Google’s Women Techmakers launched a Baltimore chapter

There’s always room for one more meetup in Baltimore. At least, that’s what Kristie Callander thinks.
Callander is leading the Baltimore chapter of Google’s Women Techmakers which hosted its first event last night. The group is an offshoot of Girl Develop It Baltimore. Callander, a UX/UI Designer at at FEI Systems in Columbia, previously worked at AOL where she found a network of supportive women.
“We had a “Lean In” group based on the Sheryl Sandberg book,” she said. “We met once a month and really created a sisterhood.”
She hopes to create a similar atmosphere with Women TechMakers and wants to be inclusive of all women in technology. She said there need to be more venues where women talk to one another and celebrate each others’ wins.
“What’s unique about this group is that we’re not supporting a specific technology or career path,” Callander said. “Really we are focusing on supporting all women in technology.”
The first event featured Sarah Jennings, creative director at OATH (formerly AOL), and a talk on rapid prototyping.
After publicizing Wednesday’s event at Technical.ly’s Super MeetUp last week, Callander said a few men showed interest and will be attending the first gathering. But the next one will be ladies only.
“At the second meetup we are focusing on pay equality, how to get the job you want, and will be having a roundtable discussion with 2 female recruiters,” she said.