SmartBear and Drift Present Candid Panel Discussion to Spotlight Racial Challenges in Tech

To honor Black History Month, SmartBear and Drift to bring four Boston tech leaders of color and allies together to discuss racial barriers and offer advice
Somerville — February 20, 2020 —

SmartBear, the driver behind the industry’s leading tools for ensuring quality software delivery, along with Drift, the world’s leading conversational marketing platform, is honoring Black History Month with the panel discussion, “Kinks and Coils: Untangling Your Way through the Tech Industry as a POC,” on Thursday, February 27, 2020. Four people of color and allies will share their unique perspectives around the challenges they have faced, like microaggressions and imposter syndrome, and offer sage advice.

WHAT:

Diversity and Inclusion Panel Event: “Kinks and Coils: Untangling Your Way through the Tech Industry as a POC,” Presented by SmartBear and Drift

WHEN:

Thursday, February 27, 2020, 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. EST

WHO: 

Panelists include Kiera Penpeci, Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity Business Partner at Drift; Carls St. Fleur, IT Help Desk Manager at SmartBear; Jason Jones, Digital Recruitment Marketer at DraftKings; and Vianca Williams, Product Management Consultant. Moderator is Eric Bomyea, Creative Director at SmartBear.

WHERE: 

Drift, 222 Berkeley Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA

“Diversity and inclusion is a top priority for both Drift and SmartBear, so we are excited to be honoring Black History Month with an important discussion about race in the workplace,” said Kiera Penpeci. “Through this event, we hope to generate open, respectful, and educational dialogue about identity in the tech workplace. The more we talk about these issues, the easier these necessary dialogues become.”

The panel will share stories about the barriers they've overcome in their careers and offer actionable advice about being a barrier-breaker. This community-minded event aims to provide mutual learning for guests and experienced voices who are passionate about helping people of color prosper within the tech industry, and continuing to advance them in history. Guests will have the opportunity to ask the hard questions and get real answers.

The event is free. To register to attend or for more information, visit:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kinks-and-coils-untangling-your-way-through-the-tech-industry-as-a-poc-tickets-92386718161

About Drift

Drift is the Conversational Marketing platform that combines chat, email, video, and automation to remove the friction from business buying. With Drift, you can start conversations with future customers now, on their terms – not days later. There are over 50,000 businesses that use Drift today to generate more revenue, shrink sales cycles, and make buying easy. Our mission is to use conversations to make business buying frictionless, more enjoyable, and more human. Learn more at www.drift.com.

About SmartBear

SmartBear is pioneering innovation in software quality, embracing AI’s transformative potential. The company’s powerful solution hubs, including SmartBear API Hub, SmartBear Insight Hub, and SmartBear Test Hub, featuring HaloAI, give software development teams around the world visibility and automation that provide end-to-end quality. SmartBear is trusted by over 16 million developers, testers, and software engineers at 32,000+ organizations – including innovators like Adobe, JetBlue, FedEx, and Microsoft. With an active peer-to-peer community, SmartBear meets customers where they are to help make our technology-driven world a better place. The company is committed to ethical corporate practices, including responsible AI that integrates accountability and transparency across its technology stack, and to social responsibility, promoting good in all the communities it serves. Learn more at smartbear.com, or follow on LinkedIn, X, or Facebook.
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