350 Miami-Dade girls to get taste of tech and entrepreneurship

The nonprofit CODeLLA, AT&T and the University of Miami Center for Computational Science are teaming up to help inspire the next generation of female innovators.

Nearly 350 Miami-Dade County girls, ages 9-17, will connect with female technology leaders, learn about STEM paths and participate in interactive workshops at the all-day She Innovates Tech conference at the Donna E. Shalala Student Center at the University of Miami on Saturday. The conference also includes a She Tech Miami app competition focused on creating a solution to a health-related problem experienced by the elderly.

As part of its Digital You initiative to help people navigate the digital world safely, AT&T employees will lead a plenary session that addresses new technologies for communication and the challenges they present. Employees will share their career paths and have open dialogue with students about digital citizenship. Alicia Abella, AT&T’s assistant vice president of Cloud Technologies and Services and a President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics board member, is keynote speaker for the event.

The event will also include sessions on wearable technology and fashion innovation, fighting back against girl bullying and developing a startup entrepreneur’s mindset, among other topics. Other speakers include Marielle Pellegrino, blogger for Miss Aerospace, and Felecia Hatcher of CodeFever. CODeLLA is a nonprofit that offers an entrepreneurship and tech immersion program for underrepresented Latina girls.

This story was originally published October 27, 2016 at 11:13 AM with the headline "350 Miami-Dade girls to get taste of tech and entrepreneurship."