Game Changer Events at Virginia Tech Roanoke Center

In collaboration with Women Impact Virginia, WoTech, and the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, the Virginia Tech Roanoke Center is offering free professional development opportunities on Sept. 14 as part of Game Changer Week. Three sessions will take place at the center from 9 a.m.–1 p.m., highlighting the expertise of Virginia Tech faculty and staff and encouraging creativity and innovation. All events are free and open to the community as well as university employees and students. 
8am-9am Networking Coffee

9am  "Moving from Groupthink to Teamthink: How to Make Smarter Decisions Together"  Wendy and Mike Gentry will discuss strategies to mitigate the pitfalls of group decision-making. Dr. Wendy Gentry is an assistant professor of instructional design and performance technology at Baker University. Dr. Mike Gentry served as Virginia Tech’s associate athletics director until his retirement in 2015 and was named a master strength and conditioning coach. He has recently been chosen for induction into Virginia Tech’s Sports Hall of Fame.

11am "The Value of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging: Assessing the Impact of Your DEIB Efforts"
Dr. A.K. Ward, associate professor at Virginia Tech's Pamplin College of Business will give participants a high-level understanding of how to assess the impact of their work unit’s DEIB efforts and express its value to organizational stakeholders.

12pm "Women Impact Virginia Lunch & Learn: Taste of Tech"  Enjoy a catered lunch followed by a hands-on tech activity from STEM instructor Ashley Sloan, who will present “What are microcontrollers and why are they in EVERYTHING?” Discover how these mini personal computers control small features of larger components in everything from washing machines to toys. This interactive session will teach you how to program LEDs to blink and see how microcontrollers work in practice.