Girl Geek Dinners Ottawa

Last Wednesday, Serena Ngai of Girl Develop It Ottawa presented her case about the revolution of women in technology. From Mattel’s Barbie career innovations to five-year old girls dreaming of being astronauts, Serena pointed out the large social gap between girls and boys in the field of computer science and everything related.

When you Google search “computer scientist”, what’s the first image that appears? Is it a guy with glasses and a plaid shirt? Trust us, we’re not being biased. In fact, research has shown the number of women with bachelor degrees in computer sciences has decreased rapidly over the past 20 years from 37 per cent to less than 20 per cent. Today, less than one per cent of women would be interested in studying computer science as an elective in university. But, there is hope!

In 2010, Mattel posted a public survey asking girls which career they would like Barbie to pursue. To everyone’s surprise, the number one career was computer engineer. Are women beginning to see technology as a fun, innovative, career savvy form of income?  Let’s hope so!

To help regain the number of women in computer sciences, Serena and Gail Carmichael founded Girl Develop It Ottawa to bring back the flare and fun of building websites in a supportive environment. Serena taught us how technical skills can be valuable for your career and any career, why this “women in technology” thing really matters, and how their upcoming workshops can help you become the next Marissa Mayer. Well, in part.

Girl Develop It is hosting their next workshop Intro to HTML and CSS on Nov. 29 and Dec. 6, from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. They’re also looking for volunteers to help teach workshops and share technological skills with Ottawa women. If you or someone you know likes to teach and is tech savvy, contact Serena or Gail.

And lastly, congratulations to our Girl Geek prize winners who went home with fabulous gifts from our event sponsors – the National Arts Centre, Media Miser, UsedOttawa.com and Ingrid Aesthetics.

To read more about this month’s event, check out the following reviews from our Girl Geek attendees:

Amy Campsall (blog post)– @AmyCampsall

Alexandra Reid – @TechAlly

Mel Gallant – @MelGallant

Hana Abaza – @HanaAbaza

I first heard about the Lead to Win program while I was a graduate student at Carleton University.  Professor Tony Bailetti used the program as an example of what being a serial entrepreneur meant.  He talked about a group of people who had been part of lay offs during the burst of the tech bubble and who got tired of waiting around for their next job.  They took action and decided to create their own jobs.  The results were outstanding!  The first class of the Lead to Win program (2002) created over 50 business in the national capital region, raised over 90M in VC money and created over 300 full time technology jobs.
 
You can imagine my excitement when our friend Natasha D’Souza approached us with the news of Lead to Win for Women (LTW-W).
 

LTW-W provides women entrepreneurs with resources and expertise essential to business prosperity and success. LTW-W supports women founders at any stage of entrepreneurship who share a common goal to build a business with significant growth potential. There is an opportunity for women to learn, access critical resources, and network with like-minded entrepreneurs and successful business owners. LTW-W aim is to be a catalyst for growth for Canadian women entrepreneurs. LTW-W is unique and will have a positive impact on the success of women owned business in the National Capital Region and Canada.
 
Is Lead To Win for Women Right for You?

Do you have a great idea, but don’t know how to turn it into a business?

Do you already have a business, but growth is stagnating?

Are you interested in attending an intensive free bootcamp that will help you set business goals and achieve them? 

Want to help LTW-W reach their goal of making Canada the best place for women to launch and grow their businesses?  If this sounds like something you need to be a part of, you can start by attending the info session at the Code Factory on September 30, 2011 from 12:00pm-1:00pm.  Then you can apply at http://ltw-women.ca/info
 
Good Luck!  And make sure to let us know how it goes.

Girl Geek Dinner Ottawa is excited to partner with Paola St-Georges, Marketing Manager and Guide for C’est Bon Cooking, for a one-of-a-kind food tour in the Nation’s Capital. Attendees will be treated to a special mini-tour that will concentrate on the heart of the Market area and cover several producers and fine food shops.

Topics during the tour will include Savour Ottawa, 101 Must-try-before-you-die tastes and a little dose of history just for good measure. And we have to go out in Girl Geek Dinner Style, so prepare yourself for Girl Geek Dinner trivia for a chance to win prizes!

About C’est Bon Cooking:

C’est Bon Cooking’s EDIBLE OTTAWA tours are a foodie’s romp through the Capital’s most vibrant epicurean neighbourhoods. Participants are treated to mouth-watering conversations, enticing aromas, scrumptious flavours and a riot of colours in meticulously arranged food displays.

EDIBLE OTTAWA tours are based on the belief that the best way to get to know a people and its culture is to explore local markets, experience local specialties and meet local Chefs and food artisans. They are an opportunity to experience Ottawa “as locals do,” a chance to connect with colourful neighbourhoods such as the ByWard Market, Wellington West and Beechwood Avenue.

Culinary tourism is a thriving industry all over the world and C’est Bon Cooking is proud to have brought it to Canada’s Capital. Our clients relish their opportunity to become food industry insiders for a while and to familiarize themselves with Ottawa’s latest “must try tastes.”

Event details:

Date: July 7, 2011

Time: 6pm to 8pm *please arrive 10 minutes early*

Meeting spot: Murray’s Market, 261 Dalhousie Street

Contact: Paola St-Georges, Marketing Manager and Guide, 613-722-8687 (ext. 204)

Cost: $25/person (special rate on behalf of C’est Bon Cooking and Girl Geek Dinner Ottawa)

To register, please click here

*Tour will go ahead rain or shine so please dress appropriately and wear comfortable shoes*

Just Do It

This was the recurring theme with our presenters last night.  Come to think about it, this seems to be a recurring theme with several of our Girl Geek Dinner speakers.  From entrepreneurship and women in leadership, to looking for a new job.  We all have to deal with uncertainty and doubts, and sooner or later, we just need to decide to Just Do It and see how it goes.

Some other take-aways from last night:

• Understand your customers
• Understand your competitors
• Surveys are often not enough, find nuances through conversations
• Keep it simple to start
• Welcome feedback, but know when to ignore it.  Keep the focus on what you’re good at
• If your business is product centric, focus on innovation
• If you are offering service, focus on service excellence
• Blogs are the new magazines
• As social media changes, so should the way you use it
• Use giveaways to build your audience

Thank you Vivian, Hana and Amy for sharing their stories with us and thank you to all who attended our Girl Geek Dinner last night.  We hope you enjoyed it and found some inspiration for your next challenge.

Thanks again to our sponsors for their continued support.  We hope all the door prize winners enjoy their prizes!

CIRA .CA

Thornley Fallis

Shopify

Media Miser

Laura Jane Photography

the SPA

Little Cakes

Have you ever thought, “Why work for somebody else when I can work for myself?”

Easier said than done, but anything’s possible! From flowers to clothing, to writing and painting, entrepreneurship opens the doors to anyone with a dream and a passion.

On Wednesday May 11th, please join us for an interactive discussion about the entrepreneurial journey of three Ottawa women who have turned their business dreams into realities.

Our Speakers

Vivian Cheng

Vivian Cheng is an industrial designer and one-half of the creative force behind Blend Creations. She and her husband, Eric Jean-Louis (a graphic designer) combine their divergent design approaches to create a contemporary jewelry line that is clean and modern in aesthetic, yet also blends their respective cultures in East meeting West.

Hana Abaza

Hana Abaza is the co-founder and CEO of Wedding Republic, an Ottawa based start up allowing couples to set up an online, cash, wedding registry in a way that works for them and their guests. With an incredibly diverse background, Hana has pulled together her broad skill set in order to navigate the start up world. When she’s not in front of her laptop with armed with a large cup of coffee, she can usually be found teaching a kickboxing class. Self described as slightly ‘type a’ with a dose of ADD, although some say it’s just an unrelenting curiosity.

Amy Yee

Amy Yee is an entrepreneur and strategy consultant specializing in technology, engagement and collaboration at start-up and high growth companies. Among a wide variety of projects, Amy is currently the CEO at the second company she has co-founded: EventBots – an award-winning technology solution for public engagement. Amy has a Bachelor’s of Electrical Engineering from Carleton University.

Event Details:

When: Wednesday, May 11th at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Vittoria Trattoria in the Market (get directions)

To Register: Please visit our event registration page.

Event Sponsors

Logistics and door prizes for our May #GGDOttawa event  is made possible by the generous contribution of our sponsors – a big thank you to the following organizations.

@ciranews

@thornleyfallis

@MediaMiser

@laurajanephotos

@SPADayRetreat

@_LittleCakes

From mobile apps to social media technology and from open data to public policy, women are continually influencing the way information is being shared across the world.

On March 30, three women taught us that technology isn’t just an objective, it changes society and infrastructure as a whole.

Mary Beth Baker, Emily Daniels and Tracey Lauriault, were part of a technological revolution known as Open Data Ottawa. A few months back, they organized Hackfest, an opportunity for technology lovers to come together to create unique and innovative mobile apps with the purpose of helping Ottawa citizens to enjoy and easily access recreation and services the city has to offer.

Thanks to our wonderful speakers and guests, the event generated huge awareness on Twitter.  We highly encourage participation from everyone, male or female, and if you know someone that’s passionate about technology or has an idea for an event, please don’t hesitate to talk to us, we love questions and feedback!

What can we take away from this event? From creative ideas for new apps to learning resources you can take home with you,  Mary Beth, Tracey and Emily enlightened us with their passion for the pursuit of open data :

• If you’re not reading this, make sure to pick up The Real World of Technology by Ursula Franklin and also check out Datalibre.ca.
• Remember Erin Brockovich? Well, she’s back in the spotlight and working on passing an open data bill about disease clusters being mapped and made public. Does this mean a sequel?!
• Another great quote is from the lovely Jane Jacobs, “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”
• If you loved the past Hackfest and want to take part again, Mary Beth is hoping to start a Mother’s Day Hackfest in May. Feel free to contact her for more information, maribethbaker <at> gmail.com. You can also check out photos from the last Hackfest on behalf of Edward  Ocampo-Gooding.
• And last, but not least, open data is not about sharing personal information with the public.  In order to share public information we have the right to know and to answer public policy issues that affect us and our communities.

Thanks again to our sponsors for their continued support.  We hope all the door prize winners enjoy their prizes!

CIRA .CA

Thornley Fallis

Open Data Ottawa

The Lemon Kitchen

Media Miser

The National Arts Centre

Swing Dynamite

Talking data over dinner?
Last month the City gave out $50,000 in prizes for apps (web sites and smartphone applications) built using Information it provided to it’s residents. This information is known as Open Data – what you might recognize as a spreadsheet of numbers and labels. This information has been available for almost a year in our city. If you’ve just hearing about this now – don’t worry, we have a few awesome girl geeks to share all the details and get you in on the fun.

Also WTF is Open Data?

Data that is…
1. licensed so that citizens can do what they want with it
2. machine readable (no-fancy formatting)
3. publicly available (so not private information like the location of my house and my cellphone number)

Are there Girl Geeks behind Open Data in Ottawa? You bet there are!

Ottawa’s Open Data Champion: Councillor Marianne Wilkinson
Our own app creator: Emily Daniels
The talented Open Data Scholar and Advocate: Tracey Lauriault

We’d also like to give a huge thanks to Mary Beth Baker for introducing us to this amazing panel. Mary Beth makes up 1/3 of the driving force behind Open Data Ottawa and without her, this event would not be made possible.

If you’re curious about Open Data in your city, you can visit:
The city posts all Open Data here
Ottawa’s Open Data community
The City’s $50,000 contest, get a load of the 91 apps!

Come out and meet the Girl Geeks behind Open Data!

When: Wednesday, March 30 at 6 p.m.
Where: Fox & Feather Pub and Grill, upstairs (get directions)

Register now! Please visit our event registration page.

Our Event Sponsors

Logistics and door prizes for our March GGD Ottawa event  is made possible by the generous contribution of our sponsors – a big thank you to the following organizations.

I’m still excited about Wednesday.  I’ve had a few bad days in a row and was hoping something awesome would happen soon.  I got it!  Thank you everyone for attending and making our Girl Geek Dinner panel the huge success it was.  Check out this Twitter stream of all you guys had to say about the event. 

I think we came up with the idea for this panel about a year ago.   We figured in order to make sure it was a success we needed to find different perspectives on the same subject, a good moderator, a good location, good sound system and good sponsors.  We hadn’t organized a GGD panel before, so the plan was to do a test run via a much more low-key event.

Maybe instead of a restaurant we could host the event at an office and get dinner catered?  Try and find a sound system that doesn’t cost a fortune.  What about a moderator?  What if people have their backs to the panelists? What if no one is interested in the topic?  What if we waste people’s time?

Lots of questions and not a lot of answers, time or resources to make it happen.  We were off to a slow start.  Finally we decided to do it.  Trust we have worked well together in the past;  trust that 3 smart, successful women had agreed to be our panelists and trust that the Girl Geek Dinner Ottawa community has always supported our events.

I’m so glad we didn’t wait any longer!  We took a risk and it paid off.  All three of our panelist rocked!

Sherry Noble, Jennifer MacKinnon and Janet Harris-Campbell

With over 25 years of experience at EDC, Sherry knew the business, knew the people and knew what was missing from the technology side.  She was offered a chance to lead the Business Solutions and Technology team and she took it.

Jennifer, CEO of Fenix Solutions, always loved a challenge and felt constrained by her employers.  She talked about being restless.  She took a chance and started her own business.

Janet, CIO for The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada, had experience in strategy and management but not in technology.  She worked for an employer that offered different opportunities and decided to take a chance and venture into the technology side.

All three women stepped out of their comfort zone and were open to trying something different.  They took risks and in the end have all paid off pretty well.

I wish I was one of those amazing writers that would be able to capture the emotion of a night.  I’m not.  Good thing is I don’t have to.  Your Twitter tag cloud says it all!

What I can do is tell you what I took away from last night:

• Take pride in my work
• Honour and respect the people I work with
• Be fascinated by my work
• Have a passion for my company
• Build credibility by bringing something to the table that no one else has
• Be honest
• Being in management is not a popularity contest
• Do a good job and people will in fact like you
• Be organized
• Try to find flexible work arrangements, whether this is part time, working some days from home or starting your day at 5:30am
• Don’t wait for the right time to start your business, start a family or make a career change.  Trust your gut and take a chance.

Lastly, be ambitious.  Be ambitious so that you are more inclined to take those risks.

Thanks again to our sponsors for their continued support.  We hope all the door prize winners enjoy their prizes!  And check out Sara’s Flickr account for the rest of the pictures from the event.

Beyond Events

Blend Creations

The National Arts Centre

Sara McConnell Photography

The Lemon Kitchen

ThornleyFallis

CIRA .CA Impact Awards

Join us Monday, November 29th for a night of networking and a discussion about the Girl Geek Dinners (GGD) Ottawa 2011 season. Share your topic and speaker suggestions (yourself perhaps?) for future events while connecting with other fabulous ‘geeky’ women in our city.

We’ll be hosting our networking event at Lilac Lingerie, which if you haven’t heard is a lingerie boutique in Westboro that features stylish, classy lingerie for every woman. Come ready to shop because boutique owner Emilia Kutrovska is offering a 10% discount for the evening, which we think is a divine plus.

We hope you’ll join us in kick-starting our 2011 season!

What: Networking Cocktail Event
When: Monday, November 29th at 7 p.m.
Where: Lilac Lingerie, 307B Richmond Rd, near Churchill (get directions)

Register now!

Code is like a paintbrush, and the Internet is the world’s biggest art gallery. Invented just 20 years ago, the Web has changed everything. Less than 24% of humanity has access to the Internet; there is more change to come. What can we expect technology to change in the future?

Join us on June 29th when Cate Huston shares with us some of the highlights from her “Art, Life and Programming” lecture.

Cate is working on completing her Masters degree in Computer Science at the University of Ottawa and is also an Intern at IBM.   You may know her as @kittenthebad on Twitter, and if you don’t, well what are you waiting for? She is also the  Instigator of Awesome for Awesome Ottawa.

When: Tuesday, June 29 at 6 p.m.

Where: Biagio’s Italian Kitchen on 1394 Richmond Road (Get directions)

Register now!

**UPDATE**

We have TWO student spots available (it is summer after all!) courtesy of Thornley Fallis Communication. Leave a comment and you’ll get free admission and $25 of your dinner covered! Same routine as always-leave a comment and let us know what and where you study and why you want to attend.