Covering the biotech field...
For a brief time, I had the pleasure of watching co-founder Charvi Shetty and her team at Aluna (formerly known as KNOX Medical Diagnostics) launch their new asthma monitoring device for children.
With the help of the IndieBio biotech startup accelerator in San Francisco, Charvi and her team began perfecting an at-home spirometer -- a device which measures the amount of air moving in and out of the lungs -- paired with an entertaining app for kids with asthma.
Their goal was to develop an easy-to-use, friendly product and mobile app to monitor a child's asthma condition and help predict severe asthma attacks, days in advance. With the factual data the app could provide, parents could avoid having to take their child on so many costly and urgent trips to the E.R. Now, they could have the time to make an appointment with their child's pediatrician and show them the readings on the app as well.
LINK: Aluna website and product information
When I heard about this awesome product and potential impact for both kids and parents, I offered to help Charvi get the word out about it. I wrote a press release and helped her gain media attention at a time where they were looking to test their product with more parents and kids.
LINK: ABC7 News story on Aeris asthma device
Attending IndieBio's Demo Day in 2016, I got to see that Charvi's product was one of many fascinating and promising technologies emerging from the lab. It was also very encouraging to see a number of other female bioengineer-entrepreneurs bring their ideas to life.
It was a truly inspiring time getting to meet such a talented and driven bioengineer like Charvi. I will enjoy watching her company's continued success in helping to positively impact the lives of kids with asthma and their parents.
Why it's important to cover stories of other women in tech...
"I love encouraging other females in tech because I'll never forget the day two women opened the door for me.
One even said, 'Come on, I'll teach you HTML coding. It's not scary.'
From that day on, my life changed and I made sure to help welcome others."
-Brooke
Looking Up: Learning from other powerful leaders
When I took myself to the annual NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) Show in Las Vegas in 2012, I was surprised to find I was one of barely 15%-20% of women there at the conference. I felt it was worth the money and a week of my vacation time to go because it was important for me to get the insight on where the industry was headed.
Out of tens of thousands of attendees, I found myself one of barely 100 women gathered to hear a panel discussion called, "Women, Technically Speaking" that featured some of the top female leaders in the broadcast industry. I enjoyed listening to these forward-thinking leaders.
One moment that stuck with me was when one of the women on the panel said, "Do you find yourself asking questions until you get 90% of the answers, whereas the guys seem to be fine walking away only knowing 50% of them? Then you are probably a future leader." That helped put into a perspective a characteristic of my learning style — a strong curiosity to learn how technical systems are intertwined. I found I like knowing more than what's required because when things break, I have a good understanding of where to start troubleshooting. From there, my natural instincts have proven to be successful and saved the show on more than one occasion.