On May 4^th the Brazil chapter of WiBD had our first in-person meetup after over two years without any personal contact! It was an interesting challenge to plan and organize this in-person event; while things appear to be more normal, many people still have concerns about face-to-face contact—including me!

With that in mind, our second challenge was to select a topic for discussion that could interest people enough to make them leave homes and offices and join us,. That’s where Justice DelCore and Jamila Smith-Dell made all the difference. They ran a similar event in the U.S in February, and it was an engaging  experience for the audience. I saw that and thought: Why don’t we ask them to partner with us? It would be amazing to share experiences in this field that we are so excited to be working in.

Our WiBD team discussed the possibilities at a meeting, and everyone thought it was a great idea. I’d like to give many thanks to Justice, Jamila, and the WiBD U.S. Bay Area chapter leads for all the support to make our meeting happen in Brazil. It was amazing!

And another big thank you to our partner POATEK, whor reached out to us with the idea of an in-person event and supported us all the way by providing an excellent location and providing great food for the attendees. Hopefully we will have more of these events in the near future! Thanks Maria Clara, Carolina, Carmela, Guilherme and the entire Poatek team—you all rock!

About the Event

“It was such an amazing experience! Justice, Carolina and Jamila gave us awesome tips, such as how to start a career in data, which tools beginners should first learn, and the importance of working in collaboration and asking questions to accelerate problem resolution. The people from POATEK were also incredible guests, receiving us in a modern and comfy office with breaks fordelicious food. I hope we can meet again to further discuss the role of women in the data careers.”

Júlia Colleoni Couto
Ph. D. in Computer Science
Co-director of WiBD Brazil

“The Meetup was amazing, it was the first Meetup I attended since the beginning of the pandemic, and also the first in which I was a panelist. It was a pleasure talking to Justice and Jamila. We got to discuss the differences and similarities in our career paths. The attendees were invested in what we had to say, they also asked interesting questions about diversity in the workplace, how to start a portfolio and learn good tips. Overall it was a great experience giving advice to other women who want to start a career in data. “

Carolina de Abreu Pereira
Data Scientist – Poatek
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