Valerie Phoenix
CEO of Tech By Choice
Los Angeles, California, United States
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Valerie Phoenix is a technologist who focuses on creating user-centered digital experiences as a full-time Engineering Manager. To help spread the financial wealth offered by the tech industry, Valerie founded Tech By Choice, a nonprofit that is working to increase diversity in the tech industry by providing low to no-cost events for individuals in protected groups.
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Topics
The Future of Human Computer Interaction is Social Impact
As technology continues to advance, it has become increasingly integrated into our daily lives. This tech boom has led to a rise in technology being leveraged to improve social impact work. However, we must remember that technology isn't always the solution to human issues, especially if human computer interaction isn't the focus of the building process. In this talk, Valerie Phoenix will explore the crucial role of privacy, accessibility, empathy & emotion, and contextual interfaces in designing the Tech by Choices job placement and company review platform. Attendees will walk away learning practical tips, tools, and workflows they can use to increase the tech impact of their work in the social goods space and beyond. Join this session to learn how to create positive change in the world through human-centered technology design.
From Murals to Management: Crafting Success Through Self-Management
From the vibrant canvases of street murals to the dynamic realms of the tech world, the journey of transitioning into tech and rising to tech leadership is anything but ordinary. Join Valerie Phoenix as she unravels her nontraditional path from becoming an art therapist and mural painter to jumping between UX, accessibility, frontend, and full-stack development, to ultimately embracing the role of an engineering manager. This session is Ideal for developers at any level, UX designers, and aspiring or current tech managers. Attendees will be inspired and equipped with tangible strategies to enhance their self-management abilities, establish and maintain beneficial professional relationships, and confidently tackle unforeseen career challenges.
Sustaining Community Empowerment as a Black Woman
I entered the tech industry from a nontraditional path. I felt as if I was alone during my journey. I constantly felt overwhelmed by the idea of entering the industry as a black, female, self-taught, developer. Growing up, I was told I had to be twice as good to get half of what they got. This nontraditional path broke that idea, and I struggled with finding a way to overcome my own self-doubt.
To me, getting community right was simple: create a space where the most marginalized people feel safe, and this space will be safe for everyone. As an individual, this is what I tried to do whenever anyone needed help on their tech journey. At work, during events, and in online communities, I became the person that would drop anything to help someone that was stuck in their tech journey. Little by little, I saw what type of organization people needed. I saw the gaps in the market, and I knew I had the empathy and skill set to build it.
Sustainable Source with Micro Frontends
The open source community has become a fundamental part of the tech ecosystem and has seen a lot of improvement over the years, yet it still doesn't feel sustainable. In this session, we will explore how the Tech by Choice community is leveraging micro frontends in react to create a unique balance between open-source community engagement and monetization. We will cover the technical process of building, and deploying, micro frontends, focusing on how they can be utilized to selectively gate certain features behind a paywall, all while maintaining the core values of open-source development. Through this process we aim to respect the ethos of open source that's focused on sustainable growth for developers to monetize their projects. Joining this session you'll learn practical strategies for implementing user-friendly paywalls, ethical considerations in monetization, and methods to foster a vibrant community around their projects. This talk is ideal for React developers, open-source contributors, and anyone interested in innovative ways to blend community building with revenue generation in the open-source sphere.
Valerie Phoenix
CEO of Tech By Choice
Los Angeles, California, United States
Actions
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