Tag Archives: Algeria

TechWomen, Mozilla, Halloween

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Imen Rahal, my TechWomen 2013 mentee from Algeria, gave her final presentation at Mozilla yesterday. Of course, yesterday was also the very-American celebration of Halloween, so the conference room was decorated with bats, ghouls, and the remains of a lively lunchtime costume party. Hear the recording of Imen’s talk on Air Mozilla (thanks to Larissa Shapiro, Imen’s other mentor – and her host at Mozilla).  Next week, the TechWomen travel to Washington D.C.

Larissa reported that the costume contest at Mozilla came down to two teams, one dressed as the Star Trek bridge crew, and the other as the Avengers. The Avengers won – see below for a picture of the ladies dressed as Thor and Iron Man.

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Images Copyright 2013 by Katy Dickinson

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TechWomen’s Last Week in Silicon Valley

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This is the last week for the 78 TechWomen mentees visiting the Silicon Valley from Africa and the Middle East. Next week, they move to Washington DC for meetings with the US State Department, the TechWomen program sponsors. Some of us 106 mentors will be going with them! Last weekend, Larissa, Imen, and I and our families rode the annual Ghost Train at the Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, CA. We also joined the TechWomen farewell potluck picnic at Huddart Park in Woodside.  Imen joined our Shakespeare Reading Group, celebrating Halloween by reading Macbeth.

Today, Imen is giving her final technical presentation at Mozilla, the company which has generously hosted her this month. After our trip to the capitol, we will be sad to see Imen return home to Algeria.

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Images Copyright 2013 by Katy Dickinson

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Jazz and Sales: TechWomen Cultural Exploration

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In my role as a 2013 TechWomen cultural mentor, this month Imen and I have gone to places and events of my choosing, but also of hers. Two of the events that Imen picked were a Women in Technology International (WITI) sales workshop last week, and a San Jose Jazz music evening featuring Moy Eng and the Steve Nakano Quartet – at the San Jose Fairmont Hotel.  Very different but interesting!

The WITI “Five Factors of Sales Success!” content by Judy Frank was a surprise to Imen. The focus was on “Operating Principles – the 5 Cs”: Communication, Collaboration, Commitment, Competence, and Creativity. I think Imen was expecting less about personality styles and more on how to “Ask for the Sale”. Last night’s jazz event was elegantly presented and fun. Imen says she learned to enjoy jazz at home in Algeria.

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Images copyright 2013 by Katy Dickinson

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TechWomen at Twitter

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Twitter generously hosted a TechWomen community event last night at their San Francisco headquarters. Hundreds of mentees, mentors, and guests enjoyed food and speakers, plus lively networking and discussion. Imen, Larissa and I kept losing each other in the crowd!  We enjoyed sending tweets from Twitter HQ.  Twitter even provided a little wooden birdhouse that took silly photos then posted the images in tweets.

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Cultural Adventures with TechWomen

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Larissa Shapiro (Mozilla) and I are mentoring Imen Rahal from Algeria during this month as part of the TechWomen program of the US State Department. Last weekend, we cooked dinner together at my house on Friday night, then on Saturday and Sunday went on two cultural tours (with Imen and other TechWomen friends), to see unique California sites such as:

We are enjoying our time together!

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Images Copyright 2013 by Katy Dickinson

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TechWomen 2013 Orientation

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Today was the big orientation day for the 78 TechWomen mentees from 16 countries in Africa and the Middle East, and the 106 mentors from 160 Silicon Valley companies. TechWomen is an Initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs – for professional women working in STEM from Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Palestine, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

Juniper Networks hosted the event in their “Aspiration Dome” building in Sunnyvale, California. Larissa Shapiro (Mozilla) and I are mentoring Imen Rahal from Algeria during this month. Larissa and I are among about a dozen mentors enjoying our third year with TechWomen. Barbara Fittipaldi (CEO at the Center for New Futures) lead the group in discussions on how to develop and fulfill our visions. It was an inspiring day!

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1st TechWomen 2013 Weekend

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My TechWomen mentee Imen arrived from Algeria last week. We had fun this weekend touring San Francisco. We started at the Women 2.0 – Founder Friday event, together with all 78 mentees from 16 countries in the Middle East and Africa, plus many of the Silicon Valley mentors. Yesterday, we visited Golden Gate park. Today, we saw the last American Conservatory Theater performance of the 1776 musical, then went on a night drive through San Francisco. Tomorrow is the TechWomen Welcome Orientation.

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Images Copyright 2013 by Katy Dickinson

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