Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Special Event 2024

Registration check-in

Opening Remarks

Presenter: Jermaine Stanley, GWDC President

Panel Discussion: Equitable Opportunities in Technology and Cybersecurity Professions

Moderator: Richa Bangia (AWS)

Panelists: Natalie Birindelli (AWS Security Assurance Services), Dr. Nida Davis (Microsoft), Darlene Slaughter (WMATA)

Topics to the discussed in this session, include:

• Discussing the barriers to entry and advancement in the field.
• Exploring initiatives to provide equal opportunities for professional growth.
• Strategies for recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce.

Lunch

Lunch will be provided to event attendees.

Lunch Topic: Smashing Stereotypes: Introduction to Neurodiversity in Cybersecurity

Presenter: Elizabeth Green (Link Consulting)

At least 20% of the cybersecurity workforce is neurodivergent, with conditions that may include autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and more. Attend this session to learn more about the experience of being neurodivergent in cybersecurity from two cyber professionals who are members of the Diverse Minds Movement of Cyber Guild. Audience members will also learn actionable take-aways for immediate deployment to assist with creation of neurodiversity-inclusive workplace environments. This session will be delivered by members of Cyber Guild’s Diverse Mind’s Movement (DMM), led by founding member, Elizabeth Green from Link Consulting, LLC.

Executive DEI Conversation

Presenter: Roslyn M. Brock (Abt Global), Jeff Stoval (Abt Global)

In the IT and generative Ai industries, where technology can potentially shape societal norms and access to information, integrating DEI practices by senior executives is not only a strategic imperative but also a responsibility. In the current climate, executives can lead by example and drive significant positive change both within their organizations and across society at large by designing DEI metrics that mitigate bias, eliminate disparities and promotes equal access for all.

Panel Discussion: Unconscious Bias in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology

Moderator: Jermaine Stanley (GWDC President)

Panelists: Dr. Gina Guillaume-Joseph (Eztera Digital Solutions), Eri O’Diah (SIID Technologies), Jeff Stoval (Abt Global)

Topics to the discussed in this session, include:

• Demystifying unconscious bias: Sharing practical insights into how unconscious bias can creep into AI development and deployment.
• Proactive strategies for mitigation: Highlighting best practices and innovative approaches to mitigate bias in AI systems.
• Building a more ethical AI future: Discussing the role of leadership and collaboration in promoting responsible AI development that benefits all.

A Bridge to Billions: How the Future is Powered by Inclusion, Innovation, and Corporate Courage

Presenter: Tracey Walker (Institute for Corporate Courage)

This talk examines how leaders and courageous corporations are leveraging the power of inclusion to achieve big milestones. The DEI science of top career experience, advancement innovation, and out performing competition.

Afternoon Break

Panel Discussion: Futurism – Connecting Past, Present, and Future

Moderator: Tracey Walker (Institute for Corporate Courage)

Panelists: Dr. Nida Davis (Microsoft), Ryan Ubuntu Olson (DAI), and Bethlehem Belaineh (Theory AI)

Futurism draws inspiration from diverse perspectives from marginalized communities across diasporic history, myths, and traditions, weaving them into futuristic narratives. This creates a sense of continuity and resilience, connecting past struggles to future possibilities. We envision the panel to talk about:

• Reimagining the Future: Challenges the dominant narratives of technology and progress, often centered on white and western perspectives. It envisions alternative futures where other voices, experiences, and cultures are central and empowered.
• Reclaiming Technology: The weaponization and negative impacts of technology, particularly on marginalized communities. It seeks to reclaim technology as a tool for liberation, social justice, and community building.
• Collaboration and Community: Emphasizes the importance of collective action and building strong communities. It envisions future societies where collaboration, mutual aid, and shared knowledge lead to a better future for all.

Closing Remarks

Presenters: Jermaine Stanley, GWDC President and Marvin Muhumuza, GWDC Special Events Director

Networking Event

A newtorking event will be held immediately after for event participants.    

An RSVP is required to attend.  This can be done when registering for the event.

Richa Bangia
Healthcare Engagement Advisor @ Amazon Web Services

Richa Bangia is a disrupter, a change agent and a mentor to professionals for all walks of life. She plays a pivotal role in helping organizations transform their culture from mere survival to thriving through the power of people. Richa’s educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Finance/Economy from Rutgers University, an MBA from the Rutgers School of Business and attended a Women in Executive Leadership program at Cornell. Some of her successes include establishment of the Women in Technology chapter for Columbia University IMC and helping set up the foundation for the Women in Global Services – Security chapter at AWS.

Richa’s journey to excellence is fueled by an unwavering passion for empowering people. As an experienced Delivery Excellence professional, she has led transformations across various industries focusing on people, processes, and technology. Her innate ability to recognize great potential has propelled her IT-focused career. Richa’s passions extend to building high-performance teams, leading with authenticity and shaping visionary leaders who drive business outcomes.

Today, Richa disrupts the norm by offering a practical and repeatable framework, advising organizations to move beyond “business as usual.” She builds trust with executives, customers, peers and competitors through her empathetic leadership.

In her leisure time, Richa enjoys laughter with her husband, two kids and family and friends. She channels her creativity by writing comedy standup and dedicates herself to community service, volunteering at NJ soup kitchens and coaching soccer, basketball and track. Her goal? To lay a solid foundation of giving back for her kids and the younger generation.

Natalie Birindelli
Senior Security Advisor @ AWS Security Assurance Services

Natalie Birindelli is a Senior Security Advisor on the AWS Security Assurance Services team. She has over 20 years in the hospital & health care industry. She has implemented large cybersecurity programs, led the implementation of telehealth at the start of the COVID pandemic and is passionate about community advocacy. She serves on the Board of VA HIMSS and is committed to advancing health equity for the underserved.

Dr. Nida Davis
Director of Security Architecture @ Microsoft

Nida is currently leading Microsoft’s Digital Security & Resilience (DSR) security architecture team as part which is dedicated to ensuring the security and resilience of every aspect of the Microsoft business. The mission of the DSR function is to support Microsoft build and deliver the most trusted devices and services, while keeping Microsoft safe and protected. DSR is responsible for Microsoft company-wide information security and compliance, with a strategic focus on information protection, assessment, awareness, governance, and enterprise business continuity. As customer zero, DSR will deploy and secure digital services inside Microsoft and share best practices with enterprise customers at scale across the globe. As the Director of Security Architecture, Nida leads a highly performing team of Microsoft PMs and Security Architects entrusted with all aspects of security architecture design, execution, and partner engagement. Previously Nida served as an Associate Director in the Federal Reserve’s Division of Supervision and Regulation (S&R), was responsible for providing oversight and guidance on business operational resiliency, information technology, cybersecurity, data protection, and emerging technologies. Nida has experience in leading national and international standards and cybersecurity best practices groups that deal in operational resiliency and cyber security. These include the Financial Stability Board’s cyber-lexicon workgroup and the Basel Committee on Banking and Supervision’s operational resiliency working group, for both of which she has led key cybersecurity and operational resilience work streams. In addition, Nida has experience serving on several U.S. Treasury-led national groups, as well as on the G7 Cyber-Experts Group. Nida has received her Doctor of Liberal Studies from Georgetown University. She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the American University in Cairo, Master of Arts in Leadership from Bellevue University, a graduate degree from the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Chemical engineering from Jordan University. Lastly, Nida was recognized as an award recipient of the prestigious Computer World Premier Top One Hundred IT Leaders for 2006.

Darlene Slaughter
Vice President, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer @ Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)

Darlene R. Slaughter is a visionary with a passion to remove barriers and provide equal opportunities for all. As the first appointed Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Darlene will support leading a culture of engagement, innovation, accountability, trust, and diversity and inclusion for the 13,000 employees.

Prior to joining WMATA, Darlene served as the Chief Diversity Officer for March of Dimes; United Way Worldwide; Linkage Institute for Leading Diversity and Inclusion; and led an integrated strategy to utilize and support the talents of the employees as Fannie Mae’s Chief Diversity Officer.

Darlene’s work as a leader and in Diversity continues to be recognized. She has received many awards and honors, including Diversity Woman Media Elite 100; SAVOY’s Top 100 Influential Women in Corporate America, Profiles in Diversity Journal’s Women Worth Watching, Black Enterprises’ Top Executives in Diversity, and Heart & Soul’s Women of Substance in Finance, in addition to grace the cover of Inclusion Magazine. Darlene served on Twitter’s ICD Council, American University President’s Diversity Council and Alumni Board, and Springboard Foundation for Disability. She is a fellow and board member at Simmons University Inclusive Leadership Institute and a board member of the Social Capital Academy at Fullerton University in California.

Darlene holds a M.S. in Human Resource Management and Organizational Development from American University and a B.S. in Elementary Education from Howard University.

Elizabeth Green
Owner @ Link Consulting LLC

Liz Green, OTR/L has 20 years of experience as an occupational therapist (OT) in a variety of clinical settings. Her passion is to empower neurodistinct individuals in meeting self-directed goals that promote meaningful participation in work, school and life.

She also has a certificate in DEI for HR through Cornell University. By combining advanced expertise as an OT with an HR concentration in DEI, Liz has created the first ever neurodiversity consultancy model focused on implementation of neuroinclusion principles across the employee life-cycle that do not hinge on disclosure.

She has spoken at regional and national conferences, including Society for HR Managers (SHRM), Occupational Therapy Association of Colorado (OTAC) and College Autism Network (CAN).

She is also heavily involved in neurodiversity education in the cybersecurity space, including institutions/groups such as National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Community Coordinating Council, Sunshine Cybersecurity Conference, Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS), Cybersecurity Skills Journal, CompTIA, SANS, and Cyber Guild. Liz is also a senior fellow for the Council Exchange Board of Trade (CEBOT), which serves the business interest of 65,000 U.S. minority technology businesses.

Roslyn M. Brock
Chief Global Equity Officer @ Abt Global

Roslyn M. Brock is the Chief Global Equity Officer at Abt Global, an international consulting and research firm that uses data and bold thinking to improve the quality of people’s lives worldwide. She is an international Arbiter of Social Impact with a distinguished career in health policy, population health, and equity, diversity, and inclusion for over three decades. At Abt, Roslyn leads the organization’s Global Equity strategy that drives client-focused, community centered solutions for mission delivery and sustainable growth.

Roslyn is also Chairman Emerita of the NAACP National Board of Directors and a Board Trustee at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) and The George Washington University where she recently chaired the University’s Presidential Search Committee that selected its first female President. Roslyn has chaired GW’s Milken Institute School of Public Health Board of Advisors and ESG Committee and served on the Board of the Catholic Health Association of the United States of America. She is a Life Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and the LINKS, Incorporated.

Roslyn holds a BS from Virginia Union University, MHSA from The George Washington University, MBA from Northwestern and MDiv. From Virginia Union University. She also holds four honorary doctorate degrees. She is an avid fisherwoman and enjoys horse bike riding.

Roslyn’s personal philosophy is embodied in an African proverb: “Care more than others think is wise, risk more than others think is safe, dream more than others think is practical, and expect more than others think is possible.” Her Trademark motto is “Courage Will Not Skip This Generation.”

Jeff Stoval
Chief Information Officer @ Abt Global

Jeff Stovall is the Chief Information Officer at Abt Global, where he leads the development and execution of Abt’s information technology and cyber security strategies and oversees enterprise platforms, internal digital initiatives, IT vendor partnerships, and delivery service excellence in more than 30 countries. Prior to joining Abt, Stovall served as an Industry Executive Director at Oracle Corporation, focusing on cloud enablement in state and local governments. From 2008 to 2018, he was the CIO for the City of Charlotte, NC.  Jeff received his Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia.

Jeff was named Executive Member of the Year by the IT Senior Management Forum in 2022, Top 25 “Doers, Dreamers & Drivers” by Government Technology Magazine in 2018, Public Sector CIO of the Year by the North Carolina Technology Association in 2017 and 2014, and Non-Profit/Public Sector CIO of the Year by the InspireCIO ORBIE Awards in 2017.  He is past Chair on the Advisory Board for the UNC Charlotte College of Computing and Informatics and is the national Board Secretary of the Society for Information Management.

Jermaine Stanley
ISACA GWDC President
CISA, CDPSE

Jermaine Stanley is a Cybersecurity, Information Technology (IT), and Risk Advisory leader with more than 25 years of experience working with Financial Services, Technology, Insurance, Non-Profit, and Government organizations. He is a thought leader in the industry, who has advised clients on complex Cybersecurity and IT Risk matters. In addition to being a member of ISACA Global’s ISACA Foundation Board of Directors, Jermaine is the current President of the ISACA Greater Washington DC Chapter (ISACA GWDC).

More importantly, Jermaine is a strong technology leader with a reputation for building teams, mentoring, and has a passion for creating Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive (DEI) cultures, who strives to help leaders build, launch and lead initiatives that promote DEI within their organizations. Mr. Stanley holds a Master’s  degree in Software Engineering, a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering, CISA and CDPSE certifications, and holds a certification in Overcoming Unconscious Bias.

Jermaine is the Founder of Stanley consulting Group who’s mission is to “ensure that the business leaders and employees we serve have the tools and insights to help them build diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace environments.” 

Dr. Gina Guillaume-Joseph
Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) @ Eztera Digital Solutions

Gina Guillaume-Joseph, PhD is a published author and technologist with executive experience and thought leadership within the Federal and Commercial Sector.

Gina is the Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) at Eztera Digital Solutions. Gina will leverage her technology implementation experience and vast network to support the Federal Government’s Technology Transformation Strategy. Her accomplishments and successes are based on strong program performance, leadership discipline, a commitment to developing relevant, innovative and adaptive solutions, and a vigilant focus on best value solutions for her clients.

Gina spent 16 years supporting our Federal Government as a contractor with Booz Allen Hamilton, L-3 Communications and The MITRE Corporation. As a Systems Engineer she was responsible for implementing key strategic frameworks, solutions and technology platforms to assist agencies such as the DoD, IRS, FDIC, DHS, VA, and SSA overcome technology gaps in delivering capabilities and value to our United States Taxpayers.

Gina is the former Chief Technology Officer – Government at Workday and former Director of Technology at Capital One. Gina supported the HR and People Technology team as a strategic technical advisor. At Capital One, she matured their Scaled Agile practices by hiring agilists, training the team, and fully implementing the framework to scale resulting in improved product value delivery across the organization. Workday was a key product implemented to Capital One’s more than 43,000 employees.

Tracey Walker
CEO @ Institute for Corporate Courage
CCD-AP

As CEO of the Institute for Corporate Courage (ICC), Tracey’s work transforms organizational cultures by infusing courage into leadership practices. Tracey leads this global mission, bringing together great minds, and forward-leaning best practices, to enable corporate change, leader development, belonging and accelerated growth. Named to the nation’s Top 25 Women in Consulting in 2024, her expertise lies in organizational behavior, people-centric processes, and driving business outcomes. Her work is re-writing the rules for corporate engagement and welcomes a new era of possibility.

With a 20-year career spanning public accounting, legislative affairs, and business advisory roles, Tracey has spent her career solving corporate challenges for clients delivering inclusion compliance, DE&I training implementation and infrastructure strategy. She serves on several boards and commissions for DEI nationally. An in-demand thought leader, she presents lectures annually at the nation’s top business schools and trade organizations. She is certified in Diversity and Inclusion as an Advanced Practitioner from the Cornell University School of Industrial and labor Relations (ILR) and completed her graduate work with honors at the Harvard Business School in Organizational Behavior.

Eri O’Diah
Co-Founder & CEO at SIID Technologies

Eri is a two-time entrepreneur and the visionary behind SIID Technologies, a startup that harnesses the power of data science and machine learning to promote fairness and transparency in legal proceedings. With over a decade of experience in marketing communications, Eri is committed to utilizing her expertise to dismantle biased systems and advocate for equitable social reform. Presently, she is immersed in researching algorithmic bias and pioneering innovative strategies to address biased decision-making within the legal realm. Eri’s notable accolades include being nominated for Woman of the Year by the Minnesota Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in 2019, receiving the 2020 Emerging Business Owner award from the National Association of Women Business Owners, and being a finalist in two MIT Solve innovation challenges in 2021. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Media Management from California State University Northridge.

Ryan Ubuntu Olson
Global Manager of Diversity, Equity, Engagement, and Inclusion @ DAI

Ryan Ubuntu Olson is a globally recognized gender and human rights expert. Ryan currently serves as a Global Manager of Diversity, Equity, Engagement, and Inclusion at DAI, an international development organization, where he steers his fellow practitioners’ capacity to better understand and respond to the needs of local communities in all their complexities. This has translated to tangible contributions such as developing a global training on gender and sexual diversity used to sensitize US Missions around the world, advising META’s Data for Good program on enriching gender data programs to be more inclusive, to serving as a human rights and gender expert on The Global Fund’s Technical Review Panel which aids the organization in allocating $16b in HIV, TB and Malaria every cycle to country health programs around the world. Ryan has been named an Out Leader in National Security and Foreign Policy and was recognized by a former President and also a former Secretary of State. He has recently published a memoir, “Finding my Humanity” which captures his travels throughout the world, and the trials and tribulations he has faced in overcoming stigma, discrimination and violence throughout his life to become a global champion for gender equality, human rights and dignity.

Bethlehem Belaineh
Founder and CEO @ Theory AI
CSM, CSPO, A-CSPO

Bethlehem is the Founder & CEO of Theory AI, a dynamic technology consulting firm based in Washington, DC. Through her work with Theory AI, Bethlehem leads the development and launch of workflow automation, gamification, and other exciting products that speed up business needs and enhance user engagement for customers and stakeholders across diverse contexts and markets.

Theory AI delivers AI-native Market Research, Product/Software Development and Management Consulting services that address complex challenges in healthcare, education, and federal sectors to a wide variety of clients ranging from Government Technology firms to High-Growth startups. A thought leader in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) space, and with over a decade of experience in product management and strategy, Bethlehem holds multiple SCRUM certifications such as ScrumMaster (CSM), Scrum Product Owner. (CSPO), and Advanced Scrum Product Owner (A-CSPO).

Bethlehem holds a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Biological Physics, Economics from Brandeis University, a Master of Engineering degree in Data Analytics Engineering (MEng) and is working on completing her Masters of Information of Information Systems (MIS) from George Mason University as well as a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Northwestern University.