Five Years Strong: Silicon Valley Forum’s 2019 Women in Tech Festival Makes Waves in Silicon Valley and Beyond

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SVFWIT19?src=hash" target="_blank"gt;#SVFWIT19lt;/agt;–From a humble beginning in the cafeteria at HP to a crowd of hundreds, Silicon Valley Forum’s annual Women in Tech Festival has celebrated the accomplishments of women in STEM and business, providing a public stage to honor female leadership and re-ignite discussions around positive change. Now in its fifth year, the Women in Tech Festival features two days of inspirational talks, panels, keynotes, and startup pitches, as well as networking opportunities. The Festival will be held May 23 – 24, 2019, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.

“From the very beginning, we knew we were building something special,” said Silicon Valley Forum CEO Denyse Cardozo. “Each year we discover again and again why this event matters, and why it means so much to us. We’ve heard so many incredible, inspiring stories, journeys, ideas, advice, struggles and successes—invaluable insights from women who have lived every word of what they’re talking about, and who continue to fight to make things better and lead the way to a better world.”

The Women in Tech Festival features a diverse roster of entrepreneurs and company leaders: hint water CEO Kara Goldin will be interviewed in a fireside chat, and Alaina Percival, CEO of Women Who Code, will deliver the opening keynote on May 24th. Other speakers include Y-vonne Hutchinson, CoFounder of Project Include; Tracy Young, Founder and CEO of PlanGrid, and Bá Minuzzi, CoFounder & GP of Babel Ventures (view the complete list here).

“For decades, IBM has set the precedent as advocates of equality through countless internal and external initiatives that elevate the importance and practice of diversity and inclusion,” said Deborah Magid, Director of Software Strategy at IBM Ventures. “At IBM, our invitation – our call to arms – is to engage IBMers, customers and society at large in promoting the advancement of gender equality in all areas of business…especially that of organizational leadership. Above all, we believe that taking a mindful approach to team-building and leadership helps us better serve our clients, our workforce and our communities around the world.”

“Walmart Labs is delighted to be a Gold Sponsor of the 2019 Women in Tech Festival,” said Pat Christianson, Talent Acquisition Manager at Walmart Labs. “At Walmart, we believe that by welcoming and valuing diverse perspectives, we open our future to new possibilities and we can better serve our communities. Partnering with the Women in Tech Festival underlines our company’s core belief in the importance of inclusivity at work.”

In addition to IBM and Walmart Labs, Silicon Valley Forum welcomes Tenable, Perkins Coie, and SAP.io as Silver Sponsors, the Canadian Consulate as a Bronze Sponsor, Northeastern University as a Networking Sponsor, Execustaff as a Cocktail Sponsor, and Oracle as a supporting partner, as well as in-kind support from community partners.

Tickets and more information are available at the event page. The first day of the festival will feature a pitch competition with ten female-founded startups; the following day will feature panels, power talks, and lunchtime workshops.

Connect with the 2019 Women in Tech Festival on social media with #SVFWIT19.

About Silicon Valley Forum:

At Silicon Valley Forum, we facilitate connections and provide resources for entrepreneurs and innovators to build and grow a successful company. While we focus on technology and startups in practice, in spirit we build our work around anyone who wants to run their business the Silicon Valley way—this is a place where creativity and innovation are crucial components of success. Our events, customized programs, Startupedia, and strategic partnerships provide the necessary tools to thrive in today’s fast-paced digital economy.

For 36 years, our organization has been a key part of Silicon Valley’s vibrant ecosystem. We organize over 70 different activities per year and have worked with over 40 countries. Our partners include global leaders Accenture, IBM, Microsoft, Mercer, and K&L Gates, just to name a few; as well as leading venture capital firms and service providers. Silicon Valley Forum is a fully independent 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.

For more information, visit our website at http://www.siliconvalleyforum.com/.

Contacts

Silicon Valley Forum
Micaela Youmans
Director of Communications
[email protected]

This article published with permission from Business Wire