International Women's Day Forum 2026
BY INVITATION ONLY
Join toTech2Step and YWCA Tech Connect for an afternoon of bold conversation and community connection as we mark International Women’s Day 2026 with the theme "Break the Pattern".
This year, we are called to interrupt cycles that have kept too many women and newcomers navigating invisibility, exclusion, and survival mode. Break the Pattern is about building new systems of visibility, value, and voice. It is about shifting from access to influence, from coping to leading, and from isolation to collective strength.
The forum features two keynote speakers: Rose-Ann Myrie and Nadine Stille who will share how mentorship, leadership, and ecosystem design can reshape professional pathways for women+, immigrants, and those often underestimated.
This gathering will also mark the finale and community celebration of Step Together, Tech2Step’s mentorship program. Our first cohort completed guided one-on-one mentorship focused on strengthening career clarity, confidence, and professional networks. We will celebrate their growth, reflections, and next steps.
Expect meaningful dialogue, shared learning, and a space grounded in community. Together, we break patterns and build better ones.
Program
2:30-3:00 pm Registration and light refreshments
3:00-4:00 pm Forum
4:00-4:20 pm Networking
4:20-4:30 pm Raffle and Closing Remarks
Keynote Speakers
Rose-Ann Myrie is a Senior Project & Portfolio Manager at the City of Surrey. She is a technology leader and mentor who champions resilience, growth, and the power of starting again.
With over 20 years of experience leading complex digital transformation and enterprise initiatives across municipal and provincial government, higher education, banking, retail, and hospitality sectors, she brings a calm, grounded, and people-centred approach to leadership and change.
Born in Jamaica and immigrating to Canada in 2011, her journey of rebuilding a career in a new country shaped her passion for mentorship, advocacy, and supporting skilled immigrants as they create thriving professional and personal lives.
Guided by values of integrity, curiosity, and empowerment through education, she speaks about leadership, reinvention, mental well-being, and the courage it takes to grow through uncertainty — inspiring others to step into their potential with confidence and purpose.
Nadine Stille helps tech professionals stop letting life happen to them and treat their lives like it's the most anticipated new release of the year.
With 15+ years of corporate experience and coaching leaders of Fortune 100 companies globally, Nadine understands the grind. She partners with her clients to implement radical joy, self-acceptance, and confidence as the ultimate "system updates."
By redirecting the obsession usually reserved for favorite artists, movies, games, or books, she helps you create a life you secretly cannot stop fangirling over and celebrate. When she’s not embracing ‘Happily Ever Afters’ in fiction and real life, you’ll find her chasing her two little ones with a coffee in one hand and cake in the other.
Let’s fangirl together and join the Fangirl Your Life Newsletter Community: www.FangirlYourLife.com