Conversations for Change with Lisa D. Cook + vNCWIT Summit Pioneer in Computing Award Celebration

Lisa D. Cook, Lucy Sanders, Gladys West, Terina-Jasmine Alladin

12:00PM – 1:00PM | Conversations for Change with Lisa D. Cook

Lisa D. Cook is a Professor of Economics and International Relations at Michigan State University. She was the first Marshall Scholar from Spelman College and received a second B.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Oxford University. She earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley with fields in macroeconomics and international economics. Prior to this appointment, she was on the faculty of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Deputy Director for Africa Research at the Center for International Development at Harvard University, and a National Fellow at Stanford University. Read Lisa’s full bio online.

1:00PM – 2:00PM | vNCWIT Summit Pioneer in Computing Award Celebration

Immediately following Lisa’s Conversation, join the vNCWIT Pioneer in Tech Award Celebration, honoring Dr. Glayds West, the 2021 award recipient who is a pioneer in GPS technology. Be a part of a candid conversation on inspiring the next generation of technologists, hosted by NCWIT CEO and Co-founder Lucy Sanders alongside NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Community Engagement Manager Terina-Jasmine Alladin. Read Glady’s full bio online.


Conversations for Change | #YesWeCode: Race, Gender & The Digital Divide

Van Jones

CNN Host and Dream Corps Founder Van Jones created #YesWeCode to find real solutions. Housed at Dream Corps Unlimited, #YesWeCode is working to help 100,000 young adults of color – both women and men – find employment in the technology sector. Learn from the many insights that Van has gleaned by working directly with dozens of major tech firms, the Obama White House, and the nation’s top accelerated training programs. Hear how cultural barriers – on both sides of the divide – may be the biggest obstacles to an inclusive tech sector.


Conversations for Change | Bad Algorithms & The Ethical Matrix

Cathy O’Neil

Algorithms can embed bias, they can propagate or even exacerbate inequality, or they can just be plain inaccurate. How do we keep track of all the potential problems? How do we make sure the algorithms we build “work well”? What do we even mean by that? In this talk, Cathy O’Neil will introduce the ethical matrix, a construction borrowed from moral philosophy, as a way of organizing our thoughts around important and urgent questions like these.