Welcome back to The Hot Seat Podcast—the no-nonsense show for Microsoft partners and people navigating the rapidly changing technology ecosystem.
In this episode, I sat down with Christine Bongard, Co-Founder and CEO of The WIT Network , to talk about women in technology, community, career change—and why those conversations may be more important now than ever.
Christine started The WIT Network eight years ago after spending much of her own technology career as the only woman in the room. Today, the network has more than 15,000 members across 89 countries, built around three things women consistently say they need: education, mentorship, and a strong professional network.
Why We Still Need These Conversations
We've made progress.
But Christine and I agree that there is still work to do.
And the conversation is becoming more complicated.
Women aren't navigating careers in isolation. We're navigating careers alongside children, aging parents, relationships, caregiving, mental health, menopause, economic uncertainty—and now an extraordinary technological shift driven by AI.
Christine has watched the questions inside The WIT Network evolve. Before the pandemic, members wanted to talk about work-life balance. During it, the conversation became work-life integration. Afterward, mental health moved to the forefront.
Now AI is adding another question:
What does all of this mean for me?
Who Am I Now?
That question is particularly meaningful to me because I'll be speaking at the She’s a Vibe on September 21 presented by PartnerIn. My session is called: “Who Am I Now? Life. Loss. AI.”
I'm going to talk about those moments when life changes the identity we thought we had.
- Career.
- Caregiving.
- Loss.
- Family.
And now AI—another force asking us to reconsider what we do, where we add value, and potentially who we're becoming.
These aren't always easy conversations. But that's precisely why we need places to have them.
She’s a Vibe
That brings us to She’s a Vibe, taking place September 21 as part of Vibe 2.0 in Utah.
The WIT Network is hosting the event in partnership with the Vibe team, creating a dedicated experience for women—and allies—to step outside the usual conference programming and talk about what's actually happening in our careers and lives.
The event is designed around inspiration, breakout conversations and strategic networking, with Christine hosting the experience.
And importantly, men are welcome too. This isn't about excluding anyone. It's about creating space for conversations that don't always happen elsewhere.
Finding Your People—and Your Purpose
One of my favorite moments in the episode came when Christine talked about purpose.
For years, she heard other people describe finding the thing they were “meant to do”—and wondered why she hadn't experienced it herself.
Then, after launching The WIT Network's first event in 2018, it clicked.
She had found it.
Her message for anyone still searching was simple: don't give up.
Sometimes purpose doesn't arrive according to our career plan. Sometimes it emerges from experience, adversity, relationships, and recognizing a problem we're uniquely equipped to solve.
That's also why gatherings like She’s a Vibe matter. You may arrive knowing exactly where you're going. You may arrive asking, Who am I now?
Either way, you'll be surrounded by people asking some of the same questions.
Join Us at She’s a Vibe
Hosted by The WIT Network as part of Vibe 2.0. Vibe itself runs September 21–23 and is designed around peer-to-peer professional development for Microsoft partners. (PartnerIn)
I'll be there presenting:
Who Am I Now? Life. Loss. AI.
Learn more and register for She’s a Vibe
