Geeking Out with Adriana Villela

Geeking Out Live: The One Where We Give a Sh*t About IWD with Colleen Coll, Reese Lee, Imma Valls, and Josh Lee

Episode Summary

Contrary to popular belief, we still have a long way to go when it comes to equality in the workplace. And in these uncertain times where DEI programs have gone the way of the dodo, we need to have these conversations now, more than ever. In this Geeking Out LIVE panel ahead of International Womens' Day (IWD), we talk about what it means to support women in the workplace from both a female and a male perspective, featuring panelists Colleen Coll, Reese Lee, Imma Valls Bernaus, and Josh Lee. ✌️

Episode Notes

Key Takeaways

With many companies scaling back DEI programs, conversations about gender equity are more important than ever.
Seeing women in technical and leadership roles encourages others to enter and stay in the field.
Men and women alike should use their privilege to advocate for and uplift women
There's a difference between supportive and performative males. Performative males want to be "seen" doing the right things, but aren't actually supporting women in the workplace.
Men who use their privilege to support women should not be put on a pedestal; that should be the bare minimum and something that should be done by default
Don't wait until you're "ready" (we never feel fully ready). There's always someone less qualified than you who will apply for jobs/pursue speaking opportunities/scholarships/etc., so why not take a chance and put yourself out there?
Don't be afraid to reach out to women to mentor/guide them; sometimes they may be too shy/scared to reach out

Chapters

00:08 Intro

00:29 Guest intros

06:24 Why is IWD important?

11:20 Name one woman who inspires you

22:24 What can women do to support other women in the workplace?

31:43 Name one man who inspires you

42:55 What can men do to support other men in the workplace

51:48 What are some workplace inequalities that need to be fixed

58:22 What advice do you have for women entering tech?

About our guests

Colleen Coll

"Allow myself to introduce...myself." - Austin Powers

Ever feel like you're juggling flaming torches planning events—trying to keep all the details in the air while something’s always about to catch fire? Yep, she's been there. Events have a way of throwing curveballs, and when tech and tools aren’t playing nice, chaos can easily take over.

That’s where Colleen Coll comes in. She love turning event madness into magic. Whether it’s on-site event coverage using digital media, live reporting, or behind-the-scenes management, she makes sure everything runs like clockwork. She's also a huge fan of using There.App, which simplifies on-location event management by keeping everyone in sync and streamlining the entire process, so no detail gets lost in the shuffle.

From tech conferences to startup launches, I capture the moments that matter and keep things smooth, whether it's happening live or behind the scenes. And when she's not on the ground, she's writing—blogs, articles, and ghostwriting for tech leaders to tell the bigger story behind the event, brand, or mission.

Find Colleen on:

Reese Lee

Reese Lee (she/her) is a Senior Developer Relations Engineer at New Relic, where she enables users on open source technologies such as OpenTelemetry. She has spoken on various topics related to OpenTelemetry, and maintains and creates community resources aimed at OTel end users. She is super into anything paranormal, and enjoys sci-fi and traveling.

Find Reese on:

Imma Valls

Imma is a Developer Advocate at Grafana Labs. She loves simplifying and sharing knowledge on Observability, OpenTelemetry, and Cloud Native accessible. Her mission is to create high-value technical content while driving the adoption of best practices within the community. As a community organizer and ally, she's passionate about building inclusive communities and events where underrepresented people in tech can confidently share their stories and knowledge. Knowledge isn't static; it's an asset that multiplies when shared.

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Josh Lee

Diana is a Developer Experience Engineer at VictoriaMetrics. She has worked as a Senior Site Reliability Engineer focused on Observability. She is an active member of the OpenTelemetry CNCF open source project, co-organizer of Cloud Native Days Romania, co-lead of neurodiversity working group (part of CNCF initiative merge-forward) and supports underrepresented groups in tech.

Find Josh on:

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