What?

Tech Intersections is a conference highlighting the needs of female, nonbinary, and genderqueer people of color who are underrepresented in tech due to both their gender and their race or ethnicity. Such people rarely see others like themselves in the workplace, especially in higher ranking positions. Existing tech conferences — even ones specifically designed for women — often have few underrepresented women in attendance and as speakers, especially on technical topics. Additionally, tech conferences are typically unaffordable, creating a financial barrier to those interested in breaking into the industry. Tech Intersections is free and located in multicultural Oakland.

Speakers present talks, panels, and workshops on:

• career skills
• self-care
• tech ecosystem building
• tech entrepreneurship and VC
• technical skills

We aim for a harassment-free environment and hold attendees and staff to a code of conduct.

Who?

The co-founders of Tech Intersections are: 

• Maira Benjamin, Engineering Leader
• Idalin Bobé, Executive, Advisor, and Activist
• Tiffany Wood, Senior Program Officer, Pacific Foundation Services
• Ellen Spertus, Teaching Professor, Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Northeastern University

We have been joined by:

• Pamela Price, Founder PamTech Coding 
• Maryum Styles, Software Engineer, Wikimedia Foundation
• Chiamaka Nnebe, Senior Software Engineer, Netflix
• Quiondriya Gee, Curriculum Specialist/Instructional Designer

Past multi-year committee members:

• Jully Kim, Senior Director of Technology Excellence, Autodesk

Every year, Antoinette Ray of Royalty Events has provided event planning.

Where?

Northeastern University’s Oakland campus is located at 5000 MacArthur Blvd. in Oakland, which is accessible by AC Transit and has free parking.

Talks will take place in Lisser Hall and the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business, which are wheelchair accessible and have gender-neutral bathrooms. We are committed to the full inclusion of people with disabilities, including providing ASL interpreters and CART services as needed.

When?

The next conference will be Saturday, January 23, 2027. We plan for registration and breakfast to begin at 8 AM and for the morning session to start at 9 AM. We expect the conference to run until approximately 5 PM.

The first Tech Intersections conference was held on Saturday, January 27, 2018. 

How Can I Help?

You can:

• spread the word about the conference
• follow and boost us on social media
• ask your employer or other organizations to become a sponsor
• volunteer (email info@techintersections.org)

Credits

Our logo was designed by Deana Bui, vectorized by Pirouz Mehmandoost, and updated by Owen Troy, Design des Troy, who has also helped in many other ways.