Bridging the Youth Tech Divide 2020
Gathering SF high school youth in unprecedented times to bridge the tech divide.
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
1 PM - 5 PM PDT
Bridging the Youth Tech Divide 2020 is a free conference led by SF youth for SF youth, seeking to inspire attendees to explore the potential and possibility of a tech career. 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.
The conference will feature speakers from Facebook and Slack, relating their own stories and insights to youth interested in breaking into tech. Bridging the Youth Tech Divide will also feature a panel consisting of an array of professionals from all corners of the tech industry. Our goal is not that all attendees immediately set out to pursue a tech career, but that they will leave inspired, having a greater sense of what a tech career could mean for them. We hope to learn from each other, support each other, and advocate for one another to ensure a more equitable future in tech.
Keynote Speakers
Caitlin Kalinowski
Director of VR Hardware, Facebook
Caitlin Kalinowski heads up the VR Hardware team for Facebook’s AR/VR division, the team responsible for the product design, electrical and mechanical engineering of the Oculus Quest, Oculus Go, Oculus Rift S and Touch controllers. Before working at Oculus, Caitlin was a technical lead at Apple on the Mac Pro and MacBook Air products and was part of the original unibody Macbook Pro team. Caitlin received her BS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University in 2007.
Caitlin is passionate about increasing the number of women and other underrepresented minorities in the fields of technology and design. She believes the next generation of products must be designed and engineered by people with different backgrounds and experiences in order to output the best possible product. Caitlin is on the Board of Axon, and the strategic board of Lesbians Who Tech, largest women’s tech conference in California and the largest LGBTQ professional network in the world.
Frances Coronel
Software engineer at Slack and the Executive Director of Techqueria
Frances Coronel is a software engineer specializing in UI development on the Customer Acquisition Team at Slack where her mission is to make your working life simpler, more pleasant and more productive. She has been working professionally as a developer since 2015 and holds a Bachelors in Computer Science from Hampton University and a Masters in Computer Science from Cornell Tech.
Outside of Slack, Frances is an Executive Director of Techqueria, a 501c3 nonprofit that serves the largest community of Latinx in Tech in the US. She also supports Code Nation as a member of their Bay Area Leadership Council and the Latino Community Foundation as a member of their Latinos in Tech Giving Circle.
Panelists
Allison Doami
Data Infrastructure Engineer, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Allison Doami is currently a Data Infrastructure Engineer at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which is Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan's philanthropy aimed to improve learning experiences for children by focusing on the whole child using learning science to empower teachers to support each of their student's unique needs, prevent, manage, or cure all diseases by the end of the century by creating collaborative tools for scientists, researchers, and patients, and reform the criminal justice system by creating a future for everyone that is more just, inclusive, and full of opportunity. She earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from UCLA in 2019.
Yulkendy Valdez
Co-Founder & CEO, Forefront
Yulkendy is a Forbes 30 Under 30 social entrepreneur, storyteller, and TEDx speaker. As the Co-Founder and CEO of Forefront, she helps employers, schools, and nonprofits create low-barrier, culturally relevant virtual experiences for youth (ages 16-24) to facilitate their transition from education to career.
Yulkendy brings a diverse set of both corporate and nonprofit experience to the table. She’s worked with Bank of America, EY, Puma, and Innosight Consulting as well as the International Institute of St. Louis and Betty Jean Kerr People’s Centers. Yulkendy has received numerous fellowships, including the Resolution Project, Young People For, Opportunity Nation Leaders Program, Future Founders Fellowship, Net Impact Racial Equity Fellowship, Harvard Kennedy School Public Policy Leadership Conference, One Young World, StartingBloc, and PPIA Indiana University. She is a proud alumna of Babson College, #1 school for entrepreneurship. More recently, she was named one of the Latino 30 Under 30 honorees by El Mundo Boston and a top millennial in Boston by Get Konnected. With roots in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, Yulkendy has traveled to over 30+ countries for work and fun.
Simran Kumar
Co-Founder, Simmi’s Boutique
Hi! I’m Simran, a 2014 Mission Bit alum and Mission native with big love for the city. I graduated from Lowell High School, and studied Economics in college while gaining experience in Entrepreneurship and Product Management for power supplies in the Medical, Industrial and LED industries.
I’m currently working on relaunching my Indian handcrafts boutique focused on creating a digital presence rather than a brick & mortar this time around. This new quarantine project is tied to building up a portfolio in efforts to make myself standout as candidate while I pursue Product Management roles within SF Tech companies.
Other than my desire to work in tech, I’m very involved and passionate about social justice work. I believe it’s our job to empower others especially our awesome youth in the Bay Area where inequalities grow and effects move rapidly.
Bemnet Yemesgen
Creative Director, Discord
Bemnet (Bem) Yemesgen is an Ethiopian American graphic designer, creative director, photographer, and award winning filmmaker… a polymath creative. Bemnet is also the cofounder and Creative Director of SmartPhilm Fest, a festival that features films shot exclusively on smartphones and tablets. Bemnet’s background spans 16 years in the creative industry working for brands like Adidas, Nike Foundation, USA Today and Discord. Bemnet currently serves as the Creative Director at Discord in San Francisco, CA.
Team
Johnny Lin
Student Ambassador, Mission Bit
Hello! My name is Johnny and I am one of the youth organizers for the Bridging the Youth Tech Divide conference. It’s been exciting planning this event and I can’t wait to meet everyone! If you have any questions or concerns for me please don’t hesitate to reach out through email at johnny@missionbit.org!
Alexander Peng
Student Ambassador, Mission Bit
Hey! I’m Alex and I’ll be one of your organizers for the conference. I’m super excited to meet everyone and show you what we’ve been working on the last few months. Feel free to reach out at alexanderpeng@stanford.edu!
Derick Du
Student Ambassador, Mission Bit
Hi, my name is Derick and I am part of the Mission Bit SAB and will be one of your organizers for this conference. I hope you’re as excited as I am to be part of this, we've worked really hard and make sure to have fun! Feel free to contact me at derickdu127@gmail.com!
Tara Tiong
Student Ambassador, Mission Bit
Hi! I’m Tara, my team and I organized this conference. I am looking forward to meeting new people and hosting the conference. Our team has put some dirt and sweat into this big project, it is our wish for you to enjoy it! If you have any questions, contact me at tarationg@gmail.com!
