"Many women don't have the opportunity and privilege to live and work in the United States. I thank God that I am able to be here and help my family back in Guatemala. My life is blessed because I am a mother. I am working here so that my son has the opportunity to go to school so he can succeed and achieve his goals. His father died while I was pregnant with him and I wanted him to have opportunities, so I came here to the United States. My son has lived with my parents, his grandparents since he was 5 years old. I haven't seen him since I left and I still think of him as my baby but he is 18. He is a young man now." - Martha Lopez lives in Los Angeles and is employed cleaning houses.
Bridgette Beal
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"When I was 20 years old I joined a pen pal club - actual pen and ink letters. The first letter I received was from my now husband. He's from England and we wrote back and forth to one another every day for 14 months. Then we met in person and we were married two months later and we have been married for 26.5 years. We would never have spoken to one another because he is very introverted. I believe God brought us together. My husband is a very stable person and that allows for me to be myself and launch off of him because I know if I get too crazy he can pull me back down from my ankles." Bridgette Beal lives in Laguna Beach, CA.
Kalin Angelica Flores
"Being a woman allowed me to learn to love myself and others the way I do. I feel like I got a lot of resistance from other people about how I should love myself and love other people, but I was right all along." Kalin Angelica Flores lives in Los Angeles.
Lauren Kearney
"When I was four years old I wanted to play soccer with my brothers but I was wearing a fancy pink dress. My mother said I could play soccer with the boys, but I had to change clothes. I wanted to do both - I wanted to wear my dress while playing soccer. Instead I stayed in my dress and watched them play from the sidelines. Then, when I became a mother, I became the hero of my own story. Being a mother made me brave and not afraid of anything. I went from being an introvert to talking to strangers, talking to everyone and being an advocate for my daughter. If I hadn't had my daughter and told her bedtime stories I would never have written my book, Ellie Bixby and the Window to Darvlian Orpth" Lauren Kearney is an author and mother living in Los Angeles.
Danielle Gentile
"I don't often think I am taken seriously in the workplace because I am a woman. I work in management and I find that men who are older than me do not like me delegating to them." - Danielle Gentile #LosAngeles #Gatsby #womenwholead #damnrightIatetheapple
Margy Elliott
“When I was looking for a new position, I wanted to work on a cause I believe in, I wanted to work with people who are driven, and I wanted to work really hard. I found my perfect fit working at AWS. I lead the We Power Tech campaign to amplify the voices of the currently underrepresented people working in tech, including people of color, LGBTQ, gender-diverse individuals, people with disabilities, and other communities.” –Margy Elliott, Marketing Manager, Amazon Web Services
Tiffany Jianto
"To be honest, I feel lucky to have been placed on my team at Amazon Web Services. I am constantly surrounded by smart people and always learning something new. I was attracted to AWS because of the work; we are really on the cutting edge of technology.” – Tiffany Jianto, Software Development Engineer, Amazon Web Services#wepowertech #amazonwebservices #womenintech #tech#womenfounders #womenwholead #artandactivism
Sali Christeson
“Clothing is an important workplace issue because people judge you by what you wear, whether you like it or not. Your appearance directly impacts your salary and your earnings potential. We make clothing that is both attractive and functional, so women will feel confident when they walk into that big meeting.” --Sali Christeson, co-founder and CEO, @Argent.\ #wepowertech #amazonwebservices
Sandy Carter
“I love innovation and Amazon is probably the most innovative company in the world. I wanted to be part of the customer obsession that AWS has. I wanted to know how Amazon keeps having hit after hit. If I were giving advice to a young woman, I would tell her to pursue her dreams by experimenting. I would tell her to know a bit about tech because tech is everywhere. And I would tell her that success doesn’t move top to bottom, it goes sideways and zigzags.” –Sandy Carter, Vice President, Amazon Web Services #wepowertech #amazonwebservices
Aaron Levie
Big News: @Amazon Web Services collaborated with Me&EVE at the Girls in Tech conference this year. For the rest of the week I will be sharing what we produced. Thank you again Amazon Web Services for helping me give women an opportunity to be seen and heard.
Yes, I realize Aaron is not a woman. On occasion here at me&EVE we feature men who are supporting women to be seen and heard and that is exactly what Aaron Levie is doing at Box.
“At Box, we use AWS in a variety of ways and we think of AWS as a force multiplier. My best advice is to surround yourself with great people that you like spending time with. Be clear on your principles, both professionally and personally, and use them to navigate your decisions.” --Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO, Box
Matt White
Big News: @Amazon Web Services collaborated with Me&EVE at the Girls in Tech conference this year. For the rest of the week I will be sharing what we produced. Thank you again Amazon Web Services for helping me give women an opportunity to be seen and heard.
Yes, I realize Matt is not a woman. On occasion here at me&EVE we feature men who are supporting women to be seen and heard and that is exactly what Matt White is doing at Amazon Web Services.
“The people who have predominantly shaped my career have been women. Amazon Web Services has some really great female leaders and I am a product of that. Our culture is set up to harvest ideas from the ground up. Where is the next big idea coming from? AWS is not a tops-down setup and our goal is to foster an environment of diverse thought and diverse background.” –Matt White, Senior Human Resources Leader, Amazon Web Services
Adriana Gascoigne
Big News: @Amazon Web Services collaborated with Me&EVE at the Girls in Tech conference this year. For the rest of the week I will be sharing what we produced. Thank you again Amazon Web Services for helping me give women an opportunity to be seen and heard.
“I wanted this conference to bridge tech with emotional intelligence. I wanted to feature powerful and successful women who are relatable. If the audience can relate, reaching their own goals becomes a reality because ‘you can’t be what you can’t see.’ I think the X factor has to do with being inspired. If you find your passion and your purpose, then work won’t feel like work and you will have endless energy.” --Adriana Gascoigne, CEO of Girls in Tech
Christine Adair
Big News: @Amazon Web Services collaborated with Me&EVE at the Girls in Tech conference this year. For the rest of the week I will be sharing what we produced. Thank you again Amazon Web Services for helping me give women an opportunity to be seen and heard.
“I don’t feel like diversity should be an initiative – it shouldn’t need to be forced. At Amazon Web Services, the diversity feels natural because we value diversity of thought, which leads to innovation. And that spills over into everything we do. The focus is always the customer.” –Christine Adair, Security Manager, Amazon Web Services
Kym McNicholas
Big News: Amazonweb collaborated with Me&EVE at the Girlsintech conference this year. And, for the next 5 days I will be sharing what we produced. Thank you again Amazonweb for helping me give women an opportunity to be seen and heard.
“I would tell my younger self not to let what she doesn’t know or has never done before get in the way of her dreams. If you have drive and perseverance, you can do and learn anything.” –Kym McNicholas, “Extreme Tech Challenge" Competition Director
Marilyn Adams
"Twenty five years ago my husband was stabbed and killed. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then two years ago my fiance died from diabetes. And then Frank came into my life. He came to help me at my house and now we are married. He keeps me happy, keeps me smiling and brings me to the beach everyday and we collect shells." - Marilyn Adams lives in Los Angeles.
Kendall Bohn
"I get to drop in on more people in the line up because I'm a girl. " - Kendall Bohn, surfing El Porto in LA.
Michel L.
"I have one child and one on the way. I've had the opportunity to give birth and the opportunity to be a guide for them, to teach them to be good people and to help others." - Michel L. is originally from Guatemala and lives in Santa Fe, NM and sells clothing near the plaza.
Amabel
"It's ok for me to feel the way I feel. And just because men, like my father, often don't understand my more emotional side doesn't mean I am wrong to feel it. I will just carry on with the way I am." - Amabel was working at a crafts fair in Santa Fe, New Mexico when I met her.
Kara Kelty
"When I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines I was assigned to work together with a male Peace Corps Volunteer. At first the Filipino community would only listen to him. They would always ask him the questions first and they would be patient and try to derive meaning from what he was saying even though I spoke Waray, the local dialect, and better than he did. I realized the only way they were ever going to listen to me was if I spoke the language fluently - so I studied the dialect and once I could really speak their language, they took me seriously. The other Peace Corps Volunteer suddenly realized that I had really learned to speak Waray and wanted me to teach him. This experience made me realize that I had always been doing this, I had always been compensating in my life - working harder to be better prepared in order to be heard." Kara Kelty is the Manager for Candidate Ready Development at Leadership for Educational Equity.
Amanda Tafoya
"Being a teen mother at 17, changed my life. I remember looking into my baby's big blue eyes and I was determined he would have different parenting than I did. I didn't want him to feel unloved or uneducated like I felt. So, I signed up for emotional intelligence classes and I signed up for a parenting class that I went to once a week for many years. And then I sent him off to Duke University where he will be a senior next year. I have three more children and all of those parenting and education skills trickled down to them as well. And, after getting my GED I also received my EMT and nursing licenses. And most recently I've become a licensed real estate agent." Amanda Tafoya is a real estate agent in Taos, New Mexico.