Rising ICON #42: Sue Harnett
What name do you prefer to be called?
Sue
What are your pronouns?
She/her/hers
Where did you grow up?
Staten Island, New York
What city are you currently based in?
Durham, NC
How do you typically introduce yourself to new people?
A Staten Island native, Duke Blue Devil for life, mom of 2 amazing boys, in a relationship with a wonderful partner and dog!
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about you?
I don’t have a tech background - I solve for change through powerful communities.
Who do you help?
College and early career women in technology.
What are you building now?
The largest global community of women in tech in the 10 year span of ~18 to 28 years of age.
What were you building ten years ago today?
A US sports e-commerce and technology company in the collegiate and professional sports industry.
What do you predict of yourself 10 years from now?
Continuing to advocate for women’s equality…unless we reach parity by then!
What’s a fact or statistic you wish everyone knew about your industry?
Less than 1 in 5 of the US computer science graduates identify as women.
Why do you believe the work you do matters?
Everyone deserves the right to belong, be seen, and have one’s voice heard regardless of gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, religious or cultural beliefs.
Who is your mentor and what is the best advice they’ve given you?
My sister, Carol, was my lifetime mentor. I lost her to a hard-fought cancer battle but she will always live on through me. She encouraged me to speak up for those who did not hold the power to do so for themselves.
What piece of content about you or your company are you most proud of?
It is the ongoing list of testimonials from Rewriting the Code members whose lives have been positively impacted by our work.
What publication do you hope to appear in next?
Who would you love to be interviewed by?
Robin Roberts - she played college basketball. My people.
If you had to give a TEDTalk tomorrow, what would the title be?
Tech Recruiting Should Take a Lesson from Sports.
What award would mean the most to win?
None
What makes zero sense to you?
A lack of understanding of the beauty of diversity
What’s a word in your industry you hope gets re-evaluated?
Recruiting
What game are you changing?
The composition of the technical workforce
What’s the next thing you’re a part of that you want to invite more people to participate in?
Donating to the RTC Women. In Tech Fund to support our members
Where can we follow you online?
Sue Harnett LinkedIn
What’s one thing that makes every leader better?
Vulnerability
_______
We’re grateful to each Rising ICON for their transformative work. Thank you, Sue, for sharing your story!
LAUREL is a media relations partner for bold leadership. We build effective strategies for scale and growth specializing in digital executive presence and go-to-market strategy. To follow along with the Rising ICONS series, nominate a leader or subscribe to our weekly emails below. To accelerate your own rise, get our free guide to visibility Force to ICON: the TLDR.
“Everyone deserves the right to belong, be seen, and have one’s voice heard regardless of gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, religious or cultural beliefs.”
Notice: It’s important for our readers to understand the origin of the interview content. The featured ICON contributed responses that were not edited from the original submission. All claims are made solely by the contributor and do not reflect the views of LAUREL or its partners. Thank you for supporting rising leaders. The future is bold.
