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[woc] code resources: guests
OUR FIFTH YEAR OF CODING & COMMUNITY

[woc] code GUEST WEBINARS ... 2023

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20 2023 ... 11:00 AM EST

GUEST SPEAKER: HIMADRI CHHAYA-SHAILESH

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H. CHHAYA-SHAILESH

ph.d. student

Himadri CS is a PhD student at the French National Institute of Research in Digital Science and Technology (Inria). She works as a part of the Well Honed Infrastructure Software for Programming Environments and Runtimes (Whisper) group in Paris where she is advised by Dr. Julia Lawall. Her research focuses on the Linux kernel Scheduler. She is currently working on bridging the semantic gap between the guest and the host schedulers for virtual machines. She also contributed in developing the Nest - a core frequency aware scheduler. She discovered her passion for Operating Systems via an Outreachy internship with the Linux kernel. Despite being enrolled in a Machine Learning major during her master's in India, she switched domains and now aspires to gain expertise in Systems.

 

She is also passionate about building student communities and organizing tech-events. She facilitated creation of 13 diverse student clubs at her alma mater during the pandemic. She was also an active member of the Developer Students Club and many local tech meetups in India. She is an avid reader, a black belt in Karate and an amateur guitarist.

Chhaya-Shailesh talked to those at the webinar about pursuing a career in the Linux kernel domain, and the importance of student communities. Passionate about building student communities and organizing tech-events, Chhaya-Shailesh facilitated the creation of 13 diverse student clubs at her alma mater during the pandemic. In a world where a support system can be a “make it or break it” moment, building trust and community through organizations like [WoC]Code creates a difference. 


To read more about seeking out student communities, internships, and finding your way into the Systems research world, we invite you to check out the slideshow from the January 20th Guest Webinar at this link:   click here!

tuesday, march 21 2023 ... 11:00 AM EST

GUEST SPEAKER: priya donti

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p. donti

co-founder & exec

P. Donti is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Climate Change AI, a global non-profit initiative to catalyze impactful work at the intersection of climate change and machine learning, which she is currently running through the Cornell Tech Runway Startup Postdoc Program. She will also join MIT EECS as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2023. Her research focuses on machine learning for forecasting, optimization, and control in high-renewables power grids. Specifically, her work explores methods to incorporate the physics and hard constraints associated with electric power systems into deep learning workflows. Priya received her Ph.D. in Computer Science and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University, and is a recipient of the MIT Technology Review’s 2021 “35 Innovators Under 35” award, the ACM SIGEnergy Doctoral Dissertation Award, the Siebel Scholarship, the U.S. Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship, and best paper awards at ICML (honorable mention), ACM e-Energy (runner-up), PECI, the Duke Energy Data Analytics Symposium, and the NeurIPS workshop on AI for Social Good.

Donti spoke to those at the webinar about the interactions between computer science and combatting climate change, and the use of lateral networking to expand personal knowledge. With expert advice about both new research and global environments, Donti has worked to combine her history in environmental studies with machine learning as a method of solving climate change bottlenecks. This interdisciplinary approach to tech was something incredible to hear about, as an example to others here at [WoC]Code who are actively searching for a way to entangle their various passions (and, you know, maybe to save the world).

[woc] code GUEST WEBINARS ... 2022

monday, february 28 2022 ... 8:00 AM EST

GUEST SPEAKER: jessa challa

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j. challa

ceo, mallowfields

J. Challa is a Software Engineer and CEO of Mallowfields, a minority and women-owned software company in Grand Rapids, MI. Prior to her work as an engineer, she worked as a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Technician with a degree in Geography. Jessa’s background in GIS opened doors for impact in local government and nonprofit sectors. In 2019, she completed a coding bootcamp at Grand Circus to add software development to her toolkit for affecting positive change in West Michigan. 

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Jessa actively participates in West Michigan-based efforts to democratize technology. She believes that with the correct intention, tech can be an effective and versatile equity tool for all. To share her technical skills, she volunteers her energy and talent to organizations including Code for Good West MI, AIGA West MI, Equity PAC, Urban Core Collective, and Grand Circus. Jessa also connects womxn and BIPOC individuals to opportunities in tech with the ultimate goal of making the tech sector a more inviting and inclusive place for all.

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website & map: https://jessachalla.com/bipoc/

wednesday, april 20 2022 ... 12:00 pM EST

GUEST SPEAKER: dr. kelle cruz

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dr. k. cruz

associate professor

Dr. k. cruz is an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Hunter College in New York, a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), and a visiting scholar at the Flatiron Institute. She received both her BA and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow.

 

Dr. Cruz studies brown dwarf stars and is one of the leaders of the BDNYC research collaboration. She has also been involved in the creation of the Astropy Project and is part of the Coordinating Committee steering the collaboration.

wednesday, july 13 2022 ... 12:00 pM EST

GUEST SPEAKER: danni youziel

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d. youziel

developer, fintech

d. youziel is a software developer in FinTech, with interests in security and data privacy, fascinated with Identity Management ever since she saw someone pay for coffee with their face. Her pet projects include time keepers and drum sequencers. She is passionate about diversity and volunteers to coach underrepresented people in tech.

tuesday, august 23 2022 ... 12:00 pM EST

GUEST SPEAKER: laura gutierrez funderburk

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l. g. funderburk

data scientist

L. gutierrez funderburk works as a data scientist at Seaspan Ship Management LTD. Prior to this role, she worked as a data scientist at Cybera for the Callysto project, a federally-funded initiative in Canada helping K12 students and teachers learn data literacy, computational thinking and programming. She is experienced in facilitating data science learning experiences which celebrate diversity and are tailored to a variety of skill levels.

 

Laura holds a Bachelor of Mathematics from Simon Fraser University (SFU). Her alma mater recognized her work in creating enriching learning experiences by awarding her the Terry Fox Gold medal. Laura enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for coding and problem solving, and hopes this will inspire students to explore mathematics and data science.

wednesday, october 12 2022 ... 12:00 pM EST

GUEST SPEAKER: edafe onerhime

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e. onerhime

d.a.g. lead, jp Morgan chase

e. onerhime is the Data Architecture Governance Lead at JP Morgan Chase. A data specialist, speaker, and writer, she has 20+ years experience making impact with data. She is a leading voice on data strategy and data standards. She leads collaborative change to make data valued and valuable with the motto: Data + Design + Culture. She lives in Glasgow, Scotland with her wife and cat.

[woc] code GUEST WEBINARS ... 2021

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