Break Through Tech

It was a real honor and pleasure to participate in Salesforce’s AI Equity Summit. Not surprisingly, this powerhouse company put together a super interesting agenda and an extraordinary group of speakers - including the one and only Dr. Joy Buolamwini. I was honored to sit on a panel with LaShonda Anderson-Williams, Luana Génot, and Sabastian V. Niles - and get the chance to talk about our profoundly broken supply chain in recruiting diverse tech talent into the AI ecosystem. The good news is that the talent IS out there - we just need to provide these talented women, including women of color, low income and first gen college students, the privilege to simply show what they can do. That’s what Break Through Tech does! Thank you to Courtney D. Williams for inviting me to participate and to the whole Salesforce team for hosting a top notch event on one of the most important issues of our time. Pivotal Ventures Cornell Tech Citadel ESTEE LAUDER COMPANIES CHARITABLE FOUNDATION Emma Uman Kristen Titus Lee Barrett Kate Hogan Sarah Henderson Rosenberg

Excited to see our Founder and CEO, Judith Spitz, Ph.D. join industry leaders at Salesforce's inaugural AI Equality Summit, exploring how to build technology that centers everyone. At Break Through Tech, we're on a mission to change the path to power in a tech-enabled world, ensuring new pathways and opportunities are accessible to all. We look forward to the insights emerging from this pivotal event next week! #womenintech #AI #AIEqualitySummit #techtalent

I’m incredibly grateful to this powerhouse group who supported the development of a new part of our coursework aimed at cultivating early career leadership. Doing this work side by side has energized us around the importance of knowing yourself, leadership as a relationship with others, and the importance of courage as a mindset. It’s no secret that AI is reshaping every aspect of how we live and work, but toward what end – power and peril – will be defined by WHO is behind this technology. I’m humbled to create a launchpad for our participants and alumni to land influential tech opportunities and propel their careers in AI. Thank you for helping to change the path to power and influence! #womenintech #techtalent #representationmatters #AI Gilda Barabino Christina Chin Deborah Gruenfeld Christina Vargas-Kornfeld, M.A. Carolina Z. Cardoso Bonnie Tom Meghna Sinha Justin Smith Lena Young Miriam Vogel

Join us for a livestream conversation with Amelia Barabander, Managing Director of Break Through Tech AI, and Emily Reid, CEO from AI4ALL, moderated by ATIH Executive Director Rebekah Tweed, on diversifying the talent pipeline for #AI. The panel will delve into the importance of a diverse AI #workforce, the main barriers to achieving diversity, how these barriers vary across communities, and the distinct challenges faced by career-changing adults versus early-career and emerging talent. #womenintech #breakthroughtech #techtalent https://bit.ly/3YFNcU8

Break Through Tech held its first ‘Connect’ event graciously hosted by our long time and iconic corporate partner Accenture - who not only supported this event in their flagship New York City headquarters - but also brought in 3 of their amazing corporate leaders - Laura Peterson, Senior Managing Director and Americas Operations Lead, Teresa Tung, Senior Managing Director and Global Lead of Data Capability and Lee Barrett, Managing Director, North America Data and AI Advisory Lead to talk to almost 100 of our Break Through Tech fellows. On top of all of this - our keynote speaker was none other than THE Allie K. Miller, the #1 most followed voice on AI and sought after speaker by top corporations. Thank you SO much to Accenture for everything you do for #womenintech and for Break Through Tech - it’s companies like yours that walk the talk that will bend the curve towards gender equity in tech. Thank you SO much to Allie K. Miller for giving so much of your time to our students and sharing insights with our fellows that will contribute to their career acceleration. AND for spending another hour answering their questions as they crowded around you like the rock star you are. Thank you to Tricia Barlow and Naima Mamataz for running point and making this event possible. Thank you to Meghan Q. French for conceiving of and developing the strategy for this Connect event. And thank you to the 100 Break Through Tech fellows who ‘showed up’ in every sense of the word - making it clear why YOU are the people we need ‘in the room’ designing the future of tech. Cornell Tech Kristen Titus Julie Sweet Jill Kramer Gwyneth Gaul, CAP® Emma Uman Yvette Kanouff Matthew Muench Laura Mutis Justina Nixon-Saintil Vilas Dhar Laura Demarse, Ed.D Katy Knight Joshua Elder Pivotal Ventures Laurel Yamaguchi Christina Chin Renee Kuriyan Wittemyer Citadel ESTEE LAUDER COMPANIES CHARITABLE FOUNDATION Courtney D. Williams Kate Hogan Sarah Henderson Rosenberg Shanika Hope, PhD

Yesterday, we partnered with our long-time partner, Accenture, to host our first Break Through Tech Connect event! 🌟 Special guest Allie K. Miller one of the nation’s foremost voices in #AI innovation, advising, and investing, shared powerful insights on succeeding in this fast-evolving field. Some takeaways: 🔹 Learn by doing—real-world experience is everything. 🔹 Stay current by following industry trends (hint: follow the money!). 🔹 Focus on practical, business-driven applications of AI. 🔹 Watch for emerging regulations—they’ll shape the future of AI. Thank you Allie, Laura Peterson, Lee Barrett, Teresa Tung for giving our students the tools to shape the future of tech! #WomenInTech #BreakThroughTech #AIProgram #FutureofAI #TechCareers

Meet Break Through Tech student Ava Gonick, who is currently participating in our AI Program and collaborating on a Challenge Project with DIRECTV. Read about her amazing journey here: https://lnkd.in/gJkMgF7N To learn more about our programs, visit https://lnkd.in/gy-J7q-8 #womenintech #ai #machinelearning

Meet Noor EL-Hawwat, a committed advocate for diversity in tech and a current master’s student at Cornell Tech. Noor’s journey began by following her sister’s footsteps into computer science, but it was Break Through Tech that sparked her deeper passion for tech and entrepreneurship. Through real-world experiences and mentorship, Noor is not only breaking into the tech industry but also uplifting underrepresented communities along the way. Learn more about her inspiring path and how programs like ours are shaping future leaders in tech. https://bit.ly/3NowOkm #WomenInTech #DiversityInTech #BreakThroughTech

Excellent insights from Work Shift – The Relationship Economy. How do you build a skill that’s essential to everyday interactions? One way is by opening your doors to our micro-internships -- The Sprinternship™. We still have a few spots available for visionary industry partners in our May 2025 programs! Learn more Here: https://bit.ly/3AFsSsv #womenintech #talentpipeline #breakthroughtech

Meet the inspiring Tanvi Ladha, a Break Through Tech AI student at UC Santa Barbara, who’s transforming her passion for computer science and machine learning into real-world impact. Currently working on a challenge project with Qualcomm, Tanvi shares her journey of growth, inclusion, and leadership in tech. Read more about it here: https://bit.ly/3NiF6ud UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science #womenintech #machinelearning #techtalent Nicole Feliciano Cornell Tech