One of the great things about the SQLPASS Summit is the annual Women in Technology lunch. Not only does the lunch feature an interesting presentation, but you get to talk to men and women at your table about diversity, how to build better teams, and how we can help others.

Many of the best moments at conferences happen when you connect with your peers. The two things I found most fascinating at the WIT lunch this year came from my table and from audience questions.

We can give back. Kathi Kellenberger’s doing it!

I was lucky to sit at a table next to Kathi Kellenberger. She shared with me that she volunteers as a mentor for LaunchCode. Kathi volunteers as part of this free, non-profit program to inspire and teach talented people and help them land jobs in IT.  She trains her group regularly in person and provides awesome, free online resources for CoderGirls.

I’m really inspired by the work Kathi is doing. Rock on, Kathi!

Harvard offers free tools to test for unconscious bias

Most of us like to think that we aren’t biased. But we may have unconscious tendencies that we don’t realize. An audience question led to Denise McInerney giving a shout out to Cindy Gross.

Cindy is on the Azure CAT team, and has recently begun presenting to people and encouraging us all to take free online tests to help us identify our unconscious bias as a first step to building better, happier teams.

Thanks PASS, for hosting such a terrific lunch. I’m already looking forward to attending next year.