Approximately 200 persons were in attendance at The Paley Center for Media in New York City on the evening of Thursday, October 22nd for “A Wider Net: Inclusion & Innovation in Tech.”
Presented by The Paley Center for Media, Digital Diversity Network and NYC Tech Talent Pipeline, the event included a cocktail reception, panel discussions with leading tech professionals, pitches from diverse start-ups and a dynamic showcase of emerging NYC tech talent.
The Executive panel, moderated by Mario Armstrong, Contributor NBC TODAY Show & Founder, #NeverSettle Club, featured Daisy Auger- Dominguez, Global Head of Diversity Staffing at Google; Matthew Burnett, Co-founder & CEO, Maker’s Row; Christina Lewis Halpern, Founder/CEO, All Star Code; and David Tisch, Managing Partner, Box Group in a conversation about successful approaches to broadening tech hiring and encouraging more inclusive participation in the digital community.
Tanzina Vega, Digital Correspondent, CNN led the Media panel discussion about the impact of depicting diverse imagery in the tech industry on-screen and on-line. Panelists included: William D. Caballero, Filmmaker, Composer & Video Artist; Knatokie Ford, Senior Advisor, White House Office of Science & Technology Policy; Kay Madati, EVP & Chief Digital Officer, BET; and Alex Sepiol, SVP, Original Scripted Programming, USA Networks.
Inclusion in tech company ownership was emphasized with pitches from minority-led start-ups. Presenters included Adrian Grant, Founder & CEO, Senna; and Suma Reddy, Co-founder, Waddle. Sebastian King, who recently completed an NYC Tech Talent Pipeline program, shared how learning to code took him from being a truck driver to now becoming a Web Developer at Foursquare. Teams of emerging talent showcased their apps in The Paley Center Gallery during the evening.
For video highlights from the evening, please visit paley.me/digitaldiversity