WE Rise 2025 Conference

Dr. Shoba Subramanian is the Head of University Partnerships at Amazon, Fulfillment Technologies and Robotics. In this role, she enables cross-pollination of research between universities and Amazon, helps build talent pipelines from universities and empowers diverse students toward STEM jobs. Previously, she was a Clinical Associate Professor and a Director at the University of Michigan (U-M). At U-M, she founded a Career and Professional Development Office with a robust infrastructure and curriculum, driving significant cultural change by introducing transferable career skills as an integral part of PhD and postdoc training. As a faculty member and Assistant Department Head at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), she led undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs. In her academic tenure, she has founded and taught several life sciences and professional skills courses, certificate program series and workshops. She has advised thousands of trainees in many contexts. She has received multiple awards and fellowships, including the NSF Innovation in Graduate Education grant, and the Wimmer, ProSEED and RISE fellowships. Dr. Subramanian has served on the Board of Directors of the National Postdoc Association and on the Graduate Research, Education, and Training Steering Committee at the Association of American Medical Colleges. Dr. Subramanian earned her doctoral degree from CMU and trained as a postdoc at the University of California, San Francisco and at CMU.

Speakers: June Lear, Juliya Reed, Mayuri Ganguly

Discover the power of communication in engineering leadership with three inspiring women engineers from Tableau who are also passionate Toastmasters. They’ll share how public speaking and storytelling have accelerated their success—from leading complex projects to making an impact in boardrooms. Gain actionable insights on strengthening your voice, fostering collaboration and inspiring change. This session will equip aspiring leaders with tools to communicate confidently and lead with impact in STEM and beyond.

Speakers: Julia Renouard, Geethika Yarlagadda, Cathy Jackson, Ebonni Adams, Julie Kientz

What do you need to know as you kickstart your career? How do you think strategically about your career path? How do you own your career path and build your next step? Learn from a panel that’s been there and what they wish they knew as they started their career journey.

Speakers: Rekha Nair, Megan Ku, Aruna Veerappan

Effective communication drives impactful leadership. Join a panel of Microsoft professionals and Toastmasters as they share how mastering public speaking and communication skills has shaped their leadership journeys. Gain practical strategies to strengthen your voice, build confidence and lead with influence. Leave empowered to elevate your leadership and communication skills in STEM and beyond.

Speakers: Uloma Okoro, Renae Culala, Tsewone Melaku, Jerusalem Kifelew, Sirena Merfalen

Join us for an inspiring and thought-provoking panel where we explore the many exciting ways an engineering degree can open doors to unexpected and impactful careers. Our diverse panelists with engineering backgrounds will share personal stories and practical advice on navigating challenges, seizing opportunities and shaping a fulfilling future in STEM. This session will offer you fresh perspectives and actionable insights, empowering you to carve your own path, break boundaries and make a meaningful impact in the world of engineering.

Speakers: Lea Louder, Remi Cohen, Garrett Judd, Lori Seabright

Panel discussion presenting topics around career paths and opportunities in the field of cybersecurity.

Speaker: Juniper Lear

Great leaders come in all styles. This interactive session helps attendees discover their unique leadership approach through a brief assessment followed by an engaging game exploring how different leadership styles can collaborate effectively. Learn how to harness your strengths, appreciate others' approaches and foster dynamic teamwork. Walk away with practical strategies for thriving in diverse environments.

Speaker: Sara Olson

So you’re about to graduate and you’re on the job market. You’ve done it all: joined a club, done an internship and worked in a lab. But how do you know what experience is most important to highlight on your resume? While we’re at it, what does a “good” resume even look like? Or maybe you’re about to graduate and you realize that your high GPA meant you didn’t have time for extracurriculars or for landing that internship after your junior year. You’re scared your resume looks empty. Perhaps you had to work full time through school just to pay the bills but now you don’t know how to highlight this work experience to a potential employer in tech. In this panel, we’ll explore all three of these scenarios and more and you’ll learn from the perspective of a recruiter in tech how to craft a resume that looks good (yes, this is important!), tells your story and will help you land your first job. We’ll end this panel with an assignment for you to take away to help you begin building your network, the most powerful tool you’ll use in your early career journey.

Speakers: Doreen Bingo, Skyra Rideaux, Arpita Ghosh, Ebonni Adams, Maggie Ramirez

This panel will dive to the depths of challenges and experiences women of color face in industry and academia today. You will hear and learn from women from several companies and UW, and how they persevered to be who they are today.