Here's a live recording of the panel discussion portion of this event - the audio gets really good after the first minute 🙂 I never record the interactive portion of my events - for those you have to join me in person!
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For this special panel discussion on How to Change Careers and Build Technology that Matters, I teamed up with LA Tech4Good – the largest group of social impact practitioners in Los Angeles – and the Innovation for All Podcast to talk about changing careers at the intersection of technology and society. General Assembly in Santa Monica is hosting!
Remember when “disruption” was a buzzword? Now that most industries have indeed been disrupted, we are realizing that technology has a far bigger impact on our communities than previously imagined.
WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO DO WITH YOUR CAREER IN TECH HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SHAPE OUR SOCIETY FOR DECADES TO COME.
Can we build technology that values data privacy? How do we build AI that fosters inclusion and diversity, instead of scaling biases? What does it mean to build inclusivity in your product from the get go?
This is not going to be your typical panel discussion. Come for a deep dive beyond tech skills and job titles and meet career changers who found a way to have fulfilling technology careers while tackling some of the most complex issues facing the industry. Then stay for a chance to connect and interact with fellow attendees. Leave feeling inspired and ready to embark or continue your journey to a new and fulfilling career.
Why It Matters: This panel will think critically about the important effects of technology on our communities and the topics we often avoid exploring when talking about careers in tech.
THROUGH TECHNOLOGY YOU CAN CHOOSE TO HAVE A POSITIVE INFLUENCE: WHAT WILL YOU CREATE?
MEET THE PANELISTS:
JUAN SEBASTIAN VASQUEZ tackles big problems with creative solutions as Data Programs Manager at the Office of Finance for the City of Los Angeles. His role merges data analysis and visualization, storytelling, a wide network of web tools, partnership building, and a wealth of public speaking and project management. Last year he also started his own business during his free time offering freelance professional and educational data-centric services to clients such as General Assembly, First 5 LA, and Annenberg Tech.
AMANDA MCGLOTHLIN is the Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer at HQ Network, a Los Angeles space start-up providing digital security products and services for individuals and businesses. As a leader in tech, Amanda believes that privacy is a fundamental human right and that “Tech should be built for good.”
MICHAEL MARTIN is a Co-Founder and the Director of Public Policy at Free Machine, a non-profit dedicated to using storytelling to ignite the public imagination around technology and democracy. He is also the Head of Communities at SignalFire, a machine-learning driven venture capital firm. Previously, Michael worked with the XPRIZE Foundation, where he managed the AI XPRIZE, a $5M competition with the goal to facilitate human-AI collaboration to solve the world’s grand challenges.
TERENCE HONLES is a Principal Software Engineer and chose to join Nexleaf Analytics to make a difference, after working at some of the top technology companies, such as Amazon, Google, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft. In his role, he is working on incorporating his expertise and the industry’s best practices into the development process and system design of Nexleaf’s current and future software endeavors.
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