MILWAUKEE — On Monday, MKE Tech Week kicked off downtown.
Members of Milwaukee’s tech community gathered to celebrate the start of the festivities.
Its kickoff event, Meet the Meetups, allowed professionals to mingle. The event is the first of 50 virtual, hybrid and in-person events across the Milwaukee region.
“It’s these kinds of things that start to realize all the things that are going to move us forward into the future," said Kathy Henrich, CEO of the Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition.
The host organization, Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition, began with just six members in 2019. Now there's over 100.
“Oh my gosh, it’s so energizing to see the group come together, that has worked together for the last two years, and really now seeing each other in person," Henrich said.
The organization allows people like Erica Conway to help connect potential employees with that next job or contract.
“We want to make sure freelancers are supported with benefits and business tools and choose the projects that best fit them,” said Conway, founder of C2 Staffing.
Rashi Khosla, founder of Mars Solutions, uses her platform to help women find their space in the field. She looks forward to supercharging her efforts through the week.
“Our focus is gender diversity in tech. We understand there are 25 percent of women that are represented in technology, and women were also unfairly impacted through COVID in terms of quitting jobs or losing workforce,” Khosla said.
Henrich said tech in Milwaukee is rapidly growing and invites anyone to check out this week’s festivities.
“It’s already 80,000 tech employees, it’s 9 and a half of our economy, so it's already a strong base,” she said.
