Count Me Too Amreen Rahman

In this episode, I sat down with Dr. Gina Guillaume-Joseph, Chief Technology Officer - Government at Workday, where she leverages her technology implementation experience and vast network to align Workday with the US Federal Government’s Technology Transformation Strategy. We discuss some of the attributes/practices that enabled her to create an amazing career trajectory from System Engineer to Director and now CTO. We also do a deep dive in how as a Black woman in STEM, she navigated the workplace as a One and Only, and how effective sponsorship was a key ingredient of that success.

Gina spent 16 years supporting the US Federal Government as a contractor with Booz Allen Hamilton, L-3 Communications and The MITRE Corporation. As a Systems Engineer she was responsible for implementing key strategic frameworks, solutions and technology platforms to assist agencies such as the DoD, IRS, FDIC, DHS, VA, and SSA overcome technology gaps in delivering capabilities and value to our United States Taxpayers. Prior to coming to Workday, Gina served as Director of Technology at Capital One, Gina supported the HR and People Technology team as a strategic technical advisor. She matured their Scaled Agile practices by hiring agilists, training the team, and fully implementing the framework to scale resulting in improved product value delivery across the organization. Workday was a key product implemented at Capital One and her team was responsible to ensure that Capital One was leveraging its full capabilities. Gina earned her Bachelors in Computer Science from Boston College, her Masters in Information Systems from University of Maryland Baltimore County and her Doctor of Philosophy in Systems Engineering from The George Washington University.

Hello and thanks for stopping by! As I have taken a career break to pursue my personal goals and passions, I am also taking a break from podcasting (but most certainly will be resuming once I'm back!). In the meantime, I wanted to change things up a bit and have a special episode that is more of a one on one chat rather than the interview format you are familiar with. 
I had the pleasure of hosting Amal Masri, a communications executive, social entrepreneur and the founder of #fixthebrokenrung movement. She is passionate about elevating women of colour into leadership roles, especially highlighting the fact that getting that first manager opportunity is incredibly challenging for BIPOC women, which sets off a domino effect of decreased representation across all leadership levels. 
Amal and I have a lot in common. We are both first generation immigrants, racialized women, McGill alumni with diverse experiences and backgrounds yet similar challenges in breaking stereotypes and perceptions about who we are and what we can do. In this episode, Amal and I have a candid chat about what we wish we had known as young women entering industry, and lessons learned from our own unique career trajectories. 

Speaking with Rumina Velshi, President and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission – Commission canadienne de sûreté nucléaire was a special privilege. Not only because of her caliber and expert knowledge as the Head of our nuclear regulator, but also her mission to pay it forward to the next generation of women in STEM.

I found Rumina's candid storytelling of her experiences and genuine will for change, refreshing and inspiring.

In this latest episode of my podcast "Count Me Too', she talks about her own journey in Stem as a Civil/ Nuclear Engineering graduate from University of Toronto, making her mark in progressively senior level positions at Ontario Power Generation to now the Head of CNSC. She provides a wealth of knowledge and advice on how women can progress in their careers, how to navigate the many visible and invisible biases in industry, and why its important to give back.

In this blockbuster first episode of season 2, I interview Dr. Shawna Pandya, a physician, scientist-astronaut candidate, researcher, aquanaut, speaker, martial artist, skydiver, pilot-in-training and currently the VP of Immersive Medicine with Luxsonic Technologies. She was named one of the Women’s Executive Network’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada in 2020. 

Dr. Pandya is a passionate STEM advocate, and a frequent speaker at schools, universities, scientific conferences and science centers.

We discuss how she navigated through different roles in her professional life, and also get some deep insight into how she built upon her personal resilience to accomplish her many successes as a South Asian woman in STEM. We are also introduced to the field of Space Medicine, and how it's making space exploration more accessible and inclusive for all.

When we experience adversity or pain, we can either let it destroy us or use to heal and empower others on their journey. Nkechi Nwafor-Robinson has harnessed her life experiences to be a force for good. She is a change influencer, dedicated to uplifting people and helping them live more fulfilling and purpose-driven lives. A truly accomplished woman, she is the AVP Technology at TD Bank, 2020 WXN Canada's Most Powerful Women - Top 100 Award Winner, inspirational speaker and founder of Empowered in my Skin Inc, a grassroots organization that focuses on personal leadership development to help people maximize their true potential. I invited Nkechi to share her story of how she got her start in technology, and how she has overcome some of the obstacles life has thrown her way to lead with love. Her authenticity and courage truly shines. This is one episode you should not miss.

An experienced Information Technology professional with more than 20 years in the I.T. space, Nkechi has held a variety of progressively senior roles within various organizations including Director, Data Center Operations at Rogers Communications and Delivery Project Executive at IBM.

On September 30 2021, Canada will observe it's very first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. A year marked by the tragic discovery of over a thousand unmarked graves of indigenous children across the country, we were forced to come to terms with the painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools. It is a day for national reflection on the historic legacy and owning the truth, which is critical to reconciliation.

I had the privilege of interviewing Jessica Vandenberghe, an Indigenous Professional Engineer, Industrial Professor and Assistant Dean of Engineering at University of Alberta. We discussed how Canadians can collectively move the needle towards a united Canada through allyship and activism, the lasting impacts of intergenerational trauma and how the STEM community can come together to support the untapped potential of Indigenous youth. 

Jessica candidly shares her own challenges and experiences of growing up as a 60s scoop kid (The “Sixties Scoop” refers to the large-scale removal or “scooping” of Indigenous children from their homes, communities and families of birth through the 1960s, and their subsequent adoption into predominantly non-Indigenous, middle-class families across the United States and Canada). I have personally learned a lot from Jessica through our discussion, and I hope you will too. 

Jessica has worked in the oilsands, mining, regulatory, infrastructure, and consulting industries. She holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering and a M.Sc. in Chemical and Mining Engineering, both from the University of Alberta. She also has her own consulting firm, Guiding Star Consulting where she acts as a bridge to Indigenous communities, works on Calls to Action implementation and TRC awareness.