Lunch n' Learn: Building through connection and diversity

12:00 Welcome & Introduction
Our ambassadors Mariné and Billy will open the event and set the scene for the afternoon.

Billy Carlson
Product Design Manager
iHerb

Marine Palamutyan
Senior Manager, UX Research
Docusign

Connection Is Currency: The Key to Influence and Impact at Work
Want to have more influence and make a bigger impact at work? It all starts with connection. In this talk, we’ll explore how being a connector can open doors, build trust, and create real momentum in your career. You’ll learn why being present matters, how curiosity can deepen relationships, and why taking initiative is a game changer. Whether you're leading a team or just looking to connect more meaningfully, this session will give you simple, practical ways to build stronger relationships at work.

12:05 Joyce Croft
Senior Lead Human-Centered Designer
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The G.R.I.T. Framework: A Guide to Embracing Diverse Strengths in Design & Tech
Meghan is a staff-level product designer with 10+ years driving conversion-critical SaaS launches at Apollo GraphQL, Twilio, and Lever. She created the GRIT Framework, a playbook that transforms diverse cognitive needs into hard performance gains. Her talks strip away platitudes to show how atypical brains deliver outsized impact when systems are built for them.

12:30 Meghan Logan
Staff Product Designer
Thrivent

1:00 Close