Janel Martinez

This weekend was special. More than 4,000 people took over San Francisco for the third annual AfroTech conference — hosted by Blavity, Inc. — for three unforgettable days powered by unmatched black excellence. The conference doubled in size from previous years and brought together people of color who work in an industry where racial representation isn’t always easily found. You better believe it was at AfroTech. Attendees from around America — and even nearby countries — flew to SF to attend the biggest black tech conference. They were invited to join panel discussions, interactive workshops and special recruiting sessions to not only learn about the current state of the tech industry but to also explore potential career opportunities and make new connections. There were sessions catered to everyone from engineers to entrepreneurs, making it one incredible weekend. Speakers included influential people like Valerie Jarrett, Daymond John, Common, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, Baron Davis,...

Impact: It’s what drives Cecil Phillip. The Cloud Developer Advocate at Microsoft finds fulfillment in helping customers, companies and students, among others who cross his path to achieve their goals. It’s why his role at the well-known corporation is so important to him and his colleagues. “We’re developers. We’re people in technology, we have a background in technology. Our job is to go out and make sure that you understand what’s available in terms of cloud computing; you understand some of the services that we can offer to you to make sure that your company is successful, make sure that your products are successful,” says Phillip, who joined Microsoft last summer. “Make sure you have the tools, the information, the know how to take whatever it is that you’re creating, whatever your solution and move it into the cloud. Let you know what the benefits are and how it is that we can help you be more proficient; how we can help you save money, and how we can help you increase your...

Houston, Texas-native Donovan Brown didn’t intend on becoming a prominent speaker in the world of tech. But with the countless hours he’s invested into his passion of programming, it’s no surprise Brown has honed his craft and found greater confidence on stage. Brown credits many of his career highs and overall opportunities to Microsoft. “My entire career has been on Microsoft software,” says Brown, who’s been writing software for over 20 years. “Microsoft is literally why I have everything that I own. Even when I was a consultant, it was all Microsoft. When I joined Notion Solutions, it was Team Foundation Server [a Microsoft product]. To work for a company that’s literally given me everything, professionally, I take that extremely seriously. I’m extremely proud to work for Microsoft.” His first big stage debut began with a cold email. A technical sales rep at Microsoft at the time, Brown was preparing for a customer visit and pushing Release Management, a product that automates...

This post is brought to you in partnership with Microsoft Azure Ruth Yakubu said she wouldn’t be where is today as a Sr. Cloud Developer Advocate at Microsoft with a successful 15-plus-year career in technology if she hadn’t listened to her inner voice. “Deep inside, that voice was like ‘Ruth, this is not you,’” reflects Yakubu, whose parents wanted her to become a doctor. But after growing up going to hospitals in Nigeria and entering undergrad as a pre-med student, she quickly realized biology wasn’t for her after a school course required her to dissect a guinea pig and corrected her journey. “I’m like, wait a minute?,” she says with a laugh. “I didn’t sign up for this!” What Yakubu did sign up for was a C programming course, a class she credits with helping her find her calling. “Whenever I coded, it was like playing chess. It’s like a puzzle you’re trying to solve,” she said with excitement.. “It was very challenging, but the reward you find afterwards, after writing code;...