All right. So I'm gonna be talking about how becoming a statue really enhanced my advocacy um and outreach efforts. Nice, Fatima or Fatima, Mexico, Carla Germany. Thank you for being here. So, um I'm currently the um head of global education programs at Aws, which is Amazon Web services.

But as a part of this um idea of advocacy and outreach, I kinda had a journey to be able to um take this journey to where I am right now. And so I'm gonna talk a little bit about that in the time that we have. So, just continuing on and looking at um you know, my journey, one of the things that you see here is my actual 3d printed um statue and there's a picture of me with it. And so just looking at over my time and my career from the time I was born, um just starting off at life um when I was a girl, the picture that was right is right underneath it is around 9, 10 years old. And this is the time where girls really start making decisions about, you know, their likes and dislikes in terms of subjects, whether it's math and science or reading, um, uh, you know, or language or art and things of that nature. And so at this particular point in time I said I wanted to be a lawyer. I had no idea what lawyers really did, but it was the eighties. My mom watched a lot of law shows and she really, um, was so into it. I saw the women who were on the shows and they look glamorous and they carried a briefcase.

And so I just thought um that if they could do this, then it's something that I definitely wanted to do and definitely wanted to be a part of so and, and the ability to be able to do that. I said I wanna be a lawyer and I had no idea about any other types of careers. It wasn't until the next picture, which is my high school graduation picture when I decided to be an engineer and I was getting ready to graduate from college. One of my teachers talked to me about engineering and um from the time she talked to me about it, I was really hooked and I wanted to be a good engineer, I wanted to do to do a good job. And so the next picture that you see is just me as a professional engineer working in that space. But it was during that time that I really felt like um there was not a lot of representation and I really wanted to be able to um do something that I was really passionate about, which is really helping people um helping girls and helping minorities from the community that I came from, be able to really navigate and understand how fun engineering is, how great um you know, the opportunities are.

And so I really kind of took a pivot and really focused on nonprofits and I went into education and um I did a lot of advocacy. So that's what you see in this last picture here is just me right now as an engineer, as an educator and as a stem advocate. And one of the things that, you know, I wanted to also show is that, you know, this is kind of my life, it's a little chaotic, it's a little controlled. Um I'm married, I have um most 15 year old twins that are there. I have a little dog. Um I have a big family and I really get the opportunity community to be able to travel all over the world. Um You know, so my background in terms of being an electrical engineer has really helped me to really strengthen my leadership skills, but it also has helped me to really understand where my passions are and where I really wanted to go and taking um the next step. And so being able to do that, you know, I, I did a lot of research and, you know, these are some numbers that I know that, you know, we're all not surprised that because this is the state that we're in where women represent 48% of the workforce, but only 24%.

Um women actually work in the stem fields within the US. And because I was doing this research, I really wanted to find out, you know, how I could really help to make an impact, to really be able to increase that um 24% number, right? And so, and doing a lot of research, you know, this here is a perfect example of our culture, right? What we see for little girls, what we tell little girls is that, you know, you have to wear pink and that you played with dolls and that's pretty much it. And so I wanted to really disrupt that culture and it's not to say that little girls can't like pink and can't play with dolls, but it's only to show them that there are so many other opportunities, so many other options that they can really consider. So as a part of doing a lot of this research, I applied and was awarded to be a if then a AAA S fellow. Um And with this fellowship, as you can see in this collection, um there were 100 and 20 women who were chosen um who have careers in all different types of science to really go out and advocate and inspire girls.

Um And so the whole tagline is she can change the world, which is I have on that shirt today. Um And from this opportunity of being this ambassador, I was able to participate in so many different things, which really helped me to just confirm my advocacy and my position in this space. So if you can see in the, in one of the um upper right-hand corners, there's a little trading card and they made trading cards for us. So when we go out to schools, we would hand out these training uh trading cars which had information about our background. Um And it was just like a little quote, you know, in terms of, you know what it was that we like to do or why we were in this space. And so my quote says, if you like to solve problems, then you're a problem solver and you're thinking like an engineer. So being this, if then stem ambassador really just helped me understand all of the different opportunities and how I could really use my voice, you know, as an engineer, as an educator to help girls and help minorities.

So another opportunity I received was to be a part of the Girl Scouts 24 career exploration badges. Um And so, you know, with the if then ambassadorship, you know, the quote is if you educate a girl, you educate a nation and I love that. And so I just put some images here from girl scouts and participating with them to create these badges, which was an awesome opportunity. And then my daughter here, Zoe, who is um almost 15, but she was a brownie when um this started so happy to have that experience from this whole process of advocacy. And you know, just the whole, you know, becoming this, this statue. I also learned that failure is ok. You know, I'm definitely an overachiever which, you know, some of you probably have that same characteristic, but it's ok to fail because out of failure, great things come. And in continuing to do some of my research, I also found, you know, these were some of the top five biases that I really saw that, you know, pushed women out of stem or, you know, really had women think about not, you know, um not being included in stem and one is called prove it again.

So no matter what you do within your role, you constantly have to prove yourself, prove your, your knowledge, prove your education, prove your worth. Um The other one is the tight rope and basically the tight rope is like you can't do anything wrong. Everything has to be perfect, right? And we all make mistakes, we're all learning, we're all growing. The next one is the maternal wall and that one is associated with having Children. And the fact that, you know, many women often sometimes put off having Children until later so that they can focus on their careers. So, you know, it gives you the thought that you can't do both. Like you can't have a family, you can't have Children and, you know, really be focused on your career. And then there's a tug of war right between what you do in your profession and also what you're passionate about. And many times, um especially women have to kind of choose or they're caught in this tug of war between what options should I do? Like, I wanna continue to do engineering, but I'm also passionate about advocacy and outreach. And so you're getting pulled in so many different directions.

And then the last one is just, you know, isolation, usually being the only, right, whether you're the only woman or whether you're the only minority. So these are the things that kind of push women out of or have them not even consider going into stem something else that I've learned in this process of, you know, really becoming, you know, statue like is that we really need to celebrate our successes, right? And in the beginning when all of this was happening, I was a little bit shy about telling people about it here. I had this great opportunity, this great platform, but it is important that we celebrate our successes and we celebrate other um people's successes. We have to really be able to encourage and support one another, especially as women in stem in these spaces where, you know, it's still male dominated. And so I love this kind of quote here that it's not bragging. If it's based in facts, if you have the statue, you should be able to talk about it. If you got a promotion, you should be able to talk about it. So it's not bragging if it's the truth. And so I begin to during this time also just kind of reflect right and close my eyes and just think about my successes and why I really am remarkable.

And I would propose the same thing to you, take some time to have this phrase in your mind and then write down all of the reasons why you are remarkable and it could be down to the littlest thing. Maybe this morning, you actually woke up on time, right? Maybe you woke up on time. You're remarkable because today you woke up on time, right? And we have to really practice how we celebrate ourselves, you know, practice why we are remarkable. It's not gonna come very easy for some people. It may and for others. Um it may not, but the more you do it, you may wanna practice saying it to yourself in the mirror, it's like a muscle, right? So you need to be able to exercise that muscle. So I have two of my she roles here, one from when I was younger and one from present day. And the first is Dr Mae Jemison, who um is an astronaut. She was the first African wo um African American woman to go into space. And, you know, I was a little bit older. I wasn't quite a child, but I still saw her and thought, wow, you know, that's really awesome to be able to see a woman who looks like me doing these, you know, great things in space. And then the other is Doctor Ks Mika Corbett. And um, she is one of the scientists who was on the team to really do a lot of the um COVID research and looking for a vaccine.

Um And so, you know, having two women to be able to see who look like you is really important. So this is why representation really does matter. It really is important to have that representation. This is another quote that I love and it really does kind of embody when we talk about, you know, my whole process and my journey of where I've, you know, been able to go along the way. It hasn't been a straight path. I've taken some turns and made some pivots. But one of the things that is really important and I hope that you take away is that, you know, you don't wanna fit in, right? So you were real, be born to stand out. So don't try to follow uh what everyone else is doing, make sure that you are standing out in your own way, right? Whatever it is that you wanna do and you can do advocacy, you can do outreach and then you can tie it to your passions and what it is that you really, truly love. And so that's the one of the things that I love about my job and what I currently do at a w the US now is that I am able to make an impact through education programs and training all over the world.

And our programs are free to any learner, whether it's K to 12, all the way up to an adult who wants to learn about the cloud and understand what types of jobs are available. So make sure that you stand out because you were not born just to fit in another great opportunity that I had as a part of this ambassadorship. Not only the statue is that I was able to um have a segment on a show called Mission Unstoppable. Um And it comes on CBS and they showcase different women in stem and some things that they've done within their careers. So I had an episode where I actually built what you see on the screen, this device to really show how you can see sound. And so um the whole segment is on youtube, I put the link there. But if you can't, you know, really see the youtube link, if you just search, did you know you can see sound, then it will come up and you will be able to see my segment as I talk about how you can see sound. So this is another opportunity that, you know, just being um and being able to have this statue really just confirmed for me, my advocacy and how messaging and how representation is so important.

And so I was really excited and honored when the statues were actually displayed and there were little girls, you know, from all walks of life, all ages who really came up and had a lot of questions and wanted to ask me, you know, why did I go into engineering? And what am I doing now? And what are some of the cool things that I've worked on? And so this picture here just really shows these are little girls who I don't know who just came up when the statues were out. And they asked me a lot of questions and this is why I do what I do. This is why I have my advocacy. This is why I love making sure that um little girls that look like them are able to see that representation. And, you know, I really wanted to do this talk so that you can understand all of the ways that you can make an impact. If you are a woman in tech, if you are thinking about becoming a woman in tech, that you really should think about the next generation coming behind you. Um Because I'm happy to be that representation for these little girls and for those, you know, women in their early career who are coming behind me. So, what I've done is I've put my information here so you can see my linkedin. Um I also put my email address.

If you have any questions, you can follow up. I always love, you know, answering questions and being able to follow up and then um go to the if, then collection. So I have a specific um part on the site of the if then collection. But like I said, there are 100 and 20 women who were selected. So you'll have the opportunity to look through all of these women, see um who they are. And many times, you know, one of the things that we advocated and really committed to was continuing to do this advocacy work. So just because we able to, you know, get these statues does not mean that we are unreachable, untouchable, you know, not approachable. The whole reason for that was so that we can draw people to these fields and have them be able to understand how important it is for them to really be in this space. And so thank you so much. One of the other things that was really exciting was just the fact that um they also gave us little mini, um they gave us little mini statues. So uh they 3d printed little mini ones for us to keep for ourselves. So um here is mine. I wanted to, to show it as well. So I do have, you know that representation of being able to have the statue with me, you know, whenever I want to see it. Um And um I would just say that it has really been a great honor.

And so along with being able to have this opportunity, the statues are traveling to different areas, to different museums. Um Mine actually in DC was in the air and Space museum and that was an honor and a privilege for me because I had the opportunity to be able to talk about some of the research that I did um with NASA and that was related to the mission unstoppable segment, um which, you know, when you think about it and you think about space, you know, space is quiet, right?

Because it's a vacuum, it's, it's very quiet. One of the things people don't think about is the fact that it's very noisy inside of the space station, there's a lot of noise. So when the astronauts come back, they usually are complaining about the fact that they're not really getting a really good night's sleep, right? And so one of the things that uh my team had to do um as a part of the research that we did in acoustics was to think about how to be able to reduce or minimize the noise within the space um the spaceship. And so that was a really cool project because, although, you know, I am not an astronaut, I didn't have the ability to be an astronaut. And I already told you all that, you know, one of my she roles, May Jemison is an astronaut and had the ability to go to space. But I was happy about the fact that I got to work on a project which impacted the astronauts, right. So I won't bore you with all of the details and how we were able to minimize the noise. But, you know, some of it just um took into account where some of the equipment was placed, right? There's a lot of equipment in there, it makes noise.

So the astronauts are, you know, kept awake and they need a good night's sleep and to be refreshed so that they can go on to do their experiments. So every time, you know, a spaceship, you know, kind of la launches and goes up, I get really excited because, you know, although I'm not that astronaut, I do look up when, when, when the spaceship goes up into space and say that at least I'm having an impact on um the the astronauts getting a good night's sleep.

And so, you know, even if you're passionate about something and maybe it's not happening the way you want it to happen, find different ways to make that impact, right? So I was able to really make an impact that way. So whatever your particular statue is, right, I, I actually have a physical live, you know, 3D printed one, but do something within your advocacy and your outreach, you know, that you can make an impact on, you know, whether it's girls or even boys, just anyone to make people more aware of the opportunities that there are within this space.

And so I'm just really excited to be able to continue to share, um you know, what I'm doing. And this has really um helped me in terms of also understanding my platform and that, you know, I am having an impact and maybe you think that you don't have as much to say, maybe you think that you're not doing as much as you would like to do, just know that you are right. Every time you talk to someone about your career or every time you ask, you know about, if you're interested into going into any of these stem fields, you're making an impact, you have a voice and you have something to say. And so it made me even stronger in wanting to speak up, wanting to help and wanting to continue to be an advocate and do all of this advocacy work within the stem education space. So I really do appreciate the time that I have been given to talk to you all. Um Just about what, you know, having this statue has really meant, it wasn't just having the statue, but it affected my life in so many ways that I was not expecting. Um And before I go as well, I'll just share, you know, one of the other things that really has been impactful with this opportunity was being able to have my family be engaged.

So many times, you know, as a woman in tech and in stem and all of these different fields, you do want to get engaged in a lot of advocacy and sometimes that will pull you away from your family with all of your volunteering opportunities. One thing that I like to suggest is to get your family engaged with you, right? Whenever I'm doing presentations, I will practice them with my kids and ask them for suggestions or advice. And when I was filling out the application and writing my essay for the AAA S ambassadorship, you know, I went over it with my husband and asked him, what do you think about this and what do you think about that? And did I say this correctly? And so it makes your family really feel included in what you're doing. And so the times that, you know, you may have to be away from them, not only for work, but for some of your advocacy and outreach work, they will really understand what it is that you're doing because they've had a part in it, right? So ask them questions, have them get involved, you know, maybe take your Children if you have Children with you to some of your outreach events, you know, where you're making an impact and talking to students, you want to be able to make sure that they can see and understand why and that will have an impact on them as well.

So that's really important to be able to do that. And then for us as women to be really be able to have a support system and be able to share again in our successes. Um There's a group, the um ambassadors that we have, we have on Slack and it's called Humble Brag. And so one of the things that we do is anytime there has been an accomplishment of success, we put it in that humble brag channel and we're able to applaud each other and say great job. And you know, for some of the women who may be um you know, working on finishing their um dissertations and they want all of us to attend, we'll attend for them so that, you know, they know that we are there, right? So you wanna be able to do that. We are stronger in numbers, right? And so we really have to be able to continue to encourage one another to support one another because maybe your family may not understand. I'm also a first generation college student in my family. So there were times that my family didn't always get it when I was struggling. And you know, my mom still to this day cannot tell you exactly what it is. I do. But you know, she just says I'm proud of you.

But when you have this community, like, you know, the women in tech Global conference where you can see all of these women and all of the awesome work that they're doing. It really does make you feel like you are in a community where you do have support and you can reach out and ask questions. Um And that is why, you know, doing this work is so important to me. Um And it's so impactful to me and it helps me and I just hope that, you know, anything that I have shared here today will be impactful to you and will help you as well. So that is all that I have. I don't know if we have time for questions, but I'll also be in um the networking if anyone wants to follow up. Um And when I say, you know, follow up with me on linkedin or you can email me, I really do mean that I hope that, you know, if you do have questions, you do follow up. Um because I'm always happy to help. Did anyone have any questions? I think we have like two minutes left. Oh, thank you so much, Rebecca. I appreciate the feedback. I'm, you know, here to help. And I, you know, again, just hope any of my insights have really been helpful to you all. Do the advocacy, do the outreach.

It, it not only helps your stakeholders but it helps you too. It helps you become more confident in your ability to make an impact and it, it's gonna help you within your career as well in terms of being able to just, you know, have that extra confidence that, you know, sometimes as women, we, you know, we lack or, you know, we have a little bit of that imposter syndrome and there have been sessions on that today as well.

So, thank you so much, Sarah. Thank you Christa. I really appreciate the feedback. Um And I hope that this session has been helpful.