SHE GEEKS OUT - Key Persons
Akyanna is the Public Programs Manager for She+ Geeks Out. Coming from higher education, Akyanna has 6 years of event and program management experience with an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion programming and curriculum development. Akyanna's passion is creating experiences for folks to connect, learn, and grow alongside each other. She loves working with her team to expand offerings and try new things!
Job Titles:
- Programs and Training Manager
Fatima Dainkeh is the Staff DEI Programs and Training Manager for She+ Geeks Out, specializing in topics about racism, sexism, and the ways we experience life based on constructs that uphold systems of oppression. Fatima has facilitated conversations and conducted trainings with leaders and members of schools, organizations and companies to help raise equity consciousness, while also providing knowledge, tips and strategies to help support institutional change. As a facilitator who believes in the power of sharing our stories, Fatima uses storytelling as a tool for individuals and groups to connect with one another, while also using it as an opportunity for us to witness different perspectives and realities.
pronouns: she/her/hers
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder, Co - CEO, and Head of DEI Programming
Felicia is Co-Founder, Co-CEO, and Head of DEI Programming at She+ Geeks Out. Felicia is a recognized speaker and consultant in the diversity, equity and inclusion field. She has extensive and personal experience with leadership, innovation, women in the workforce, the multiracial experience, and disability. Prior to co-founding SGO, she worked in the technology industry for over ten years, providing strategic guidance and programming for ERGs, DEI councils, and C-suite members. In 2016 she pivoted to focus solely on She+ Geeks Out, where she oversees SGO's DEI programming and facilitation team.
Kaelyn is the Operations Manager for She+ Geeks Out. She has a background in event management where she's led multiple teams through successful events. Event management has helped her in finding her passion for logistics. She enjoys learning a process, taking a process apart and re-creating the process to become more streamlined or efficient for a team. Based on firsthand experience, Kaelyn is passionate about increasing diversity and inclusion within the workplace. Kaelyn received her BA in Marketing from West Virginia University. In 2017, she traded in the mountains of West Virginia for the beaches of Virginia. Kaelyn enjoys binge watching TV shows, attempting to make a recipe vegetarian, or spending time with her family.
Job Titles:
- Co - CEO, Co - Founder, and Head of COMS
Rachel is Co-CEO, Co-Founder, and Head of COMS (Community, Operations, Marketing & Sales) at She+ Geeks Out. For much of her career, she managed websites for a variety of companies and organizations and managed teams both abroad and stateside. Since 2013, Rachel has run several businesses. In 2016, she transitioned to focus solely on She+ Geeks Out. Rachel runs community, sales, tech, operations, and finance, and works closely with Co-CEO Felicia Jadczak on strategy and on corporate programming on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Rachel received her BA in History from Brandeis University. She also attended New York University for Archives and Public History before switching to the all things Internet in 1999, having worked for companies and organizations large and small, including Primedia and the World Health Organization. In 2018, Rachel completed her Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University.
pronouns: she/her/hers
Rachel advocates for educational equity with the belief that education can start to break the cycle of generational poverty. As a former classroom teacher and school leader, she has worked with students at the middle school level with successful social and academic outcomes. Her skills include coaching educators who work with underserved student populations to develop positive rapport and implement trauma-informed practices in the classroom. By working with educators, she aims to reduce racialized trauma that BIPOC students experience in schools. In addition to her work in classrooms, she understands that children are also largely impacted by their communities and lived experiences. To combat this, she facilitates DEI conversations in the academic and corporate setting to mitigate the effects of workplace trauma that often follow parents back into their homes. This includes topics such as microaggressions, race and gender discrimination, inclusive interviewing and hiring practices, and performative allyship.
Rachel has a master's degree in Lifespan & Digital Communication from Old Dominion University and a secondary concentration in Women's Studies. She is passionate about women's representation in sports and athletic spaces, working to address the intersections of gender, perception of athleticism, and acceptance. She works to dismantle the traditional ideas of what constitutes an athlete in order to create welcoming health and wellness spaces for all bodies.
pronouns: she/her/hers