Bridging the Youth Tech Divide 2021
Gathering Bay Area high school youth in unprecedented times to bridge the tech divide.
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
1 PM - 4 PM PDT
Bridging the Youth Tech Divide 2021 is a free conference led by SF youth for Bay Area youth, seeking to inspire participants to explore the potential and possibility of a tech career. We also want to show our participants the different types of careers in tech that can impact the Mission Bit core values. We recognize the vast disparities that prevent many youth from seeking out a tech career; including, but not limited to, a lack of diversity, economic inequality, and systemic racism.
Our conference will feature both keynote speakers and panelists with different departments of Verizon. These departments range from: Crisis Response Team, Game Design Team, 5G Team, Innovation Center/Developer Days, Business Development & Planning, Chief Corporate Social Responsibility, and many more.
Keynote Speakers
Tetoya Gibson Preston
Manager, Verizon Crisis Response Team - VA/WV/KY/OH, Public Sector Strategic Operations
Prepared to deploy Verizon response supported mission essential communication and tech solutions to assist with emergency relief efforts nationwide. Current response manager for Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio. Tetoya has 20+ years of public safety experience assisting military and private sector businesses with Emergency Operation Centers, Government operations. As a veteran of the United States Air Force she has developed extensive knowledge in emergency preparedness and project management. Tetoya has served Eastern North Carolina as both a Disaster Response and Service to the Armed Services Emergency Communications volunteer deploying to multiple disaster response operations across the nation. Tetoya is an active member of the American Red Cross. Tetoya resides in Moseley, Virginia
Venky Konanur
Senior Engineer - Applied Research
An engineer with experience in working at the intersection of technology and strategy in IoT, with an emphasis on applications in industrial and smart city deployments. Currently, part of the innovation team at Verizon that is involved in shaping the go-to-market and product strategy of 5G by working closely with various external partners and internal stakeholders.
Panelists
Alelgn Amsalu
Sr. Manager - Technology and Product Development
Alelgn Amsalu is Senior Manager - Technology responsible for Sports Technology integration supporting the Technology & Product Development Organization. Before joining Device Technology, he was a Senior Manager of Global Operator Collaboration responsible for collaborating with 55+ international carriers to help identify emerging trends in the industry and advocate for Verizon interest in the global landscape on strategic initiatives such as 5G core, FWA and mmWave adoption. Alelgn has prior experience in the Network Implementation organization where he helped launch projects such as eUICC, VoWiFi and also helped in portfolio management of various projects. He has also worked in the Network Device Evaluation Lab where he worked with device OEMs to make sure they adhere to Verizon and industry standards.
Carlo Thompson
Principal Engineer System Architecture
Award-winning Telecommunications Professional with 15+ years of expertise in wireless network engineering, systems design and implementation, project planning, and team leadership. Proven ability to direct teams of 15+ while managing $20M capital expense budgets. Highly-skilled at adapting to new technologies in dynamic, fast-paced, environments. Gains stakeholder buy-in to deliver projects on time and budget. Organized self-starter able to manage multiple competing priorities.
Destah Owens
Product Marketing
Destah is a technology and innovation enthusiast with a career built around driving business disruption, customer advocacy and connecting good ideas and good people. A veteran of several of the smallest Silicon Valley Startups as well as some of the biggest behemoths, he has picked up enough knowledge and information to be relatively dangerous. From his humble beginnings as an Electrical Engineer he has touched the data networking, wireless data, and machine learning technologies as a customer facing evangelist and problem solver. When using his powers for good, he is identifying emerging technologies and finding synergistic solutions for customers and professional colleagues. The latest shiny objects to have caught his fancy are XR (mixed reality), Cybersecurity, and IoT/Smart City technologies.
Patricia Chang
5G Infrastructure Planning
Patricia is a senior Cloud Technology manager in the Verizon Global Strategy and Technology Planning organization. She is leading and driving private 5G and private Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) strategy to commercialization. She was instrumental in the private 5G and MEC partnerships with Microsoft and AWS. Prior to HQ Network Planning, Patricia was an Associate Director in the West Area Data Planning leading VoLTE and Data Networks in Planning, Engineering, and Performance. Patricia is a technology innovator with over seventy plus granted patents. She was elected as one of the 2019 Verizon Master Inventors, and was showcased in Verizon Patent Video in 2015. She earned her bachelor and master degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at New York University School of Engineering in Brooklyn, New York
Team
Johnny Lin
President of the Student Advisory Board, Mission Bit
My name is Johnny, and this is my second year helping to organize the Bridging the Youth Tech Divide conference. It’s a fun process planning out this event. My primary role is to make sure that we’re meeting deadlines for the conference, and I also help out wherever help is needed. If you have any questions or concerns directly for me, you can reach me at johnny@missionbit.org!
Karina Anders
Student Ambassador, Mission Bit
I’m Karina, and this is my first year helping to organize the Bridging the Youth Tech Divide conference. I attended the conference last summer, and I’m so excited to have the opportunity to help organize this year’s conference. My primary role is to help with outreach and recruiting attendees. You can reach me at karina@missionbit.org!
Tara Tiong
Student Ambassador, Mission Bit
I’m Tara, and this is my second year organizing the Bridging the Youth Tech Divide. My role is to make sure everyone has an orderly system of planning. I’m excited to see new faces interested in the tech industry this year! Contact me at tarationg@gmail.com!
Natalie Huang
Student Ambassador, Mission Bit
Hi! My name is Natalie, and this is my first time helping to organize the Bridging the Youth Tech Divide Conference. I’m super excited to meet everyone and show you what our team has worked on over the last few months. Feel free to reach out to me anytime at yingyan.huangg@gmail.com!
Alyssa Wu
Student Ambassador, Mission Bit
My name is Alyssa, and this year is my first year contributing to the Bridging the Youth Tech Divide Conference. It was super cool taking part in organizing this event, and I look forward to meeting everyone! If you have any questions or concerns regarding the conference, you may contact our team or reach me at alyssa@missionbit.org!
Oswen Martinez
Student Ambassador, Mission Bit
My name is Oswen, and this is my first year helping organize the Bridging the Youth Tech Divide Conference. It has been a fun learning experience working on this event with others. I am extremely excited to facilitate and meet everyone. Feel free to contact me or others about any further questions you may have, you can reach me at oswen.martinez21@gmail.com!
Angelo Ubas
Student Ambassador, Mission Bit
Hello! My name is Angelo, and this is my first year attending and organizing the Bridging Youth Tech Divide Conference for 2021. It has been a super fun experience organizing this event with the student advisory board. I’m very excited to meet everyone! If you have any questions regarding the conference, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at angeloubas31@gmail.com!
