Events Roundup: Fill your August calendar with Slack AMAs, pitch events and IRL hiring fairs

Events Roundup is a Technical.ly column where we highlight events happening in the Philly area each month. Got a submission? Email us the details so we can consider it for our next roundup.

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It’s hard to think we’ll be saying the unofficial goodbye to summer at the end of this month, but what about time in 2021 feels normal?

This month’s events offer a mix of what we like to see out of August: a bit of a slower pace, while looking ahead to the rest of the year. Even though most of us have been out of school for a while, the end of summer still feels like a new chapter. This month, check out an art exhibit visualizing COVID-19 or a job fair, or swing by one of Technical.ly’s Slack AMAs, a Q&A series with technologists from around the mid-Atlantic. You can also check out a Pennovation Center pitch day, a resume revamp event, or a session on flex work as the future.

We’re still seeing a mix of in-person and virtual events, as we likely will for the rest of the year, but if you do head out somewhere IRL, quick reminder: The City of Philadelphia is recommending that you wear a mask indoors again for everyone, regardless of your vaccination status.

Read on!

Technologist Slack AMAs with Technical.ly reporters

Throughout this month (and likely beyond), Technical.ly reporters from Philly (hi!), Baltimore, D.C., Delaware and Pittsburgh are hosting AMAs — that’s “ask me anything” — with local technologists and meetup organizers. To pop into a session, sign up for our public Slack and check out the #ama channel. Peep this recap of a conversation I had with former Gopuff Director of Engineering Nico Westerdale a few weeks ago and tune into upcoming convos:

• On Thursday, Aug. 5, reporters Michaela Althouse and Michael Butler will chat with local and national Code for America leaders about what’s changed for them in the last year and what kinds of projects groups have been working on lately.
• Then on Tuesday, Aug. 10, editor Stephen Babcock will be joined by Dan Lee, the CEO of Baltimore-based startup Dentuit Imaging, who will discuss his path to becoming a founder, and building AI-powered technology for dentistry.
• Thursday, Aug. 12 will see a conversation between Butler and Dr. Kristin Austin, the West Chester-based director of I.D.E.As. (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access) for women-in-tech nonprofit Rewriting the Code.
• Toward the end of the month, on Thursday, Aug. 26, Holly Quinn and I will lead a discussion with women-in-tech meetup organizers from across the mid-Atlantic.

Join the #ama channel and keep your eyes out for others to come with a focus on JavaScript, data science and more.

Join the Technical.ly Slack

BioArt Socius Opening Reception

Local artist Rebecca Rutstein will be unveiling her work completed during a three-month BioArt Residency at life sciences company Integral Molecular in a solo exhibition at the University City Science Center’s Esther Klein Gallery. Rutstein’s work is a micro and macro look at the spread of COVID-19 within a human’s body and within communities. Her work in large-scale paintings, work on paper, sculptures, and light and sound instillations explores data sets from Philadelphia and beyond, and documents vaccine efficacy and racial inequities in access to health care.

• Thursday, Aug. 5
• 5 to 7:30 p.m.
• Free to attend; exhibit will run through Sept. 23

https://www.instagram.com/p/CR4kKemDm-T/

City Hall Connectors: Commerce Director Michael Rashid

The City Hall Connectors series by the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia seeks to improve the city’s business atmosphere and promote inclusive growth by providing space for business leaders and city officials to connect. This conversation with Rashid will focus on business attraction, retention and job growth, as well as the department’s work with PIDC and the Center City District to secure lease renewals and solve other challenges created by the pandemic.

• Monday, Aug. 16
• 1 to 2 p.m.
• Free for Chamber members; register here

PA CareerLink in-person hiring event

PA CareerLink’s Summer Hiring Series includes four IRL job fairs featuring positions at a wide range of industries. This one, hosted in North Philadelphia, will cover info about upcoming training opportunities, and connection to community resources. Masks will be required.

• Tuesday, Aug. 17
• 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Free; register here
• PA CareerLink North Philadelphia — 4261 N. Fifth St.

Championing Flexibility for an Evolving Workforce

The Chamber of Commerce is hosting this virtual event for its middle-market companies — that’s companies with $10 million to $1 billion in annual revenue — to discuss how flexible workplaces can be highly effective workplaces. The event will focus on how leadership can lead team-building practices and create a culture that encourages flexibility for its employees.

“As in-person business is reestablished, leadership needs to play a key role in supporting and modernizing their flexible work options in order to attract and retain talent,” the event page reads.

• Tuesday, Aug. 17
• 1 to 2 p.m.
• Free for Middle Market Chamber members; register here

Pennovation Eco-Impact Accelerator Pitch Day

This virtual pitch day will feature six companies from Pennovation’s Eco-Impact accelerator. These startups all create products or technologies that have a positive impact on the environment and address problems relating to sustainability, energy production, climate change and the like. After six weeks of the program, the companies are pitching their products or solutions to mentors, peers and investors.

• Thursday, Aug. 19
• 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Free; register here

How to build a strong resume

This in-person resume workshop will take place during the Science Center’s weekly Venture Cafe gathering. Dive into best practices for creating resumes these days, how to get it to stand out, and go over the do’s and don’ts. The workshop will also dedicate time to building a creative design portfolio.

• Thursday, Aug. 19
• 5 to 6 p.m.
• Free; register here