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If you think working in the public sector means settling for sub-par technology and endless red-tape in return for a guaranteed pension – think again!  Technology plays a huge role in the delivery of government services at the local, regional and national level.  Citizens expect a consumer-level experience at an affordable price point.  They also hold government agencies to a higher standard of data privacy and protection than all of the other services they consume online.  All this at a time when the Internet of Things provides the opportunity to sensor-enable almost any municipal process from balancing swimming pool chemicals to intelligent traffic signalling.

Speaker: Shari Wallace

Shari Wallace is a technology veteran who works for the City of Burnaby as their CIO.  During this event Shari will share her experiences as a senior female technology leader in the public sector.  She will share, looking back in her career, lessons she has learned through the years, what has worked for her in this industry, what she wishes she had done better, and will contrast her experiences in the public vs. the private sector.  She will tell us about what skills and capabilities will help any technology leader be successful and what pitfalls to avoid – with the help of hindsight.

Have you been told that you are a shoe-in for a new job “because you are a woman”? Are you tired of letting sexist and racist comments from others slip by without speaking up? Do you wish you had a toolbox of effective responses at your fingertips? Come to a workshop on strategies for responding well and constructively to micro aggressions and biases — whether you are the target of the comment or a bystander. This will be an interactive workshop, with lots of group discussion of different scenarios in different contexts.

Facilitator: Dr. Jo Atlee

Dr. Joanne Atlee (P.Eng) is a Professor in the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo, where she is the former Director of Women in Computer Science and a HeForShe advocate. She is deeply committed to addressing and removing gender-based biases and obstacles that women in computing face in their studies and careers — with a focus on actionable advice and strategies to recognize and confront these biases

****Please note that this is a VanWIT member only event, you can purchase a membership here *****