Native & Indigenous Women Equal Pay Day: A Talking Circle on Thriving in Tech
September 8 is Native & Indigenous Women Equal Pay Day. This is not a celebration!
Native & Indigenous Women earn approximately $0.60 cents on the dollar and must work 8 extra months into the following year to make what White, non-Hispanic men make in a single year.
It's time to level up Indigenous women's earning potential and close the pay gap.
This virtual talking circle is for Native & Indigenous women and femmes in (or aspiring to be in) tech. Allies are also welcome to attend to learn and listen.
Featuring
Panelist Bios
Andrea Delgado-Olson
Andrea is the Executive Director for Natives in Tech and Founder of Native American Women in Computing and STEM. Andrea is a citizen of the Ione Band of Miwok Indians of the Northern Sierra Foothills of California. She worked in Education for nearly 20 years before making the decision to change careers and pursue a degree and career in Tech. Her first tech focused project focused on language preservation for her native language, the dialect of the Northern Sierra Miwok. Her greatest passion since entering the tech industry has been creating equitable spaces and providing platforms for all Native and Indigenous peoples in Tech. She previously worked as the Senior Program Manager at AnitaB.org and managed all virtual community platforms, communications, programs, and initiatives in addition to all the Community events and sessions for the annual Grace Hopper Celebration.
Andrea is actively involved in her community and serves as the Chair of the Election Committee for the Ione Band of Miwok Indians, a member of the AISES Board of Directors, Chair of the AISES Professional Development Committee, Co-Chair of the AISES Education Committee, and Chair of the Birds of a Feather Committee for the Center for Minorities and People with Disabilities in IT (CMD-IT).
Chamisa Edmo
Chamisa is a citizen of the Navajo Nation, Blackfeet and Shoshone-Bannock. She is also a freelance web developer, data scientist and all-around tech nerd. She specializes in web development, AI content development and data analytics with a social justice lens. Chamisa is currently a fellow with Correlation One’s Data Science 4 All program, an alum of CNM's Deep Dive Coding Bootcamp, and a tribal college graduate.
Hannah Cirelli
Hannah Cirelli is a member of the Quechan Tribe of Fort Yuma of the Coyote Clan. Raised by a resilient mother and determined father, Hannah was able to watch her parents grow from having very little to living comfortably. Both of Hannah’s parents grew up with scarce access to food and vital resources, so they had little to lose when taking a business risk. As a result, Hannah was raised in an innovative, entrepreneurial household. She watched her parents build multiple businesses from the ground up from a young age.
Her parents instilled in her the importance of education and supporting the needs of the community by any means possible. While in school, Hannah worked full time for the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) connecting LGBT-owned businesses to federal and corporate procurement opportunities. Currently, Hannah serves as the Associate Executive Director at the American Indigenous Business Leaders (AIBL). At AIBL, she helps Fortune 50 companies improve their diversity & inclusion initiatives by creating a direct pipeline to top Indigenous talent. She has the distinct privilege to work with many blossoming Indigenous entrepreneurs that will one day help lead our collective future.
Dr. Kai Two Feathers Orton
Kai Two Feathers Orton, PhD recently joined AnitaB.org as the Inaugural AnitaB.org Fellow in Residence.
Kai Two Feathers Orton is computational scientist, learning technologist, strategic fundraiser, and innovation enthusiast. She is an unyielding advocate for inclusion and equity at the intersections of STEM, social justice, digital societies, and policy. Dr. Two Feathers Orton brings a deep understanding of the complex interface between philanthropy, non-profits, and society- including collaborative partnerships, research development, impact assessment, capacity building, and workforce development. She was previously the Senior Associate Director of Corporate and Foundation Relationsa First Nations (Innuinait, Cree, Nez Perce, Tlicho) at Dartmouth College. There her portfolio focused on developing multi-dimensional engagement strategies with foundations and industry enterprises in partnership with faculty across the basic and biomedical sciences, physical sciences, computer science and tech to advance research development and innovation initiatives. Dr. Two Feathers Orton’s research expertise is in Big Data, culturally informed and culturally inclusive learning technologies and in assessments for formal and informal learning environments.
Dr. Two Feathers Orton was also a Research Assistant Professor at Northwestern University in the School of Education and Social Policy and Faculty Liaison for the Office of STEM Education Partnerships. Her research interests are in AI, Machine Learning, Data Sovereignty, Digital Inclusion, CS Education and Broadening Participation in Computing. She founded the Computational Thinking for Girls Clubs (CT4G) to empower girls of color through experiences in computing, technology, and STEM. In addition to her research, Dr. Two Feathers Orton is a Google Next-Gen Tech Policy Fellow and an active professional member of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). She currently serves on numerous research, professional, and non-profit advisory boards including the Women of Color in Computing Collaborative-Expanding CS for Native Girls for AISES and the Indigenous Cultural Heritage-Advancing Pathways for Long-Term Collaboration for the Dartmouth College Hood Museum and Library. She holds a doctorate in Computational Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Cellular Biology from Northwestern University.
This speaker panel is part of the Kapor Capital Equal Pay Series, a year long speaker and workshop series by and for women thriving in tech.