Tag Archives: San Francisco

August 8, 2015 · 12:00 pm

TechWomen 2015, Mentoring Standard, Notable Technical Women, Wikipedia

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TechWomen 2015:  The TechWomen 2015 year has started! Professional and Cultural mentors for the 99 Emerging Leaders from 19 countries who will participate in the five-week program are being notified of acceptances. I have been honored to be selected as a Cultural Mentor for the South Bay Area in the Arts & Culture group. I am looking forward to working with Emerging Leaders and other mentors in the Silicon Valley. Since 2011, 156 women from Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Palestine, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia, Yemen, and Zimbabwe have participated. The 2015 TechWomen program will expand to include women from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

This year, my company Mentoring Standard will be offering training and certification for TechWomen mentors. Our Team is now developing those materials. We are very much looking forward to supporting this outstanding program of citizen diplomacy by the US Department of State – Bureau of Educational Cultural Affairs.

Notable Technical Women: The Notable Technical Women project by Jessica Dickinson Goodman (California Department of Justice), Dr. Susan Rodger (Duke University), and me is also thriving: Jessica just placed a big re-order of the Notable Women in Computing card decks and posters, and the TechWomen cards and posters continue to sell steadily. TechWomen Director Arezoo Miot is pictured above with the TechWomen poster in her Institute of International Education office in San Francisco.

Want to write for Wikipedia? We welcome corrections and additions to information on the Notable Technical Women materials. Since the first printing in November 2014, eight honorees have had new Wikipedia biographies written (or we found pages about them): Clarisse Sieckenius de Souza, Laurie Hendren, Kathleen McKeown, Betty Snyder (aka Betty Holberton), Valerie Taylor, Marlyn Wescoff (aka Marilyn Meltzer), Linda Petzold, and Lixia Zhang. There are only six Notable Technical Women honorees left (out of the 54 honorees) who need biographies written: Anuradha Annaswamy, Chieko Asakawa, Qiheng Hu, Yuqing Gao, Lila Ibrahim, and Sophie Vandebroek. We update the cards as possible between printings.

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IMG_7833 Susan, Jessica, and Katy – June 2015

Images Copyright 2015 by Katy Dickinson

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July 8, 2015 · 10:55 am

Become a Mentor with TechWomen!

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The Mentor Application for the 2015 TechWomen is now open!

I have been working with the TechWomen program since 2010 and I highly recommend it as a life-changing and exceptionally rewarding professional and personal experience!  These photos are of TechWomen mentees and friends from Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Algeria – some of the most impressive and capable women I know!

Apply by July 19th for priority consideration.

Professional Mentor Application

Eligibility Requirements

Professional Mentor applicants must be

  • Women working in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) in the San Francisco Bay Area.
  • Able to host an Emerging Leader at their company’s site.
  • Able to coach the Emerging Leader on the project four days per week for four weeks in October 2015.

Learn more about the Professional Mentor role.

Cultural Mentor Application

Eligibility Requirements

Cultural Mentors applicants must be

  • Women living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area.
  • Willing to coordinate within a group to foster relationships and plan activities of interest to their respective Emerging Leaders.
  • Excited about serving as a cultural ambassador and showcasing all the Bay Area has to offer.
  • Willing to help Emerging Leaders navigate logistical challenges as they settle into life in the Bay Area.

Learn more about the Cultural Mentor role.

TechWomen Mission

The mission of TechWomen is to empower, connect, and support the next generation of women leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by providing them access and opportunity to advance their careers, pursue their dreams, and become role models for women and girls in their communities.

How TechWomen Does It

TechWomen brings emerging women leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from Africa and the Middle East together with their professional counterparts in the United States for a mentorship and exchange program. TechWomen provides participants access to networks, resources, and knowledge to empower them to reach their full potential.

During the five-week program, participants engage in project-based mentorships at leading companies in the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley, participate in professional development workshops and networking events, and travel to Washington, D.C. for targeted meetings and special events to conclude the program.

Over the past three years, 156 women from Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, the Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia, Yemen, and Zimbabwe have participated in TechWomen. The 2015 program will expand to include women from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Mentoring Across the World

The TechWomen experience doesn’t end in California or Washington, D.C. After the program, Emerging Leaders and Mentors have the opportunity to reconnect during delegation trips to program countries in Africa and the Middle East. Programming focuses on expanding networks of women in the STEM fields, creating and strengthening partnerships, encouraging girls to pursue STEM careers, and ensuring the sustainability of Mentor-Emerging Leader relationships.

TechWomen is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). TechWomen, launched in 2011, supports the United States’ global commitment toward advancing the rights and participation of women and girls around the world by enabling them to reach their full potential in the tech industry.

TechWomen is managed by the Center for Women’s Leadership Initiatives (WLI) at the Institute of International Education ® (IIE).

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Images Copyright Katy Dickinson 2012-2015

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July 5, 2015 · 7:14 pm

Lovely 15th Anniversary Train Ride: Amtrak (Salt Lake City – Emeryville)

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John Plocher and I were married 15 years ago on 4 July 2000, so on our way back from two weeks at the Episcopal General Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, we took the train. Amtrak’s California Zephyr goes across vast lovely spaces on its way west. John booked a Superliner Bedroom for our 15 hour trip. Of course, the train was running hours late (don’t get me started on why America’s basic infrastructure is so poorly supported) but we had planned for that. We boarded in Salt Lake City just as the day dawned and got into Emeryville, California, long after sunset. We saw plains and mountains, farms and ranches, towns and cities. Other trains passed us and we even went slowly through the vast Union Pacific Roseville Yard, so John got his fill of trains for once. It was a glorious day.

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern impassion’d stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

“America the Beautiful” 1910 by Katharine Lee Bates

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Images Copyright 2015 by Katy Dickinson

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June 16, 2015 · 6:52 pm

History of Women in Computing and Women Leaders in Computing

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Last week, Dr. Telle Whitney (CEO and President, Anita Borg Institute), Dr. Susan Rodger (Professor of the Practice in the Computer Science Department at Duke University) and I gave talks on the “History of Women in Computing and Women Leaders in Computing” – as part of the Microsoft Research Gender Diversity Lecture Series, in Redmond, Washington. We were joined at the event by Jody Mahoney (of ABI, who lives in San Francisco) and my daughter Jessica Dickinson Goodman, (who lives in Seattle). We were invited to speak by Dr. Rane Johnson-Stempson and Dr. Jaime Teevan took good care of us while we were at MSR.

Susan, Jessica, and I have been working together since last summer on the Notable Technical Women project but (even though we created a successful Hopper Conference October 2014 Poster and Kickstarter together) we three had never met in-person before.  We had great fun talking and walking around Seattle together after the Seminar.  We are looking forward to getting a link to the video of our talks.

19 June 2015: Microsoft Research posted the video with Dr. Telle Whitney, Dr. Susan Rodger, and me speaking: “Microsoft Research Gender Diversity Lecture Series 5: History of Women in Computing and Women Leaders in Computing”

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Images Copyright 2015 by Katy Dickinson and Jessica Dickinson Goodman

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May 17, 2015 · 10:07 pm

Maker Faire in San Mateo, California

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This weekend was the 10th annual Maker Faire in the San Francisco Bay Area. John and Paul and I bought weekend tickets to the event at the San Mateo Fairgrounds. I could not go yesterday due to the schedule conflict but I had a great time at the fair today. John has been involved in open source hardware and software for many years (see his publications on SPCoast). Paul is a skilled ceramics artist and has recently started metalwork at SJSU. We all enjoy seeing the new DIY tools and demonstrations.

I was delighted to see the US Patent and Trademark Office had a booth where they were distributing cards honoring American inventors – among them Ellen Ochoa who is also an honoree on the Notable Women in Computing card deck and poster. The best part of the Maker Faire is watching children engage with tools and technology – learning to create the world they will live in.

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Images Copyright 2015 by Katy Dickinson

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May 11, 2015 · 4:57 pm

Mentoring Standard at SunEdison

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While we were traveling with the TechWomen Delegation in South Africa in January 2015, sister TechWomen mentor Dr. Teresa Zhang (Global Design & Engineering – SunEdison) invited me to meet StepUp mentoring program participants at her company. Last week, Mentoring Standard Co-Founder Kathy Jenks and I enjoyed talking with solar energy company SunEdison staff in Belmont – located on the picturesque O’Neill Slough of San Francisco Bay. I was honored to be introduced by Tim Derrick, SunEdison General Manager, Advanced Solutions. We enjoyed speaking with about 30 mentors and mentees in the room and another 24 joining by phone. Questions were excellent!

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Images Copyright 2015 by Katy Dickinson and Kathy Jenks

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February 25, 2015 · 4:54 pm

Collection Agency Story with a Happy Ending

I am inspired to write about my own recent experience with a private debt collector (a kind of collection agency) by today’s article “Locked Up for Being Poor – How private debt collectors contribute to a cycle of jail, unemployment, and poverty” by Jessica Pishko (in The Atlantic, 25 February 2015). While I was certainly not locked up, it did take over six months and many phone calls to resolve my recent copayment discussion with University of California – San Francisco Medical Center (UCSF). Remarkably, the collection agency is the hero of my story.

I wrote a blog last year “P-Phenylenediamine – Allergy to Hair Dye” in which I mentioned that I was being treated by the medically-excellent UCSF Dermatology Clinic. My debt discussions with UCSF Financial Services started because on my 2 June 2014 visit, the clinic receptionist did not ask for the regular copayment of $15. I sent in the $15 copay on 7 July 2014 as part of the regular UCSF billing cycle. Something went wrong because my payment was not recorded. UCSF kept billing me each month for $15. I phoned them a few times but figured it would sort itself out. By 5 December, when I was still being billed $15 a month for the 2 June copayment, I decided it was easier to pay $15 again than continue to call. Then, I got a letter dated 24 December from Transworld Systems – a collection agency – asking me to pay them the $15 owed to UCSF.

I called UCSF some more and even mailed a letter on 7 January 2015 to UCSF (including copies of both of my cancelled checks for $15) objecting to being asked to pay the $15 copayment for a third time. UCSF Financial Services staff kept telling me that they no record of either my payments or my letter and said I still owed $15.  Communications were made more difficult because UCSF only wanted to communicate by fax (not email or paper mail). I send a fax maybe once a year.  However, I re-sent the letter by fax.  UCSF Financial Services still said they did not receive it.

Fortunately, I also phoned Transworld Systems, told them that the debt had already been paid twice and asked them to help work with UCSF Financial Services. I sent Transworld Systems a copy of the 7 January letter and copies of the two cancelled checks. The Transworld Systems staff were finally able to get UCSF Financial Services to recognize that the debt had been paid – they even said that UCSF would refund my second $15 copay! The refund hasn’t arrived yet but I am just going to let it go.

5 March 2015 update: A check for $15 arrived from UCSF (just the check – no letter – and sent to the wrong address) dated 11 February 2015.  Happy to get it.

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