Interview by Jonathan Kersting
What can happen when one person gives you the encouragement to take the next step?
For Geeta Tahiliani, a simple connection to RedChair Pittsburgh helped change the trajectory of her career and eventually inspired her to help other women find their own path forward.
TechVibe Radio sits down with Kelly Fetick, Geeta Tahiliani and Sunnie Fenk for a conversation about the power of mentorship, community and creating opportunities for women in technology.
Geeta shares her journey from discovering RedChair almost by accident to earning scholarships that connected her with executive coaching, new perspectives and a stronger sense of where she wanted to take her career. Along the way, Sunnie became one of the people encouraging her to apply, get involved and keep pushing forward.
The conversation also previews RedChair Pittsburgh’s annual event on October 20 at Robert Morris University, built this year around the theme “The Power of Partnership.” The event will explore how mentors, allies and professional relationships can shape careers and lives.
Tune in to hear how:
Mentorship can unlock opportunities you may not see for yourself.
RedChair scholarships are helping women navigate critical mid-career transitions.
Professional communities can combat isolation and create real, lasting connections.
One act of encouragement can ripple outward as the person being helped becomes a mentor to someone else.
It’s a conversation about careers, confidence, community and what becomes possible when someone believes you should take the next step.
The Pittsburgh Technology Council produces TechVibe to explore Pittsburgh's technology and innovation ecosystem.
Transcript:
Red Chair
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[00:00:00] It just brought a, such a different perspective and changed my trajectory for good. And I felt more motivated to help the younger generation who may be lost like I am or I was at that time
Welcome everybody. This is Jonathan Kersting with the Pittsburgh Technology Council, bringing you Tech Vibe, . Today is about something that is really near and dear to my heart and the Tech Council's heart, and that is getting more women engaged in technology.
For, decades we've been looking at the numbers, and they don't always get better. We think with, as time goes on, we would see more women in tech. After all, you're 50% of the population here. We want you to be, like, representing here- ... in the tech community, but it's a really tough battle.
But there's an organization, Red Chair Pittsburgh, that is fighting the good fight and doing some tremendous work to really help women go to their next stage of excellence and accomplishment. And we're talking about their big event they do every single [00:01:00] year happening on October the 20th at Robert Morris University
And I'm gonna be the emcee, which I am so excited about. Yeah. Yeah, exciting. Exciting. So excited, yes. So we gotta nerd out about what's going on. But more importantly, I cannot wait to hear Gita's story about what she's doing. She's gonna be on one of my panels, and of course we have Sunny Fink here and Kelly Fedick.
You guys have been like the heart and soul of so much what Red Chair does. And there are so many people aligned with Red Chair, which is amazing. It's like the who's who, and that's men and women in Pittsburgh's tech industry. Absolutely. Yeah. So I'm so glad to have you guys here in the Huntington Bank Studios.
We're happy to be here. Thank you. Because like I said, I want this to be a smashing success. I quick introduction real fast just so everyone knows who's who and what's what.
Geeta, start with you and what you're doing at FedEx. Yeah, sure. So hi, everyone. My name is Gita Tahliani. I am a senior product manager at FedEx. Currently with my role I am doing a lot of things. One is the digital transformation and digital modernization. I have been a computer engineer. I am a computer engineer.
[00:02:00] Yeah. And then I moved into more client-facing roles as a c- consultant, Salesforce consultant, and then finally decided to bridge that gap and do, take a step forward and do my master's in information management and data science from Syracuse University. And that led me here as a- Love it
senior product manager at FedEx, and I'm loving it here so far. We're glad you're here doing what you're doing. Simple as that. So Kelly, come on, you're no stranger to the Huntington Bank Studios.
So I'm Kelly Fedick. I am the president of Landis Consulting Group. We are a technology, staffing, and recruiting firm here in Pittsburgh. We've been in business now for going on, it'll be 10 years in November, wow. What? 10 years?
Yeah, 10 years. Congratulations. And if there's one face that's associated with Pittsburgh's tech sector is Sunny Fink. Sunny,
I see you everywhere because you are doing so much. My name is Sunny Fink. I am the operations supervisor at Solutions for Networks. We are an IT consulting company in P- located in Pittsburgh, but we do span across to the Midwest, yeah, I'm so excited to be here. And you guys have been, I [00:03:00] think, how long with Red Chair for? I think since inception probably, like- Ugh. Yeah, and I've been involved, in some capacity, probably eight or nine years. That's awesome. I've been on the board for six years. Okay. I've been on the board for two now, okay. Yeah. Excellent. Very cool. Real fast, just the elevator pitch for what Red Chair does. You do a lot of different things. Tell us some of the key things you do to make your mission happen, getting more women into tech, or who are in tech going to the next level. Yeah. So we've been around, I think this, this will be our 12th annual event this year.
Amazing. So it's at least that long. I think I almost remember the first one too. Yeah. It's oh my God. So yeah, 12 years goes by quickly. Yeah it's crazy. Yes. It's crazy. So we're a completely volunteer-led organization- ... made possible by the support of our sponsors. We promote and create opportunity for women in technology.
So we focus in the mid-career sector. But I think the biggest, our biggest, one of our biggest programs is our scholarship focus. Oh, yeah. Yes. And I think Gita can probably tell us a little bit more 'cause she's actually one of our scholarship winners. Oh, cool. This year. This year. All right.
Yeah. Yeah. And a panelist. And a panelist. Yeah, and a panelist. Yeah. So it's exciting. And then I think this year we gave 40 scholarships [00:04:00] alone, which I think was a record. Wow. Is that what it was? Yeah. Yeah, 40. I'm sorry, 40 of them. 40, yeah. Wow. That's amazing. Wow. Yeah, across nine different programs. We brought in some cool new ones, so trying to keep it fresh.
And then of course, this is the big event. This is kinda like your your crowning event that really puts the focus on Red Share. It's a big fundraiser for you guys. Yes. And really what I love most about is it's just everyone's kinda coming together to just show the good vibes and just get that momentum going for the coming year.
Yeah. 'Cause this is- ... hard work that you guys do, and it's kinda thankless sometimes, 'cause you're troving away at it. This is a great time to celebrate, but also get to learn from our panel discussion that we're gonna have- Yes ... this year. Yes. And I'm very excited about this year, 'cause I am guaranteeing a two-joke minimum.
Yeah, we'll see. Yes, absolutely. Or everybody gets their money back. We expect nothing less from you, Todd. So I'm gonna have to perform for you guys. Guys, it's gonna be pretty amazing, on the big night, though, we have a panel discussion coming up, and tell us about what we're gonna be experiencing, 'cause I want people to come out here- ... and meet new people. I want people to come out there- Yeah ... and learn, and just have some good vibes as far as that goes. But the panel, I think, is kinda like the center- of some of this to a huge degree. It is. So tell [00:05:00] us about, again, and I think some of the story kinda goes between Sunny's relationship with Gita here as well, too- Yeah. ... with mentoring- So- ... and things like that. Right so our theme is the power of partnership. We wanna focus on how mentors and allies really impact our lives, both professionally and personally.
And we don't wanna forget about the men who have impacted our lives as well. So on the panel, we will have pairs of men and women who the, the woman will bring the man as her mentor or ally. Okay. Yeah. Then there's one pair that will be two women together as well, because- Excellent
that's also important. Yeah, no, 100%. Yeah. We're really looking forward to it. It's gonna, I think we're gonna hear great stories, and it's gonna be very motivational- Yeah ... and very inspirational. Exactly. I hope something that people take from it is that if there's someone that has lots of experience- And they're like, they wanna find a way to kinda give back.
If they can find a way to connect in and maybe become a mentor for somebody- so Geeta, tell us a little bit about your story. Obviously you went through the through the the scholarship program and how did this impact you?
I know Sunny gave us a little story before we hit record here, and I was like, "We should have captured that." I know. You were great. 'Cause [00:06:00] it was really, it really I think goes to show you the heart and soul- Yeah ... of what goes on with Red Chair, that you have people who are super busy like Sunny, but they find time to, say they see someone that like maybe needs a little push- Yeah
a little help, a little encouragement, and they're like- ... "We're gonna do that." So tell us about that. Yeah, absolutely. I got involved with Red Chair, I was working with one of my organizations and I saw this red chair literally sitting in- ... middle of like our room. Yeah. I'm like, "What the hell's this?"
And that got me curious. Yes. What is that? And I saw a name I saw an email address, and I just reached out. Okay. And they were like, "Oh, by the way, we are sponsors." I'm like, "Perfect." So now that COVID hit just after that- okay ... and so everything went virtual.
Luckily, or fortunately for me I would say, I, they still held something on virtually and I got to meet these so many people online. I think there was like 100 plus people- Really? ... who were- Wow. Wow ... there online for that event. And [00:07:00] because I just signed up for a newsletter And here I am.
That, so that's my inception of the story with Red Chair. Okay. Yeah. So you got connected to it, and you, so you see something there. Yeah. You're like, "Hey, okay." And then after that I was like, okay, there are, like, these so many women in this particular space who I did not know exist, A, because I was new- to Pittsburgh that time. Okay. And it was COVID. I was not meeting anybody. Oh, lord. Yeah. So this was my time to really connect when, especially you didn't want, everything with restrictions and everything, you were not able to connect and feel that need. I felt this was the perfect space which I wanted to explore.
So I did some of these events, and then obviously when you are doing something virtually, it phases out, but they brought this back again, the scholarship, and somehow I kept it till the last 'cause I was not confident. I was like, "I don't know if I'm worth it," Oh my goodness ... for that scholarship.
Oh, I hate hearing things like that. It's oh- My God, you are- ... you're more than good enough. Oh, okay. [00:08:00] So then finally, on that last day, I somehow get a message from Sunny, 'cause I let one year go by, and then I see all these beautiful women have their names there, with winners. I was like, "I could have been there.
I don't know if I tried." Yeah. And I don't know, fortunately- Sunny reached out to me the following year. Okay. And just "Hey, I think you should know that there is a scholarship deadline. You should apply." And I was contesting whether I should or should not, and finally I just, because it was the last day, I was like, "Okay I have these notes already in my, you know- description- Yeah ... and everything stored. Let me try it." And when the winners got announced, I didn't e- I did not even know that I was w- a winner. My previous boss from my previous company, she tagged me in that post, "Congratulations, Geeta." You were like, "What?" I was like- Wow ... "What just happened?" Oh, my goodness.
I love it. And that was it. That [00:09:00] changed my trajectory from one perception- Yeah ... to another. It did. Oh, my goodness. That's so- The scholarship with I had, I don't remember the specific name, but it was with, The Braver? ... Laura, Oh ... Laura Friedman. Yes. And- Wow ... that was a therapy session for real. Oh, my good- Yeah.
So tell us about this. What did- Oh, my gosh ... what did you learn through this? Oh, yes. What, this is- It was our executive coaching. Yeah.
Yes. With Laura Friedman. Gotcha. Okay. She's just- Very, oh, yeah ... phenomenal. That's amazing. That's amazing. She's amazing. She just won the Athena Award. She just won the Athena Award. Yeah. She did. Yes. Oh, my God. She's the best. That, she is the best. And so that executive coaching I applied for, I don't know, two of them, and I was like, "Really?
I got it?" So I got that, and when I went to these sessions, I think there were, like, three or four sessions, I don't recollect. But that one hour was literally her hearing me out on what I wanna talk about. And I wen- went with some agenda in mind okay, I want to [00:10:00] focus on these professional goals.
I want to focus on the professional goals will impact my personal life. Because there are so many things we forget, right? There is work, and then there is life, but sometimes they go hand-in-hand. Oh, they're not that. They're one big thing that's- Yeah. Like they are. Yes. They're both P. That's why we do what we do.
Try pulling that apart. I dare you. So I was trying to figure out being, stuck in the mid-career phase "What's my next step? How should I progress it? How should I approach it? Who should I be talking to? How do I even mention this to my peers, to my colleagues, to my bosses? This is where I want to go."
"And maybe I am lost. Can you guide me?" So really looking for that mentorship, the guidance. I think- Every word what I speak out, she heard it, and she gave me first it was, like, just hearing me out, and then she broke it down. "Okay, [00:11:00] now this is what you said. Let's focus on these things."
"Because these are the main three things you spoke about. Now we'll talk about it." So that one session was that. So it- Wow ... felt like a therapy session. She is amazing. And I did not even know that I was talking all of this- ... until she was like, "Okay, let's break it down, and let's- Yeah ... bring these to the attention, 'cause I feel these are your focus points." Yeah. "This is where you wanna go." And I did not even know I was saying all these things, so- That's amazing
I felt that was amazing. It just brought a, such a different perspective and changed my trajectory for good, and I felt more motivated to help the younger generation who may be lost like I am or I was at that time. I reached out. The first thing I was like, "Okay, I wanna help out to the younger generation," people maybe in school or in, just getting out of college.
She's like, "No worries." She [00:12:00] just, the, you know- ... emailed somebody. Wow. She's she wants to, help out, and that was it. Amazing. Now I'm- Amazing ... with that I can- Isn't that amazing how one meeting with somebody- yeah ... can really change the direction of where you are going? In a direction.
And she wouldn't have found that person if it wasn't for what Red Chair does. That's it. And the fact that you have this very stark red chair sitting in places, it catches someone's attention. Yeah. They see it. You get curious. And you just, she went down, and this wasn't something- ... that happened in the course of a couple weeks.
This was , a multi-year journey for you- It... yeah ... to get to that point- Yeah ... which I think is just amazing. And and now you've really made some changes in your careers. You were telling me that you're more on the f- the facing side the customer side of things. But I just think that's so cool that you're able to now actually make some changes in your career to- ... to guide it in the way. I know so many people that can be like, "I'm just gonna be coding, and that's what I'm gonna keep doing," and- Yeah.
... You kinda get stuck in that mentality, and I feel like this helped break you out of that a little bit. Yeah. So that's really cool. Yeah. Yeah. Yay. Absolutely. And you're a winner this year too. Yes. So this year was another story- Okay ... for, so- Somehow I don't get these notifications on LinkedIn, and they are lost [00:13:00] because I follow so many powerful women-
In technology in Pittsburgh area itself. Yeah. It was just lost. So I did not know when the deadlines were, and then somehow this angel comes to me. Like s- I got introduced to, I got, got introduced to Sunny in that f- during COVID. Yeah. When I was like, "Okay, this is a person I wanna keep in touch," 'cause that aura was very different.
I have met so many women, but A, having somebody in power and at the same time being so humble is so refreshing. Wow. Man, geez. I know, right? So that was- I didn't pay her to say that. Oh, yeah. Okay. I believe you. I think that is where even I see myself helping the younger generation. And- That's what I wanted to ask you about- Yeah
'cause I feel like this is something that- ... you're gonna be in this position now where I feel like you could help so many people- ... who are just starting out. Yeah. And so I just, I see the goodness just scaling around. Yeah. Which is why, this is why I think this event is so important. It is. Yeah.
Because this
is our moment to really [00:14:00] have a lot of people see this in a room, and get people saying, "I wanna be a mentor," or, "I didn't know I could be a mentor." Yeah. Yes. And so we can bring the chocolate and the peanut butter together here- ... and do some good stuff. Yeah. So yeah. Absolutely. And this year it was an ex- it was a retreat for women, and we were, like, around eight women who came together with the Brave Women project.
That was the scholarship with Holly. I went with, again "Oh, I'm this baddie who's gonna you know- ... kill it. Every- I'm gonna impress everybody" in that eight, people who are gonna be there. Yeah. All the eight other participants. In the first hours itself, we all broke down. We're in tears- Oh my goodness.
Geez ... sharing our life, bonding. Yeah. I've heard such good things. Oh my God. So Holly is amazing. Two different experiences, two different sides of the story, but each and both of them equally so great and so important. Yeah. 'Cause here we are, like now [00:15:00] I wouldn't say, but it is trauma bonding. Like, all the eight- Trauma bonding at Red Chair.
But we are all of these eight participants, we are like within the first hour itself, we've bonded somehow. I don't know how she made it happen. But we were talk- She's amazing. She's amazing. Magical, yes. She made us talk about things which I was not prepared to talk.
And I was not- Wow, she's got some power here. She does. I'm calling her as well too. I got two phone calls I gotta make after this, so yes. And that made me understand why we have this napkins kept there, and we're like, "Oh my God." Really, so- You had the heavy duty Kleenex going on then, yeah.
Yeah. You're like mopping up the tears, it was amazing. And then, real- understanding that I'm not alone in this journey- very important ... but there are so many other women- Yeah ... along with me who are equally motivated, equally passionate of what they do. But at the same time, equally stuck, or maybe not, or they just ha- they just need a slight push or a [00:16:00] direction or a guidance.
So I think that these scholarships really help the, like women like me who are trying to see what is the next step in their guide or in their path, in their career path, and how can we be helped to take that next step. Yeah. Because, A, we are, A, to maybe we feel that we're not good enough, or maybe we feel that, oh, there are better people out there, we'll never get that opportunity.
Or B, three, maybe we just, some of them are afraid to take that next step. 100%, yeah. And they're very comforted and compliant with whatever they have. So I feel it could be various reasons but I just feel that this two years has been so transformational for me in the sense of what I want to do with my life as well.
Yeah, I know. Wow. Not just career only. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, no. Yeah. Yeah. It, this actually transcends just the career- Yeah. Yeah ... 'cause it, 'cause as I, I think as we mentioned, like- careers are so much of just our life as well, too. Yeah. That's the holiday and [00:17:00] age is, and so when you're impacting that, it's gonna impact that, but I think this goes even deeper than that.
Yeah. And Gita, when I see you speaking from the heart like this- ... seriously, no, this makes me- No ... really excited for the event. You have me extra fired up now. It's gonna be a three-joke minimum now. I'm raising it up because of that. But this just goes to show you how impactful this organization is, and the work that Sunny does, and the work that Kelly does, and all the folks that volunteer and put their time and resources into this, is really making a difference here.
They are amazing- Yeah ... what they all do. They are. So thank you. Life- Life is so different when you have that, when you have the circle of women around you that are supporting you, that you can lean on, and during difficult times- Yeah. Oh, yeah ... and the challenges. And when you, when something great happens, they are right there celebrating with you.
Yes. That's what it's all about. Celebrating. True. It just makes a complete difference- Yeah ... in your whole entire life. It's everything. I think so much of the important part goes to knowing you got people around you. I think it's very, it's v- this world can be very isolating. For as much- Oh, absolutely
technology and connect as that we have- yes. ... I still think it's really easy to feel isolated, especially coming out of- ... cOVID when you went through these [00:18:00] things. But the idea that this organization realizes there's real life people who have been there and done that- ... that wanna help you succeed- ... come on, man. That's what it's all about. That's what it's all about. That's why we're gonna have a great time- Yes. Yes ... at this event. Yeah. We're gonna make sure that we get as many people fired up- Yeah ... and ready to go, and just have a great time, and just make a night to celebrate, and learn about people's experiences like yours, Gita- Yeah.
... And see what happens from there. Yeah. Can't wait. Fun, fun stuff. Fun stuff. So looking forward to it. I dare you guys, come on out on the 20th of October. It's gonna be a great night, tons of fun, three-joke minimum. Gita's there. Sunny's gonna be there. Kelly's gonna be there.
So guys, thank you once again for hanging out with me right here in the Huntington Bank Studios. This is why we have this space, to tell stories- Yeah
just like this. Everyone, thanks for tuning in. Thanks, Tom. Thank you. It's been Jonathan Kersting. You guys are awesome, man. I'll see you at the event, everybody. Great. Woo! See you there. Get your tickets. Bye, everybody. All right. I gotta be sash my tuxedo first.