Hi, I'm Katara mccarty and I am the founder and creator of Excel app and also the CEO of Katea Corp. Um And I started Excel App. I'm in the tech industry, so excited to be with you all today. Um Women in tech global Conference.Um but I didn't mean to be in the tech industry. I wasn't trying to be in the tech industry. I kind of stumbled into it because of a need that I saw in my community. Um I last spring and summer was trying to manage my stress and my anxiety um being um quarantined COVID had, had hit the United States and, and, and those of us that um worked outside of the home um that were not essential workers were quarantined. Um I live here in Indianapolis, Indiana. And so I was home, I'm a coach, um personal development coach and organizational coach and a public speaker. And my business came to a screeching halt um during that time and so I was trying to manage my stress, my anxiety because of losing my business. And then the news started reporting how COVID was impacting the black community disproportionately my community. It's brought a lot of stress.

A lot of worry to me. My mother is 78 years old, um was highly concerned about her. My sister is an essential worker, front line worker. Um and um was highly concerned for her safety and um on as I'm stressed and worried about that, hearing the news report on that and, and also the news really at that point wasn't sharing the full name narrative. You know, they were saying that the black community um was being impacted because of with COVID because of um pre-existing conditions. And um as a black woman, I know that that's not the full narrative. The full narrative is there are systems at play, systems of oppression, um The, the health disparities. Um And that's why um we have um uh preexist conditions because of systems of oppression. And so that was frustrating, was really worried about my community and my family. And then right on the back of that, we um started seeing um the killing of Ahad Aubrey play out in our news feeds um just on my phone and, and in the news cycle and then piggyback on that, we started hearing about Brianna Taylor. And then we saw the killing of George Floyd play out in our new speed and our new cycle. And while I know this oppression exists in my community, it was exasperated during that time.

And um it was, it was very stressful for my community and, and was trying to manage all of that personally, like all of the things that was coming out and, and really in my lifetime, I've never experienced um that level of trauma because we were seeing it over and over and over and over again in our news feed.

Um And that was traumatic for black people and brown people. It's traumatic for us because we know again that these systems are at play and they exist, we know what happens to us and in our communities. But to see it play out over and over was super traumatic. And so I was managing my own stress and I started reaching for apps trying to figure out like, how can I, I need to meditate, I need to and, and I was realizing that that as I was reaching for some of these apps that they were out of step and out of touch with where I was as a black woman during that season.

And we're really speaking to what the black community was going through in real time. And so I kept asking myself, I noticed that and then I kept asking myself, Katara, how can you show up for your community? How can you show up in, in, in a way that that helps um your community. And I kept asking myself that and one day I just had the idea what if I put together um and created an emotional well being app that is designed specifically for black indigenous and women of color to help us manage everyday stressors but also manage stress and anxiety and trauma brought on specifically by systemic racism systems of oppression.

And so the idea came, I got to work, started writing meditations um recording breathwork techniques and meditations in my closet. Super professional. Over here, we're just, you know, we're high tech, we're high tech. So I'm in my closet um recording these meditations, recording these breathwork techniques.

I got my daughters involved up to um college aged college age daughters that are a little bit more techie than I am. And um they got on board. My youngest daughter took all the photos, helped me to design the app. My husband got on board, it was a family affair. And really what was driving me to get this app to market was the need that there w there's a, there's a real, a real systemic problem in our country and it's hurting, harming and even killing the black community. And so I wanted to show up and, and also show up for women and fans because we are sometimes left at the bottom of the barrel. And when we talk about equality and movements toward equality. So I wanted to speak directly to our oppression and the impacts that that has on our bodies and, and, and how that impacts us mentally and emotionally. And so I wanted to do something about it. And so I spent the summer writing and recording. And um my, why is what was driving me and we were able to launch in August of 2020 it's free to download free to use. And that's why I created Excel app because my community has been saying what George Floyd's last words, some of his last words were I can't breathe and my could be, that's been my community's cry for over 400 years.

And so I believe that if we can come back to our breath and we can exhale as black women, as indigenous women, as w as women of color. And when I say that I'm, I'm say I'm including trans gender, non conforming queer, gay lesbian, all of us that have that intersectionality in our lives that we're also black, we're also brown, we're also indigenous women of color. Some of the, some of those last words where I can't breathe. So it's time for us to exhale and women in tech, I believe we have an opportunity to become greater allies, greater accomplices for each other. And while women are stepping into the tech industry, it's a male dominated industry and we need um each other. And as biop black indigenous women of color, we're also stepping into not only a male dominated industry but a white dominated industry and that's can be harmful for us.

And so I believe that that women, we have to show up, step up um especially non women of color it's crucial that you step up and cultivate um your own personal anti-racism, practice unpack your own biases so you can adequate, adequately show up for bo in the tech space and black indigenous women of color, we can unite in our shared experiences to support and uplift each other.

Women are twice as likely to experience an episode of major depression as men and black women are only half as likely as their white counterparts to seek help. That's because of systems of oppression. And so it's important for us to as black women, as indigenous women, as women of color to create space for ourselves. Um so that we can distress so that we can get that trauma out of our bodies, get that stress out of our bodies, get, get that anxiety out of our bodies. And most again, most most spaces are predominantly white spaces which isn't always safe for us. And so it's important for us to cultivate emotional well-being practices, breathwork techniques, learn some of those meditations, mindfulness, really tuning into ourselves and taking care of ourselves because there again, there are systems at play and those systems are having impacts on our mental health and our emotional health.

And so um I believe that in order for us to survive and to not just survive but to thrive, that we have to prioritize our mental and emotional well being and create space for ourselves um and cultivate those practices. And so I created Kate, a Corp um this spring and summer by accident, I didn't mean to start a tech company. I didn't mean to be in this industry. What I was doing was meeting a need. What I was doing was showing up for my community. And I think it's important that as we as most industries are white dominated, male, white dominated that our white counterparts, women, non, non women of color, white women really step up and become true accomplices for us. And that we as black indigenous women of color really lean into cultivating emotional well-being practices, mental well-being practices for ourselves. Um because we have to address the impacts the systemic racism, microaggressions, anti blackness is having on our mental health, our emotional health and even our physical health, we have to prioritize ourselves, we have to take care of ourselves. We have to carve out time um to really retreat and unpack the impacts because systemic racism isn't gonna be dismantled in my lifetime. I just turned 49 years old. It's not gonna be dismantled in my lifetime.

But what I can do as a black woman is take my energy and and choose to take care of myself and choose to cultivate these types of practices um and teach my kids how to cultivate these types of practices. We're gonna go back out tomorrow and experience it again. But what we can do today is get that stress, anxiety and trauma out of our bodies and really take care of ourselves. So this is my mission. This is my why is to make emotional well being, mental, being resources, easily, easy and accessible for black indigenous people of color. Um And that's how I'm showing up for my community. And I've stumbled into this amazing tech industry, love to meet some of y'all. I appreciate you taking the time to listen and thanks for having me uh a part of women tech Global conference and I hope to see you soon. Thanks so much.