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Maxar Intelligence is committed to empowering women in technology. This year, ten of our talented women attended the 2024 Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) in Philadelphia. GHC is a leading conference that brings together women technologists to advance their careers and inspire future generations.

Hear from Lauren Yoroshko, Senior Staff Data Scientist at Maxar, about her experience at GHC and how it has impacted her work at Maxar.

High energy, educational and empowering are the top three adjectives that come to mind when thinking about my experience at this year’s Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC), which attracted over 30,000 women and non-binary technologists and allies.

As a woman in the tech arena, it was a rare opportunity to have your lived experiences corroborated by a room full of professionals in your field. The enthusiasm the attendees brought to each session was energizing. Attendees represented the full scale of skill levels and people from all stages of their careers who were gathered to connect, learn from one another, and share insights from their involvement across the public and private sectors.

Here are some of my key takeaways from the event:

• Many sessions highlighted the latest tech trends, with a focus on generative AI technologies and how to appropriately and ethically leverage them to enhance our daily workflows.

• There were also sessions on leadership, overcoming biases, imposter syndrome, and self-advocacy. There were even talks on navigating introversion for the less socially inclined attendees like me.

• The impressive lineup of speakers engaged attendees and brought fresh perspectives and inspirational messages. Keynote speakers included Viola Davis, America Ferrera, and Dr. Joy Buolamwini who shared their wisdom on finding their voices and shaping their careers to reflect their authentic selves and produce work they can feel proud of.

There were so many valuable lessons I garnered over the four busy days, but the most important one reflected the theme of this year’s conference of Me+We.

The message that echoed across much of the agenda was that as critical as it is to focus on our own successes, we must also remember to support those that come after us. If we don’t open pathways to help others facing the same obstacles as our own, then our impact is minimal. In the words of Viola Davis, “living out loud is long after you're gone –you leave something on this Earth that's bigger than yourself”.

I am grateful to Maxar for the opportunity to attend this conference. I will be reflecting on the many insightful takeaways and working to incorporate them into both my professional and personal life.