NYC Geekette of the Month: Jamay Liu

What is your name, age, location?

Jamay Liu, 31, New York City

What's your background? 

I was the first employee of a travel startup and a digital strategist advising large brands. I’m now a product manager at Paperless Post, where I lead two product teams. In my free time, I support my husband’s entrepreneurial projects, which currently include UpWord Notes and Unsplurge. I have a Computer Science degree from Brown and an MBA in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from MIT Sloan.

What inspired you to become a product manager? 

I graduated college and moved to New York City with no clear idea of what I wanted to do, but idealistic hopes for a “perfect” job that would combine many interests. 

Eventually Craigslist led me to Tony Cheng, who had the idea that authentic travel videos would be the next big thing in online travel. I joined him and his co-founder as the first employee of Tripfilms.com, and fell in love with creating products that people love. It was inspiring seeing an idea grow and come to life. 

I went back to school to learn more about the business, strategy, and marketing side of things, which has helped me in my product management career since.

Please walk me through your day, what do you do at your company? 

Product management is constantly interesting because it encompasses so many things: strategy, creativity, and ultimately, empowering teams to ship products that are valuable to users. 

A typical day involves a healthy balance between roadmap planning and execution on projects that are in the works. I have meetings with executives, designers, and developers to make sure our long-term roadmap is feasible and meets business goals.  I also meet with my product teams to make sure everyone is unblocked and has clear priorities. 

When I’m not in meetings, I am at my desk analyzing user data, writing specs and user stories to guide design and development, and thinking about process improvements. 

Can you see yourself in ten years doing the same thing you do now? 

It’s hard to imagine ten years out since tech moves so fast, but yes, I do think that I’ll still love imagining up new products to create, and making them happen.

What is the best advice you ever received? 

Be confident. Trust your instincts and your abilities. 

(If you have doubts, do the legwork to clear those doubts. And then be confident.)

What is the most important thing you’ve learned in the last year? 

It may seem obvious, but deliberate communication is the key to solving “people problems.” If there is something bothering you -- whether it involves a manager, a peer, or a report -- speak up in an open and respectful way. Leaving things unsaid breeds frustration and distrust, while honest and thoughtful dialogue often yields creative solutions. I recommend “Crucial Conversations,” by Kerry Patterson.

And what are your plans for the future?

Continue learning and doing. 

If you could do one thing differently, what would it be?

I wish I was better about taking time to reflect each day. Whenever I write in my journal, I process my experiences, thoughts, and emotions more fully. But when life is busy, routine reflection can be hard. Maybe there’s an app for that? 

Any advice for your local/global Geekettes?

An interesting framework lists four criteria for evaluating career and entrepreneurial opportunities:

1. Are you good at it (skills)? 

2. Do you love it (passion)? 

3. Does it deliver value to others (meaning)? 

4. Can it deliver value to yourself (income)? 

My advice: if you can find something that meets two out of the first three criteria, odds are it’ll lead you to a career that fulfills all four. 

Portugal Geekette of the Month: Daniela Monteiro

Meet Daniela Monteiro, age 27, Co-Founder of Startup Pirates, based in Porto – Portugal.  

What inspired you to become a founder? 

During my college years I never wanted to be an entrepreneur. Actually, I never acknowledged it was a thing, or a possibility. When I completed my course, I was just very unhappy about my path working in Pharmacy and the possibilities for the future. I didn’t know much about the market and I had been trained to take the "safe" route in my career. 

Lucky enough, I met a set of people that encouraged me to attend programs and events that forced me to meet more people in a new world unknown to me at the time.

I met people who were headed on different paths but had a lot in common with me. Together we shared the will to take what we had been discovering ourselves and brought it to younger people. And that’s how Startup Pirates was born, a one-week program that enables aspiring entrepreneurs to get inside the startup world and learn how to develop a business idea.

Being a founder was not a decision. It just happened from a need that I really felt inside. And boy, am I having fun with it! 

Please walk me through your day, what do you do at your company? 

When you have a small organization like Startup Pirates, it’s difficult to pinpoint what exactly I do, because you need to do everything. Maybe I can say that I’m involved with social media and community management more than anything. 

Also, Pharmacy is still part of my life and I own a consultancy company with a friend. So I do manage two companies and deal with regulatory affairs related to health products.

Can you see yourself in ten years doing the same thing you do now?

Not at all! First, Pharmacy has been a need and not a passion. Maybe the knowledge I’ve acquired will help me, but I cannot see myself working as a Pharmacist, not even in 5 years.

On the other side, I can see myself working with startups and entrepreneurs but not as we’re working with them now. As we say at Startup Pirates, we're only happy when we're no longer needed. Maybe we can pivot our concept, I'm not sure at the moment...

I’m exploring several possibilities and trying to learn as much as I can. I’ve been learning how to code and I’m really into design. Learning new aspects of design will be my next project. 

What is the best advice you ever received?

My mom always says “Breathe deeply and count to three”. I always remember it when life gives me lemons and when I have to make big decisions. 

What is the most important thing you’ve learned in the last year?

I learned that I cannot dissociate myself from my job. Thus, to feel accomplished, I really need to love what I do.  

And what are your plans for the future?

The future is an open book and hard to predict. I can’t specifically tell what I’m going to be doing because I’m a person who is hard to please. So my plan is to explore as much as I can to find out what I really love. I want to learn more about design and explore my creative side. Above all, I want to have my own projects, solutions that tackle meaningful problems and have a greater impact on the world. And as a Pirate, I’ve been able to see the results of our awesome team work. That’s the way to go...

If you could do one thing differently, what would it be?

I would have done a gap year, learn more languages and read more. But if I had to pick just one, I would have studied something else in college. 

Any advice for your local/global Geekettes?

Breathe deeply and count to three! 

Twin Cities Geekette of the Month: Natalie Warnert

Meet Natalie Warnert, ScrumMaster/Agile Coach at Surescripts, LLC

What is your name, age, location?

Natalie Warnert, age 26, Minneapolis, MN

What's your background?

I started out as a web developer on an Agile redesign of Travelers.com. Then moved into BA work, Project Management and finally Scrum. I worked as a ScrumMaster at Travelers Insurance on a large internal project, then moved into Agile Project Management of a User Experience (UX) team at Thomson Reuters. I now am a ScrumMaster at Surescripts, LLC coaching five teams on Agile/Scrum practices and helping them to continually improve through inspection, adaption, and self organization. I also have spoken at numerous national Agile and Scrum conferences over the past two years.

Please walk me through your day as a ScrumMaster/Agile Coach, what's a typical working day for you?

I start out the morning by reviewing the teams’ progress from the previous day by looking at burndown charts and Scrum/Kanban boards. I then go to three to four daily scrum stand up meetings. The rest of my day is spent in backlog grooming or planning with the teams and Product Owners, helping them to get ready for the next Sprint or release. I also review more metrics and collaborate with my fellow ScrumMasters on issues they’re seeing.

You hold a BBA in Information Systems from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and are working toward a MA in Organizational Leadership – Strategic Management at St. Catherine University. What inspired you to go into tech and specifically Scrum and Agile?

Honestly, I went into tech because I knew it was a lucrative industry with plenty of jobs. At the time I graduated, the economy was underperforming and it was the best choice. I think Agile is a better way of working and I have seen what it can do to transform organizations. I’m very passionate about helping teams to improve and I love the Agile niche.

What’s the most common misconception about working in the IT world?

That everyone thinks you can fix their computer.

When things get tough how do you keep yourself going?

I try to apply Agile principles to things. I break down my work into sizable tasks, plan and prioritize it, and ask for help when needed to remove blockers.

What “rules” do you live by?

I always try to do the best I can and learn something every day. I also think there’s a solution to every problem; it just might not be the most obvious one. I never give up.

What is the best advice you ever received?

Everyone is replaceable - make sure you never get stagnant.

You're joining us as a speaker at an upcoming event: Twin Cities Geekettes + Surescripts Presents Intro to Agile and have spoken at major conferences. What advice do you have for women wanting to speak?

Just go for it. You won’t know until you try! I have also written a blog post on getting talks accepted to large conferences here.

What achievement are you most proud of?

The first articles I got published by Methods and Tools and Better Software.

What keeps you working in the Twin Cities?

I grew up in Minnesota so that’s a big factor. There are also so many great companies and opportunities here.

Any advice for the Twin Cities women?

Keep your options open, do informational interviews and learn more about different companies. Try different sizes of companies and different industries to see what you like. Move internally. Just don’t get comfortable in a job and forget to look at what else is out there.

Natalie's website: http://nataliewarnert.com/

NYC Geekette of the Month: Rebecca Garcia

Meet Rebecca Garcia, Cofounder of CoderDojo NYC & Developer Evangelist at Squarespace

What is your name, age, location?

Rebecca Garcia, 23, New York City

What's your background? 

I'm a self-taught web developer, and former CTO of Greatist; a health fitness and wellness media startup. I dove into web development and social good as a developer at Do Something working on cause campaigns ranging from arts education to homelessness and beyond. Currently I'm a Developer Evangelist at Squarespace and co-founded CoderDojo NYC, a non-profit where we mentor youth; teaching web, game and app development.

In 2013 I was awarded as a U.S. White House Champion of Change for 'Tech Inclusion' for my non-profit work to bring STEM education to underrepresented communities, especially youth and minorities and published 'The Next Generation of Creators in Tech'.

I began my journey into technology through front-end web development, tinkering with HTML & CSS and my interest in strategy video games. My sister noticed I was interested in computers in middle school. In exchange for babysitting she sponsored me to attend a summer program at MIT where I learned that I didn't want to make video games, but I enjoyed my side passion–making websites. I later went on to teach at that same summer program at MIT, where I was inspired to start CoderDojo NYC. 

Our mission at CoderDojo NYC is to make technology education free and open to youth, as part of the larger CoderDojo movement that began in Ireland. Currently there are over 300 chapters in 30 countries around the globe. This lead me to consulting remotely for the Hello World Foundation in Ireland to help provide resources to empower youth to become creators not consumers through tech. 

I've been fortunate to have a taste of one of my childhood dreams of being involved with the U.N. I never thought I'd be able to combine social good and technology! Last year I was invited to attend the global U.N. BYND (Beyond 2015) conference to discuss human rights, technology and the role of youth as a driving force for change.

What inspired you to become a Developer Evangelist at Squarespace and Cofound CoderDojo NYC? 

I'm passionate about empowering other people to see technology as a creative tool to build their dreams. I was inspired by seeing just what people (both young and old) can do with a nudge in the right direction. I don't believe that everyone needs to become a programmer or engineer, but rather that technology is a great skill to have.

Attending that summer program when I was younger made me realize how you can combine technology and creativity to build amazing things. I wanted to share that experience with others, and have taken that to heart at Squarespace as well.

Please walk me through your day, what do you do at your company?

At CoderDojo NYC we are a volunteer team that runs monthly workshops teaching web, game and app development to youth ages 7-17. We bring in diverse mentors who are professionals in the tech industry; developers, engineers, designers and teachers to share their experiences to help inspire youth. The work I've done is a lot of behind-the-scenes, organizing events, gathering mentors, guestspeakers, newsletters it's been on the go learning whether it's been PR/marketing, fundraising and curriculum development!

At Squarespace my day to day is 50% coding / 50% education. It's a fun mix where I get to code and also have the ability to help define how we are teaching people to become developers or better developers on our platform. I'm very lucky to be traveling and spending about a week out of the month at conferences and/or running workshops.

Can you see yourself in ten years doing the same thing you do now? 

I can definitely see myself doing something similar, empowering people both technical and non-technical to create things. I realized that I didn't just enjoy coding but I enjoyed the aspect of connecting with people which led me to become a Developer Evangelist. In 10 years I hope to have really left an impact to continue the culture of open source education.

What is the best advice you ever received?

My new favorite quote is “The best way to complain is to make things.” - James Murphy

It's so easy for us to get caught up in negative patterns, versus seeing what positive change you can make. Especially for women and minorities, we need to learn to see challenges as stepping stones instead of hurdles. They really can bring you experience and closer to your goals.

What is the most important thing you've learned in the last year? 

Learn to say 'no' and set boundaries. Often we get caught up in feeling like we might disappoint people if we don't say yes to everything, what's one coffee? It starts to add up! Find what's essential to you, and stick to a few main objectives. If the answer isn't an immediate yes, make time for it later, instead of shoving it into your calendar!

And what are your plans for the future?

I hope to continue to educate, mentor and inspire people to see technology as a skill regardless of their background. I really love my work at Squarespace, helping people to bring their ideas to life. CoderDojo NYC will always be my side passion where we connect youth to opportunities, and create a fun, collaborative environment where youth can learn technology through play.

If you could do one thing differently, what would it be?

I would seek out more mentors and make diverse connections earlier! It took me a while to see networking not as sales or job connections but as opportunities to help other people and in turn be helped.

Any advice for your local/global Geekettes?

Don't be afraid to put your ideas and projects out there! There are a lot of great places now like Geekettes to meet people to help you on your journey. Whether it's through conferences, meetups or hacker/code groups! CoderDojo NYC was started from a single tweet asking asking there was a way to help out, it's now grown to mentor over 100 youth per month. I couldn't have done it alone!