WOMEN’S PEER GROUP | ‘AH-HA MOMENTS’

ABOUT DISCUSSION

Topic: “AH-HA Moments”

In our final WoCo meeting of the year, we want to hear your “ah-ha” moments that have greatly impacted your career or even your life so we can all learn from the experiences of others. “Ah ha” moments are the moments that were the real game changer in your journey.

Join us for a fun, impactful and the last hoorah of the year! #WoCo Wednesdays

This is the Run Down:

1) Tell the story of your ah ha moment

2) What did you learn

3) Have you put into practice what you learned

4) Has anyone else experienced something similar

An example of our WoCo Chair, Christine’s “ah-ha” moment:

While working for Molson Coors, we were always asked to reposition the beer on the shelves at stores if we saw it didn’t look right. One day while restocking shelves at the local liquor store and receiving strange looks from the workers, lol, I finally noticed all the many brands of beer. That got me thinking, what makes someone chose Coors Light over say Bud Light. I remember someone once asking Pete Coors if he would ever change his strategy of Coors Light being completely “cold” processed (meaning cold brewed, cold packaged, cold filtered, cold delivered, cold, cold, cold) which adds a tremendous amount of cost of goods sold to the product. He said NEVER because “as cold as the Rockies” and the beer being synonymous with Cold is what made it ICONIC and that cold was the brand truth of Coors Light! That made me think. What makes me ICONIC? What are my Brand Truths? What would make my boss promote me over a co-worker or a new company hire me over another candidate? This was the “ah-ha” moment where I began to think of career development in a very different way.

ABOUT PEER GROUP

Palm Beach Tech Member Peer Groups are exclusive for our members to meet, learn, and share together. All members are invited based on their current work & past experience, with benefits including:

• Regular Meetings
• Exclusive Member Communications
• Unique Speakers & Networking

For all women in technology in South Florida, and beyond, to listen to and amplify their voices, and:

• Support a culture free of harassment and discrimination,
• Create opportunities for women to connect and innovate together,
• Amplify the stories and visibility of diverse women in technology, and
• Provide role models, mentoring, and educational opportunities for women & girls.

CHAIR: Christine Vanderpool, CISO @ Florida Crystals

Christine is the Chief Information Security Office (CISO) for Florida Crystals, the world’s largest sugar cane refinery. Although it was never her plan to have a career in IT, she has a proven track record as a security leader for almost 20 years. Christine has spent her career in a variety of security and IT roles including security leadership for Molson Coors Brewing Company and Kaiser Permanente. In addition, Christine writes for several online security blogs and magazines and is published in The Complete Compliance and Ethics Manual. She also enjoys speaking and educating the world on Cyber Security. Christine was the 2019 recipient of the Cyber Security Woman Leader of the year issued by Inteligenca.

CO-CHAIR: Michelle Bakels, Software Developer @ NextEra Energy Resources

Michelle is a lead developer and instructor for Boca Code, and holds a bachelors degree in Computer Science with a minor in Communications and a bachelors degree in Art History with a minor in Italian Language and Culture. In 2019 and 2020, she spent over 300 hours of volunteering and supporting technology related efforts, and has served has a mentor and instructor for national tech non-profits including Built By Girls and Girls Who Code. Michelle is passionate about supporting diversity and inclusion efforts in tech and currently sits as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Code Palm Beach and the Co-Chair of the Palm Beach Tech Women’s Council.

Interested in joining? Become a Member Today!