We@PS - 11. Exploration Geologist Turned Technology Accessibility Leader

11. Exploration Geologist Turned Technology Accessibility Leader

03/23/21 • 61 min

Alison Walden is a Senior Director of Technology and leads the Accessibility Service for Publicis Sapient. Close to a billion people in the world need to navigate technology in some other way than a mouse. She started her 16-year career path at Publicis Sapient as a senior developer with curiosity and a passion to make sure every site she created kept this in mind. Today she leads the team creating accessible experiences for our clients that are inclusive and benefit everyone. Alison also shares the story of her career change from an exploration geologist and describes the role she plays to ensure gender parity within her team. In our Bytes section, we discuss the meaning behind Women's History Month, taking the #ChoosetoChallenge pledge for International Women's Day, and providing an environment to enable adults with autism to thrive at work.

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10. Raising Awareness and Fighting the Stigma of Mental Health

Nadia Hussain, Early Careers Lead based in London, and Liz Wood, Experience Designer out of Toronto, lead our Mental Health and Wellbeing business resource group, Headline, in their respective regions. Liz and Nadia discuss driving change through Headline to prioritize everyone’s mental wellbeing. In our Bytes section, we have conversations around coping with rejection, statistics and trends in remote working, and perspectives on growing yourself.

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12. Researcher by Day, Designer by Night

Hiba Moujabber, Associate Creative Director located in our Dubai office, attributes her fearless attitude to growing up during a civil war in Beirut. She is the definition of working hard for what you want - working her entire career as a designer to fund her dream to pursue research in Medieval Art History. Inspired by her PhD dissertation, Hiba compares how her team works today to artists in the 15th century. She shares how Publicis Sapient supported her transition from a part-time freelancer to a permanent employee without jeopardizing her education and academic standing. In our Bytes section, we discuss gender disparity in leadership, the rise of the wellness app, and what is keeping Black workers from climbing up the corporate ladder. Bytes Section: 00:00 – 18:47 Guest Interview: 18:48 – 1:03:18