What a joy to emcee rich sessions on culture & career for Microsoft Connect Alumni Global Summit 2023! A few highlights:
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
My first session of opened with Armoire Founder and CEO Ambika Singh coming in with a bang, with her fresh infant in arms and her entire family by her side. So inspiring! Her sage advice to potential entrepreneurs:
“Solve the problems that haunt you, build the civilization you wish you lived in, finance the future you want to realize.”
Cheers to Ambika & her work getting women dressed for success at Armoire!
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BOARD SERVICE
My second session was a powerhouse panel about entering the boardroom.
UW professor & moderator Cate Goethals, PCC set the landscape about the current state of boards in the US which includes the fact that 2023 was the first year that women of color outnumbered men named Dave and David on corporate boards. What!?
Sandra Andrews emphasized the importance of being intentional about spreading the word about what you want and about building a boardroom specific bio. (To my connections pursuing board service, do you have a board bio?)
Seattle’s First Lady Joanne Harrell challenged us to get real with ourselves and ask, “Does this map into my passion and my lifestyle?” This is so key because it’s tempting to join a board for the resume bullets, but it’s actually a great opportunity to engage in the work you truly want to see done in the world. She also shared a tip about how boards can engage new members into their culture by creating a board buddy system.
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CULTURE
In my last session I was fortunate to bring up Anoop Gupta, the founder of SeekOut, a software company focused on supporting organizations in finding and growing talent.
Anoop shared how his team plants daily seeds of gratitude through stories because, “culture propagates through stories.” I asked Anoop what he was grateful for, and he shared how grateful he was for the SeekOut team. It sounds like a really special place to work.
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Thank you to Ali Spain for this opportunity and for being such a fantastic champion for alumni. You are a bright light in the world! And cheers to our incoming Executive Director Manuela Papadopol – I know you’ll lead the organization to another great year!
This Microsoft Alumni Network event was full of smiles and memories with connections old & new. To everyone who helped me get to my minimum 8 hugs a day target at this reunion of brilliance, thank you – what a pleasure!
ABOUT KIESHA GARRISON
Kiesha Garrison is a Seattle, WA based professional emcee and public speaker. She leads high-impact events & conversations that spark positive personal, professional, and cultural shifts.
