Women, Wine & Tech event with Microsoft LinkedIn and techaWare
LYRRA supports SGWIB in joining key presenter at LinkedIn’s flagship NYC event at the Empire State Building
At the pinnacle of Manhattan’s skyline, the Empire State Building hosted an evening that was more than just a gathering — it was a living diagram of the future we are building. LYRRA and Wang Wang Health are proud to support the Stevens Graduate Women in Business (SGWIB) — a student-led initiative at Stevens Institute of Technology — in their participation at the Women, Wine & Tech event organized by Microsoft LinkedIn and techaWare, where systems, sectors, and selves met in resonance.
As the only student organization represented among major sponsors such as Merrill Lynch, Neudesic (an IBM Company), WEKA, and Lantern, SGWIB brought over 30 students into this strategic environment. In a space designed for structural visibility and leadership interface, this was not a footnote — it was presence with intention.
Angelina Saiyi Li, founder of LYRRA,Wang Wang Health and President of SGWIB, served as a roundtable lead on the topic “Inspired by Humanity, Powered by Technology.” Her facilitation foregrounded critical themes including:
Empathy and mental health in tech systems
Work-life balance as structural equity
Human-centric design in organizational culture
Accessibility as a design mandate, not a retroactive fix
This roundtable functioned not as a discussion, but as an operating prototype — where values translated directly into interface logic.
Jennifer Meidl , Sr. Director, Cloud Solution Architects at Microsoft , whose guidance and intergenerational commitment to SGWIB made this elevation possible. Her presence is not symbolic — it is infrastructural.
Special thanks to Nicci Townsend, Sr. Director of Customer Success Account Management I Northeast Strategics at Microsoft and the Women, Wine & Tech organizing team for curating a space where industry, education, and identity converged without dilution.
As Angelina remarked, “Everyone says tech is the new finance — but tech is not finance. It is architecture.”
About techaWare
techaWare is a women-led technology consultancy and event ecosystem dedicated to empowering underrepresented voices in tech. By curating intentional spaces for dialogue, visibility, and structural change, techaWare bridges the gap between inclusion and infrastructure. Its initiatives span professional development, ethical tech governance, and cultural interface-building across industry, academia, and community sectors.
