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iversity in STE A M www.diversityinsteam.com
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'm proud to be a first generation Mexi- can-American. I was raised by two parents who believed in and encouraged me, but who did not have the background or expe- rience to advise me on how to effectively prepare for a career. I worked hard and got into the University of California, Berkeley, but beyond ge@ing a great education, I didnt know or understand how best to use that opportunity to help propel me forward. When I thought of what success meant, my mind immediately went to a doctor or a lawyer. I leftschool saddled with student loan debt and was desperate to find a job that could pay the bills. As a result, my resume is a mishmash of experiences. One of my irst jobs, at a law firm in New York City, was reminiscent of all of the awful elements of the Devil Wears Prada - non-stop phone calls on weekends, daily 8 a.m. F-bombs from my bosses and forced to join phone calls where the all-male partners ridiculed
Access to Access: How I Built My Career in AdTech
By Nadia Gonzalez
the assistants. I was depressed and couldnt ind a way out no matter how many inter- views I lined up. A career coach told me to expand my network and meet with as many people as possible. I committed myself to this task, penciling in coffees, drinks and phone calls and asking each person I spoke with to introduce me to someone else that could help. I was relentless. One day I was introduced to Ben Barokas, who was working at an online advertising network. I told him about some previous experience I had in television produc- ion, hoping he could help me connect it to digital media. It was 2007, and digital advertising startups were taking off. He told me that my experience had nothing to do with adtech. I thought that was that, but six months later he called me. He had just start- ed AdMeld, a yield optimization platform for online publishers, and offered me a job. Ben agreed to give me a chance to learn about adtech, and I would help him manage his
I've learned through my own experience that when it comes to leadership in STEAM, or any field, don't look for the obvious straight lines."
- Nadia Gonzalez
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