EVENT SCHEDULE:
7:00 a.m.: Venue Open
8:00 a.m.: Opening Remarks
8:15 a.m.: OPENING KEYNOTE/General Sessions
10:50 a.m.: Networking Break
11:00 a.m.: Breakout Sessions
12:00 p.m.: Networking Break
12:10 p.m.: Video/General Sessions Resume
12:15 a.m.: CLOSING KEYNOTE
1:15 a.m.: Networking Break
1:30 p.m.: MOVIE SCREENING: Coded Bias
3:00 p.m.: Networking Reception
4:00 p.m.: Venue Closes
CONFERENCE PROGRAM:
8 – 8:15 a.m.
Opening Remarks
Christina Aguilera, President, WiTH Foundation
Guy Finley, President, MESA and Executive Director, WiTH
Nina Skorus-Neely, Secretary, WiTH Foundation
8:15 – 9 a.m.
OPENING KEYNOTE: State of the Union – Women in the Workplace
For the past 10 years, Mount Saint Mary’s University has produced The Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California™ to provide a clearer picture on whether they are thriving or merely surviving and what obstacles remain. Kimberly Kenny will provide highlights from their research on how the pandemic specifically affects women and girls, as well as recommendations to consider for your own diversity programs. We close with a fireside chat to learn from a major organization’s evolving diversity journey.
Kimberly Kenny, Associate Vice President, External Relations, Institutional Advancement, Mount St. Mary’s University
Fireside Chat:
Angela Cooper, General Manager Customer Success & Media & Entertainment, West Region, Microsoft
Jeanne-Marie Ryan, Head of People & Culture, Fair Trade USA
Introduction: Nina Skorus-Neely, Secretary, WiTH Foundation
9 – 9:30 a.m.
AI & Algorithmic Bias: Information Technology Ethics
Join Tobias Baer, author and technologist, as he arms you to build artificial intelligence applications that reimagine the future of our diverse world, rather than just mirror the norms of the past and perpetuate diversity related challenges in applying AI algorithms to business problems. We’ll explore Social, Cultural & Ethical Challenges in the application of AI as well as the opportunity of using algorithms as agents of change, review examples of where some have gone wrong, and offer practical advice to avoid these challenges, covering technical, managerial, as well as social aspects that you may want to consider in addressing algorithmic bias.
Tobias Baer, Senior Advisor, Coach, Scholar (Psychology, Risk Management, Data Science)
9:30 – 10 a.m.
Beyond Customer Experience: Embracing the Business of Experience
World events in 2020-21 have had a profound effect on us all, leading to massive changes in consumer mindsets and behaviors. Everything we do—how and what we buy, how and where we work, how we interact with others—has been thrown into question. People are searching for more, including brands that embody the purpose and meaning that they seek in their lives. In this context, UX and even CX are no longer enough; a brand’s vision and purpose play a critical role in its growth. Brands must organize their whole business around the delivery of exceptional experiences—the experience becomes THE business. Ms. Yury will discuss this broader view of Experience, why it is important to business and outline new frameworks that will enable organizations to frame the needs of customers, employees and partners to deliver exceptional value.
Carrie Yury, Group Design Director & Research Practice Lead, Fjord
Introduction: Nina Skorus-Neely, WiTH Foundation
10 – 10:30 a.m.
Who are we Designing for?
Is experience research like a camera that reflects the truth, capturing the needs and desires of all the different people who use technology? Or is it like an engine that reproduces a fixed idea of who the people who use technology really are? And when we include everyone, what will we learn? What does more inclusive technology offer all of us? Through a series of vignettes from the field, we examine how exclusion can become embedded in practice optimized for tight release schedules and wary of risk – and what practitioners, strategists and leaders in the experience industry can do about it.
Kellie Hodge, Principle Design Researcher, Sutherland Labs
Introduction: Susana Sheil, Vice President, CM&E, Technology, Sutherland
10:30 – 10:35 a.m.
Celebrate Our Stories Video
10:35 – 10:45 a.m.
Gemi Bertran Workshop Teaser
The brain is the software and the body is the hardware. When the brain doesn’t get what it needs, the hardware/body operates like an “empty box”. Gemi Bertran coaches some of the highest performing brains in the country, transitioning special operations officers. They are the living testimonial of brain capacity for recovery. Learn more about her wellness breakout on Nourishing the Brain.
Gemi Bertran, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Nourish the Brain Institute
Introduction: Nadya Ichinomiya, WiTH
10:45 – 10:50 a.m.
Celebrate Our Stories Video
10:50 – 11 a.m.
NETWORKING BREAK
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
SHOWCASES (MULTI-TRACK BREAKOUT SESSIONS)
Industry experts share innovative ideas, processes, or perspectives in an interactive and intimate way with the audience who are free to choose which topic/area they find most interesting.
TRACK 1: Algorithmic Bias
TRACK 2: Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility
TRACK 3: Customer Experience
TRACK 4: Wellness for Your Career
12 – 12:10 p.m.
NETWORKING BREAK
12:10 – 12:15 p.m.
Celebrate Our Stories Video
12:15 – 12:45 p.m.
CLOSING KEYNOTE: Universal Impact of Media Accessibility & Inclusivity
Equal audience access ensures entertainment and information is an engaging collective experience shared by all audiences on all exhibition and distribution platforms. As we continuously advance towards an evolving future and developing mindset, we aspire to consistently accommodate all communities inclusive of those individuals with language, cognitive, physical, hearing and visual differences. We become an ideal world when we simultaneously integrate our efforts, implementation and outreach yielding a universally beneficial outcome for all people. Closing the conference, Michele Spitz will share her experiences delivering broader access to content, as well as her call to action supporting the needs of diverse communities using technology.
Michele Spitz, Woman of Her Word
Introduction: Guy Finley, President, MESA
12:45 – 1:15 p.m.
Closing Remarks/Get Involved in the WiTH Foundation
Closing comments from founder, Nadya Ichinomiya, about the impact of the WiTH Foundation and opportunities for you to engage and take action.
Nadya Ichinomiya, WiTH Foundation Board, Sony Pictures Entertainment
1:15 – 1:30 p.m.
NETWORKING BREAK
1:30 – 3 p.m.
MOVIE SCREENING: Coded Bias
In an increasingly data-driven, automated world, the question of how to protect individuals’ civil liberties in the face of artificial intelligence looms larger by the day. Coded Bias follows M.I.T. Media Lab computer scientist Joy Buolamwini, along with data scientists, mathematicians, and watchdog groups from all over the world, as they fight to expose the discrimination within algorithms now prevalent across all spheres of daily life. Join us for this special screening just after SoCal Women’s Leadership Summit.
Zoiner Tejada, Chief Executive Officer, Solliance
George Howell, General Manager, Media Practice, Solliance
3 – 3:30 p.m.
PANEL Q&A
Zoiner Tejada, Chief Executive Officer, Solliance
George Howell, General Manager, Media Practice, Solliance
3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
NETWORKING RECEPTION
