within each other to create a world we can all “fit” into.

TianEn Stephenson is an author of Closed Mouths, Don’t Get Fed: the recipe of asking and getting what you want in the workplace, which releases on June 4, 2024. Through her book, she provides practical knowledge and guidance on how to be successful through speaking up, being curious, and going after the career she wants. She is also a motivational speaker and career curator, where she helps others see their potential and ambitions in their careers.

TianEn is a Digital Products and Delivery Consulting Executive, bringing over 11 years of delivery excellence, product strategy and execution, and quality assurance experience. She is an associate member of Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) and a board member of ScholarShots, a nonprofit organization. She is married to Dionta and has 4 sons (Maximus-11, Titus-7, Caius-3, and Emrys-3 month) and 2 dogs (Chewy and Layla). TianEn and her husband also serves the community with their nonprofit, youth sports organization for football, basketball and track.

Leona Thomas is Founder and President of Enabling Investments, LLC, a strategic management advisory specializing in business transformation, strategy, strategy execution, and technology working with organizations from early-stage startups to global Fortune 500’s as well as investing in underrepresented founders.

Leona’s career includes 25+ years in cross-functional executive leadership and strategic management consulting successfully leading business transformations in multiple industries with organizations such as Slalom Consulting, Benefits Data Trust, Wylie, and CSC Consulting and currently serves on the Boards of Philadelphia City Rowing, SIM Women, SIM National’s DEI Council, and SIM Philadelphia and is actively involved within her multiple communities.

Angela Venuk joined Datascan as Chief Information Officer in April 2022. Angela’s experience is the culmination of over 30 years in Information Technology in industries such as retail and telecommunications. She is passionate about accelerating business growth through technology innovation while building high-functioning, diverse teams. Aspires to an influential coach, change agent, and connector throughout the technology industry. She has led a number of leadership development cohorts, sponsored Employee Resource Groups, and serves as an active mentor to a number of aspiring leaders.

Kelly Ann Winget is an accomplished alternative investments expert and the founder of Alternative Wealth Partners (AWP), the first private equity firm founded and led by a millennial, openly LGBTQ+ woman. Kelly Ann has raised close to $1 billion in capital for startups, energy companies, manufacturing ventures, real estate, and other key emerging markets, including initiatives in Opportunity Zone Funds (OZF). She excels in managing diversified funds, combining smart tax strategies with community empowerment.

A nationally recognized trailblazer, Kelly Ann has been featured in The New York Times, Newsweek, Business Insider, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, and Yahoo! Finance, among other media outlets. She is also the author of Pitch the Bitch: Grab Your Financial Future by the Bags (May 2023) and a sought-after keynote speaker and panelist who has shared her expertise at events such as Alts Expo, Women’s Venture Summit, 1640 Society Family Office Forum, and Wealthy Women Summits. Kelly partners with the WOMO Foundation (Women & Money) on its mission to build a more inclusive and prosperous tomorrow in which diverse capital fuels diverse solutions. She is also a partner and speaker with Diversity Crew.

Kelly Ann is a passionate advocate for empowering others and creating positive change through various philanthropic and commercial ventures. Alongside her thought leadership in investment equity and inclusion, she also spearheads fundraising efforts for charities that support children and families, such as Wipe Out Kids’ Cancer, and causes aiding survivors of domestic violence. When not working, Kelly Ann enjoys traveling with her wife, spending time with family, and cuddling with her three big dogs.