Women, Technology, & Leadership Conference 2019

Melanie KalmarCorporate Vice President, Chief Information O�cer, Chief Digital O�cer, The Dow Chemical CompanyMelanie Kalmar is corporate vice president, chief information o�cer and chief digital o�cer for The Dow Chemical Company. She drives the global strategy for information technology and digital capabilities to advance Dow’s growth and business strategies. She is also a member of the Executive Leadership Team, Dow’s most senior executive committee that sets the strategic direction, de�nes priorities and is accountable for delivering enterprise-level results.

Melanie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Information Systems from Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. She completed the Executive Education Program at Babson College and the Thunderbird International Leadership Program in Phoenix, Arizona. Melanie is a Director for Dorinco Reinsurance Company, Vice President of the Michigan Council for Women in Technology Foundation and a member of the Dean’s Council for Central Michigan University’s School of Business. She also holds several leadership roles within Dow focused on driving the Company’s Diversity & Inclusion strategy and priorities, including membership in the President’s Inclusion Council and executive sponsor of PRIME, the employee resource group focused on engaging the 50+ population.

Maria del Pilar Chouza-Calo, Ph.D.Associate Professor of Spanish, Central Michigan UniversityDr. María del Pilar Chouza-Calo is an Associate Professor of Spanish at Central Michigan University and is the former director of the Master of Arts in Spanish Program at CMU. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and both a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Arts from Hunter College. Her main research areas include Early Modern Spanish literature and culture, the culture of the Counter-Reformation, and Spanish Golden Age Theater. Her publications include contributions in numerous national and international books and peer review journals. Her forthcoming critical edition of the 17th century Spanish play Nuestra Señora del Pilar by Agustín Moreto is part of an international project sponsored by the digital platform Cervantes Virtual and the prestigious research group PROTEO (University of Burgos, Spain), which is aimed at promoting the use of technology to preserve early modern texts and to make them more accessible to a larger audience. Her interest in the digital humanities, has led her to co-found the Iberian Theater and Performance Network (ITPN), which is devoted to the study of Iberian theater and performance from a trans-historical perspective, bridging Golden Age Theater (1580-1700) with contemporary playwriting, performance, and theatrical practices in the plurinational setting of the Iberian Peninsula. As a “Scholar Partner” of UCLA’s group “Diversifying the Classics”, she participates in the project’s mission to foster awareness and appreciation of Hispanic classical theater in Los Angeles and beyond, by bringing the comedia or Spanish play to audiences in the U.S. (K-12, university, etc.) through di�erent formats, such as translation, adaptation, performance, and education.

In the profession, she was elected to the Delegate Assembly to represent the Great Lakes Region in the Modern Language Association (MLA) (2016-2019). She is also a member of the Delegate Assembly Organizing Committee of the MLA (2018-2021), and was recently elected to serve as executive member of the “Forum of the FLLC 16th- and 17th-Spanish and Iberian Drama” (2018-2023). She is a member of the international research groups DILEC and PROTEO, and of the editorial board of the journal GIDILEC. Currently, she holds an honori�c position in the editorial board of the journal Revista de Estudios de Género y Sexualidades. Her active participation in these research groups and journals, as well as her involvement in the Modern Language Association, allows Dr. Chouza-Calo to become one of the main representatives of the �eld of Early Modern Spanish Drama within the association and beyond. Lastly, as an educator, she acknowledges the responsibility she has to provide guidance and mentorship to her undergraduate students, making this the most enjoyable and rewarding part of her profession.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

FEATURED PANELISTS

Women, Technology, & Leadership Conference 2019

Chris RydzewskiExecutive Director, Michigan Council of Women in Technology FoundationAs the Executive Director of the Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation (MCWT), Rydzewski focuses on driving strategic initiatives while furthering programmatic and stakeholder engagement across multiple groups. She is focused on building teams to support the organization’s mission to inspire and grow girls and women in technology and driving funding to support programming initiatives. Rydzewski has been an avid supporter of MCWT since 2005, with active participation on the Board of Directors for many years before taking this leadership role in October 2017.

Prior to MCWT, Rydzewski’s career spanned over 20 years of sales and sales management positions in IT technology and application solutions with companies such as Dynatrace, Compuware, and BMC Software. Her primary focus was business development and strategic account coverage.

Rydzewski has a BA in business administration from the University of Michigan and signi�cant coursework in the MBA program for international business at Wayne State University.

She was recognized as a 2018 Notable Women in Technology published by Crain’s Detroit Business.

Nimisha ShahNext Gen Data Center Release Engineering Mgr, Ford Motor CompanyNimisha Shah, in her career at Ford Motor Company, has held a variety of roles in Information Technology and has held her current position for the past 2+ years helping Ford evolve its Next Gen Data Center. Nimisha has held several roles in Information Technology over the past 18 years outside of Ford which include GM, GE & Phoenix Group. She started her career as a teacher at age of 18 where she taught C & FoxPro. Her current team leads the engineering of Next Gen Data Center with DevOps & DevSecOps principals to gain faster delivery of the products to Ford IT teams. She holds a Master of Science in Computer Science, Major in Data Base Management Systems. Throughout her career, Nimisha has embraced and championed database technologies and DevOps culture. Married with two daughters, Nimisha is passionate about process improvement and e�ciency around any type of work she does. She is a liaison between MCWT & Women's In Technology at Ford and loves what she does.

Karen A. Blunden AdvisorCurrently advising stage one start-up companies, Karen Blunden previously held the position of CEO for Infomedia Limited’s Americas subsidiary, providing SaaS cloud-based parts and service solutions to automotive dealers throughout South and North America. Ms. Blunden has over thirty years of executive leadership experience in the IT and Automotive industries. With a reputation for business turn-around and growth, Ms. Blunden has held executive positions in engineering, marketing, automotive retail and medical diagnostics. Prior to joining Infomedia, Ms. Blunden was the Chief Operations O�cer for a diagnostic product manufacturer and consulted with Automotive Suppliers in the area of M&A transactions. Ms. Blunden spent much of her career at EDS as the Head of Cadillac Engineering’s IT unit, President of the Automotive Retail division supplying enterprise solutions to automotive dealerships and also had responsibility for EDS’ Onstar division at the time when it expanded the service to all General Motors vehicles. Ms. Blunden holds degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science along with being certi�ed in Quality Management.

FEATURED PANELISTS

Women, Technology, & Leadership Conference 2019

FEATURED PANELISTS

Betsie Hundt Recruitment Marketing Specialist, DynatraceBetsie Hundt is the Recruitment Marketing Specialist at Dynatrace where she ultimately ampli�es their employer brand through networking, branding events, career fairs and social media throughout the United States. It was just four short years ago that Betsie graduated from Central Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Integrative Public Relations. Just weeks after graduation, Betsie ful�lled her lifelong dream of being an Aupair in Annecy, France where she cared for three adorable girls. Following the life lessons that came from living and working in another country, she made her way back to Michigan to use her PR degree and worked for a start-up company within Metro Detroit. After upgrading their employer brand, she was deciding between a handful of job opportunities. After countless interviews, Betsie happily took a job o�er at an APM leading software company in Detroit-- Dynatrace! She quickly emerged into the fast-paced tech world where she never thought she would be “good enough.” Despite her doubts, Betsie gained her con�dence using her non-tech degree, optimistic personality and branding passion to succeed within a company that is rapidly transforming the digital industry.With her career still dawning, Betsie hopes to inspire young women to never close doors just because it’s in a �eld you may know nothing anything about or shut down opportunities just because you think you wouldn’t �t in. Bringing your personal passion and your professional talent is how you and your future company will thrive!