Conference 2025 Schedule
TIME |
ACTIVITY |
LOCATION |
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. |
Breakfast & Registration |
The Ballroom |
9:00 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. |
The Ballroom |
|
10:30 a.m. - 11:20 a.m. |
Breakout Sessions I |
Room 114, 115, 220 |
11:30 a.m. - 12:20 p.m. |
Breakout Sessions II |
Room 114, 115, 220 |
12:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
Lunch* featuring Aurora Grace Chocolates and a video highlighting how tradition meets modern tech to create these delectable treats! |
The Ballroom |
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. |
The Ballroom |
|
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. |
Student Research Posters, Networking & 10-Year Reception |
The Ballroom and The Montrose Mansion |
*Vegetarian lunches will be served
Session Descriptions
Access Tech Room 220 |
Design Tech Room 114 |
Navigate Tech Room 115 |
|
Breakout Session I 10:30 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. |
Defining #Disability Tech: Innovation for the World's Largest Minority |
Sampling the AI Buffet |
Superstars: Insights from Recent Alumnae |
Breakout Session II 11:30 a.m. to 12:20 a.m. |
Panel Discussion: Neuroinclusion in the Tech Workplace |
Robotics to Wearables: Technology in Care of Older Adults |
From Teaching to Private Equity: Navigating a Career in Technology |
Breakout Session I | 10:30 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.
Defining #Disability Tech: Innovations for the World's Largest Minority
Room 220
DisabilityTech is a rapidly growing sector creating new solutions to improve the lives of the 19% of the world’s population that has a disability (1.6 billion people). Learn about the prevalence and human impact of disability; a unified, inclusive framework for DisabilityTech; and preliminary trends in DisabilityTech innovation and investment. A session for innovators of all fields and roles, this is presented by the Howe Innovation Center at Perkins School for the Blind, the first and oldest school for blind and low vision students in the US.
Superstars: Insights from Recent Alumnae
Room 115
Be inspired and hear how Villanova has enabled different, rewarding careers. Each alumnae have a set of unique skills & stories, but all are making an impact and blazing a trail. Ask questions of them and look to build your network.
Sampling the AI Buffet
Room 114
This introductory session dives into the current “menu” of AI capabilities, unpacking how each tool can be applied to real-world challenges across industries. We will explore the latest in AI tools, from Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAGs) and Custom GPTs to advanced Large Language Models (LLMs). Don’t miss this opportunity to add valuable, future-focused skills to your repertoire.
Room 220
DisabilityTech is a rapidly growing sector creating new solutions to improve the lives of the 19% of the world’s population that has a disability (1.6 billion people). Learn about the prevalence and human impact of disability; a unified, inclusive framework for DisabilityTech; and preliminary trends in DisabilityTech innovation and investment. A session for innovators of all fields and roles, this is presented by the Howe Innovation Center at Perkins School for the Blind, the first and oldest school for blind and low vision students in the US.
- Raquel Ronzone ’11 CLAS, Perkins School for the Blind Senior Manager, Partnerships, Howe Innovation Center
Superstars: Insights from Recent Alumnae
Room 115
Be inspired and hear how Villanova has enabled different, rewarding careers. Each alumnae have a set of unique skills & stories, but all are making an impact and blazing a trail. Ask questions of them and look to build your network.
- Led by Chichi Chioke ’21 VSB, Chief of Staff, Global Technology and Platform Officer, Chief of Staff, McKinsey & Company
- Melissa Leighton ’13 VSB, ’18 MBA, Manager of Cloud Strategy & Implementation, Deloitte
- Julie Joyce ’15 CLAS, Technical Program Manager of Product Operations, MongoDB
Sampling the AI Buffet
Room 114
This introductory session dives into the current “menu” of AI capabilities, unpacking how each tool can be applied to real-world challenges across industries. We will explore the latest in AI tools, from Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAGs) and Custom GPTs to advanced Large Language Models (LLMs). Don’t miss this opportunity to add valuable, future-focused skills to your repertoire.
- Raisa Velthuis Associate Professor of Finance, Villanova School of Business
Breakout Session II | 11:30 a.m. – 12:20 a.m.
Panel Discussion: Neuroinclusion in the Tech Workplace
Room 220
This panel brings together dynamic voices from the world of technology and education to explore self-advocacy, accessibility, and the power of neurodiversity. Discover how professionals are shaping a more inclusive landscape, driving technological advancements, and fostering environments where everyone can thrive. This discussion will inspire action and provide tangible strategies for creating inclusive workplaces.
From Teaching to Private Equity: Navigating a Career in Technology
Room 115
Join Kritika Jain, Podcast Host of Girls Into VC and Payments Innovation Analyst at Bank of America, as she interviews Lizbeth Ventura, Senior Managing Director at SAP, about her career path from teaching to managing SAP’s North America Private Equity business! Lizbeth will dive into the twists and turns her career took as she broke into the tech industry, lessons she learned along the way, and advice she has for young women aspiring to work in tech.
Robotics to Wearables: Technology in Care of Older Adults
Room 114
Dr. Cacchione will share how she became a nurse innovator and entrepreneur through her initial work in vision and hearing impairment in older adults to Robotics and becoming a CEO of a start-up company, AgingSense, where she has developed Heart Failure Monitoring Socks.
Lunchtime Keynote Session
From Aspiration to Achievement: My NASA Career Journey Fueled by Grit and Drive
Christy Hansen ’97 CLAS will share her career journey at NASA, from her earliest days training astronauts to do spacewalks on the International Space Station and the Hubble Space telescope, to her role as Project Manager on airborne science missions to survey the changing cryosphere on Earth's north and south poles. She will touch on her transition from technical "doer" to her leadership roles in NASA's Artemis and Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Programs - both flagship endeavors currently under development. Christy will walk through how her education, technical interests, drive, energy and mindset helped to navigate obstacles along the way so she could develop and evolve her career to achieve her goals, and will discuss how each of us can use our unique skills and abilities to forge our own exciting and rewarding career paths.
Room 220
This panel brings together dynamic voices from the world of technology and education to explore self-advocacy, accessibility, and the power of neurodiversity. Discover how professionals are shaping a more inclusive landscape, driving technological advancements, and fostering environments where everyone can thrive. This discussion will inspire action and provide tangible strategies for creating inclusive workplaces.
- Julie Ortlieb Special Education Project Consultant, Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, Adjunct Professor, Villanova University
- Peg Monaghan Associate Director for the Center for Autism and Neurodiversity (CAN), Drexel University
- Teresa Thomas Program Lead, Neurodiverse Talent Enablement and Cyber Engagement, The MITRE Corporation
- Gloria Mendoza Associate Project Manager, SAP North America
- Emma Holt Operational Technology Systems Security and Safety Engineer, The MITRE Corporation
- Moderated by Deborah Harris Assistant Director Student and Career Support, VUnited Scholars Program, Villanova University
From Teaching to Private Equity: Navigating a Career in Technology
Room 115
Join Kritika Jain, Podcast Host of Girls Into VC and Payments Innovation Analyst at Bank of America, as she interviews Lizbeth Ventura, Senior Managing Director at SAP, about her career path from teaching to managing SAP’s North America Private Equity business! Lizbeth will dive into the twists and turns her career took as she broke into the tech industry, lessons she learned along the way, and advice she has for young women aspiring to work in tech.
- Lizbeth Ventura ‘93 CLAS, Senior Managing Director of Global Private Equity, SAP
- Kritika Jain ’24 VSB, Podcast Host of Girls Into VC, Payments Innovation Analyst, Bank of America
Robotics to Wearables: Technology in Care of Older Adults
Room 114
Dr. Cacchione will share how she became a nurse innovator and entrepreneur through her initial work in vision and hearing impairment in older adults to Robotics and becoming a CEO of a start-up company, AgingSense, where she has developed Heart Failure Monitoring Socks.
- Pam Cacchione ’84 FCN, Nurse Scientist, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
- Moderated by Karen Walsh, System Director Performance Measurement, Improvement & Analytics, Main Line Health
Lunchtime Keynote Session
From Aspiration to Achievement: My NASA Career Journey Fueled by Grit and Drive
Christy Hansen ’97 CLAS will share her career journey at NASA, from her earliest days training astronauts to do spacewalks on the International Space Station and the Hubble Space telescope, to her role as Project Manager on airborne science missions to survey the changing cryosphere on Earth's north and south poles. She will touch on her transition from technical "doer" to her leadership roles in NASA's Artemis and Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Programs - both flagship endeavors currently under development. Christy will walk through how her education, technical interests, drive, energy and mindset helped to navigate obstacles along the way so she could develop and evolve her career to achieve her goals, and will discuss how each of us can use our unique skills and abilities to forge our own exciting and rewarding career paths.
