Join Silicon Valley Education Foundation for a special in-person event at the Tech Interactive to celebrate inspiring women leaders in Silicon Valley. Enjoy hors d'oeuvres and  wine-tasting followed by a panel of ground-breaking women who will share their stories of challenges, perseverance and successes. The panel includes:

Tickets are $450 per person. All proceeds are tax deductible and support SVEF in their mission to deliver and advocate for STEM education that inspires underserved students to succeed in college and careers.

A limited number of scholarship opportunities are available for women who are up-and-coming in their field and could use the financial support to attend this event.  

If you are unable to attend our event but would like to donate, we would greatly appreciate any contributions.

Lesley Slaton Brown

VP and Chief Diversity Officer, Racial Equality & Social Justice 

Hewlett-Packard 

Lesley Slaton Brown has 20+ years of experience in the technology industry. Lesley has  a unique ability to inspire and drive senior leaders to embed diversity, equity, and  inclusion strategies across organizations and demonstrate impact from the boardroom  to the business.  Lesley served as the Principal Investigator for the National Action Council for Minorities  in Engineering (NACME) Computing Project and is Co-founder of Curated Pathways to  Innovation (CPI), a solution focused on broadening participation and access for  minorities and women in STEM+C education and careers. In addition, Lesley serves as a  Board Advisor to Black ComputeHER. 

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Lesley was recently named to Business Insider’s Diversity Officers Changing the Country List, Black Enterprise’s Most Powerful Women in Corporate Diversity, and has earned  numerous industry accolades from Woman of the Year in Technology by Girls in Tech and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and has served as Commencement  speaker for University of California at Merced, School of Engineering and Sciences,  where she currently serves on the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Nominations  Committee.

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Maria Martinez

EVP and Chief Operating Officer

As Cisco's Chief Operating Officer, Maria is responsible for the company's operations and transformation, as well as building high-value experiences for its customers, partners, and employees. Martinez oversees Cisco’s Strategy Execution, Customer Success, Renewals, Customer & Partner Experience, Security & Trust, Supply Chain, IT, Services, and Transformation functions. These teams collectively work to accelerate innovation and growth for the company, while helping customers transform their own businesses through Cisco's broad portfolio of hardware, software, subscription and services offerings. 

A transformational leader and engineer at heart, Martinez brings more than 35 years of leadership experience from a variety of technology sectors including software, services, hardware and networking technology. Maria proudly serves on the Board of Directors for McKesson, Cue Health, and the Silicon Valley Education Foundation. Martinez has received several distinctions for her leadership, most recently being named as a Technology Visionary on ALPFA’s (Association of Latino Professionals for America) list of 50 Most Powerful Latinas.

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Daphne Dilbert

Lead Channel Manager

AT&T

Daphne Dilbert has over 20 years with AT&T, her current role is a Lead Channel Manager for AT&T’s CUSTOMER ADVOCACY & SERVICE MANAGEMENT organization, serving as a Subject Matter Expert & Consultant for AT&T’s Public Sector supporting overall market development goals, fostering relationships with education stakeholders and customers assisting with E-rate, Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF), Rural Healthcare, stimulus funding and other education state & federal programs. Acknowledged as a trusted advisor to schools & libraries, with experience in K-12 and Higher Education that drives thought leadership within the Public Sector segment.

She has a love and passion for volunteering that began 30+ years ago achieving her first community service award in high school. She has secured AT&T’s annual President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) each year since its inception in 2012. She recently was named one of Miami’s Most Powerful & Influential Black Business Leaders, South Florida’s Prominent & Influential Black Women, People on the Move, the City of Hollywood’s annual Proclamation Award to AT&T 2017-2020, just to name a few.  

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