New board members’ wide-ranging experience with talent acquisition, legal affairs, marketing, and executive leadership will strengthen Technovation’s work to help girls become leaders, creators and problem-solvers through tech.
Technovation is proud to welcome Adelia Curtis Duarte, Birte Hoehne Mahyera, and Heather Knight to our Board of Directors. Technovation’s Board members draw on a wide range of experiences and perspectives to help expand and deepen our program impact.
Technovation is grateful for the engagement and support of the Board, particularly as we continue to reflect on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the substantial experience of our Board, we will focus on supporting girls and their communities to explore STEM fields, build and problem solve with cutting-edge technology, and develop into community leaders.
Extend a warm welcome to the newest members of Technovation’s board
Adelia Curtis Duarte, Global Head of Recruiting, Reddit, Inc.
Adelia Curtis Duarte is a technology aficionado with a passion for helping talented teams grow their organizations. She is currently the Global Head of Recruiting at Reddit Inc. Previously, Adelia worked as a recruiter for Uber Technologies, NPR, LivingSocial, and Opower. Along with having recruited at two of the hottest east coast startups, Adelia has also consulted on recruiting strategy for early stage ventures.
Why are you excited to work with Technovation? What do you hope we can accomplish together?
I’ve been incredibly excited about the impact Technovation is having by blending AI, education and empowerment from my first meeting with the team. I’m incredibly optimistic about the future of Technovation and being able to empower the next generation of leaders and innovators in the tech space.
What is one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you were 13?
To stay resilient in pursuing my passions—13 was a rollercoaster ride of emotions, but so many of the things I set my mind to at that early age have manifested themselves later in my life in unique ways. Being a part of a drama club helped prepare me for tackling large audiences and public speaking adventures in ways I never could have dreamed back then!
What do you do when you fail, or something doesn’t work out? How do you encourage yourself to try again?
When I fail, I allow myself to feel my real and human emotions in response to the moment: disappointment, sadness, perhaps some shame sometimes, but then I don’t allow myself to stay there. I talk it out with a trusted friend or my husband and think through what I can learn from the experience. An old mentor once encouraged me to consider every challenge and failure as a gift of learning and that’s something I still try to consider today – what can I do differently next time, what wouldn’t I change? That reflection really helps me consider how to do my best going forward and hopefully succeed next time.
Birte Hoehne Mahyera, Senior Corporate Counsel, Clorox
Birte Hoehne Mahyera currently serves as Senior Corporate Counsel at the Clorox Company, where she leads on worldwide strategic alliances and licensing relationships. She previously worked with Hogan Lovells US LLP and Holland & Knight LLP. Birte received her law degree from the University of Konstanz, Germany, and received her Master of Laws from the George Washington University Law School.
What excites you about technology? What worries you?
The massive access to knowledge around the world is very exciting to me—vast amounts of data with the potential to inform us within seconds are at our fingertips! Advancements in AI empower us to dramatically improve efficiencies, augment the work we do and relieve us from dangerous tasks. I believe technology can bring the world closer together across potential linguistic and cultural barriers.
One of the things that worries me is we need to develop a mechanism to ensure that technology is symbiotic with humanity—the rate of technology improvement is exponential. I also worry about large gaps in access to technology & information and how to address accountability for AI.
What is one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you were 13?
Knowledge, social interaction and experiences will shape and help fulfill your life. Always be curious. You will more likely regret not having tried something you are passionate about than having given it a shot even if it didn’t work out.
What do you do when you fail, or something doesn’t work out? How do you encourage yourself to try again?
I try to think about it in a productive and encouraging way—I ask myself what have I learned, both about the project and myself, and I analyze what can I do differently next time. The fact I’ve failed means I’m in the game, and each time I try I get better. Of course, if something doesn’t work out it doesn’t feel good but it improves strength and resiliency. How I encourage myself to try again goes back to the advice I would have given to my 13-year old self: You will likely not regret having tried again!
Heather Knight,General Manager/President, Baxter International
Heather Knight currently serves as the General Manger for Baxter International. She and her team are responsible for all aspects of US commercialization including sales/national accounts, marketing, commercial operations and acquisition integration. Her previous role was President of Sofradim, VP/GM for the Colorectal, Hernia & Gynecologic Health global businesses within MITG at Medtronic. Heather has nearly 25 years of Medtech industry experience having worked for a number of businesses within the Tyco Healthcare, Covidien and Medtronic organizations. Heather graduated from the University of Buffalo with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. She also successfully completed Executive courses at the University of Chicago Booth School of Management as well as the Aspire Global Executive Leadership Program.