The WomenTech Network Events brought powerful insights on how mentorship, sponsorship, and coaching can transform careers. Beyond individual success, this year’s sessions highlighted how giving back, lifting others, and building intentional support systems create ripple effects of opportunity across the tech industry.
In this feature, we spotlight three standout talks that explored the impact of mentorship, sponsorship, and coaching on career advancement. From shaping your own leadership path to empowering the next generation, these sessions deliver actionable strategies to grow with purpose, build influence, and thrive while lifting others along the way.
Maximizing Potential - Understanding and applying Coaching, Mentoring, and Sponsorship by Amy Forsee
In the State of Missouri, her role as a Senior Enterprise Architect centers around creating strategic IT solutions that align with the intricate needs of state operations. With a focus on infrastructure transformation and a solid foundation in cloud technologies, her approach is to ensure robust and future-proof systems harnessing the power of Microsoft Azure, AWS, and GCP, Automation, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
During her session, you will learn:
After a coaching session, a person should be able to clearly identify the obstacles they need to overcome and have a clear path planned.
Mentors often provide broader professional connections and insights into navigating organizational culture
Sponsors increase your visibility to senior leaders and help bring you to the career table.
Please become a Coach, Mentor or Sponsor for someone else
How to Find and Build Relationships with a Sponsor by Diana Allen
Dr. Diana B. Allen is a globally recognized speaker and senior cybersecurity leader known for her visionary insights at the intersection of leadership and technology. She earned her doctorate in Organizational Leadership with groundbreaking research on empowerment and career sponsorship in STEM.
Currently, Dr. Allen spearheads product engineering compliance efforts at Cribl, building on prior leadership roles in risk management for cloud initiatives at Google and strategic consulting for Fortune 100 companies. She also serves as an adjunct professor, sharing her expertise in regulatory compliance, business strategy, and technology with the next generation of leaders.
Beyond her corporate leadership, Dr. Allen is deeply committed to advancing education and equity in STEM. She is the CEO of Allen Leadership Solutions, a consultancy dedicated to delivering high-impact security programs, thought leadership, and professional development courses that equip leaders to thrive.
Driven by a mission to empower and inspire, Dr. Allen integrates technology, leadership, and personal development to drive transformative change across industries and communities.
During her session you will:
Learn how sponsorship extends beyond guidance. It's about advocacy, influence, and access to opportunities.
Walk away with actionable strategies to initiate, nurture, and sustain mutually beneficial relationships rooted in trust, visibility, and shared value.
Giving Back, Moving Forward: How Mentorship Shapes Careers—Including Your Own by Olha Paramonova
Being in the software engineering industry for over 19 years, Olha has dedicated most of her career to building an AdTech Competence Center at Sigma Software, a multi-national software development company with 2000 talents worldwide.
Along the road, Olha has gained solid and vast experience through the management and analytical roles by choosing to always stay hands-on on engineering assignments. This decision helped her discover AdTech's pain points and common denominators and establish strong AdTech expertise in Sigma Software. Sigma Software is now a key technology partner for major AdTech players.
As of now, Olha is a Vice President of the AdTech Business Unit, called Stellar Team, uniting 200+ professionals experienced in building digital advertising platforms. Having established the competence center, Olha has strategized AdTech as one of the key business domains Sigma Software brings technology in, widely diversified from helping start-ups at the earliest stages to empowering enterprise teams at scale.
During her session, you'll learn:
How scalable mentorship programs can empower your team
How scalable mentorship programs can help managers to align their teams
How you build a culture of mentorship
The Women in Tech Global Conference 2026 is fast approaching—and as we look ahead, we carry forward a powerful message from past events: progress happens when women come together to share knowledge, inspire change, and lead with impact.
These sessions are more than talks—they’re opportunities to connect, grow, and shape the future of technology and leadership. From career growth to innovation, every conversation brings us closer to a more inclusive and equitable tech industry.
🌟 Don’t miss your chance to secure your Super Early Bird Ticket—available now for a limited time. Lock in your access early and be part of this global celebration of women driving change in tech.
Join the movement—become a Professional, Executive, or Founding Member of WomenTech Network and gain access to global insights, leadership tools, and a community committed to building a brighter future in tech.