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Miami Tech Industry Steps Up for Gender Equity with 15 Leaders Selected for GET Cities’ GET Champions Initiative

GET Cities and Radical Partners announce the cohort for GET Champions, GET Cities’ first major initiative in Miami and second iteration of the initiative after a successful pilot in DC last year. These 15 tech leaders are committed to making the industry more equitable through their involvement with GET Champions.

MIAMI – April 27 2023 – GET (Gender Equality in Tech) Cities and Radical Partners announced today the selection of 15 people and organizations for the second iteration of GET Champions and GET Cities’ first major initiative in Miami.

The GET Champions program is a six-week-long sprint for tech leaders looking to increase support for women, trans and nonbinary employees within their companies. The cohort will receive exclusive executive coaching, DEI initiative analysis, virtual training, and in-person networking, mentorship, and hiring events. The 15 participants were selected from a pool of applicants for their demonstrated leadership and commitment to diversity and equity in the tech industry. Even despite the political climate and hesitancy in Florida to expand these types of initiatives, these leaders all stepped up to the challenge.
“Miami’s tech industry is growing rapidly right now while the pressure to stop or scale back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts is increasing too,” said Toia Santamarina, GET Cities Miami Director. “This is an important moment to take a stand and defend the importance of this work while also making sure leaders in our city are prepared to hire, retain and support diverse teams.”
The 15 participants selected for the second GET Champions Miami cohort are:
  1. Anais Aguero, Ironhack, Student Success Senior Manager
  2. Brittany Fox, Focus Global Talent Solutions, Owner, Co-founder, Chief Operating Officer (COO)
  3. Chuck Walter, FriendApp, Founder
  4. Inigo Quejigo, Mastercard, Senior Vice President Operations & Technology Lead, LAC region
  5. Julie Vallejos Pasco, INIT, Executive Director
  6. Michelle Mora, Restaurant Brands International (RBI), Manager of Diversity and Inclusion
  7. Kelsey Rumburg, FloatMe, Director of Operations
  8. Lesly Simon, South Dade Toyota and South Dade Kia, Senior Consultant for Public Affairs and Corporate Responsibility
  9. Lisa LaCascia, Betr, Head of People
  10. Maria Paula Dominguez, CIC, Head of Special Programs, Global
  11. Sandra Benedicto, Hiberus International, COO and Business Development, Vice President
  12. Tena Palomino, TempMee, Director of People Operations
  13. William Byatt, Kaufman Rossin, Software Engineering Manager
  14. Stefania Gioino, Paramount, Project Manager
  15. Dana Wheeler, Oracle, IT Director
GET Champions Miami is designed by GET Cities and powered by Radical Partners, and aims to build a culture of inclusivity and diversity within the tech industry. The initiative equips participants with the tools and strategies needed to become effective managers for marginalized groups in their companies and grow and retain diverse, high-performance teams.
“We are thrilled to have received applications from such exceptional leaders who are committed to making the tech industry more equitable,” said Joan Marie Godoy, Executive Director of Radical Partners. “The selected participants represent a range of companies and sectors, and we are excited to work with them to deepen support for marginalized groups in tech.”
GET Champions Miami’s cohort began in late March 2023 and will continue with hiring fairs and platforms beyond the sprint and throughout the year in order to support the participants’ goal of creating inclusive workspaces and increasing their marginalized talent by 13% by 2025. Applications for the program were open from January 18 to February 20, 2023. For more information about GET Cities and the GET Champions program, please visit www.getcities.org/get-champions

About GET Cities

GET Cities is an initiative designed to accelerate the representation and leadership of women in tech through the development of inclusive tech hubs across the United States. Launched in 2020, GET Cities is led by SecondMuse and Break Through Tech, in partnership with Pivotal Ventures, the investment and incubation company created by Melinda French Gates. GET Cities launched in Miami in January 2022 and has additional locations in Chicago and the DC area.

About Radical Partners

Radical Partners is a Miami-based social impact accelerator. They invest in leaders, engage locals, co-design innovative solutions and build coalitions to collectively strengthen communities.

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Notes for the Editor: Please address any and all press inquiries to Gabrielle LeVota, who can be reached at 310.497.6267. Email inquiries can be sent directly to glevota@crinkerland.com and more info can be found at https://www.getcities.org