B The Way Forward

Marco Polo [https://www.marcopolo.me/download/] CEO, Vlada Borthnik, almost said no to being on our podcast. It wasn’t that she wasn’t a fan of AnitaB.org or didn’t believe in its mission, it was that we’d asked her to talk about failure… and Vlada almost totally rejects the notion of “failure” on principle. Instead, Vlada advocates for throwing away the binary lens of “success” and “failure” and instead to reframe things as experiments and their outcomes.  Because even when the outcome isn’t what you’d hoped for, you can still learn from it. And maybe that learning will set you up for a different outcome next time. Fortunately for us, Vlada came around. In this episode, she talks to Brenda about why she feels so strongly that it's time for us all to stop fearing failure and embrace the idea it’s all about experimentation and learning from outcomes - whether they’re good or bad. Vlada also shares how the challenges of coming to the US as a refuge when she was 11 set her up for her future as an entrepreneur, why you should worry less about communication at work being messy, and focus instead on making sure you have systems in place to clean those messes up, and how Marco Polo’s culture of constant experimentation has led to its success. Plus, Brenda’s top three takeaways from the conversion. For more, check out Vlada... On LinkedIn - /in/vlada/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vlada/] On Facebook - /onmarcopolo [https://www.facebook.com/onmarcopolo] On Instagram - @marcopoloapp [https://www.instagram.com/marcopoloapp/] And if you're curious about Marco Polo, you can download the app for iOS [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/marco-polo-video-selfie-chat/id912561374?mt=8] or Android [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.happybits.marcopolo]. --- At our heart, AnitaB.org [http://anitab.org/] is a connector: we connect women in tech to the organizations, opportunities, and tools they need to advance, thrive, and transform the future of technology. We convene transformative events, lead essential discussions, produce groundbreaking research and white papers [https://anitab.org/about/], and support the tech ecosystem to shape the future for women in tech.  --- Connect with AnitaB.org Instagram - @anitab_org [https://www.instagram.com/anitab_org/] Facebook - /anitab.0rg [https://www.facebook.com/AnitaB.0rg/] LinkedIn - /anitab-org [https://www.linkedin.com/company/anitab-org/] On the web - anitab.org [http://www.anitab.org/]  --- Our guests contribute to this podcast in their personal capacity. The views expressed in this interview are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology or its employees (“AnitaB.org”). AnitaB.org is not responsible for and does not verify the accuracy of the information provided in the podcast series. The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This podcast series does not constitute legal or other professional advice or services. --- B The Way Forward Is… Hosted and Executive Produced by Brenda Darden Wilkerson. Produced by Avi Glijansky Associate Produced by Kelli Kyle Sound design and editing by Ryan Hammond  Mixing and mastering by Julian Kwasneski  Additional Producing help from Faith Krogulecki Operations Coordination for AnitaB.org by Quinton Sprull. Creative Director for AnitaB.org is Deandra Coleman Executive Produced by Dominique Ferrari, Stacey Book, and Avi Glijansky for Frequency Machine [https://www.frequencymachine.com/]  For more ways to be the way forward, visit AnitaB.org [https://www.anitab.org/]

In 2014, former teacher turned recruiter, April Christina Curley, got offered her dream job - a major tech company asked her to come on board specifically to create a talent pipeline for overlooked tech talent at historically black colleges and universities. Without hesitation, April said yes, packed up her things, and moved from Baltimore to NY. At first, things were great - the program April helped create was a success. She was driving real change and making a real difference. But it didn’t last. Despite its good intentions, April saw policies and practices within the company itself that were rooted in historic biases.  And when she spoke out, she was increasingly chastised by management for being “angry, insubordinate, uncooperative, unwelcoming” and more. This despite the fact that her work was objectively successful and her peers had no problem with her. By 2020 April’s dream job had become a nightmare.  And then, just like that, she was let go. In this episode, April opens up to Brenda about what it’s like when you speak truth to power at the office and months later find yourself out of a job. You’ll also find out how to pick yourself back up after you’ve lost what was supposed to be the perfect opportunity. For more on April and her work check out... LinkedIn - /aprilchristinacurley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprilchristinacurley/] Bluesky - @realabril.bsky.social [%20https://bsky.app/profile/realabril.bsky.social] --- At our heart, AnitaB.org [http://anitab.org/] is a connector: we connect women in tech to the organizations, opportunities, and tools they need to advance, thrive, and transform the future of technology. We convene transformative events, lead essential discussions, produce groundbreaking research and white papers [https://anitab.org/about/], and support the tech ecosystem to shape the future for women in tech.  --- Connect with AnitaB.org Instagram - @anitab_org [https://www.instagram.com/anitab_org/] Facebook - /anitab.0rg [https://www.facebook.com/AnitaB.0rg/] LinkedIn - /anitab-org [https://www.linkedin.com/company/anitab-org/] On the web - anitab.org [http://www.anitab.org/]  --- Our guests contribute to this podcast in their personal capacity. The views expressed in this interview are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology or its employees (“AnitaB.org”). AnitaB.org is not responsible for and does not verify the accuracy of the information provided in the podcast series. The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This podcast series does not constitute legal or other professional advice or services. --- B The Way Forward Is… Hosted and Executive Produced by Brenda Darden Wilkerson. Produced by Avi Glijansky Associate Produced by Kelli Kyle Sound design and editing by Ryan Hammond  Mixing and mastering by Julian Kwasneski  Additional Producing help from Faith Krogulecki Operations Coordination for AnitaB.org by Quinton Sprull. Creative Director for AnitaB.org is Deandra Coleman Executive Produced by Dominique Ferrari, Stacey Book, and Avi Glijansky for Frequency Machine [https://www.frequencymachine.com/]  For more ways to be the way forward, visit AnitaB.org [https://www.anitab.org/]

The second half of season 2 is all about the view from the bottom: what does it feel like to fail, and more importantly, how do you come back from it? We’re creating a safe space for women tech leaders to talk about the worst day of their career — a project gone wrong, a lay-off that came out of nowhere, a startup that shutdown — and how they got through it. Because we never learned anything from the days it all went right.  To kick off this series, Better Allies® [http://www.betterallies.com] series Author and former Adobe VP of Engineering, Karen Catlin joins Brenda to talk about a rocky transition she made from the corporate world to self-employment. Karen had a reality check when she left her cushy VP job at Adobe to start her own coaching company for women in tech. After making only $17,000 her first year (a far cry from her goal of $10K per month), she was embarrassed, and ready to call it quits. But with some encouragement from her husband and mentors, she saw it through, and has since become an accomplished author, speaker and coach on creating inclusive workspaces.  You’ll learn how to see things through even when you feel like you failed, the power of a good ‘mentor walk,’ and how naivete can sometimes be a blessing in disguise when taking a big risk. For more, check out Karen and her work... On LinkedIn - /kecatlin [http://www.linkedin.com/in/kecatlin/] On Bluesky - @betterallies.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/betterallies.bsky.social] On Instagram - @BetterAllies [https://www.instagram.com/betterallies/] On Threads - @BetterAllies [https://www.threads.net/@betterallies] On YouTube - Better Allies [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCjmJiVqROwdxd9junqRlvg] On the Web - www.karencatlin.com [http://www.karencatlin.com/] & www.betterallies.com [http://www.betterallies.com/] And subscriber to the 5 Ally Actions Newsletter [https://betterallies.com/subscribe/]! --- At our heart, AnitaB.org [http://anitab.org/] is a connector: we connect women in tech to the organizations, opportunities, and tools they need to advance, thrive, and transform the future of technology. We convene transformative events, lead essential discussions, produce groundbreaking research and white papers [https://anitab.org/about/], and support the tech ecosystem to shape the future for women in tech.  --- Connect with AnitaB.org Instagram - @anitab_org [https://www.instagram.com/anitab_org/] Facebook - /anitab.0rg [https://www.facebook.com/AnitaB.0rg/] LinkedIn - /anitab-org [https://www.linkedin.com/company/anitab-org/] On the web - anitab.org [http://www.anitab.org/]  --- Our guests contribute to this podcast in their personal capacity. The views expressed in this interview are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology or its employees (“AnitaB.org”). AnitaB.org is not responsible for and does not verify the accuracy of the information provided in the podcast series. The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This podcast series does not constitute legal or other professional advice or services. --- B The Way Forward Is… Hosted and Executive Produced by Brenda Darden Wilkerson. Produced by Avi Glijansky Associate Produced by Kelli Kyle Sound design and editing by Ryan Hammond  Mixing and mastering by Julian Kwasneski  Additional Producing help from Faith Krogulecki Operations Coordination for AnitaB.org by Quinton Sprull. Creative Director for AnitaB.org is Deandra Coleman Executive Produced by Dominique Ferrari, Stacey Book, and Avi Glijansky for Frequency Machine [https://www.frequencymachine.com/]  Podcast Marketing from Lauren Passell with Tink Media [https://tinkmedia.co/] in partnership with Coley Bouschet at AnitaB.org Photo of Brenda Darden Wilkerson by Mandisa Media Productions For more ways to be the way forward, visit AnitaB.org [https://www.anitab.org/]

Welcome to B The Way Forward Interludes - a series of conversations that don’t necessarily fit in our regular season, but are just too good to not share. This week, a very special episode for Women’s History Month.  Telle Whitney was already a trailblazing woman in the field of semiconductors when she moved to  Silicon Valley in the 1980s. Anita Borg had already made a name for herself in systems. The two met at a party and became fast friends. Among all the things they bonded over was, of course, their shared experiences as women in tech. And the ways they both tried to deal with the glaring disparity between men and women in the industry. But Anita and Telle weren’t content to just commiserate. They were determined to do something about it. Out of that determination and that friendship, Grace Hopper Celebration and the Institute for Women and Technology - which became AnitaB.org - were born. Anita Borg and Tell Whitney saw a need and decided  to do something about it - and the tech space would never be the same.  Telle - Co-Founder of AnitaB.org and Brenda’s predecessor as President and CEO - pulls back the curtain on the early days of AnitaB.org, the secret origin of Anita’s pioneering networking group Systers, and what it was like at the very first GHC in 1994. Plus, Telle helps us get to know who Anita Borg was in the ways only a close friend can. For from of Telle and her work check her out... On LinkedIn - /telle-whitney [https://www.linkedin.com/in/telle-whitney/] On X - @TelleWhitney [https://x.com/TelleWhitney] --- At our heart, AnitaB.org [http://anitab.org/] is a connector: we connect women in tech to the organizations, opportunities, and tools they need to advance, thrive, and transform the future of technology. We convene transformative events, lead essential discussions, produce groundbreaking research and white papers [https://anitab.org/about/], and support the tech ecosystem to shape the future for women in tech.  --- Connect with AnitaB.org Instagram - @anitab_org [https://www.instagram.com/anitab_org/] Facebook - /anitab.0rg [https://www.facebook.com/AnitaB.0rg/] LinkedIn - /anitab-org [https://www.linkedin.com/company/anitab-org/] On the web - anitab.org [http://www.anitab.org/]  --- Our guests contribute to this podcast in their personal capacity. The views expressed in this interview are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology or its employees (“AnitaB.org”). AnitaB.org is not responsible for and does not verify the accuracy of the information provided in the podcast series. The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This podcast series does not constitute legal or other professional advice or services. --- B The Way Forward Is… Hosted and Executive Produced by Brenda Darden Wilkerson. Produced by Avi Glijansky Associate Produced by Kelli Kyle Sound design and editing by Ryan Hammond  Mixing and mastering by Julian Kwasneski  Additional Producing help from Faith Krogulecki Operations Coordination for AnitaB.org by Quinton Sprull. Creative Director for AnitaB.org is Deandra Coleman Executive Produced by Dominique Ferrari, Stacey Book, and Avi Glijansky for Frequency Machine [https://www.frequencymachine.com/]  Podcast Marketing from Lauren Passell with Tink Media [https://tinkmedia.co/] in partnership with Coley Bouschet at AnitaB.org Photo of Brenda Darden Wilkerson by Mandisa Media Productions For more ways to be the way forward, visit AnitaB.org [https://www.anitab.org/]

Over the first half of Season 2, we’ve been exploring the best ways to create meaningful change - and whether it happens within our systems or on the outside. But no matter which approach you take, you have to be able to effectively communicate with others  - and that can be hard, especially when you need to speak up in spaces that may not seem as open to hearing from you.  How do you read the room and communicate more strongly to achieve our goals? And how do you do it without ever compromising our own values or sense of self? That’s precisely what Jeanne Sparrow is helping people discover. Author, actor, radio host, podcast host - not to mention a valued member of the AnitaB.org family - Jeanne’s book Fearless Authenticity [https://jeannesparrow.com/book/] is a guide to identifying and embracing your unique experience, perspective, and opinions, in order to chart a path that can serve you and others. It’s a skill that’s more crucial than ever, now, when there’s so much resistance to challenging the status quo.  Jeanne and Brenda talk about letting go of our own wrong assumptions - the ones about ourselves, the difference between being “fearless” and just being a jerk, and how the goal of fearless authenticity isn’t an inflated sense of a self, but a deeper connection with others. For more on Jeanne and her work check out... Instagram - @jmsparrow [https://www.instagram.com/jmsparrow/] Facebook - /msjeannesparrow [https://www.facebook.com/msjeannesparrow] Threads - @jmsparrow [https://www.threads.net/@jmsparrow] X - @JMSparrow [https://x.com/JMSparrow] LinkedIn - /jeanne-sparrow-7409053/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanne-sparrow-7409053/] YouTube - @msjeannesparrow [https://www.youtube.com/@msjeannesparrow] Find out more about Jeanne's book, Fearlessly Authentic [https://jeannesparrow.com/book/], here, and check out her podcast [pod.link/1609673171]! Might we humbly suggest you start with Brenda's episode [https://pod.link/1609673171/episode/672d6f74bd5ac9e8d26a18ec29cf76c1]? --- At our heart, AnitaB.org [http://anitab.org/] is a connector: we connect women in tech to the organizations, opportunities, and tools they need to advance, thrive, and transform the future of technology. We convene transformative events, lead essential discussions, produce groundbreaking research and white papers [https://anitab.org/about/], and support the tech ecosystem to shape the future for women in tech.  --- Connect with AnitaB.org Instagram - @anitab_org [https://www.instagram.com/anitab_org/] Facebook - /anitab.0rg [https://www.facebook.com/AnitaB.0rg/] LinkedIn - /anitab-org [https://www.linkedin.com/company/anitab-org/] On the web - anitab.org [http://www.anitab.org/]  --- Our guests contribute to this podcast in their personal capacity. The views expressed in this interview are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology or its employees (“AnitaB.org”). AnitaB.org is not responsible for and does not verify the accuracy of the information provided in the podcast series. The primary purpose of this podcast is to educate and inform. This podcast series does not constitute legal or other professional advice or services. --- B The Way Forward Is… Hosted and Executive Produced by Brenda Darden Wilkerson. Produced by Avi Glijansky Associate Produced by Kelli Kyle Sound design and editing by Ryan Hammond  Mixing and mastering by Julian Kwasneski  Additional Producing help from Faith Krogulecki Operations Coordination for AnitaB.org by Quinton Sprull. Creative Director for AnitaB.org is Deandra Coleman Executive Produced by Dominique Ferrari, Stacey Book, and Avi Glijansky for Frequency Machine [https://www.frequencymachine.com/]  Podcast Marketing from Lauren Passell with Tink Media [https://tinkmedia.co/] in partnership with Coley Bouschet at AnitaB.org For more ways to be the way forward, visit AnitaB.org [https://www.anitab.org/]