M+E Connections

For years now Women in Technology Hollywood (WiTH) has partnered with non-profits that seek to advance the technology careers of young women. At the Nov. 3 SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit, being held at Nya Studios in Los Angeles, attendees will hear first-hand the impact these organisations have had on people’s lives and careers.

The panel “Lasting Impact: WiTH Impact Stories” will feature five individual stories that detail the impact that WiTH has in local communities, personal stories and journeys from the women who have been directly impacted by community engagement efforts over the years. Attendees will also hear what these WiTH supported non-profits do with their members and for their broader community.

April Schneider, VP of IT, intellectual property management and general counsel for Sony Pictures Entertainment will moderate the panel, with speakers including Rose Cherubin (WEI alumna), certified AWS cloud practitioner; Nina Doeff (Boundless Brilliance alumna), support engineer for PopSQL; Lauren Kush (Codetalk alumna); Fabiola Martinez (DIY Girls alumna), computer science student at College of the Canyons; and Emily Villalba (STEM Advantage alumna), associate software engineer for Sony Pictures.

The annual SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit is presented by Qvest with sponsorship by Fortinet and Softtek, and will take place at Nya Studios, located in the heart of Hollywood. The summit will be held both in-person in Los Angeles and virtually via Zoom. The event is being held in conjunction with the Infinity Festival.

The full-day event, themed “Us, Our Org, Our Community,” promises a dynamic line-up of presentations and discussions.

Attendees can expect engaging sessions such as “STEM in Media,” “Courageous Leadership,” and “Ethical AI.” Last year’s in-person edition of the summit attracted over 250 attendees, with more than 70 percent representing the media, entertainment, and tech-adjacent industries.

One of the highlights of the summit is the Leadership Awards, which recognises outstanding leaders and advocates in the entertainment technology sector. These individuals not only excel in their professional roles but also embody WiTH’s principles through their work, community engagement, mentoring, and networking. Past recipients of the award include industry luminaries like Nancy Faginas-Cody, Cristina Mancini-Jones, and Theresa Miller.

WiTH, founded in 2014, plays a pivotal role in advancing women in entertainment technology. The WiTH Steering Committee, responsible for selecting Leadership Awards winners, comprises representatives from prominent organisations such as Amazon Studios, Microsoft, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and The Walt Disney Company.

For inquiries about sponsorship, as part of your tax-deductible donation to WiTH Foundation, contact [email protected]. For more information about the WiTH Leadership Awards and the organisation itself, contact [email protected].

To register for the event click here.