About WTF

Our origin story took place somewhere far away from Gotham. In beautiful Honolulu at the 2017 Pacific Telecommunications Council conference (PTC), four industry friends got together in between sessions to catch up, feeling comfort in their close-knit friendship that allowed them to candidly chat about work, their personal lives, struggles, triumphs and everything in between. After talking for a while and parting ways, that comfort they felt with one another turned into uneasiness; the ocean breeze and margaritas weren’t the only things that had left a salty after-taste. They realized that a big reason why their time together at these industry events—away from crowded bars—was so fulfilling was because they didn’t get enough of these interactions at conferences and in their day-to-day jobs. The gender gap in the industry was so glaring with a clear lack of women in leadership, women speaking on panel discussions and women attending these types of conferences. They thought, “why don’t we create a space just like we have for ourselves, but on a larger scale? Surely there are other women who would value meeting one another at these conferences and connecting in a real way…”

Now, we are a community of 1300+ strong and growing. We thank each of you, and our sponsors, for allowing what started out as just an idea to become a reality. WTF could not exist without all of you.

Board

Our Board Members are Sarah McComb, Jessica Smith, Suzie Gleeson, Elena Winters and Nadia Tuffaha. Collectively we share 65+ years of industry experience, varying from marketing and events to network engineering and business development. Our goal is to help connect the women in our industry; to create a safe and open environment to come together, support and encourage each other, and build long lasting relationships. 

We continue to learn and evolve every day. Over the past few years we’ve engaged more with our allies and recognize their participation is key to a more inclusive industry and a narrowed gender gap in the tech space. 

We feel lucky to work for companies who support this initiative and feel incredibly grateful to all our sponsors who have helped make this community what it is today and for your continued support as we evolve and grow. 

In Loving Memory of Brynn Fowler

Brynn Fowler was one of the original four co-founders and was the beating heart of WTF. Brynn passed away in October 2019 after her battle with Colon Cancer. She was 38 years old and we miss her every day. In her name and in her memory, we will continue the work she was deeply passionate about. Her spirit still lives on through everything that we do and her impact on improvements in our industry is indelible.

Brynn is still making an impact on our industry. Following her passing, Capacity Media announced they will be renaming the Agent of Change Award (an award acknowledging an individual—male or female—who actively champions the message of inclusion and diversity both in and out of the workplace over the last 12 months) to the Brynn Fowler Agent of Change Award. 

You can donate to Brynn Fowler Scholarship Award to support and enable the future females