Successful Strategies to Attract Young Professionals

Christine Pelissier
Business Line Manager EMEA
Edwards Ltd

Abstract
At Edwards we believe that the successful attraction of talented young professionals to our industry comes from listening and understanding what is important to young people and what they want to achieve in their careers. Our attraction strategy aims to connect with our audiences in more meaningful and emotional ways – we know young people want to learn and opportunities for career development are crucial, but they also want to make a difference, and sustainability has never been more important. Today’s young adults are having to deal with a range of issues which can impact the career choices they make. From the impact of COVID-19 and action on climate change, to challenging cultural attitudes, including those related to gender, racial, mental and physical health discrimination – we believe that businesses who are committed to improving people’s everyday lives, as well as protecting our planet offer the most appeal to young people. Our engagement with the next generation of young professionals focuses on the important issues that matter to them. At Edwards we look to do this through our:- targeted outreach and social media brand engagement and its real connection to protecting the environment- global career and development opportunities offered both in our organisation and the semiconductor industry- promotion of diverse role models representing the wide fabric of the Edwards community and the different careers available

Biography
Christine Pelissier is Business Line Manager EMEA at Edwards Vacuum. She has over 25 years’ experience successfully growing markets and customers in a high-tech environment and has broad international experience building networks in North America, Europe, and Asia. Prior to joining Edwards, Christine has held senior strategic marketing positions, business development, operations and applications roles with Applied Materials, KLA-Tencor and Soitec.

Overcoming an unconscious bias

Tessa Blake
Writer/Director
Asset Pictures

Abstract
Focusing on gender, race & LGBTQI issues, filmmaker Tessa Blake gives an incisive presentation on how to spot bias and how to change it. With America in turmoil and industries across the nation being cited for systemic and wide-spread discrimination, it’s critical to see the unconscious triggers at work. Tessa provokes a discussion on practical modifications to help organizations and teams make small changes that make a big difference toward greater equity.Presented at the American Film Institute, Producer’s Guild of America, Writer’s Guild of America East, American Society of Cinematographers, Disney, Verve, Good Universe, Point Grey Pictures, the Visual Effects Society, University of Southern California, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Biography
An AFI Directing Workshop for Women alumna, Tessa Blake is an award-winning filmmaker and television director (Blacklist, A Million Little Things, Station 19, Riverdale). Her films have premiered at Cannes and SXSW, been honored by the Academy, been released theatrically, and have played on Showtime, Oxygen and PBS. She and her husband Ian Williams work as a writing team for film and television. As Director of AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women and now the Nancy Malone Director for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at AFI, Tessa has innovated several dynamic programs for underrepresented filmmakers in the industry, working with Disney, Sony, Universal & Fox to create meaningful opportunities for talented alumni.

Michelle Williams-Vaden
Deputy Director
SEMI Foundation

Biography
Michelle Williams-Vaden is the Deputy Director of the SEMI Foundation. Michelle is responsible for the organization’s storytelling and communications, resource generation, and working toward diversity, equity, and inclusion within the Foundation, within SEMI, and for the industry.Michelle’s diverse professional background includes working as a professional musician and performer, published writer, Emergency Medical Technician, emergency services responder in disaster relief, and in wine education. For the last 15 years, Michelle has served at the helm of nonprofit organizations dedicated to strengthening local communities and positively impacting policy and program development on regional, state-wide, and national levels.Most recently she served as Executive Director at Arts Council Santa Cruz County, where she led an institutional turnaround and oversaw systemic and programmatic overhauls to address equity, sustainability, and greater community impact. At the core of Michelle’s work is devotion to equitable and supportive workplace culture, and the cultivation and nurturing of powerful and successful cross-sector partnerships.Michelle recently relocated to Tampa, Florida, where she lives with her husband and two young sons, and where she is still getting used to looking for alligators on a daily basis.

Unconscious Bias – A discussion on how we tackle it in the Tech Space

Alicia Scott

Senior Director - Diversity, Inclusion and Talent

Abstract
Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has become top of mind for companies around the globe; and employers are giving more attention and resources towards their efforts in creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce. Yet culture and societal factors, including unconscious bias, can negatively impact efforts to create a diverse workforce. Hear how we can address and overcome these challenges through the lens of DEI in the technology space.

Biography
Alicia Scott is the Senior Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Talent at ON Semiconductor, leading the diversity and inclusion (D&I), talent acquisition and HR KPI teams. Her work is to ensure D&I is embedded within everything the organization does based on workplace inclusion, workforce diversity and community partnerships, recognizing that the company is at its strongest when it effectively draws upon the wide variety of experiences, knowledge, culture and backgrounds from all employees and leaders. With changing demographics, increasing demand from customers, and mobility across borders, Alicia’s mission for the D&I initiative at ON Semiconductor is to shift how the organization attracts, retains and develops talent to create a more inclusive environment that leverages diversity effectively. Having been with ON Semiconductor since becoming a public company in 2000 working as an engineer and in product development, Alicia noticed a great need and demand for a D&I initiative at a global company that was experiencing immense growth, reaching $5.5 billion in revenue at the end of 2019. In 2017, Alicia transitioned to lead this initiative at the organization from a global perspective, working with the executive team and board of directors to develop, enhance and deploy a comprehensive global D&I strategy. During Alicia’s tenure leading the D&I initiative, it has grown to include seven Affinity Network Groups including the Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI), STEM UP (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math for the Underrepresented Population), Cultivate (multi-generational), Employee Activity Committee (EAC), Black Employee Network (BEN), Continua (LGBTQ+), and Veteran and Military Employees (VME). Alicia also serves as the Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Senior Leadership Council, is a Business Ethics Liaison and committee member for Global Corporate Giving program for the company. During Alicia’s tenure leading the D&I initiative, it has grown to include eight Affinity Network Groups including the Women’s Leadership Initiative (WE), STEM UP (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math for the Underrepresented Population), Cultivate (multi-generational), Employee Activity Committee (EAC), Black Employee Network (BEN), Continua (LGBTQ+), Veteran and Military Employees (VME) and The Bridge (multiculturalism).EducationArizona State University, W.P. Carey School of BusinessMasters of Business Administration - May 2004Rochester Institute of TechnologyBachelor of Science in Microelectronic Engineering - May 1997