Last October I attended a YOW Night talk on “Instantly Better Presentations” with Damian Conway. It was fantastic, and I spent the night feverishly taking notes on how to give more effective technical talks. At the end of the night, I was excited to learn that YOW were launching a Women in Tech Competition to increase the diversity of speakers at their events. You had to submit a talk proposal, and five winners would be given a full day workshop with Damian as well as the opportunity to speak at a YOW event in 2015. I sent off my talk proposal, and a couple weeks ago I was delighted to hear that I was one of the winners! My workshop with Damian is next month, and I’m excited to get feedback from him on the previous conference talks I’ve given. Congratulations as well to my fellow winners Isabel, Octavia, Rhiana, and Katie!