The SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit, being held Nov. 8 in Hollywood and presented by Women in Technology: Hollywood Foundation (WiTH), will see a full day of programming, all centered around the theme “Together WiTH.”
Here’s a look at the final agenda:
• Following opening remarks by Christina Aguilera, VP of product, enterprise technology at Crunchyroll, and president, WiTH Foundation, along with Guy Finley, executive director of the WiTH Foundation and Gretchen Libby, director of media and entertainment specialists, AWS Media & Entertainment, Games & Sports, attendees will hear the opening keynote “Technology as a Leadership Driver for Women” from Sandra Lopez, co-chair, North America, Sport Integrity Global Alliance, and founder and ivestor, Ambi Ventures.
Lopez has front row seat to innovation as the leader of an incubator focused on fractional CMO services, go-to-market strategies, and strategic business development. Her presentation takes us through the tech landscape and features female entrepreneurs who are creating the next generation of execs.
• In “Lasting Impact: Empowering the WiTH Community” attendees will hear personal stories and journeys from women who have been directly impacted by the WiTH community’s engagement efforts over the years. Attendees will also hear more about what these WiTH-supported nonprofits do with their members and for their broader community.
April Schneider, WiTH Foundation board member and VP of IT, IP Management and general counsel for Sony Pictures Entertainment will moderate. Panelists include Frejya Lindh Hernandez, Codetalk alumna and web designer for St Joseph Center; Christen Hockaday, Women’s Empowerment Institute alumna and senior help desk supervisor for Apple; Madison Ma, Technology Goddesses alumna and senior engineer for Qualcomm; Han Pham, STEM Advantage alumna and software engineer for The Walt Disney Co.; and Alyssa Rubalcava, DIY Girls alumna and UCLA student.
• “Empowering Innovation: Women Leaders Shaping the Future of Media, Entertainment, and Gaming” features Olga Krasovski, director of solution architecture, AWS Media & Entertainment, Games & Sports. As the Telecom, Media & Entertainment, and Games industries continue to experience changes in the creation, distribution, consumption, and monetization of content, we face a landscape of challenges and unprecedented opportunities. The impact of these changes is felt by every employee, fan, and consumer of content. A transformation is occurring as technology evolves and revolutionizes content creation and fan engagement.
As our industry goes through its own version of “professional development”, many see opportunity. Yes, change can be scary. NOW is the time for leaders to galvanize our communities around AI, drive AI innovation responsibly, and mentor the next generation of women in technology to build a more diverse and inclusive industry.
• Next is “Understanding, Managing, and Embracing Neurodiversity Inclusion in the Workplace” with Rosemary Jacobs, board member, WiTH Foundation, Rebecca Beam, founder and CEO of Zavikon, Tara May, CEO of Aspiritech, and Anna Tavis, NYU department chair, clinical professor, Human Capital Management, Author of Humans at Work. Neurodiversity encompasses a variety of neurological conditions, including ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and others. How it manifests itself in the workplace can be challenging for both the employee and employer and hiring practices present another layer of complexity and disclosure.
While Neurodivergent individuals can struggle with some tasks, they possess unique talents and perspectives that can greatly benefit organizations if placed in roles in which they can thrive. Ultimately, the C-suite leadership will encourage other employees to understand their co-workers better and educate themselves on DEI and neurodiversity. Join this session as panelists discuss how employers can embrace workplace diversity and have a neuro-inclusive culture.
• “Career Trajectories in the Age of AI” will feature Yina Arenas, VP of product, AI Core Platform at Microsoft, interiewed by Nina Skorus-Neely, WiTH Foundation secretary and industry advisor, Industry & Partner Solutions, Microsoft. AI is reshaping career exploration, career guidance, and career management.
A career journey, which is now non-linear and potentially impacted by the adoption of AI, is more important than ever but never more complex. How do you understand the active role that AI will have in influencing your own career? This session will discuss this fundamental shift, how it impacts careers going forward, and provides a forward-looking, positive approach through a sustainable career lens.
• “The Agency of Me: A Consumer Perspective on Data Privacy” will feature Jeanette DePatie, professional TechSplainer, Propellerhead, Inc., with Denise Duncan, head of program management, Project Liberty Labs, Beate Chelette, growth architect and CEO of Chelette Enterprises, Inc., and Julie Anne Fogg, president of SparkiCreative. Social media has become an integral part of our personal and professional lives. In this session, we’ll learn how to keep our social media data safe, how new decentralized social media platforms allow users to control, monetize, move and own their profiles, data and social graph, and we’ll learn some tips for optimizing our online profiles to support our career paths.
• The afternoon keynote will be “Seizing the AI Moment: Leadership through Initiative and Innovation” with Melody Hildebrandt, CTO of FOX, with and introduction by Catherine Goetze, director of strategy and chief of staff for Ateliere Creative Technologies. In the CTO role, Hildebrandt’s priority has been using technology for the advancement of business. Business value and career advancement go hand in hand and, as technologists, we can seize this “AI moment” to use our expertise to move the business (and our career) forward. Once you identify an opportunity, educate your stakeholders, and lay out a plan, you then need to execute and deliver.
Leaders at the top want to stress test your ideas and their trust builds up and expands with each project. At FOX, Melody is responsible for crafting offensive strategies to drive AI innovation and expand FOX’s creative execution and distribution reach while also implementing defensive measures against the emergent threats to the media ecosystem. She’s prioritized strategic “big swings” in partnership with the company’s executives while always staying grounded in the recognition that execution is everything, and with emerging technology, it only matters if it’s in production.
• Then there’s “Ask Me Anything: A Decade of Career Journeys – How I Got Here.” In celebration of WiTH’s 10th anniversary, revisit the panel that started it all. Join in for a candid and insightful “Ask Me Anything” session, where accomplished women share their unique career paths, pivotal moments, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way.
This open forum invites attendees to ask questions, gain wisdom, and discover the diverse ways panelists have navigated challenges, seized opportunities, and forged their paths to success in the industry. Whether you’re early in your career or looking for the next step, this session is an opportunity to engage with inspiring leaders who have been exactly where you are now. Aguilera moderates with Barbara Bickham, founder, CTO and managing partner of Trailyn Ventures, and Christiane Ohlgart, chief accounting officer, Fortinet.
• “Taking Charge of Your Career: Stepping into Entrepreneurship” features Renee Fraser, Ph.D., CEO of Fraser Communications and host of the “Why Women” radio show. Are you feeling stuck or unfulfilled in your corporate job? Do you have a passion or a vision that you want to pursue? Do you want to make a positive impact on the world with your skills and talents? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might be ready to take charge of your career and step into entrepreneurship. But how do you make the transition from employee to entrepreneur? What are the challenges and opportunities that await you on this journey? And how can you prepare yourself for success in the competitive and dynamic world of business?
This session shares insights on how to become a successful entrepreneur and gives reasons why you might want to leave a corporation and start your own business. For those who are interested in exploring the possibility of becoming entrepreneurs or who have already started their own businesses, this talk will provide practical advice, inspiration, and resources to help them achieve success as an entrepreneur.
• The closing keynote “Effective Communication with Leadership – Managing Up & Down” comes from Roberta Matuson, author and thought leader. How do you align with upper management’s goals and expectations while supporting and leading your team? As companies reorganize and reengineer, people are finding themselves tossed into management every day with little to no training or preparation. This amazing Closing Keynote presentation provides a look at the tools necessary to be successful at managing up and down the line of any organization!
• The day closes with the WiTH Leadership Award program. The 7th Annual WiTH Leadership Awards recognizes outstanding leaders and advocates in the entertainment technology sector. These individuals not only excel in their professional roles but also embody WiTH’s principles through their work, community engagement, mentoring, and networking. Past recipients of the award include industry luminaries like Vicky Colf, Nancy Faginas-Cody, Cristina Mancini-Jones, and Theresa Miller.
Co-located with the Infinity Festival at the famed AVALON Hollywood nightclub and events space, and presented by Women in Technology: Hollywood’s (WiTH), the full-day Summit promises a full house of a dynamic lineup of keynote speakers, presentations and panel discussions, with thought leaders in entertainment technology tackling the industry’s evolving landscape of leadership, diversity, accessibility, and more.
The annual SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit serves as the tent-pole fundraiser for WiTH and its associated charities, with this year’s event being dedicated to Cass Warner, the visionary and influential granddaughter of Warner Bros. co-founder Harry Warner.
Last year’s summit at Nya Studios attracted more than 400 attendees, with more than 70 percent representing the media, entertainment, and tech-adjacent industries.
WiTH, founded in 2014, plays a pivotal role in advancing women in entertainment technology. The WiTH Foundation Board of Directors, responsible for selecting Leadership Awards winners, comprises representatives from prominent organizations such as AMD, Crunchyroll, Microsoft, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Sony Pictures, and The Walt Disney Company.
This year’s SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit is sponsored by Amazon Web Services, Ateliere, Fortinet, Microsoft, Fincons Group, Qvest and Point B, with the Content Delivery & Security Association (CDSA) and EIDR serving as association partners. For inquiries about sponsorship, please contact [email protected].
For more information about the WiTH Leadership Awards and the organization itself, contact [email protected].
To register for the event, click here.