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Sandy Welfare / WIT   

Since 1992, Women in Technology has had a mission dedicated to promoting the advancement of women in Georgia’s technology community. Through the WIT Foundation, WIT also educates and encourages girls and young women to pursue careers in STEM.

Fela Strickland-Smith and Dara Solomon / Satori Interactive, LLC   

Fela Strickland-Smith is CEO and Managing Partner at Satori Interactive, LLC. where she is responsible for Satori’s day-to-day operations, as well as overseeing the company’s customer operations, marketing and strategic partnerships. Fela cofounded Satori Consulting, Inc with Dara Solomon in 2004 which was rebranded to Satori Interactive in 2012. Under her leadership Satori Interactive has dramatically scaled its infrastructure and diversified its product offerings while maintaining a strong culture of innovation.

From 2008 – 2012 Fela also served as an adjunct professor at the Art Institute of Atlanta’s department of Web Design and Interactive Media Design. She taught an introductory course in “Information Architecture” to Interactive Media Design students preparing for professional careers in interaction design, communication design, and web design.

Prior joining Satori Interactive, Fela held leadership roles across program/ project management, product development, IT services and User Experience strategy and research within leading fortune 500 corporations.

Fela earned her Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in Math and Computer Science from Virginia Union University. Originally from the Northeast, Fela resides in Atlanta with her husband and two children.

Dara Solomon is the COO and Managing Partner at Satori Interactive, LLC. In this role, Dara drives the User Experience Research, Strategy and Design direction for Satori Interactive. With over 15 years of experience in User Experience research and information architecture Dara is the leads the organization in delivering user-focused solutions through extensive research and knowledge in human factors, information architecture, market research, usability and design.

Dara has a demonstrated track record for implementing engaging solutions for Web sites, Web applications, mobile applications, and BI dashboard designs for both small and large companies in various industries.

She is a strong team builder and mentor who is skillful in managing and motivating employees to delivering innovative, insightful and high quality interactive user experiences. Dara has shared her experience with aspiring user research professional by teaching. Dara was a faculty member at The Art Institute of Atlanta (AiA) for 9 years, where she taught Introduction to HTML, Project Management, Information Architecture, Internet Marketing (includes Social Media and Search Engine Optimization) and a Usability course.

Dara holds a both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Industrial Engineering with a concentration in Human Factors from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. In addition to these degrees, she has also earned the Professional Researchers Certification (PRC) with Market Research Associates. Dara’s byline has appeared in numerous conference proceedings as well as journals.