Theme: Cultivating Community Relationships. We’ll be talking about how businesses, organizations, and professionals connect to local networks in order to drive their ideas and causes.

Meet Our Panelists

Preethi Thomas

What cutting-edge trend is Preethi Thomas interested in? “I am really excited to see how the corporate america is driving inclusivity. It’s really nice to see that every company is strengthening their Diversity & Inclusive initiatives and also supporting organizations such as ChickTech who has programs to help fix the pipeline problem in tech.”

• Chapter Director, Chick Tech
• Quality Engineer Lead, Red Hat
• BS in Physics, Master of Computer Applications
• Can find her enjoying sweet treats at Lucette Grace

Brenda Berg

To our North Carolina children, Brenda explains her job this way: “I make sure that you have a really great teacher every school year, so you can grow up to be super smart, creative and happy.”

• President & CEO of BEST NC (Business for Educational Success and Transformation in North Carolina)
• Has  over twenty-five  years of experience  as a business owner,  public policy professional  and education advocate.
• BA in Economics, Master of Public Policy (MPP)
• Can find her by a campfire at Jordan Lake

Ashton Mae Smith

Meet the leader who’s in charge of helping her company be a good neighbor: “In my current role I work with nonprofit groups, business groups, government officials, and others in the community to ensure that Citrix is being a good neighbor. We are so lucky to live in this incredible city and we feel like it’s important to give back to the groups and people that make this city the kind of place our employees want to live in.”

• Community and Employee Engagement Project Manager, Citrix
• Once ran for Raleigh City Council
• BID Industrial Design, Certified in Teaching English as a Foreign Language
• Can find her enjoying Dix Park

Neyra Toledo Osorio

What career advice does Neyra offer? Be open to opportunities: “I have had such diverse and fulfilling experiences throughout my career by being open to collaborations, relationships, and opportunities.  Growth and comfort seldom go hand in hand.”

• Community and Organizational Development Consultant and Non-Profit Executive Professional
• Most recently, served as Director of the NC Society of Hispanic Professionals
• BA in Psychology, pursuing PhD in Social Psychology
• Published Author, has presented her work in Barcelona, Colombia, Mexico and Puerto Rico
• Can be found running and enjoying nature at Lake Johnson or Lake Crabtree

Meet Them in Person

Join us from 9-10am on May 3rd at RIoT labs in HQ Glenwood (directions). Drop by for the usual open-house gathering featuring free coffee and great conversations, plus a chance to meet our panelists. Feel free to join our audience as we record the Coffee & Ideas podcast from 10-11am:.

Tune in on May 3rd

We’ll be releasing the podcast link on May 3rd, so stay tuned!

Don’t miss the chance to join this conversation with some incredible community leaders, in person or virtually. Mark your calendar for May 3rd!