Girls in Tech Adds Powerful Executives to Board

Girls in Tech, a global nonprofit working to eliminate the gender gap in tech, recently appointed Dr. Alissa Abdullah, Deputy Chief Security Officer, Mastercard; Alvina Antar, Chief Information Officer, Okta; Adriana Bokel Herde, Chief People Officer, Snyk; Eva Krauss, Vice President of Strategy & Transformation, Pegasystems; and Jeremy Smith, Chief Operating Officer, Realto to its board of directors. Their high-profile track records in leadership, critical and diverse skill sets and unique market expertise provide a significant boost for Girls in Tech ahead of a strategic expansion planned for the organization in 2022. 

A group of impressive executives

More about new board members below.

• Abdullah is an award-winning senior information technology and cybersecurity executive. She has a reputation as a leading strategist and visionary with experience in government and private industry; she has been recognized as a Fortune 100 Executive. 
• Antar currently serves as Chief Information Officer at Okta, the leading identity provider. She leads a Business Technology organization focused on accelerating Okta’s success through trusted and innovative delivery of process, technology and data solutions.  Alvina co-founded the Silicon Valley CIO Women’s Network that brings together Bay Area’s leading CIOs. She is on the advisory board of BUILD, a nonprofit that ignites the potential of our youth in under-resourced communities through entrepreneurship. 
• Bokel Herde currently serves as Snyk’s Chief People Officer, leading the talent development, talent attraction, people experience and operations teams in addition to critical areas such as diversity and inclusion and talent branding during a pivotal phase in the company’s growth. Prior to Snyk, Bokel Herde held People/HR leadership roles at Pegasystems, Biogen, Parexel, and PeopleDoc. Her impressive career is continuously defined by her passion for changing the way people experience HR.
• Krauss serves as the VP of strategy & transformation at Pegasystems where she leads corporate and go-to-market strategic planning and is spearheading the creation of a new GTM transformation office. Over her 15+ year career in technology, Krauss has held executive leadership roles in product management, services, enablement and operations, and is passionate about designing and executing transformational programs in high-growth SaaS businesses.
• Smith is a multi-exit startup executive with a 20-plus year career in finance, fintech and insurtech who helps organizations develop market-winning strategies that promote rapid implementation and scalability.

Expanding leadership

“I’m honored to welcome these distinguished leaders who add remarkable depth to the Girls in Tech board, which is critical as we get more aggressive in spreading the power of DE&I to new geographies, new communities and new sectors within the technology industry,” said Adriana Gascoigne, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Girls in Tech. 

The Girls in Tech board of directors is chaired by Sandy Carter, VP, AWS WWPS Partners and Programs. New board members join existing members Jonathan Abrams, Co-founder and General Partner of 8-Bit Capital; Janice Bryant Howroyd, ActOne Group Founder & CEO; Candi Castleberry Singleton, Twitter Vice President of Diversity Partnership Strategy & Engagement; Kim DeCarlis, CMO of PerimeterX; Laura Drabik, Guidewire Software Chief Evangelist; Sastry Durvasula, Global Chief Technology and Digital Officer, McKinsey & Company; Adriana Gascoigne, Founder and CEO, Girls in Tech; Mayumi Hiramatsu, Technology Advisor and Former VP at Amazon Web Services; Sanjay Mehta, Chief Cloud Officer, Tackle.io; Julie Mathis, Communications Lead, Girls in Tech and Head of Communications, Wave Sports + Entertainment; Darrell Mockus, CTO Global Product Solutions, The Myers-Briggs Company; Stephen Snyder, CFO at Addepar; and, Raquel Tamez, Chief Inclusion & Engagement Officer, Charles River Associates International.

About Girls in Tech

Girls in Tech is a global non-profit that works to erase the gender gap in tech. Today, every industry is a tech industry, with a need for people of all skills and backgrounds. We offer education and experiences to help people discover their unique superpower and hone it. We aim to see every person accepted, confident and valued in tech—just as they are. 

For more information, visit www.GirlsInTech.org.

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