OpenX Hosts Inspiring Pasadena Women in Technology Event

On Tuesday, August 21, OpenX had the pleasure of hosting the Pasadena Women in Technology group at our headquarters. Our own Chief Customer Officer, Tish Whitcraft, moderated a panel of amazing female leaders from OpenX and led an inspiring discussion on achieving success in male-dominated industry. Panelists included: Maggie Mesa, head of mobile publisher development; Sophia Chung, vice president of mobile product; Jasmine Zhang, senior director of engineering; and Yuvette Smith-Dillard, vice president of publisher development. After the discussion and Q&A, attendees (a group that included both local community members and OpenXers) connected over refreshments. Missed the event? Read first hand takeaways from a few OpenXers who attended:

Stephanie Llerandi, Project Manager: It was fascinating to hear the successful women I work with share their personal career journeys. The core of their successes were similar: Always stay focused and optimistic about your end goal, despite any setbacks or opposition you’re met with. Do so by wholeheartedly believing you’re qualified for bigger opportunities, continually refining and expanding your skill sets, being your own biggest advocate, finding a mentor to aid your development and understanding the true value you bring to any organization you’re a part of. As a female in the earlier stages of her career in a male dominated industry, I left feeling inspired and revved up to apply these takeaways to my own life.

Laura Thatcher, VP, PMO: I loved when the panel members discussed their role models and mentors. It was great to hear the inspirational wisdom they learned from those experiences that contributed to their successful careers.

Noelle Anderson, Director, People Development: What a great event overall! I was heartened to see so many interesting and talented women show up from various companies, including those of us from OpenX. I reunited with a handful of former co-workers from Yahoo/ Oath, and I felt proud to share my experiences at OpenX, where I’ve been given the freedom and support to build the Learning & Development function from scratch. My big takeaways from the panelists were their emphasis on the importance of setting your vision, knowing your worth and creating your own path. That was a great reinforcement and very inspirational to hear from women at their level.

Jinhwa Chun, Yield Manager: I didn’t realize I knew and worked with so many great female leaders at OpenX! I’ve definitely collaborated with some of the panelists in past and I greatly appreciate that I have such role models in the company. The event was a great representation of diverse culture at OpenX. With strong and supporting female leaders in all areas (business, sales, engineering, and product), we successfully showed what OpenX is all about: An amazing work place for both men and women in tech.