About Women Entering & Staying in Tech
In 2015 a few Silicon Valley companies came up with the idea for a cross company mentorship program for women in tech, to help women navigate their careers while broadening their network. Although the feedback from participants was positive, there wasn't a scalable model for continuing the program at the time so it was shelved. However, in 2016, Heidi Williams still couldn't shake the idea that there was real value in mentorship for women, especially mid-career women who are leaving tech at twice the rate of men. While many programs are aimed at getting women into tech, WEST hopes to help retain and develop the women who are already here, helping them become our next leaders and role models.
WEST was reborn in August 2016 in partnership with Everwise and led by the efforts of a phenomenal group of volunteers from across the industry. Since the first cohort began in November 2016 we are happy to report serving over 400 participants across 80+ companies with a 90+% satisfaction rate.
If you'd like to join as a mentor, mentee, or corporate sponsor we'd love your help to create and sustain diverse and inclusive environments in tech.
WEST has partnered with Everwise to deliver this mentoring experience. With Everwise, participants have access to a social learning platform that connects them with content and community. Mentors and mentees also have an Experience Manager, who serves as an on-demand guide for participants working through their journey.
Our Advisors

Karen Catlin
Advocate for Women
in the Tech Industry,
Author

Sarah Clatterbuck
Director of Engineering: Application Infrastructure, Women in Tech & Accessibility, LinkedIn

Elen Awalom
Founder,
The Ola Initiative
Director of Eng and Ops
Stealth Startup

Rhonda Boyd
Sr Project Manager
Semantec

Peipei Yu Pollman
Director of Engineering
Business Strategy and Operations
Box
The Working Group
Heidi Williams
Founder & CEO,
WEST

Meredith Safina
Customer Success Manager,
Everwise

Manasa Battula
Product Operations Manager,
Twilio
Renu Asuti
Sales Systems Business Analyst,
Twilio

Chériana Griggs
Sr. User Experience Manager,
GoDaddy
Liz Kosinski
Director of People Operations,
Sift Science


Karen Ko
Office Manager,
Foursquare
Ester Bogod
Sr. Software Engineer,
Mix Tech
Lida Tohidi
Marketing Consultant,
Pidari Consultancy
Special Thanks to past WEST Team members...
Saxonny Rich
Customer Success Executive,
Everwise
Han Hong
Senior Customer Success Executive, Everwise
Colman Lydon
VP, Head of Health Sciences & Industry Verticals, Everwise
Viola D. Olayinka
Product Operations,
Twilio
Hila Shemer
Product Manager,
Gusto
Micah Bennett
UX Designer,
DesignMap
Eileen Grimes
Information Technology Manager,
TMNA Services
Victoria Hu
Product Analytics,
Twilio
Midia Kazzaz
Regional Sales Executive,
UnitedHealth Group