Glass Ceilings and the Power of the Pivot feat. Dr. Cheryl Swanier

interface

Join the Interface Crew as they sit down with Dr. Cheryl Swanier, Computer Science department chair for University of Massachusetts Amherst and Founder and CEO of Swanier Consulting LLC. to discuss her early tech career experiences facing corporate glass ceilings and how it led her to a career pivot into education where she flourished. Dr. Swanier illustrates how she navigated her own imposter syndrome after being presented with a career changing opportunity and how facing racism in the workplace has shaped her career and inspired her community outreach efforts encouraging Black women in tech and teaching kids from underrepresented groups how to code.

Notable Quotes

"…the reason I transitioned from corporate to K-12 is because I felt like I had reached this glass ceiling. It was always my aspiration to become a CEO of an organization, but I quickly realized that…organizations really weren't for Black people in the early eighties or the mid-nineties."

"I went to my interview, and I was extremely nervous…they did offer me a position but not that of department chair because I really didn't show forth the confidence and enthusiasm to get that (department chair) position."

"I tell my students to follow your dreams and pick and choose your battles. Make sure you don't put all your eggs in one basket."

Links

Jennifer Heat Check: https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com/p/twitter-vs-instagram-threads-two?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=458709&post_id=133515172&isFreemail=true&utm_medium=email

Siara Heat Check: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/12/tech/fbi-public-charging-port-warning/index.html

Contact Cheryl

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylswanier/

Reach out to The Interface Podcast Crew at

· [email protected] OR

· Jenni Plummer - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniplummer/ OR

· Siara Barnes - https://www.linkedin.com/in/siara-barnes-b47a923a/ OR

· Matthew Negron - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-negron94/