Being the “Only” in the Workplace: How to Maintain Morale & Momentum on Your Leadership Journey

Susanne Kaufmann
Joanna Vargas
Susanne Kaufmann, Joanna Vargas
Being the “Only” in the Workplace: How to Maintain Morale & Momentum on Your Leadership Journey

Being the “only” in the room can be distressing. Whether you’re the only woman, the only non-binary person, the only native Spanish speaker, the only Black person, the only man, or the only one over 40, being the only can create feelings of isolation and exhaustion — eventually taking a steep...

Being the “only” in the room can be distressing. Whether you’re the only woman, the only non-binary person, the only native Spanish speaker, the only Black person, the only man, or the only one over 40, being the only can create feelings of isolation and exhaustion — eventually taking a steep psychological toll.

But we’ve got promising news. One doesn’t have to be the loneliest number.

Susanne Kaufmann, Director of Software Engineering, and Joanna Vargas, Design Program Manager at Dropbox, will join us for a live Q&A to share their experiences navigating the tech industry as onlies. They’ll get real about how they piloted tough times and remained motivated by creating space for themselves and the next ones in line.

We’ll discuss:

  • How to make a seat for yourself at the table as an only
  • Ways to navigate leadership and nurture your career development
  • The importance of fostering a growth mindset
  • The pivotal role networking plays
  • Tips to weather challenging times + boost team morale

Meet The Speakers

Susanne Kaufmann
Susanne Kaufmann
Director of Engineering, Dropbox

Susanne has led teams that shaped the developer experience, managed a year-long data center move with zero disruptions, created experiences for their largest Enterprise customers, and bootstrapped the creation of their 0 -1 products — over four years as a senior leader at Dropbox.

In her current role as Director of Engineering, she is responsible for delivering the next great version of their Desktop product used by the vast majority of their customers daily to get their most important work done.

Joanna Vargas
Joanna Vargas
Community Design Program Manager, Dropbox

As the Community Design Program Manager at Dropbox, Joanna owns strategic community programs supporting design as a craft and operations as a discipline.

She’s at her best when solving creative problems and cracking jokes. Her role is dedicated to building joy, connection, and belonging for the wider team of 200+ researchers, product, brand, and content designers.

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