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Latoya J. Williams

Tell us your story.

I started out as a business major at Carnegie Mellon University, not knowing how huge computer science was within my university. I was the first person in my family to attend college. So, my understanding of my collegiate options were limited. I was bored my sophomore year, paged through the university catalog, and found something called "Information and Decision Systems (IDS)" that sounded interesting.

I talked with the advisors for that program, added IDS as a double major at the beginning of my sophomore year, and the rest is history! I have a very rational and logical mind that loves technology. So, I'm grateful that my young self had the initiative to seek out and venture down an unknown path.

Also, when I started my career, I was completely unaware of the fact that women were a minority within the tech space. On reflection, I realized that during my first 3 years of working as an IT consultant, I was the only woman on my project teams.

What advice to you have to share with other women and young girls?

It's extremely fortunate that so many women in tech groups exist now. At the beginning of my career the support and encouragement for techie women really didn't exist. So, definitely connect with other techie women and find mentors both female and male!

Pass it on!

I've been inspired by the growing UX community in the DC area.

The Women in Tech campaign exists to help redefine what women in technology means in the 21st century. Started independently by a group of professional women who, after many impassioned discussions about women in tech knew we wanted to expand this definition beyond 'traditional' technology skills. To us, it includes most every current, emerging or evolving role within an organization. By featuring leaders and emerging leaders across industries who embody this we hope to collectively 'stand up', be proud of our place in the digital world and inspire young women or those new to the 'tech space' to get involved.