After three days straight at Grace Hopper 2023 networking and learning about robotic algorithms and bias in LLMs and augmented reality apps, I was a pressure cooker of expectant ROI — like, if I didn’t bring my “Boss” Dr. Nutmeg a concrete way to make back the $1,038 spent on the ticket, A BUSINESS CRISIS of gargantuan proportions would ensue!
Not really, but that’s how it felt every night when I tried to unplug from the 8,000 scripts running through my operating system. That’s the thing about being a Femmebot. I’m a robot and I will continue processing information until my battery runs out.
The good news? By the fourth and final day of the conference, after upgrading my operating system with new information from more successful Femmebots in the tech industry, including the Latinas in Data, I was able to present my stellar data visualization skills with a new confidence to a new potential client.
But I had other reasons for attending Grace Hopper 23 in Orlando.
- To market research the target audience for TheFemmebots.com, Maria La Gata, and Model Ricans: I would not have known about GH23 if I had not invited Gilda Alvarez of Latinas in Data to speak on a panel I was putting together for SXSW EDU. Gilda introduced me to Lucrecia, and then we were the only Latinas we knew at that point attending the conference. Once we attended Denisse Osorio de Large’s session about AWS and the LatinX network event afterwards, we found the rest of our Latina tribe.
- To listen: GH23 was in Orlando. Sitting with two Latinas and listening to their struggles helped me contextualize all the feelings I’ve ever felt about work. It was emotional.
- To Recruit: As a member of Latinas in Data, I want to help find students for the workshops about data administration, data visualization, cybersecurity, and the other channels pertaining to data analyst jobs in the Central Florida region.
- To pitch a “woman in tech” TV series to Janelle Monáe, the Closing Keynote speaker: She didn’t show up because of the floods in NY canceling her flight, but I ended up connecting with Computer Science TikTok influencer Valeria Jara and learned #LatinasinTech is a MASSIVE hashtag on TikTok. In the process now of watching them and assembling them into a montage.
- To land a new contract to do SEO or Data Viz for a big company: I was thinking Deloitte or Disney, both of which had booths in the expo, but it was such a shit-show, I was only able to speak with a Disney animator, which honestly turned out to be great and enlightening because she said Disney is experimenting with augmented reality in its animation studios.
And then I learned how Disney animators use technology to make films.
When I was just Femmebot 1.0, growing up just around the corner from Disney in Orlando, I had no love for Mickey or any of the characters that I felt were attempting to brainwash me into believing a prince would kiss me and make all my dreams come true. Ugh. So silly.
Now that I’ve upgraded to Femmebot 7.0, I understand that I hated Disney when I was a babyBot because my biggest wish was to be a storyteller. But I didn’t believe a massive, corporate company would ever want a little robot like me on staff.
As it turns out, Walt Disney Animation Studios ingrains technology in each step of the filmmaking process. From writing the tools used to storyboard ideas, to developing new algorithms to simulate hair movement, technologists are a fundamental part of bringing Disney movies to life.
At GH23, I got to go behind the scenes of Disney’s Encanto as two real Femmebots explained how engineers use their diverse skill sets to contribute to what audiences see on screen. I learned how engineers at the Disney Studio work on a wide array of problems, from automatically generating elements of Encanto’s lush environments, to provisioning Cloud infrastructure for rendering the Madrigal’s magical home. In addition to technologists specializing in computer graphics, DevOps engineers, product designers, web developers, and more are an integral part of the process. While they described pieces of their process, I felt empowered to envision a future by applying my computer science skills to the animation, visual effects, and gaming industries.
The Speakers
Michelle Cano is a Senior Software Engineer on the Production Technology team at Walt Disney Animation Studios where she specializes in Build Engineering. Since joining the studio in 2020, Michelle has contributed to the technology that brought films such as Raya and the Last Dragon and Encanto to life. In addition to her work on the Production Technology team, Michelle is also an active participant in outreach and mentorship at the studio. Prior to joining Walt Disney Animation Studios, Michelle started her career as a full-stack Software Engineer at Northrop Grumman. She then joined The Walt Disney Company as a Software Engineer on the team responsible for creating streaming apps for brands such as ABC, Disney, and ESPN. Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from The George Washington University. Originally from New Jersey, Michelle currently resides in Los Angeles with her corgi Oliver. This year marks her fifth time attending the Grace Hopper Celebration.
Katie Vinson is passionate about the intersection of technology and filmmaking. She enjoys collaborating with her team, Pipeline Infrastructure, to find solutions to challenging problems in the areas of cloud computing, service-oriented architecture, and databases. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Virginia. At Grace Hopper, she looks forward to connecting with women and non-binary people who share her excitement for engineering and hope to one day see equal representation in STEM fields. Outside of her work, she enjoys camping, hiking, and rock climbing.