Presented by

  • Shannon Rasimas

    Shannon Rasimas

    Shannon is a tech professional with experience spanning across edtech, fintech, data centers, and green tech, that values and champions for community building, inclusion, work life integration, cultures of belonging, and empowering people to connect to their value and superpowers so they can champion for and elevate their careers. She has developed a successful career development training program launching 100's of professionals into their first tech roles, built internal leadership, development, and growth strategies, recruited, and has existed at the intersections of people operations and technical project management, and hardware and software engineers. She is also an exam away from being recognized as an ICF (International Coach Federation) ACC Coach. She’s driven to help people feel valued and connected to the purpose of their roles, and is passionate about authenticity, and advocating for and creating places for everyone to start feeling safe to bring their true selves to any room. In her spare time, you can find her reading her next favorite book, or hiking, paddle boarding, or snowshoeing with her golden retriever, Camp.

Abstract

Having talked with 100's of people about their careers, whether it be a transition into something new or growth from within, the default seems to be to focus on what you don't know or who you need to morph into to get to where you want to go. You don't need to learn 5 new languages, refactor all your code, earn 3 new skills, and build 2 websites and an API to show you are good enough. Guess what, you already are enough. You also don't need to transform yourself into somebody you think you should be in order to fit in or find acceptance. You are amazing just as you are. This is all hard work looking a little more deeply at ourselves, but let's find strategies to elevate the way we think and talk about ourselves, connect to our why, and be comfortable sharing the true essence of who we are. In a time where loneliness is at an all time high, how can we also build meaningful community and create spaces, interview practices, and culture for everyone to find safety in bringing their authentic selves, connect to purpose, and be valued. And finally, why are we doing any of this if we can't find the joy in it. This talk is meant to inspire you to tap into the leadership qualities and value you already have instead of focusing on the deficits, and for all of us, especially those with the power to do so, to start building better spaces for for all of us to exist in and start creating better community all around. We all can use a little more belonging these days.