Seattle 40th event celebrates women in tech and a decade of the Align program

Photos by Josephine Pettigrew.

There was much to celebrate as Khoury College took its yearlong 40th anniversary celebration to Seattle on March 30. The Align master’s program, launched on the Seattle campus, has now been part of the Khoury portfolio of offerings for ten years — growing from 11 students in 2013 to 1,906 students at seven Northeastern campuses today.

“It’s an amazing success story,” said Khoury College Dean Elizabeth Mynatt.

In recognition of Align’s unprecedented success, five of its architects were honored with the “40 for 40” distinction for their contributions in launching and growing it: Carla Brodley, Larry Finkelstein, Catherine Gill, Ian Gorton, and Bryan Lackaye. Each played pivotal roles in developing the curriculum, securing funding, and expanding the program across Northeastern’s global network of campuses.

From left to right: Dean Elizabeth Mynatt, Carla Brodley, Catherine Gill, Bryan Lackaye, Ian Gorton. Not pictured: Larry Finkelstein.

READ: Innovative Align master’s program celebrates ten years of transitioning students to tech

Two local business partners were also honored for the critical scholarship and operational funding their organizations provided to the program: Daron Green, who worked at Facebook in the early years of Align, and Laurel Yamaguchi, Pivotal Ventures lead for women and tech innovation.

“Facebook’s intent was to try and move the needle at a national level by investing in a program that demonstrably provided an on-ramp for a more diverse pool into computer science,” Green said.

Added Yamaguchi: “What was interesting to us is how Khoury College was using best-known practices to recruit, retain, and graduate women and underrepresented groups in computing. It was really encouraging.”

An alumni panel moderated by Brodley, former Khoury College dean and current executive director for the Center of Inclusive Computing, underscored the impact the Align program is having on the world of computing. Drew Jelani, Vy Nguyen, Eddie Wang, and Maggie (Mingzhe) Xu, all early graduates of the program now working in the tech field, shared stories about their time in the program and how it changed the course of their careers.

From left to right: Vy Nguyen, Maggie Xu, Eddie Wang, Drew Jelani, Carla Brodley.

“If I were to describe my life in general, it’s a consecutive series of very impulsive choices,” Jelani shared with the audience of more than 100 people. “Joining the Align program was one of those very impulsive choices, which also happened to be one of the best impulsive choices that I’ve made.”

Immediately following the panel, Jodi Tims, associate dean for network programs, detailed the growth of the program across the network, attributing its success to Khoury College’s committed team of campus leaders, faculty, and staff.

“The support that they give our students is just absolutely, absolutely amazing,” she said. “The programming they provide, the advising they provide, all these things give an extra boost to students to make it through and succeed.”

Women in tech panel/honorees

Prior to the evening program, Dean Mynatt hosted a women in tech panel for students. The panel featured three Seattle tech leaders: Cathy Sullivan, principal lead product manager for Microsoft; Amy Hutchins, founder and chief product and technology officer for Unearth Technologies; and Nida Beig, group product manager for Amazon Web Services. The trio shared stories about their personal journeys in tech as women, provided advice to the more than 100 students and guests in attendance, and emphasized the importance of support networks and workplace mentorship to their success. The panelists also stressed the important responsibility both women and men have to mentor new employees entering the workplace.

At the afternoon event, two local tech leaders were honored with the “40 for 40” distinction. Both women have been key partners to Khoury College’s success in Seattle, according to Mary Trimarco, director of Align partnerships. Through her WiT Regatta Conference, Melody Biringer collaborates with Khoury College to bring together women in tech from around the world for a week of connection in cities such as Seattle and Vancouver. The second honoree, Padmaja Vrudhula, has worked with the Align team to provide co-op opportunities, lead math tutorial sessions, speak on panels, and mentor students.

Long after the panel and awards concluded, students mingled with the tech leaders to ask questions and learn from their years of tech expertise.

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