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Light Reading–s Women in Comm Launches With 21 Members

NEW YORK, NY — (Marketwired) — 01/21/16 — Women in Comms (WiC), the not-for-profit, independent initiative providing information, networking, mentorship, access to jobs and support for women in the next-gen communications industry, is officially launching Thursday in partnership with 21 leading telecom service providers, vendors and industry associations.

At launch, Light Reading is joined by WiC members, including: founding partner Intel Corporation; presenting partners Dell, Nokia and Sprint; silver partners Ciena, CommScope, Fujitsu Network Communications, Parallel Wireless and SAP; service provider partners AT&T, Boingo Wireless, Hyperoptic Ltd., TalkTalk PLC and Vodafone Americas; and partner organizations Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), DFW — Alliance of Technology & Women, IEEE Women in Engineering, Open Newtorking Lab, OPNFV, NTCA — The Rural Broadband Association and TM Forum.

These companies have already demonstrated an authentic commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in the next-gen communications industry, and their support of WiC will magnify their efforts. Together, WiC members will connect women, build up the pipeline of qualified female candidates and provide mentorships for women in the workplace and a scholarship for college-level women. WiC will strive to empower women currently in the industry and, ultimately, create a work environment that–s better and more equitable for women.

WiC–s activities and focus will be steered by its esteemed Board of Directors and Board of Advisors, including a line-up of top female talent in the industry:

Monique Hayward, Director of Outbound Marketing for the Network Platforms Group, Intel

Deepti Arora, Vice President, Quality, Nokia

Sandy Motley, Market Sales Solutions, NAM, Nokia

Yui Namiki, Chicago PR – CSR – Social Media, Sprint

Joyce Mullen, VP/General Manager GLOBAL OEM and IOT Solutions, Dell

Joelle Coghlan, Global Marketing Lead for Telecom Solutions, Dell

Sheng-Ann Yu, Director, Cloud, Ericsson

Margaret Chiosi, Distinguished Network Architect, AT&

Megan Doberneck, General Counsel and Company Secretary, Vodafone Americas

Lauren de la Fuente, Director of Communications & Marketing, Boingo

Alex Tempest, Director of Partners, TalkTalk

Dana Tobak, Managing Director, Hyperoptic

Heather Kirksey, Director, OPNFV

“As our impressive Board of Advisors illustrates, there are a number of leading women in comms, setting a great example for the rest of the industry,” said Light Reading Founder and CEO Steve Saunders. “Now, our aim is to increase the level of total female representation in the industry, which is still woefully off-balance. We are thrilled to spin off Women in Comms as an independent non-profit tasked with tackling this challenge and are excited about all we have in store to make 2016 a banner year for women in comms.”

WiC online will feature daily news that–s relevant to women in the industry, highlight female leaders, discuss the issues that matter, connect via Twitter at @LR_WiC and shine a light on women in comms through LRTV interviews, radio shows and more. In addition, in conjunction with Light Reading conferences, WiC members will host four quarterly events dedicated to women in the industry, including a one-day women–s conference, jobs fair and coding workshop at Light Reading–s BIG Communications Event in Austin, Texas, on May 23. All of the events are entirely free and open to any woman in the next-gen communications industry.

For more information and to join Women in Comms, please contact WiC Director Sarah Thomas at or 913-486-9358.

Light Reading–s Women in Comms is an independent, 501(c) not-for-profit organization with support from the largest comms companies across the globe. The organization will focus on providing information, networking, mentorship, access to jobs and support for women in the next-gen communications industry with the ultimate goals of empowering women, championing change and redressing the industry–s gender balance.

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Light Reading
Sarah Thomas
913-486-9358