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8. Amplifying Voices and Opportunities in Tech and Beyond with William A. Adams
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William A. Adams is a software engineering trailblazer, award-winning DEI innovator, and philanthropist. William has over 35 years of tech experience and has spent most of his career at Microsoft. Since starting in 1995, he’s been a big believer in being an intrapreneur and exploring passion projects within a company.
One example of his intrapreneurship in action was in 2015 when he co-founded the LEAP apprenticeship program at Microsoft. LEAP matches tech talent in coding academies and other non-collegiate programs with training opportunities at Microsoft. LEAP was named Microsoft's D&I Program of the Year in 2020 and 98% of the program participants have jobs in Microsoft or other high-tech companies.
Outside of Microsoft, William is dedicated to lifting up minority communities through technology. He coined the term ‘techquity’ and educates folks who are typically disadvantaged when it comes to building generational wealth on investing in tech. He’s the founder of The EV3NT, a collaborative, community-based hackathon designed to solve real-world civic, social, and environmental problems. William is also the driving force behind Microsoft’s new push into the U.S. Virgin Island and founder of Cruzan Global, a non-profit that provides seed funding and resources to tech startups that are founded in and benefit the Caribbean region.
Listen to today’s episode to hear more about William’s incredible career and how he’s making major changes in the tech industry.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, Simplecast, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Topics Covered:
- William’s dynamic ways of viewing the world and opportunities
- How he awakened his empathy during a 3-year work program in Hyderabad, India
- Incorporating different perspectives and cultures at Microsoft through the LEAP program
- How he built credibility at Microsoft in order to launch his own initiatives
- His leadership philosophy on elevating and developing the people he manages
- How he sees technology and the workforce changing in the next 20 to 30 years
- The importance of community growth and amplifying resources for everyone
About our guest:
Special Offers:
- If there’s a topic or charity you want me to highlight on the podcast, DM it to me on Instagram @getbusylivin_pod
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