Don't Forget Your Roots

I've found myself apologizing a lot for the name of an organization I am very heavily involved with, Girl Develop It. I am the chapter leader/founder of the Burlington, Vermont chapter of this 501c3 non-profit which has over 36 chapters across the US and Canada. We help tip the scales in the male heavy tech industry by teaching women how to code. People ask me why this organization has Girl in the name, in spit of the fact that we teach adults. I've given excuses, commiserated in my understanding that society infantilizes women and speculated that the name came from a tongue in cheek idea, maybe an inside joke or a cheeky/attention catching name. In truth, I don't know where the name really came from and it doesn't actually matter to me.

When I was a teen I hated my body, my face, and other women. Being a girl meant being afraid, being weak, and acting dumb to keep attention off yourself so that you can fly under the radar. Then I found a movement called Riot Grrrl. In this movement, I found role models, women who sang, made art, taught each other, and spoke about loving yourself and your friends, in spite of the competition and desperation that society compels you to feel. Riot Grrrl changed my life, in fact it may have saved my life.

I want to be part of a society that changes the connotation of the word Girl. I want to help blaze a trail for other women to feel empowered and shine. I want to help them find camaraderie with each other and mentor each other. By helping to build a world where Girl means Power we can show women, and in turn young girls, that they can be who they want to be.

Girl Develop It has changed me. We are also changing the world. So you know what... I'm proud of our name. And I'm proud to be a girl/woman/revolutionary.

2013 in Review: Our Little Baby's All Grows Up

2013 FTW!

It serves us to celebrate both small and large accomplishments, not unlike the earth completing one full rotation around the sun without ramming full speed into a giant asteroid and exploding into a billion shining space particles. In the time it takes for the earth to orbit the sun, your life can change a lot. This year I changed quite a bit. For the first time I experienced what it meant to build a life far away from my childhood home, family, and longtime friends. I made all new friends and stayed in touch with the old ones too. Working in the tech industry for the first time, I talked daily with my clients about stuff that actually interests me. I decided it was imperative for me to continue learning how to code, and help other women do this too, so I started a chapter of Girl Develop It in my new city. In the process of starting the Burlington chapter of GDI, I met and made strong relationships with business owners, government officials, world renowned software engineers, community leaders, and so many other brilliant and amazing people. With the aid and encouragement of these people, I built a community of over 350 members who teach and encourage each other, are thirsty to learn new things, and inspire me anew on a regular basis. If you had told me 5 years ago that this would be where I am and what I would be doing, I would have called you a liar. I feel like what I'm doing and where I am is exactly where I am supposed to be.

Stepping back to this present moment, as I type this I'm smelling the sweet smell of veggies roasting in the oven. I'm making my Dad's Butternut Squash soup for a good friend who just last week found out that he has a rare form of bone cancer and started radiation yesterday. In making this recipe, I am reminded that my Dad needs a new kidney. Life is never all peaches and cream but it is new years day and before we know it the trees will grow back their leaves, the snow will melt, and the year will bring new opportunities for growth and change. Optimism and faith that what will come in the next year will bring us to new heights we never imagined, life will challenge and delight us, and so I just have to keep moving forward. Life is precious. Happy new year.

Making the Tech World a Better Place

In September 2013 I tricked a perfectly reputable business association, the Vermont Tech Alliance, into allowing me to plan a panel discussion about how to make the local tech industry a more welcoming place for women. We called it, "Vermont Technology: A Women's World" and I invited a few powerhouse members of the VT tech community to join me on the panel: Rachel Reese, Julia Lerman, and Rebecca Grenier. We brought our own unique perspectives to the table on how to bring more women into the fold. We proposed how following the lead of companies like Etsy and Facebook would be good for business, and why Vermont in particular is the perfect testing ground for this theory. We discussed better ways to attract more women to apply for jobs and what we need to change to keep them there. There are those, like a team of researchers at Stanford that believe bringing more women into the industry is the answer to the growing deficit in domestic talent to fill the growing number of tech jobs. And the need for more training programs to help eliminate the barriers to entry. As for me, in early 2013 I founded the Vermont chapter of an international non-profit called Girl Develop It. In the time since, I have met many amazing women in my community, and found a wealth of knowledge, resources, and powerful female mentors. I have found that women in the tech community are keen to pass on their technical skills and help each other navigate the ropes. I am proud to be part of this community and honored to be given the opportunity to help it grow. The panel discussion was a success in that we were able to pack the room full of people who were passionate about the topic and had many different viewpoints to share. Now we just need to take it to the streets and find ways to help our companies do a better job at creating welcoming environments to foster diversity.

Papa Mack's Harvest Soup Recipe

I received this recipe at my wedding. I love to cook so I sent empty recipe cards with the wedding invitations to my guests, asking that they share with me their favorite, staple recipes. I received so many amazing recipes, but this one is my favorite because this soup has been the thing of legend to our family for years. Papa Mack made it up one year for thanksgiving and everyone ate more of the soup than the turkey. Unfortunately, this royally pissed off my aunt who had slaved over the turkey in the oven all day. But still, this soup is a labor of love and well worth the grief it garnered.

Now as I kick off this blog, I share this love with you.

Papa Mack’s Harvest Soup

• ·      1 Acorn Squash
• ·      1 Pkg Butternut squash chunks (Or half a butternut squash, peeled, and cut into 1” in chunks)
• ·      1 Large Sweet Potato (peeled and cut into 1” chunks)
• ·      3-4 carrots (1” chunks)
• ·      1 large sweet onion (1” chunks)
• ·      6 cups chicken stock
• ·      1 can creamed corn
• ·      1/4-1/2 tsp nutmeg (to taste, Papa Mack uses less)
• ·      ½ Pint Heavy Cream
• ·      ¼-1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (to taste, Mo Mack uses more!)
• ·      ½ Red Pepper cut into strips, then slivered
• ·      Salt & Pepper to taste
• ·      Sour Cream (as garnish)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the acorn squash in ½ and place in 1 inch of water in a shallow pan. Cover liberally with EVOO, salt, and pepper. Roast for 1 hour, or until fork tender.

While the acorn squash is roasting, prep the other veggies and arrange on shallow foil lined pan. Coat the veggies with a thin layer of oil. Salt and pepper to taste. When the acorn squash is done, lower the oven temp to 350°F and roast 35-45 minutes. Stir halfway through roasting to get color on all surfaces.

During the last ten minutes, bring the stock up to a boil in a good sized soup pot.

Scoop the flesh out of the acorn squash and ½ of the veggies into a blender with 2 cups of hot broth – puree. Chop the other ½ of the roasted veggies to bite sized chunks.

Add slivered red pepper (raw) to pot and the rest of the ingredients. Taste and adjust spices.

Heat through and serve with sour cream swirls. 

If you chose to use a whole butternut squash and you are wondering what to do with the unused half - freeze it! Chop it into 1" chunks and par boil it for 3 minutes, then drop it into an ice bath. Dry it off and pack it into a freezer bag.