Past Events

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Check out all the great past events.  Inspired by what you see here, want to become part of the future events and community for ARA?  

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Chicago Women in Technology Conference, CHIWITCON, is back!

We are an organization that aspires to Attract, Retain, and Advance women in technology, which is why we are pleased to partner with the Women of Enova for the seventh consecutive year of ChiWitCon. We hope you can join us during our exclusive panel at ChiWitCon.

Get your name on the waitlist now!

The Pandemic’s Catalyst Effect: The Great “Re”, Presented by ARA
Recent research from Gallup’s Global Workplace 2022 report highlights the changes on the work front. A few statistics for context:

  • 60% of people are emotionally detached at work, and 19% are miserable..
  • Only three in ten workers are thriving in their overall wellbeing.

Beginning in early 2021, we saw an ongoing economic trend in which employees voluntarily resigned from their jobs. The Great Resignation was coined and became known as the Big Quit and the Great Reshuffle. Causes include wage stagnation amid the rising cost of living, long-lasting job dissatisfaction, safety concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the desire to work for companies with better remote-working policies.

The world has seen (and continues to navigate) massive shifts due to the pandemic; behaviors, the economy, medicine, and more have been impacted over the past two years. 2020 will forever stamp and change our lives. We all have experienced response shifts–our personal “re” moments. What was yours? Recalibrate? Reclaim? Reinvent? Reset?

During TED-style presentations, hear from three female Chicago technology leaders about their journey over the past two years and how their individual “re” moments impacted their decisions, actions, and outcomes. Immediately following the talks, we will host an interactive audience Q&A with the presenters.

Speakers include:
Kendra Cato, Director of Enterprise Strategy, Bullhorn
Deepika Duggirala, SVP of Global Technology Platforms, TransUnion
Sandee Kastrul, President and Co-Founder, i.c.stars (Moderator)
Madeline Stone Kutis, Professional Services Manager, Paradigm

See you there!

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Together We Rise — Leadership Development Virtual Event

Join ARA ClearEdge Marketing, and McCann Partners, in welcoming The Lady Leaders Book Club, a group of experienced authors and industry leaders — from CEOs to Presidents to Founders and Co-Founders — as they bring their book to life.

Together We Rise recounts the uplifting true stories of 15 passionate and unstoppable lady leaders. Their chapters are filled with advice on staying afloat, creating and seizing opportunities, and establishing yourself as a powerful woman in the business world.

Register today!

On Tuesday, August 23rd , you’ll hear from these Together We Rise contributors:

Anna Frazzetto, Chief Digital Technology Officer, Tential

Janette Marx, CEO, Airswift

Joanie Bily, President, RemX Staffing & Chief Workforce Analyst, EmployBridge

Kelly Boykin, Head of MSP, Real Staffing, SThree

Kendra Cato, Director Enterprise Strategy, Bullhorn

Lauren B. Jones, Founder & CEO, Leap Consulting Solutions

Leslie Vickrey, Founder & CEO, ClearEdge Marketing (Moderator)

Rhona Driggs, CEO, Empresaria Group plc

Robin Mee, President & Founder, MeeDerby

We hope to see you there! Save your virtual seat here.

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The Power of Your Story

Each of us has our own unique story created by the ups and downs we’ve faced to get where we are today. These stories have power that can reach beyond ourselves and impact those following in our footsteps. 

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The Power of Your Story

Inspiring women share their journeys of challenge and triumph, from being their own career champion and overcoming adversity to finding their own voice and confidence to growing their network and personal brand, these leaders will share real-world stories about getting promoted, being heard and getting noticed.

TAKEAWAYS

Lama Abu-Amara, Manager, Cybersecurity Practice – IT Risk Advisory at CFGI, shared her story as a 17-year-old Jordanian student who overcame the challenges of being alone in a new country, a lone female in an engineering school, who built a family, a career and a full life here in America. Her advice is to keep these three things in mind: change is just a phase, discomfort equals growth, and aspiration leads to inspiration.

Camille Tate, Head of Talent at Strava, offers this caution: Don’t assume quiet people have no power, nor that loud people automatically do. It’s not the volume, but the meaning and the action behind your voice that gives it power. Her story was about finding her voice and learning how to speak up on her own behalf. Her advice: To empower your story, surround yourself with people who cheer you on and support you.

Jessica Zweig, Founder & CEO of the SimplyBe Agency, wants us to know that our best stories are authentic ones. Be honest and transparent when you tell your story. Let your outside story match your inside story, and remember that even the most successful among us didn’t start out that way. No one has had a straight line to success. Don’t be afraid to share what went wrong as well as what you learned.

As the inspiring women featured in this program shared their journeys of challenge and triumph, we learned through real-world experiences how to:

  • be your own career champion
  • overcome adversity
  • find your own voice
  • build your confidence
  • grow your network define
  • refine your personal brand

We want to thank our “storytellers” for sharing their stories about being noticed, being heard, and being promoted. They empower us through their retelling.

To feel the full impact of these three compelling stories or if you were unable to attend, view the replay here. Feel free to share on social media with the tag @ARAmentors.

SPEAKERS

ABOUT OUR SPONSOR

HAVI is a global privately owned company that connects people with ideas, data with insights, supply with demand, restaurants with deliveries and ultimately, people with the products they love.

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Allyship in Action Series

In 2020, ARA produced a five-part series titled “Allyship, Advocacy and Taking Action” in partnership with three visionary organizations: Black Women in Science and Engineering (BWISE), Chicago Tech Academy and i.c.stars.

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Allyship in Action

Never has the nation felt the need for change quite like now. This event included real conversation about racial injustice and what we can do to increase empathy, deepen our understanding, and take action.

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LeadHER

We celebrated and honored women pioneering their industries. The evening, hosted by Leafly, kicked off with a review of the key findings from the 2019 Harvey Nash and ARA Women in Tech Survey. We met three LEADing women from the sports, venture capital and cannabis industries as they each present a unique perspective during a 10-minute lightning talk followed by a moderated, group Q&A. 

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ARA Dallas Launch

Our exciting inaugural ARA Dallas event, held on October 10, 2019 sponsored by GDH Consulting, Inc., explored the findings from the 2019 ARA and Harvey Nash Women in Tech Survey and was followed by insights from our powerhouse panel, featuring inspiring Dallas-area technology, diversity and inclusion, and talent acquisition executives.

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ChiWitCon 2019

ARA hosted a fireside chat during ChiWitCon which sold out this year. The event was full of amazing speakers, panels and networking.

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A Roadmap to Close the Gender Gap

ARA Chicago teamed up with JP Morgan Chase at PEAKS to talk about how to transform culture and diversify the hiring practices of organizations to close the gender gap.

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2019 Celebrating Women in Innovation (Chicago)

ARA partners with Chicago Innovation in an annual event celebrating women in innovation which includes panels, networking and organizations in trade show style who support women in business, technology and innovation. From education to capital financing to support this is the place to network.

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How We built this!

ARA Seattle combined forces with Textio to explore the gender balance in ultra successful companies.

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