Tag Archives: Silicon Valley

July 1, 2011 · 11:21 pm

Last TechWomen Day in Silicon Valley

This has been an inspiring and amazing month working with the 37 TechWomen mentees during their visit to the Silicon Valley. Between workdays, we have held workshops, techtalks, and company tours as well as enjoying more conventional tourist activities. This week, I went with the Mentees to visit Intel and Yahoo! Yesterday was our 3 Mentees’ last day at Huawei (we will miss them!). Today, I was one of three judges of the final TechWomen presentations by the Mentees, hosted by Cisco, followed by a party hosted by Google. The other judges were: Heather Ramsey of IIE, and Telle Whitney of ABI.

I am so proud of all of the Mentees! Sunday, we fly to Washington DC to visit the US State Department together.

Images by Katy Dickinson 2011 Copyright

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Filed under Hopper - Anita Borg Institute, Mentoring & Other Business, News & Reviews

Tagged as Huawei, Mentoring, Silicon Valley, technical women, TechWomen

June 27, 2011 · 10:08 am

Last TechWomen Week in the Silicon Valley

This is the last week for the 37 TechWomen Mentees from the Middle East and North Africa in the Silicon Valley. In addition to working at Silicon Valley companies, the technical women have been eagerly participating in workshops, tours, and cultural activities. You can read more about Huawei’s TechWomen in “Huawei Participates in TechWomen Mentorship Program Focused on Supporting Future Technologists in the Middle East North Africa Region”.

This program has taken a great deal of preparation work over the last year but spending time with the Mentees and Mentors has been worth it. John and I ate frozen yogurt with two of the Mentees last night on Murphy Avenue in Sunnyvale. They have adapted and learned so much – I am very proud of them!

Image Copyright Katy Dickinson 2011

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Filed under Hopper - Anita Borg Institute, Mentoring & Other Business, News & Reviews

Tagged as Huawei, Mentoring, Middle East, Paul, Silicon Valley, technical women, TechWomen

May 31, 2011 · 11:50 pm

Getting Ready: Silicon Valley TechWomen

The TechWomen program staff have been working for about nine months to get ready for 38 Mentees from 6 countries and territories who will be arriving soon from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to work in the Silicon Valley in June 2011. We have already held the Mentor Training and are getting ready for Mentee orientation. After that, I will be one of the teachers for the Mentor-Mentee Workshop, to be held the day before the Mentees start work.

I have been answering questions for weeks from Mentors and other company representatives about Export status, non-disclosure agreements, Human Resources policies, laptop usage and security, project plans, plus all of the other details we need to sort through so that the companies will be ready to host their Mentees.

I am eager to meet the Mentees that Huawei will host. We have an office for them. I have seen their pictures. I know their backgrounds but I still have no idea if I am pronouncing their names correctly…

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Filed under Mentoring & Other Business, News & Reviews

Tagged as Huawei, Mentoring, Middle East, Silicon Valley, teaching, technical women, TechWomen

October 13, 2010 · 9:15 pm

Autumn in the Silicon Valley

We are having a hot Autumn here in the Silicon Valley. It hit 92 degrees Fahrenheit in San Jose today. We had a tiny rain last week but it may be months before the first real storms blow in. As always, the plants are confused as to whether to bloom or turn colors for Winter – so, we get both together. Right now, it is a balmy evening and the crickets are chirping outside.

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Tagged as garden, insects, San Jose, Silicon Valley

March 30, 2009 · 10:53 pm

What Happens After College? (Geeks and the Silicon Valley)

15 March 2010: More on this topic is in the blog entry “Transitions for Young Adults with Neurocognitive Deficits”

On Saturday, 4 April 2009, I am giving a talk in Lafayette, California, called “What Happens After College? – Kids with Neurocognitive Disability Working in
Engineering and Computing” at the Orion Academy 3rd Annual Seminar on Post-Secondary Transition Planning for Young Adults with Aspergers, NLD and other Neurocognitive Deficits.

I put together this presentation based on information and advice from many sources as well as from my own experience as the parent of a 16-year-old son with social-cognitive disability. I had particular fun creating the “Geeks and the Silicon Valley” section of the talk. I included my favorite quote from
Larry Wall (creator of Perl): “Most of you are familiar with the virtues of a programmer. There are three, of course: laziness, impatience, and hubris” plus an xkcd cartoon, pictures of tshirts (“You read my t-shirt. That’s enough social interaction for one day.”) from Think Geek and the xkcd store, and other geeky stuff.

The second part of the talk covers what counts in finding a job in the Silicon Valley (Recommendations, Academics, Experience, Being Fast), how to get experience before getting a job (Open Source, Internships, Volunteer Projects, College Jobs), and other essential knowledge. I make several references to The Unwritten Laws of Engineering (Revised and Updated, 2001) by James Skakoon and W.J. King, available from the ASME product catalog. My last quote is
from Ivan Sutherland in his 1996 Technology and Courage (Sun Labs Perspectives-96-1):

“I, for one, am and will always be a practicing technologist.
When denied my minimum daily adult dose of technology, I
get grouchy. I believe that technology is fun, especially when
computers are involved, a sort of grand game or puzzle with
ever so neat parts to fit together… If the technology you do
isn’t fun for you, you may wish to seek other employment.
Without the fun, none of us would go on.”

You can review my presentation online, or you can attend the event to hear it in person!

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Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews

Tagged as Disabilities, Geeks, Paul, Silicon Valley

January 9, 2009 · 1:50 pm

Silicon Valley Christmas

We had a pleasant Christmas at home with family this year. My parents adopted two young Siamese cats. My daughter Jessica came home from Carnegie Mellon University for three weeks. My two brothers and their families visited for almost a week. We drove north to San Francisco several times: to sing Christmas carols on the cable car and see the city lights, go to the Great Dickens Christmas Fair, gather for a family dinner at the Beach Chalet, and just visit.

We hosted three parties (Christmas, Jessica’s 20th birthday, and New Year’s). Unfortunately, our family photo server got sick and eventually died, so I am just now able to post this blog entry…

John and Jessica and I went to San Francisco Federal District Court on 19 December 2008 to hear attorney Victoria Hall present to Judge Jeffrey S. White on behalf of Dr. Bob Jacobsen the latest on JMRI and the KAM Open Source dispute.

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church had a children’s Christmas pagent, and the craft fundraiser for SAMA (St.
Andrew’s Medical Assistance). Sun Labs held its Holiday Cookie Exchange (to which John Plocher sent his famous peanut butter K Bars).

On our evening walks around our Willow Glen neighborhood, John and I admired the Christmas lights. One neighbor programmed a wonderful yard display that lit up different parts of their house as well as trees, bushes, and figures (candy canes, a seal, snowman, bear, and igloo) exactly timed to the movements of Christmas tunes. My favorite music was the Vince Guaraldi theme from “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. John and I stood in the rain the hear it twice.

We finally finished glazing and firing all of the ceramics we brought home from camp in August, including three tea cups by Jessica. My best Christmas present was one of a set of three beautiful and
well crafted ceramic cups my son Paul made at school: one each for John, Jessica, and me.

Borte and Khan