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Leanne Pittsford

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Leanne Pittsford
Born1980 or 1981 (age 43–44)[1]
San Diego, California[2]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCalifornia Polytechnic State University (B.A.)
San Francisco State University (M.A.)
OccupationEntrepreneur
OrganizationLesbians Who Tech
SpousePia Carusone
Websiteleannepittsford.com

Leanne Pittsford[3] is an American entrepreneur. She is the founder of Lesbians Who Tech, a community of queer women and their allies in technology.[1][4]

Early life and education

Pittsford grew up in San Diego, California.[2][1] Being from a conservative family, she did not formally come out as a lesbian until the end of college.[2]

Pittsford attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, earning a bachelor's degree in political science. She went on to earn a master's degree in equity and social justice in education from San Francisco State University.[2]

Career

Pittsford began her career working for Equality California. At that time, the LGBTQ rights group was working to overturn Proposition 8 in California, which banned same-sex marriage in 2008.[1] She became head of operations for the organization.[5]

Pittsford co-founded the Lesbian Entrepreneur Mentoring Program. She was also the founder and CEO of Start Somewhere, a digital agency helping nonprofits and social enterprises.[5][6]

Pittsford founded Lesbians Who Tech in 2012, wanting to create more networking opportunities and increase visibility for lesbians and queer women.[3][1][7] The organization grew from 30 people at the first happy hour meeting in San Francisco[8] to over 15,000 queer women and allies in 33 cities in 2016.[2] The organization also hosts three annual conferences, and has created scholarships with the help of a grant from Marc Andreessen and Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen and a Kickstarter campaign.[2][9][10]

In August 2016, Pittsford organized the third annual LGBTQ Tech and Innovation Summit at the White House.[11] She also co-organized the summit in 2015.[12]

In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Pittsford was part of Nerdz4Hillary, a tech industry group campaigning for Hillary Clinton.[13][14]

Pittsford was recognized as a "soldier of social change... on the front lines of the culture wars" by San Francisco Magazine in 2015.[15] She was also recognized as one of "40 under 40" young business leaders in 2015 by the San Francisco Business Times.[16]

In 2017 Pittsford launched include.io, a recruiting platform for underrepresented technologists and recruiters.[17]

In 2019 Pittsford was recognised by Business Insider as one of the most powerful LGBTQ+ people in Tech.[18]

On Oct. 6, 2019, Pittsford was featured as a guest on the American LGBTQ+ podcast, Queery.

Personal life

Pittsford married Pia Carusone in June 2017.[19]

Selected publications

  • Leanne Pittsford (September 3, 2015). "Lesbians Who Tech". In Shevinsky, Elissa (ed.). Lean Out: The Struggle for Gender Equality in Tech and Start-Up Culture. OR Books. ISBN 9781939293879.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Julie Compton (August 4, 2016). "OutFront: Lesbians Who Tech Founder Invests in Diversity". NBC News. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Krystal Peak (June 10, 2016). "Lesbians Who Tech founder is out to shatter ceilings". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "15 Questions with Leanne Pittsford". CNN Money. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  4. ^ "Interview with Leanne Pittsford of Lesbians Who Tech". Model View Culture. May 14, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Khier Casino (October 11, 2015). "National Coming Out Day: 9 LGBT people who have made a difference in technology". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  6. ^ Melanie Barker (March 24, 2014). "Lesbians Who Tech". Curve. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  7. ^ "A Tech Conference Where Artificial Intelligence, Space Travel and Hula Hooping Come Together". Forbes. March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  8. ^ Denise Restauri (July 28, 2014). "Lesbians Who Tech, From Silicon Valley To The White House". Forbes. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  9. ^ Molly Brown (June 30, 2015). "The Andreessens just gave $250K to support LGBT groups in tech". GeekWire. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  10. ^ Jessica Guynn (May 4, 2016). "Groups to raise $200k for LGBTQ women coding scholarships". USA Today. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  11. ^ Ina Fried (August 24, 2016). "I joined a bunch of LGBT techies at the White House to help tackle some world-threatening problems". Recode. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  12. ^ David Hudson (August 11, 2015). "White House hosts LGBT tech and innovation summit". Gay Star News. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  13. ^ Erin Carson (September 28, 2016). "Calling all nerds: One venture capitalist wants you to support Clinton". CNET. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  14. ^ Michal Lev-Ram (September 28, 2016). "Silicon Valley Investor Dave McClure Rallies Nerds for Clinton". Fortune. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  15. ^ "Saluting 37 Soldiers of Social Change". San Francisco Magazine. November 19, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  16. ^ "40 Under 40 2015: Lesbians Who Tech founder changes the world while traveling through it". San Francisco Business Times. March 20, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  17. ^ "Homepage". Leanne Pittsford. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  18. ^ Leskin, Paige. "The 23 most powerful LGBTQ+ people in tech". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  19. ^ "Pia Carusone, Leanne Pittsford". The New York Times. June 25, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
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