I am honored to help mentor five TechWomen Emerging Leaders from Tunisia during their visit to the USA. The U.S. State Department – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs – TechWomen program connects and supports the next generation of women leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by providing them the access and opportunities to advance their careers and pursue their dreams.
So far, our team has spoken online, been to a kickoff event hosted by Twitter at their San Francisco headquarters (I got to wear the embroidered cape I bought in Tunisia in 2015), and enjoyed dinner together at my house in San Jose. We are learning about each other, and working on the project again online, Tuesday night! This term, I am happy to be a TechWomen Co-Mentor with Darpana Pendyala (Hardware Design Engineer, Marvell), and Priyanka Sahay (Director, Product Marketing, LinkedIn).
TechWomen Team Tunisia 2022-09-23TechWomen Team Tunisia at Twitter 2022-09-29TechWomen Team Tunisia at Twitter 2022-09-29TechWomen Team Tunisia with WP668, in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1
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The lyrics of “When I’m Sixty-Four” by Paul McCartney of The Beatles start, “When I get older losing my hair, Many years from now, Will you still be sending me a Valentine, Birthday greetings bottle of wine. If I’d been out till quarter to three, Would you lock the door? Will you still need me, will you still feed me When I’m sixty-four?” Tonight, I end my Beatles Year!
I start my new half-decade tomorrow. Such a delightful adventure!Katy Dickinson 1957Katy Dickinson 1961Katy Dickinson 1967Wade, Eleanor, Mark, Peter, Katy Dickinson, Bachelor of Arts Commencement, University of California at Berkeley, 1979Katy Dickinson 1980Wade, Eleanor, Katy Dickinson with baby Jessica 1989Jessica and Paul, Nut Tree Railroad, 1995Katy Dickinson, John Plocher, Wedding 2000Jessica and Matthew wedding 2011Jessica and Katy, Beirut, Lebanon, 2013Katy Dickinson, John Plocher, Lalibela, Ethiopia 2014Katy and Jessica, Sierra Leone 2019Katy and Jessica, Horseshoe Bend, Arizona 2019Paul D Goodman and Katy Dickinson, Cielo Lodge, Golfito, Costa Rica, August 2021Graduate Theological Union, Master of Theology Commencement, 7 May 2022John Plocher, Katy Dickinson, Loon Lake, Wisconsin June 2022
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Next week, I will meet five TechWomen Emerging Leaders from Tunisia whom I will help mentor during their visit to the USA. The U.S. State Department – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs – TechWomen program connects and supports the next generation of women leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by providing them the access and opportunities to advance their careers and pursue their dreams. Three of us have been invited to coach these senior technical women in developing the project they will take home. This is my second time being an Impact Coach for Tunisia – our 2016 team developed a project to improve transport in Tunis. I was also a member of the 2015 TechWomen Delegation to Tunisia. I have been a TechWomen mentor since 2010 when I served as the TechWomen Process Architect – it is such an inspiring and fulfilling program. I am so looking forward to meeting the new Team Tunisia!
Techwomen Impact Coach Mentors for Tunisia, 8 Sep 2022TechWomen Team Tunisia 2016Sheep on the road, Tunisia 2015Katy Dickinson and TechWomen on beach camels, Tunisia 2015Dougga Roman ruins, Tunisia 2015Katy Dickinson, Dougga Roman ruins, Tunisia 2015Africus carving, Dougga Roman ruins, Tunisia 2015TechWomen, Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia Delegation 2015TechWomen, Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia Delegation 2015Pine nut tea, TechWomen, Tunis, Tunisia Delegation 2015Eileen Brewer, Katy Dickinson, TechWomen, Tunis, Tunisia Delegation 2015
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Susan Broaddus and I worked together for many years on the Congo Network, a project of the worldwide Anglican and Episcopal churches to support the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She passed away on 3 December 2021 after a lifetime of faithful activism, including twelve years as an Episcopalian missionary in the Congo. This is to honor and remember her. May Susan rest in peace and rise in glory.
Update: On 26 July 2022, the Congo Network’s Chair, and Africa Partnership Officer for the Episcopal Office of Global Partnerships, Rev. Daniel N. Karanja, Ph.D., presented the linked Brief to the Congo Network honoring Susan Broaddus and her inspiring life of advocacy and lay leadership. The Rev. Daniel reviewed over 400 pages of Susan’s letters and documents to create the Brief. He spoke of Susan’s outstanding and inspiring contributions developing the role of women leaders and educational programs, especially at theUniversité Anglicane du Congo.
Susan Broaddus and Archbishop Henri IsingomaSusan Broaddus and Archbishop Henri IsingomaSusan Broaddus memorial gathering at the Université Anglicane du Congo parish church in Bunia, December 2021
Susan’s obituary was published by The Virginian-Pilot from 8 December – 10 December 2021. A longer version was published on Facebook by Women to Women for Congo on 8 December 2021:
It is with great sadness that we are sharing the news of the death of Susan Broaddus, founder of the Women to Women for Congo and primary moderator of this page.
Susan Broaddus
Susan Broaddus succumbed to cancer on December 3, 2021, in Norfolk, Va., where she was born in 1946.
Her life’s greatest passion centered on The Democratic Republic of Congo, where she served as an Episcopalian missionary for over 12 years, dedicated to improving the lives of the people in that lawless and war-torn region.
She was especially concerned for the women and children there, because many militias continually attacked the towns and villages. The militias often kidnapped or killed the men, sexually attacked the women, and left the children orphaned.
About a decade ago, Susan revisited the Congo and was inspired to do more by raising awareness and money in the United States to help her beloved Congolese people. She founded a group called Women-to-Women for Congo, which joined her mission to pray for and financially assist the people there. She also supported the Anglican seminary in the Congo, both through individual scholarships and by supporting the seminary’s capital projects.
She was at the forefront locally of assisting with the immigration of the Sudanese “Lost Boys,” personally assisting many of them with tutoring, housing, bureaucracy, and more.
Susan was a lifelong Francophile. Before retiring, she taught high school French in several school systems throughout the greater Hampton Roads area.
Her fluency in French enabled her to stay in touch with her friends and contacts in the Congo. When Susan’s health was declining rapidly from her second battle with cancer, the Most Rev. Henri Isingoma, who was the Archbishop of the Congo while she served there and is now retired, e-mailed a letter to Susan, which captured Susan’s spirit. It reads, in part (roughly translated): “I have no other words but to congratulate you for having led a life consecrated to the holy ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am convinced that you do not fear anything because, together, we have worked in the direction of ensuring the continuity of his mission to proclaim the Eternal Kingdom of God. Knowing that our human capacities have time limits, we had trained others among us and for subsequent generations. The mission continues.”
In addition to her work with the Congo, Susan was an avid reader and member of a book club. Shelves and stacks of books on many subjects filled her home. She also was active in her church, Christ & St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.
Susan was preceded in death by her parents, John and Margaret Broaddus, and her sisters, Margaret (Midge) Hutchison, and Ann Broaddus. She is survived by her nephew, Jason Nowell, and extended family and hometown friends….
If you would like to remember Susan in a meaningful way, please contribute to Episcopal Church Women, designating “Broaddus/Congo” in the memo line (mail to: ECW, Christ & St. Luke’s Church, P.O. Box 11499, Norfolk, VA 23517)
1968: Susan Broaddus graduated from Old Dominion University with a Bachelor of Arts in French
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I am proud of my daughter Jessica whose annual Yosemite camping trip for her Palestinian mentees has evolved into a TechWomen tradition. This year, there were enough mentors and mentees for two weekends. I was a driver last weekend, joining about thirty others – many of them camping for the first time. We stopped over in Columbia for lunch on the way to our campsite at Tuttletown. We had a lovely time getting to know each other, figuring out how to raise a tent, singing pop songs, and eating s’mores – and Safa of Libya got to touch a river for the first time ever!
TechWomen going camping, 26 Mar 2022TechWomen at Kate’s tea, Columbia, CA, 26 Mar 2022TechWomen Jessica and Samantha, Columbia, CA, 26 Mar 2022TechWomen at Columbia, CA, 26 Mar 2022TechWomen at Columbia, CA, 26 Mar 2022TechWomen at Columbia, CA, 26 Mar 2022TechWomen at Tuttletown camp, CA, 26 Mar 2022TechWomen at Tuttletown camp, CA, 26 Mar 2022TechWomen at Tuttletown camp, CA, 26 Mar 2022TechWomen at Tuttletown camp, CA, 26 Mar 2022sunset at Tuttletown camp, CA, 26 Mar 2022sunrise at Tuttletown camp, CA, 27 Mar 2022TechWomen at Tuttletown camp, CA, 27 Mar 2022TechWomen at Tuttletown camp, CA, 27 Mar 2022TechWomen at Yosemite, CA, 27 Mar 2022TechWomen at Yosemite, CA, 27 Mar 2022TechWomen at Yosemite, CA, 27 Mar 2022TechWomen at Yosemite Falls, CA, 27 Mar 2022TechWomen at Yosemite Falls, CA, 27 Mar 2022TechWomen at Yosemite Falls, CA, 27 Mar 2022TechWomen at Yosemite Falls, CA, 27 Mar 2022TechWomen at Yosemite Falls, CA, 27 Mar 2022
TechWomen brings emerging women leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East together with their professional counterparts in the United States for a mentorship and exchange program. I have been working with TechWomen since I helped to design it in 2010. Launched in 2011, TechWomen is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and is managed by the Institute of International Education (IIE).
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TechWomen Team Kenya has enjoyed two outings during which we worked on the team project pitch. We went to NightLife at San Francisco’s California Academy of Sciences, and we had brunch together in Oakland, hosted by my Co-Mentor Ella Morgulis. Co-Mentor Samantha Raniere made ugali and spinach and an apple pie for brunch. Ella and her husband David made chicken, hamburgers, and salad. I brought Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies! We mentors have taken turns driving the mentees to our outings around the Bay Area. Pitch Day will be on Friday, 25 March 2022.
TechWomen Team Kenya, California Academy of Sciences, 17 March 2022TechWomen Team Kenya, California Academy of Sciences, 17 March 2022TechWomen Team Kenya, California Academy of Sciences, 17 March 2022TechWomen Team Kenya, California Academy of Sciences, 17 March 2022TechWomen Team Kenya brunch, 19 March 2022TechWomen Team Kenya brunch, 19 March 2022Norah, TechWomen Team Kenya brunch, 19 March 2022Laura, TechWomen Team Kenya brunch, 19 March 2022Leonida, TechWomen Team Kenya brunch, 19 March 2022Sylvia, TechWomen Team Kenya brunch, 19 March 2022Asha, TechWomen Team Kenya brunch, 19 March 2022Leonida, TechWomen Team Kenya brunch, 19 March 2022TechWomen Team Kenya brunch, 19 March 2022Norah, TechWomen Team Kenya brunch, 19 March 2022TechWomen Team Kenya brunch, 19 March 2022TechWomen Team Kenya brunch, 19 March 2022TechWomen Team Kenya brunch, 19 March 2022TechWomen Team Kenya brunch, 19 March 2022
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TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022
Today was TechWomen Volunteer Day and twenty-three of us gathered at St. Stephen’s-in-the-Field Episcopal Church – Community Garden in San Jose, California, to work together. We divided into three groups: the Hunters (looking for oak seedlings to pot), the Killers (taking down an oleander hedge), and the Diggers (making an accessible path for elder gardeners). We included technical leaders from the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia, some of whom were novices and others who had deep gardening experience, as well as two regular community garden volunteers and four TechWomen mentors. My daughter, Jessica Dickinson Goodman, manages the community garden but she was managing another TechWomen volunteer group today, so I was in charge. It was a fun and productive day!
St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022Lizard, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022TechWomen Volunteer Day, St.Stephens-in-the-Fields, San Jose, California, 18 Mar 2022
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