As we pass the two year mark of launching the Twin Cities chapter of the Geekettes, we continue to grow our community and our programming. Over the last few months, we have had the opportunity to bring on some amazing women as volunteers who have helped organize events and promote the community here in the Twin Cities.

Today, we are happy to welcome Casie, Beth, Susan & Caroline to the team.

Q&A to get to know our new ambassadors:

Meet Beth Korth

What's your background?
I worked for the United States Postal Service for 10 years in many positions before deciding to transition into tech in mid 2014. I started out by attending a few local meet ups, met some amazing people, and ended up as a freelance writer for TECH{dot}MN. Now I'm in a leadership role in the local game development community through IGDATC, and am giving back as an ambassador for the Geekettes.

What inspired you to become a game developer?
My desire to help make careers in games and tech in general more accessible to diverse groups of people is what lead me to writing in this space. Using the voice I have through TECH{dot}MN to bring awareness to the awesome things folks are doing locally for women and other underrepresented groups is one of the best ways I know how to serve as an advocate for diversity. To help diversify the games available for play, I feel like we have to start by diversifying the game developers themselves. So through the narratives I write in games and my involvement in community events, I am doing what I can to give opportunities to folks who may never have thought of game development as a possible career path.

What is the best advice you ever received?
Take chances. You may never get to do the things that you want if you aren't willing to take a few risks. If I hadn't followed this advice, I'd still be working at the Post Office and would have missed out on tons of fun opportunities and friendships.

What motivated you to become a Geekettes ambassador?
The way that the Geekettes welcomed me into their community despite my lack of technical skills really meant a lot to me in that time of transition. Without the support from some of the wonderful ladies I met there, I may have given up and gone into a career that was less than what I wanted. I just want an opportunity to give back to the community that so warmly welcomed me. I also hope to share opportunities in the local game industry with more female developers to help diversify that community as well.

Any advice for your local/global Geekettes?
Everyone has something that they can do better than you -- learn from them! Also, never forget that you too have something special to share with the world.

Meet Susan Greve

What's your background?

My technical background stems from my work as a technical recruiter. I have built a few websites in my free time, and have become quite a data nerd in this process!

What inspired you to become a developer?

The Geekettes have offered me several workshops to hone my technical skills, and I was very excited about an opportunity to give back to an organization that has provided me so much personal/professional development.

What is the best advice you ever received?

Ask for help, and earn it.

What motivated you to become a Geekettes ambassador?

Being able to create new opportunities for women/girls to build a career in technology.

Any advice for your local/global Geekettes?

Listen to your audience. Ultimately you want to create experiences that are meaningful to people, and be constantly willing to assess the value you are bringing to your communities.

Meet Caroline Karanja

What's your background?

I've worked in product teams throughout my career and I'm currently a freelance designer/developer.

What inspired you to become an engineer?

I love that one can create something out of a few lines of code. That inspired me to explore the potential of digital products.

What is the best advice you ever received?

The best advice I've received is that my voice matters and I have something of value to add.

What motivated you to become a Geekettes ambassador?

Our former Twin Cities Geekettes Ambassadors Kristen and Jenna inspired me to be an ambassador. They did such a great job connecting the community and giving back.

Any advice for your local/global Geekettes?

My advice to all women in tech is that they have something amazing to add.

Meet Casie Lynch

What's your background?

I got my Journalism degree from the University of Minnesota in 2011 and went on to become a project manager at an agency. After teaching myself HTML and CSS, I decided I wanted to get into programming, so I signed up for Prime Digital Academy's bootcamp in Bloomington, MN. Now, I work at Prime as a TA and an Associate Software Engineer.

What inspired you to become an engineer?

I love being able to make something out of nothing and the ability to learn and solve problems everyday. I also really enjoy being in a position where I can help influence an educate other women about software engineering.

What is the best advice you ever received?

Stay positive and never stop learning.

What motivated you to become a Geekettes ambassador?

The opportunity to extend my reach in the community and hopefully help other girls and women realize that there is a community for them in this industry.

Any advice for your local/global Geekettes?

Stay positive and know that you're making a difference!

*** More exciting programming planned for the second half of the year. Stay tuned!