United in celebration of Women’s Herstory Month and International Women’s Day, Athena.LA and MixR collaborated on a lively evening at the WeWork community in Santa Monica featuring a panel of inspirational change makers and leaders. Sponsored in part through community partnerships with dailyKARMA, Alliance Française of Los Angeles, type:A Deodorant, and Yelp in support of nonprofit organizations and charities, MixR is moving the needle on representations of Women in leadership roles within media, technology, computer sciences, and engineering.

Sparking creative conversation in collective dialogue with a diverse audience, Annenberg Foundation and PledgeLA consultant Jasmine Hill led an engaging discussion on everything from the gender gap, to inclusion & diversity initiatives, pay equity to accountability, and community engagement. MixR co founder and CEO Cecile Moulard spoke about redefining the narrative of what it means to lead like a Woman, encouraging the next generation to embody skills traditionally associated with femininity. Traits such as intuition, diplomacy, compassion, and empathy are feminine superpowers critical to the restoration of balance within institutions.

Tiffony Jacobs affirmed Cecile’s call to action with implementation strategies for gender equity, representation, and diversity within institutions predominantly inaccessible for Women of Color. A champion for Women’s financial health, literacy, and resilience, Jacobs has been leading on the frontlines of social justice initiatives, advocating for educational resources, tools, and access to networking pools and pipelines. Backstage Capital COO Bryan Landers reflected on his sense of responsibility to establishing balance, diversity, and inclusion by highlighting Backstage Accelerator’s commitment to supporting underrepresented founders in local communities around the world.

Career Design Group founder and CEO Nancy Soni shared her advice for negotiating equitable salary compensation, encouraging Women to step into their personal power, and self-advocating on one’s own personal behalf. Know your worth, and don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. Promoting the next generation of code breakers, change makers, and content creators is something Jennifer Vaden Barth knows a thing or two about. As Program Manager for Google’s computer science education initiatives, Vaden Barth shining a light on Women content creators flipping the script on YouTube, Jennifer cited the critical importance of representation in the media, tech, and leadership roles.