Spotlight: Allison Garrett
Each month we spotlight a woman or girl in tech who inspires us. This month we are highlighting Allison Garrett, a digital designer and marketer. She is currently working on creating an education ecosystem called Radify Labs that helps students learn technical skills through a project based curriculum.
What was your pathway to working in technology? My pathway to working in technology started in college at UVA when I joined HackCville. HackCville is a local non-profit which helps students learn tech skills and I joined when I decided to take a class on graphic design. Joining HackCville completely changed my college experience because it got me interested in tech and through HackCville I was able pursue freelance graphic design projects and teach other UVA students and community members graphic design and digital media.
How do you work with technology today? I work with technology through freelance graphic design and marketing projects, through developing curricula which help students learn tech skills like graphic design and digital marketing, and through helping to promote growth at Radify Labs with my founding partners Andy Page and Yash Tekriwal (making websites, working with our Marketing Manager Matthew Quan, and creating branding).
What drives your interest in technology? I think technology is so powerful because it helps designers to create ways to experience and interact with brands digitally. Having a digital presence is so important to a brand's success today and keeping up with the latest innovations in tech can help designers to facilitate a brand's success.
Why is it important to get more girls and women interested in technology? It is so important to get more girls and women interested in technology because learning about technology can help girls and women pursue careers in a quickly growing industry. I also believe that learning about technology can help girls and women to feel empowered. Learning digital design and digital marketing has helped to build my own confidence and through Radify Labs I want to be able to help other women to build their own confidence through learning technical skills like graphic design, digital marketing, data science, web design, and more.
Who inspires you to pursue your passion? My brother and sister-in-law, they are developers and designers who have started their own design firm called Copper Note in Richmond, Va. They inspire me because they are both designers and entrepreneurs, working together to pursue their shared passion.
What most excites you about the future of technology? What excites me most about the future of technology is the ability to create designs with empathy in mind. I think technology will continue to evolve to allow designers to create designs for everyone.
What advice would you give to your younger self? I would tell my younger self to not be afraid of technology. When I was growing up I was always interested in art and media, but I shied away from using technology to pursue these passions because it was intimidating to me and I think a lot of girls and women may share a similar experience.
