The document provides information about submitting a proposal to speak at the Grace Hopper Celebration conference in 2020. It discusses what the conference is, how to participate through speaking, volunteering, or obtaining a scholarship. Tips are provided on submitting an abstract proposal to speak, including session formats, tracks, the submission process, and tips for writing an effective abstract. Support for submitting a proposal is also offered through optional zoom calls for providing feedback on draft abstracts.

2. 2020 Grace Hopper Celebration
CFP: Participation Tips
#GHC20
Paula Paul
Distinguished Engineer
paulapaul.com and greyshore partners
Paula.Paul@(insert domain here)
Linkedin.com/in/paulapaul
@paulapaultweets

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Thank You!
AvidXchange
QC Bytes
AnitaB.org
#GHC20

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What is GHC?
How can I participate?
Tips on submitting to the CFP
Resources & Brainstorming on CFPs
#GHC20
Welcome!

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The Grace Hopper Celebration is the world’s
largest gathering of women technologists.
It is produced by AnitaB.org and presented in partnership
with the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM)
GHC 20 will be held Sep 29 – Oct 2 in Orlando, FL
#GHC20
What is the Grace Hopper Celebration?

6. 6#GHC20
#GHC19
~25,000 people
94 countries
All career stages
https://adobe.ly/2vISYcI

7. 7#GHC20

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Speak
Volunteer
Get a scholarship
Register and go with your employer
Register as an individual
#GHC20
How can I get in on the GHC20 fun?
Speak
Volunteer
Get a scholarship
Register and go with your employer
Register as an individual

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Apply by March 4:
GHC Scholars & Faculty
GHC Women in Boot Camp
Apply by May 15:
GHC Women of Color
https://bit.ly/2UYeipc
#GHC20
GHC 20 Scholarships & Financial Aid

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Pre-GHC Volunteer Opportunities:
• Committee Members and Scholarship Reviewers
• Open Source Day Planning Committee
GHC On-site Volunteer Opportunities:
• Speed Mentor
• Blogger and Note Taker
• Open Source Day Mentor
• GHC Research Mentor
• GHC Poster Judge
• Hoppers
#GHC20
GHC 20 Volunteer Opportunities
Get involved!
https://ghc.anitab.org/get-involved
(most/all provide free registration!)

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Yes, you!
Many session formats and tracks to choose from.
Submit an abstract by Mar 25, 5pm ET.
Here’s how!
#GHC20
Speak at GHC 20

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• Panel: A group of individuals convene and discuss a particular topic.
• Presentation: A chance for you (and a co-presenter!) to share your in depth knowledge
about a particular topic.
• Workshop: Interactive session with a presenter-lead, structured training followed by in-
depth discussions, exercises, or problem solving.
• Tech Meetup: A short presentation followed by a small group discussion about your
topic. These sessions are limited to 100 attendees.
• Mentoring Circles: Speakers sit at a table with nine participants maximum and interact
with them for six short mentoring session (20 min each) on a particular topic.
• Poster Session: Poster presenters informally present their research project on a poster
to get feedback from experts in their field.
#GHC20
Speak at GHC 20: Session Formats

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• Academic
• Artificial Intelligence
• Career
• Computer Systems Engineering
• Data Science
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
• Emerging Technology
• NEW – Entrepreneurship
• Hardware
• Human Computer Interaction
#GHC20
Speak at GHC 20: Tracks
• Interactive Media
• Mentoring Circles
• Open Source
• Poster Session
• Product Management
• Security/Privacy
• Software Engineering
• Tech Meetups
• Tech for Women
• Virtual, Augmented, & Mixed Reality
https://ghc.anitab.org/2020-speakers/tracks

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Computer Systems Engineering
We seek high-quality submissions on systems engineering topics that
include but are not limited to the focus areas below. Preference will be
given to technical workshops and presentations targeting intermediate
and advanced audiences.
Systems
• Memory and Storage systems (e.g. caching, storage, compression,
resource scheduling)
• Operating systems (e.g. distributed, embedded, mobile)
• Large scale resource management (e.g. elastic compute,
concurrency control)
• Fault tolerant systems (e.g. availability, reliability, resiliency)
• Automation (e.g. monitoring and operational tools)
#GHC20
Speak at GHC 20: Track Example
Communications
• Wireless networked systems (e.g., 5G/6G network,
MVNO)
• Backbone and edge networks (e.g. SDN, CDN)
• Efficient networking (e.g. self-organizing networks,
mobile data offload)
• Real-time streaming systems
Platforms
• Mobile platforms (e.g. resource efficient architecture,
energy management)
• Cloud and multi-tenant systems (e.g. virtualization,
containers, IaaS, PaaS)
• Robotic agents (e.g. autonomous vehicles, warehouse
automation, drone delivery)

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Career Track
Women face a unique set of opportunities and challenges- both at a
professional and personal level. The career track provides a platform
for attendees to learn and discuss a wide variety of topics to help
support each other and advance their careers. Proposals that present
a unique perspective with clear takeaways will be preferred. Topics of
interest for the career track include but not limited to:
Career Management and Mastery
• Professional brand and presence
• Practical tips to securing your dream job
• Product vs. Developer vs. Design vs. Data Scientist — demystifying
the tech roles
• Startups vs. mid-size vs. global organizations vs. nonprofits vs.
government — finding the right fit
• Mentoring vs. sponsorship — gaining them and becoming one
• Building your dream network
#GHC20
Speak at GHC 20: Track Example
• Collaborating and managing upwards and sideways
• Entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship
• Crucial and difficult conversations in the workplace
• Strategic thinking skills and building alliances
• Defining balance and success in career
Senior Career Transition
• Interviewing for a senior leadership position
• Reaching the C-suite and what’s beyond it
• Navigating mergers and acquisitions
• Traits of a successful leader
• Senior career trajectories for different disciplines
• Culturally conscious leadership

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Speak at GHC 20: The Process
One abstract for each
session format!
e.g., a presentation and a
tech meetup on one topic,
and a mentoring circle on
another

17. 17#GHC20
Speak at GHC 20: The Process
Click on Apply!
https://ssl.linklings.net/conferences/ghc/
Create as many draft
submissions as you like.
Submit as many as one per
format.

18. 18#GHC20
Speak at GHC 20: The Abstract
Session Format description include a ‘sample template’ or example
• THE SAMPLE TEMPLATES ARE YOUR FRIEND 
• Read/follow requirements: word count, font size, number of pages, required sections
• Ask at least one other person to proofread/review your abstract (Quality Engineering!)
Content
• Use an eye-catching title
• Tell or entice with a story in the introduction
• Use pictures! Humor!
• Clear outcomes and learning for those who attend, social media in Bio
• Put yourself in the reviewers’ shoes – What would you be interested in hearing about?

19. 19#GHC20
Speak at GHC 20: The Abstract
Lessons Learned
• 2015 – OSD Volunteer, Speed Mentoring
• 2016 Panel Discussion – Career Track
• 2017 Technical Presentation – Software Engineering (rejected )
• 2018 Technical Presentation – Security
• 2019 Technical Presentation – DevOps
• 2020? (working on it!)
Me, lucky punch card…

20. 20#GHC20
Speak at GHC 20: Abstract Tips
Lessons Learned – abstracts at https://www.slideshare.net/PaulaPaulSlides
• 2016 Panel: Getting in, and staying in, technology – Moderated by an ABI Syster
• Diverse Speakers, unique take on a common topic, known moderator
• Four panelists, each in a different age and stage of their career (20s, 30s, 40s, …)
• 2017 Presentation: From Monolith to Microservices (Software Engineering track)
• It was close, good feedback, but there are a LOT of submissions to the Software Engineering track…
• 2018 Presentation: API Security – A Grail Quest (Security track)
• Security track, fewer abstracts… and, I used Monty Python clips and analogies (humor)
• 2019 Presentation: Building a Service Delivery Infrastructure (Systems Engineering Track)
• A view on ‘DevOps’ – Asdo the first year that you could have a co-presenter. Pairing old and new 

21. 21#GHC20
Speak at GHC 20: General Tips
If you volunteer or speak
• Registration is free, but you are responsible for hotel and travel
• Hotels within walking distance of the convention center sell out VERY quickly
• If you like to network and enjoy a tech conference where you belong, stay for
the Friday Party (leave Saturday or Sunday, enjoy Orlando…)
If you are want to attend (otherwise)
• Registration sells out very quickly (in the first 24-48 hours)

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CFP Support and Encouragement:
9:30am – 10:15am, every other Sunday, Feb 22 – Mar 25
Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/5118596162
Email me if you’d like a calendar invite, or just drop in
Happy to proofread/review abstracts!
paula.paul@paulapaul.com
This slide deck is available at: https://www.slideshare.net/PaulaPaulSlides
#GHC20
Support for your CFP Submission

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Brainstorm & Q&A!
Thanks again to:
AvidXchange
QC Bytes
AnitaB.org
#GHC20