Bronze Valley conference attendees joined the Power of Leadership luncheon on Feb.14, hosted by Alabama Power. The luncheon and discussion focused on diversity in technology careers with a panel of experts moderated by journalist Soledad O’Brien.

O’Brien is producer and host of the weekly political news magazine “Matter of Fact,” and the panel discussed the challenges minorities face in securing technology careers and effective ways to develop a diverse workforce.

Highlights from Power of Leadership luncheon from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

The panel included:

  • Randall Woodfin, mayor of Birmingham
  • Angela Benton, founder and CEO of NewME Accelerator
  • Megan Rose Dickey, reporter with TechCrunch
  • Greg Greenlee, founder of Blacks in Technology, and
  • Chokwe Antar Lumumba, mayor of Jackson, Mississippi.

Alabama Power also handed out awards to those helping elevate the state through community engagement and advancing a technology-based economy through education and outreach.

The 2018 Power of Leadership honorees were:

  • Anthony Hood, UAB
  • Shegun Otulana, TheraNest
  • Charisse Stokes, Tidal IT Solutions.

You can watch the entire panel discussion here.