About NEOWIT

Swati Venkatraman, a native of Mumbai India, moved to Cleveland in 2009 to pursue her Master’s in engineering management at Case Western Reserve University and has spent the last 15 years in the Information Technology space. She currently works for Signet Jewelers  as a Sr. Manager of Digital Prpuduct; leading the strategy, roadmap and execution of their Ecommerce Fulfillment portfolio. Swati is passionate about Digital Product Management and is a mentor for budding product managers in her company.

Pavana Bhat is an R&D Program Manager at Steris Corporation. With close to 20 years of experience in various industries such as Medical Device, Telecommunication, Softwate and Education Technology, Pavana enjoys challenges in career. She is also cofounder of Women In Engineering organization at Steris and has organized several events to encourage and motivate women in technology. Outside of work, she is an adherent follower of performing arts. She along with her husband run an Indian Classical Vocal and Percussion Music School in the Clevelans area and is very passionate about teaching these art forms to the next generation.

Chitkala Akella is a result-oriented leadership advocate and accomplished Technology Services and strategy Consultant who believes mingling a thought drives innovation and a creative mindset. She comes with a Business-focused mindset and has a drive to evolve & transform technology as a strength inside an organization. She commits herself to empowering women in tech, playing sports, and using a business mindset in interior decoration & relevant photography.

Pooja is a passionate technology professional with a strong background in software development. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Bangalore, India, and a Master’s in Computer Science from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

She began her career at Siemens in India, where she implemented a new process to create an ISO image on the Ultrasound Sounding system, optimizing efficiency by 50%. Currently, Pooja works as an Associate Application Developer at Steris Corporation, where she has developed multiple high-performance features for a large-scale CRM web application. Leveraging C# and the .NET framework on the server side and ReactJS on the client side, she optimized load times by 40%, significantly enhancing the user experience.

Pooja lives in Aurora, OH, with her husband. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and traveling.

Mel McGee is the Founder and CEO of We Can Code IT, an award-winning organization dedicated to advancing social equity through tech education. With over 20 years of experience as a software engineer, she has worked with clients like Tyco International, DeLorean Motor Company, and Xerox. Mel’s work in AI and web development has been featured in books like Smart Mobs, and Beyond the Browser.

A certified Scrum Master and Gestalt-trained facilitator, Mel fosters a collaborative, agile culture. Known for her AI creations, Zoe-bot and Skeletor-bot, she has captivated audiences since the early 2000s. She remains committed to empowering students from diverse backgrounds through We Can Code IT.

She has a daughter studying geophysics at UCLA, and a dog who follows her everywhere she possibly can.

Sravanthi is an IT Manager at Progressive Insurance.

A resident of Cleveland, Ohio, USA, Sravanthi joined Toastmasters in 2013 to practice
speaking purposefully and succinctly but stayed for the enormous value and incredible
friendships it continues to add to her life.

A member of six clubs, Sravanthi has served all club officer roles except Treasurer, and
as Area Director, Division Director, Program Quality Director, and District Director. A
Club Sponsor, Mentor, Coach, Youth Leadership Program Coordinator, and Pathways
Guide, she recently received her third DTM, second in Pathways.

An incurable optimist, she revels in all things Toastmasters and believes in its
unlimited potential to alter our perception of ourselves and the ever-evolving world
around us.

She has found clarity, connection, and confidence with Toastmasters.

Deepa Rao is a Software Engineer with 19 years of work experience in JD Edwards. She has been in several roles – JDE Developer, Programmer Analyst, ERP2Web Project Manager, Localization team lead, and DSI Project Coordinator. Outside of technology, she enjoys volunteering with different organizations in the Cleveland area. She is Editor in Chief for The Lotus a FICA Newsletter. She is also an Executive Committee member for FICA ( Federation of Indian Community Associations). She is one of the Key Communicators at Olmsted Falls School District. She is also a board member of AAIWO (Association of Asian Indian Women in OHIO). She is the Indian Ambassador for  Cleveland People. She is also the social media Ambassador for Akron Food Bank.

Dance is her passion. Loves to read whenever she finds time.