interface: Recent Episodes
PROS
Interface is a podcast where we connect technology and culture through conversation. Interface is brought to you by EMPOWER at PROS. EMPOWER is dedicated to attracting, developing and retaining Black talent at PROS. PROS helps people and companies outperform by enabling smarter selling in the digital economy.
Join the Interface Crew as they sit down with Dr. Cheryl Swanier, Computer Science department chair for University of Massachusetts Amherst and Founder and CEO of Swanier Consulting LLC. to discuss her early tech career experiences facing corporate glass ceilings and how it led her to a career pivot into education where she flourished. Dr. Swanier illustrates how she navigated her own imposter syndrome after being presented with a career changing opportunity and how facing racism in the workplace has shaped her career and inspired her community outreach efforts encouraging Black women in tech and teaching kids from underrepresented groups how to code.
Notable Quotes
"…the reason I transitioned from corporate to K-12 is because I felt like I had reached this glass ceiling. It was always my aspiration to become a CEO of an organization, but I quickly realized that…organizations really weren't for Black people in the early eighties or the mid-nineties."
"I went to my interview, and I was extremely nervous…they did offer me a position but not that of department chair because I really didn't show forth the confidence and enthusiasm to get that (department chair) position."
"I tell my students to follow your dreams and pick and choose your battles. Make sure you don't put all your eggs in one basket."
Links
Jennifer Heat Check: https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/twitter-vs-instagram-threads-two?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=458709&post_id=133515172&isFreemail=true&utm_medium=email
Siara Heat Check: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/12/tech/fbi-public-charging-port-warning/index.html
Contact Cheryl
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylswanier/
Reach out to The Interface Podcast Crew at
· interfacepodcast@pros.com OR
· Jenni Plummer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniplummer/ OR
· Siara Barnes - https://www.linkedin.com/in/siara-barnes-b47a923a/ OR
· Matthew Negron - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-negron94/
In this episode of the Interface podcast, the crew celebrates hitting a milestone of 1,000 downloads and chats with Kim Martin, Director of Engineering at Indeed. Kim Martin talks about the emotional aspects of tech and being a software developer, how being a good decision maker is half the battle of a good leader and why she's always hiring.
Notable Quotes
- "…When you're invested, everything is emotional…it's demoralizing…feeling like you're just doing busy work and nobody's ever going to see it. "
- "Computer scientists are creatives and everybody wants to be expressive."
- "Figure out what you're good at and then double down on that because there's always going to be an opportunity for whatever it is that you're doing."
Links
Jennifer Heat Check: https://www.wired.com/story/stack-overflow-gender-problem/
Siara Heat Check: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-strikes-affirmative-action-programs-harvard-unc-rcna66770
Contact Kim
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlynicolemartin/
Instagram: @blackgirlgolfing
Reach out to The Interface Podcast Crew at
· interfacepodcast@pros.com OR
· Jenni Plummer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniplummer/ OR
· Siara Barnes - https://www.linkedin.com/in/siara-barnes-b47a923a/ OR
Matthew Negron - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-negron94/
In this episode, the Interface Crew sits down with Aaron Walker, a Computer Science student at the University of Houston, to delve into his captivating undergraduate journey. Join us as we explore how Aaron discovered his passion for technology, the fascinating intersection of music theory and computer science, and his innovative approach to music creation using generative AI.
Notable Quotes
"I just like problem solving. Creative problem solving is fun. It's like puzzles, but you actually do stuff. You finish stuff, you build stuff by solving puzzles."
Links
Jennifer Heat Check: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/05/business/tech-internship-application-grind.html
Matthew Heat Check: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/20/business/media/reddit-moderators-api-protest.html
Siara Heat Check: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth
Contact Aaron
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-walker-777a09227/
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/@aarrowaudio
Reach out to The Interface Podcast Crew at
· interfacepodcast@pros.com OR
· Jenni Plummer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniplummer/ OR
· Siara Barnes - https://www.linkedin.com/in/siara-barnes-b47a923a/ OR
· Matthew Negron - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-negron94/
Try Everything: The Power of Perspective feat. Maurice Holt
Maurice has been a developer for more than 20 years, when he graduated in 1984, computer science was VERY new. He made straight A’s in computer science in high school without trying, and it gave him some direction as far as a career. He got a scholarship to Texas A&M where he was the only athlete with a computer science major. Everyone thought he was crazy for it, but it was his passion, and he had a knack for it. He graduated and got an internship in Dallas and then was hired by IBM to work for NASA where he had a black female manager who mentored him and gave him an opportunity. Specialized for a long time in UI development.
Looks for opportunities to be able to give back – 6:30
Try everything, be well-rounded – 7:00
Links (Guest LinkedIn, publications, guest website, Heat Check sources)
- Siara - GM unveils $30,000 electric SUV that will be one of the cheapest EVs available
- Matthew - US Senator seeks antitrust review of apartment price-setting software | Ars Technica
- Jennifer - https://uhcode.red
Reach out to The Interface Podcast Crew at
- interfacepodcast@pros.com OR
- Jenni Plummer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniplummer/ OR
- Siara Barnes - https://www.linkedin.com/in/siara-barnes-b47a923a/ OR
- Matthew Negron - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-negron94/
Episode 10 Show Notes - Learning about User Experience with Thomas Watkins
NOTE: This episode was recorded on December 1st, 2021
Learning about User Experience with Thomas Watkins, Principal and Founder of 3 Leaf
Thomas Watkins started out studying psychology, was interested in cognitive psychology, then got accepted to George Mason University’s Human Factors program (the original name for UX).
He continued his studies after that but really didn’t have a career goal. Then he started working at PROS, where he began working with the software. After his time at PROS, Thomas went into consulting and fell in love with working with startups, where he felt he had more strategic influence over what a product could be. This led Thomas to create his own consulting company, 3Leaf, where the focus is to combine technology with design psychology in order to drive business success.
“To start out, get good at something”
“Fall in love with the trade, the craft”
“Go deep before you go wide – so you can join a team and add value”
https://www.3leaf.consulting/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/watkinsthomas/
Reach out to The Interface Podcast Crew at
- interfacepodcast@pros.com OR
- Jenni Plummer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniplummer/ OR
- Siara Barnes - https://www.linkedin.com/in/siara-barnes-b47a923a/ OR
- Matthew Negron - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-negron94/
Episode 9 Show Notes – From the Desk of a CTO with Marcus Manning
NOTE: This episode was recorded on November 15, 2021
After visiting his father’s work at NASA, Marcus Manning, CTO at Smart Financial Credit Union, was intrigued by computing. He built his first computer at 16 and went on to get a degree in computer science. Being a people person, once he started working, Marcus realized he would like to marry the technical side with his people skills. He went into network administration which led to an opportunity in a leadership role - that is where his journey started as an African American leader in the IT industry. Marcus, a great story teller, shares his experience on becoming an executive and a technology leader.
"In order for technology to be a value to any organization it needs to be properly articulated”
“... help the business connect the dots”
“... bring your true authentic self with you everywhere that you go, including the workplace”
“... I think others perception of you is important... Not [to] change who you are, but you need to know, especially at the executive level, … what message you’re sending and you need to know how that message is being received and the only way you can know that is through feedback”
“You have to be able to adapt to change”
“... learn the business as much as you can”
“... let’s make DEI a year end goal... You put metrics and goals around everything else you want to accomplish. Why can’t we put metrics and goals around DEI”
“there needs to be a [formal] mentor / mentee program”
“Volunteer for projects and volunteer for things outside of your normal scope”
Links:
· https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-manning-7133b92/
Reach out to The Interface Podcast Crew at
· interfacepodcast@pros.com OR
· Jenni Plummer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniplummer/ OR
· Siara Barnes - https://www.linkedin.com/in/siara-barnes-b47a923a/ OR
· Matthew Negron - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-negron94/
Technology and Culture – Finding success as a Black woman in IT
Shirelle Francis, Manager of Programs at Insight.
What do you need to succeed? Shirelle recounts her uncanny journey to becoming Manager of Programs at Insight. Out of high school and focused on getting her Law degree but her path kept bringing her back to computers. Over time she realized that she enjoyed IT and was good at managing people, time, and resources. This realization led her to leave law school and start working in tech. While working she completed her PMP (Project Management Professional certification) and other certifications which jump started her career. Despite not having a traditional degree (although she is currently pursuing her Bachelors), her certifications, along with her desire to know the business, have allowed her to progress in her career to be a highly successful black woman in the IT industry.
The Interface Podcast Crew chats with Ifeanyi Ezeh, Chief AWS Infrastructure Architect at Deloitte. Originally from Nigeria and never having touched a computer, Ifeanyi Ezeh got his start in the tech industry at Morgan State University. Then through an internship with NASA which led him on his journey to AWS (Amazon Web Services). Passionate about Bitcoin, Ifeanyi challenges us to get educated about the topic. He also talks about opportunities for black people in technology and using financial incentives to get companies to provide opportunities for black talent. You can have the programs, but if you tie it to compensation, you are more likely to see the desired outcome.
The Interface Podcast Crew talks to Khensani Carter, Director Sales Operations at Tenable.
Her journey led her from South Africa to UMBC to hardware and to software. She’s a problem solver – breaking them down into bite-sized chunks. Understand the problem you need to solve and apply the correct tools to solve it. Her Six Sigma Black Belt is one of the tools that she uses. She’s worked on software implementation projects and process improvement projects. She coded in Basic on a PS2 when she was young. She talks about giving kids options and exposure to STEM and coding from birth to help bring more black talent into STEM careers.
The Interface Podcast Crew talks to Matthew Womack, Senior Cloud Engineer at IBM. He shares his transition from COBOL to a data analyst role to user experience to cloud engineer. He also shared some of his favorite meals to have around Chicago.
The Interface Podcast Crew talks to Charles Shelton, Lead Research Scientist at Bosch Research and Technology Center. He shares how he knew he wanted to work in tech since he started playing Atari at seven years old and explains working with embedded systems, the Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence as a scientist at Bosch. We discuss AI-powered image recognition and the responsibility that needs to be addressed with that technology. We talk about Transformers – the toys and the movies. Finally, he shares some steps forwards and backwards in the artificial intelligence space.
The Interface Podcast Crew talks to Odean Maye, Director, Partner Success, Data Exchange Platforms at Capital One.
“Jump in the Pool!”
“You can’t be what you can’t see”
“Everybody needs an opportunity to be given an opportunity”
Odean Maye LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/odeanmaye
Odean Maye talk on Transforming Healthcare: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsgZcPxLQXs
Odean Maye moderating talk during the pandemic on Solving Black Community Problems Through Technology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMjtixXhqb4
Reach out to Interface @
interfacepodcast@pros.com
Jenni Plummer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniplummer/
Siara Barnes - https://www.linkedin.com/in/siara-barnes-b47a923a/
Matthew Negron - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-negron94/
The Interface Podcast Crew talks to Bobby Allen, Cloud Therapist at Google.
“It’s not a pipeline problem”
“OK Captain Obvious!”
“Diversity and Excellence are not mutually exclusive”
“I’m gonna rock that test like I’m Katharine Johnson”
“That’s how you level up in tech and in life”
Bobby Allen LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ballen-clt/
Bobby Allen Twitter: @ballen_clt
bobbyjallen.me
Reach out to Interface @
interfacepodcast@pros.com
Jenni Plummer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniplummer/
Siara Barnes - https://www.linkedin.com/in/siara-barnes-b47a923a/
Matthew Negron - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-negron94/
Welcome to interface! Meet the Interface Podcast Crew, Jennifer, Matthew and Siara, as they discuss the format of the episodes, the origins of doing a technology podcast, and their own personal origin stories. The crew share their thoughts on the importance of representation in technology, the relaxed vibe of the podcast and the definition of success.