#2 – Michelle Glauser, Founder of Techtonica

Michelle Glauser is a Founder & CEO who spoke with us about diversity & inclusion and finding one’s way into tech.
Selected topics: Belonging to a working class family, freelancing as a software engineer, how to raise funds from your network, and not letting others’ opinions of you guide your actions.
About Michelle: Michelle is the Founder & CEO of Techtonica, a non-profit that works with tech companies to provide an intensive tech training and job-placement program for low-income women and non-binary adults. After graduating from Hackbright Academy, a software engineering bootcamp for women, she spent several years as a software engineer in the U.S. and abroad. She’s been involved in the PyLadies group since 2012 and organized and fundraised for the viral #ilooklikeanengineer movement in 2015. Michelle holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Utah and a Master’s degree in Digital Humanities from the University of Leipzig (Germany). Connect with her on Twitter: @MichelleGlauser or @TechtonicaOrg, or on LinkedIn.
Books she recommends
(WITtalks will receive a small commission if you purchase this book using the affiliate links on this page. Thanks!)
Limbo: Blue Collar Roots, White Collar Dreams by Alfred Lubrano.
 
 
Transcription
Note: The text below reflects constructive editing of the original audio for clarity and flow.
Erin Allard: On today’s episode of WITtalks we’re in San Francisco speaking with Michelle Glauser, founder of Techtonica, a non-profit that works with tech companies to provide an intensive tech training and job-placement program for low-income women and non-binary adults. Michelle also leads PyLadies in San Francisco and LadyNerds, an unofficial Hackbright alumnae community. Don’t miss this episode if you want to learn about class straddling, breaking into tech, belonging in tech, asking for help, and tackling income disparity with technology.
Erin Allard: My name is Erin Allard, Producer & Co-Host of the WITtalks podcast.
Tammy Sanders: I’m Tammy Sanders, Co-Host of the WITtalks podcast.
Erin: And we’re here today with Michelle Glauser, who is a woman of many talents. Thanks for spending your time with us. We’re really excited to talk to you!
Tammy: Woo hoo!
Michelle Glauser: Yeah, no problem.
Erin: Cool.
Tammy: Oh wait, are you excited to be here?
Michelle: Yes!
Erin: So to set the scene a little bit as we usually do, we are in a virtual office right now after hours—
Tammy: Well actually the office isn’t virtual. It’s a real office. But we virtually booked it, which is pretty awesome. Should we say why Michelle is here with us today?
Erin: Yes, we should. I think it was my idea. I’m a Hackbright Academy graduate, as is Michelle, and when I was going through Cohort 13 Michelle had been out of Hackbright for some time by then. And since she finished, she has gotten really involved in the women in tech community. I had heard about her from some of my Hackbright teachers, and I think it was related to the #ilooklikeanengineer campaign. Since then,