October 31, 2025 • 39 mins
Julie Smithson, Karen Alexander, and Sophia Moshasha are the co-founders of XR Women, a groundbreaking organization celebrating five years of empowering women in extended reality. What started as a pandemic-era virtual meetup has evolved into a global movement spanning 60+ countries with 1,500 members and nearly 240 consecutive weekly immersive events in the metaverse.
Key Takeaways:
- Consistency Builds Community: XR Women has produced nearly 240 consecutive weekly immersive events—not Zoom calls, but full avatar experiences in virtual worlds—creating an unparalleled space for learning and collaboration in spatial computing.
- Global Impact from Day One: Within months of launching, XR Women attracted members from around the world. The community now spans 60+ countries with 4-9 different nations represented at every weekly event, demonstrating the universal hunger for inclusive XR education and connection.
- Five Pillars of Impact: XR Women operates on five core pillars—Leadership, Education, Innovation, Collaboration, and Impact—which guide everything from weekly programming to student chapters, showcasing how structured values drive organic community growth.
- Learning by Doing: The founders emphasize that mastering emerging technology requires constant experimentation. By hosting events across multiple metaverse platforms weekly, they've built expertise in large-scale virtual production that doesn't exist elsewhere in the industry.
- Newly Minted 501(c)(3): XR Women recently achieved nonprofit status, opening doors for expanded programming, partnerships, government collaboration, and educational initiatives including student chapters in Kenya and beyond.
Throughout November 2025, XR Women is celebrating "The Power of Five" with special events highlighting their five pillars, showcasing speakers from their 240+ event archive, and demonstrating the behind-the-scenes magic of producing weekly events across multiple metaverse platforms.
The organization proves that consistent, values-driven community building creates lasting impact. By showing up weekly for five years, by prioritizing education and collaboration over competition, and by building an inclusive space where expertise is shared freely, XR Women has created something rare: a genuinely global community advancing an entire industry.
A "glow up" signifies a positive transformation, reflecting the journey of becoming a better, more successful version of oneself.
At The Tech Glow Up, we humanize the startup and innovation landscape by focusing on the essential aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. Groundbreaking ideas are often ahead of their time, making resilience and perseverance vital for founders and product leaders.
In our podcast, we engage with innovators to discuss their transformative ideas, the challenges they face, and how they create value for future success.
If you're a founder or product leader seeking your own glow up, or a seasoned entrepreneur with stories to share, we invite you to join our guest list via this link.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sophia Moshasha (00:00):
XR Women isn't just a community.
A movement, redefining how weshow up, learn and lead in the
metaverse.
Karen Alexander (00:09):
XR Women isn't just a community, it's a
movement.
Redefining how we show up, learnand lead in the metaverse.
Julie Smithson (00:18):
XR Women isn't just a community, it's a
movement redefining how we showup, learn and lead in the
metaverse.
Nathan C (2) (00:26):
Hello and welcome to a very special episode of The
Tech Glow Up.
I'm Nathan C, Today I'm talkingwith the leaders of XR women.
We're gonna talk about the powerof five years of XR women and
how they're igniting the future.
XR women, thank you for joiningme.
Karen Alexander (00:44):
Thanks for having
Julie Smithson (00:45):
Excited to be here.
Nathan C (2) (00:46):
Amazing.
Julie.
can you, tell us a little bitabout this idea of the power of
five igniting the future?
You've got some, big thingsyou've accomplished and big
things you're celebrating.
Julie Smithson (00:58):
Yeah, absolutely.
the power of five, we'veactually been in existence for
five years now.
XR Women started in November of2020, so we're approaching our
five year anniversary and we'vegot lots to celebrate, to
celebrate the leadership, theeducation.
Innovation, collaboration andimpact that we've been making
(01:18):
over the five years.
Super excited to, celebrate thatwith my co-founders, the
leadership team and our growing1500 member community that we
have around the world.
Nathan C (2) (01:29):
Oh goodness.
Let's actually meet everybodyindividually.
Julie, why don't you start andthen we can, Pass it around the
horn.
Julie Smithson (01:36):
Yeah, my name is Julie Smithson.
I'm the co-founder of XR Women,also CEO of my own company,
metaverse and co-founder ofUnlimited.
Awesome.
together with my co-founders inour, leadership team, we
provide, Weekly learning events,In the Metaverse for our XR
women community to, be educatedabout the technology, the real
(01:57):
world impact, that it has, andto come together and collaborate
with a global group of women ona Weekly basis
Sophia Moshasha (02:05):
hi.
My name is Sophia Mosasha.
I've been in the industry for 10years and XR Women for five.
can't believe it's been thislong and I'm very excited to
celebrate with everyone.
Uh, co-founder of XR WomenCurrently working on the
(02:25):
Interactive Media team leadingclient engagement at the World
Bank.
And lots of other fun stuff inthe XR community.
Nathan C (2) (02:31):
Amazing.
Karen Alexander (02:32):
Hello.
So I'm Karen Alexander.
One of the co-founders of XRWomen, along with Julie and
Sophia and I came to XR from abackground in higher education
where I had observed howtechnology was changing these
huge systems already and forcingthese changes.
(02:53):
I was seeing how newtechnologies were opening up
creative possibilities forpeople.
Took a head first dive into XRback in 2016, and I say that I
haven't looked back, I do workwith educational institutions,
specifically higher ed, onadvising them on adoption and
(03:14):
implementation of xr.
I am also one of the co-foundersof the Academy of Immersive Arts
and Sciences which is anorganization that seeks to
promote XR and promoteexcellence in XR through
education, inspiration, andrecognition.
Nathan C (2) (03:36):
So Julie, five years means that XR women has
been around long enough for somepeople.
Maybe haven't already met youyet.
I would love it.
Can you take us back, to theorigins of XR women five years
ago, and, how did it all begin?
Julie Smithson (03:56):
Yeah, absolutely.
So I started in the immersivespace back in 2010.
I was building VR and AR.
We started our company MetaVRsein 2016.
And then in 2019, actually atthe V-R-A-R-A conference, we met
that was an in-person event.
along came that pandemic whereit shut everybody down and we
(04:19):
started to say, okay, we knowhow to do this.
We can get into VR, we can getinto these immersive worlds as
avatars.
Let's keep meeting.
Let's keep learning about this.
And it was in September, 2020.
I still remember the event.
There was a group of women thatgot together.
We learned about a real worldapplication of the technology,
said this is coming fast.
(04:40):
Because of the pandemic, becauseof everything, being, becoming
remote, our industry, ourimmersive industry just exploded
and things were happening on aWeekly basis that we said, okay,
we need to meet next week.
if we're going to become leadersin this industry.
And we did.
so on November 18th, 2020, wesaid, I don't like the term, but
(05:02):
eat our own dog food, right?
Let's go in, let's present inthe metaverse.
Let's present in an immersiveworld and share education and
let's bring speakers in.
Let's learn from each other.
And that's what we did.
And that was five years ago.
we're approaching our, inNovember, it'll be around the
240th event, immersive in a rowthat we have produced.
(05:24):
our community's grown.
we cover so many countries.
The footprint that we builtthrough the passion of not just
Karen, Sophia, and myself.
But our leadership team and thecommunity, it's accelerating.
It's really exciting.
We have a lot planned.
we've done a lot in five yearsand we're looking forward to
celebrating next month with ourcommunity and, sharing, how we
(05:45):
can collaborate and educate andlearn with each other to enhance
our own skills.
it's pretty special thecommunity we've built and I'm
pretty proud to be a part of itwith.
these two ladies.
Nathan C (2) (05:57):
Doing anything in a series.
Is way harder than it eversounds in the beginning.
So to be 240, puts you in somerare space
Julie Smithson (06:09):
And just to clarify That's an immersive
event as an avatar, and it's nota Zoom call, We, we take this
seriously, we go immersive andwe present immersive.
So the whole mantra about, whatwe're trying to educate about.
try and learn about how thesetechnologies impact our
(06:29):
communications, ourcollaborations, how we learn,
and then learning how thattechnology's impacting places
around the world.
It's pretty special.
Nathan C (2) (06:38):
Thank you for that history.
I love this.
there's this interesting, bitsof timing that you called out
that are very right, like thatthe pandemic and, being isolated
through that really started toopen people up to different
digital ways of connecting.
But even five years ago, therewere tools and platforms that
(07:02):
were accessible enough that youcould literally meet in a
virtual world like the nextweek, once you decided on that.
so that culmination of ease ofentry and a strong demand, a
strong driver, for change, isvery well timed.
Love it.
Amazing.
Karen, this idea that XR womenstarted, five years ago as a
(07:28):
response to a local communityneed, or, this newly identified
community need.
Now, five years later, you'recelebrating, this global
movement that you've happenedinto.
when did you realize that you'dcreated something that was much
more than just a local meetup.
Karen Alexander (07:47):
Yeah, sure.
That actually happened prettyearly on because we would start
to recognize, oh.
Wow, so and so is coming herefrom France, or someone is here
from Indonesia.
And we noticed that at first,and then eventually we started,
tracking it and keeping track ofhow many different countries
(08:10):
were represented by ourmembership.
And we're now more than 60countries.
We range between four and ninedifferent countries represented
at any of our Weekly events.
it's pretty special to be ableto come together in real time
with people from all around theworld connect with one another,
find out what we're working on,and, have the opportunity to
(08:33):
come back again next week andcontinue the conversation.
Nathan C (2) (08:37):
That sort of Weekly revisiting of topics and
conversation seems like it canbe really valuable for, drawing
a thread between ideas,technologies, relationships,
there's a lot of differentperspectives, right?
how do you balance, the focus ofthe group plus all of the
different, interests and inputsthat come from being a global
(09:01):
organization.
Karen Alexander (09:03):
That is something that we really try to
be intentional about.
we try to be a space whereopinions can be voiced and can
be heard respectfully, and wemake a point of saying that at
the beginning of each of ourevents, and we also make an
effort in our programming.
(09:24):
To represent different aspectsof the ways that XR technologies
or are used, whether it's,someone who is an artist
creating spatial narratives, orit's someone working in the
energy sector who is, using XRfor training their employees,
Community using xr.
(09:44):
So we really try to representall the ways in which this
technology, can be beneficialand to identify, women who are
working in that space to help uslearn a little bit more about
it.
there is a creative aspect towhat we do.
(10:06):
we've decorated up our virtualspaces to give them a little
pizazz.
Julie does a motivation of theweek every week, which is, I
think a very popular, Thing thatpeople look forward to.
they always want to hear that.
I know.
I do.
So I think we all bring a littlebit of ourselves to it, and the
education comes from.
(10:27):
Hearing about these use cases,people did things, how they made
things happen in their space,and we all learned quite a lot
when we come together.
the q and a sessions can beamazing.
The exchange of ideas there oncethe, guest presenter has
finished are excellent.
Nathan C (2) (10:49):
the q and a, at least in my experience in these
virtual events, right?
there's something.
Incredibly equalizing abouteverybody being in an avatar, in
a virtual space, in that, someof the barriers that you might
have, like walking up to anexecutive and just introducing
(11:10):
yourself, melt away wheneverybody's, in an avatar.
I find that access, to all kindsof perspectives and even, folks
across the business spectrum hasbeen, I love the networking that
I get at XR women events.
And I think there's somethingthat's really unique and dynamic
about, how virtual and avatarconnections can enable, Kinda
(11:33):
gets rid of some of, the thingsthat makes it hard in other
places.
Sophia Moshasha (11:37):
Yeah, I completely agree.
I think the time where Irealized that this was like
bigger than us, is when throughthose engagements, whether it's
in virtual worlds or whetherit's through Slack channel,
social media, all of thoseplaces, Where people started
collaborating with one another.
Like they, it's not only aknowledge exchange, it is like
(12:00):
people are leveling themselvesup, personally, professionally,
like from an educationperspective, whatever it might
be.
And they're very vocal about it.
And that is really incredible tosee.
Pioneers in the industry whohave been in this space for a
long time and truly, innovativein this space.
And then we have people that arejust getting their feet wet,
trying to find, where theybelong in this space and where
(12:21):
they can add value, from ourstudent chapters as well.
So I think.
that open, welcome,collaborative environment is
really unique and special.
'cause we as professionals, inthe industry don't often get an
opportunity to have that opendialogue with one another.
we're busy creating for clients.
It's really nice to be able tohave those spaces, to do that.
(12:44):
And we've seen some reallyincredible things unfold from
that.
Karen Alexander (12:47):
Can I, comment on that because, when you were
talking about the q and a Nathanand then what you just said,
Sophia reminded me of occasionswhen.
you've got this incredible braintrust in the room and of women
coming from different countriesor the east coast of the US and
(13:07):
the west coast of the us butthey're able to be there in real
time and have these deep.
Conversations about thespecificities of the technology
and how it is used, and that'sreally indicative of the
expertise of our community.
And there are very few spaces.
(13:29):
Where you can find that and beable to talk to someone about
the work that you're doing to beable to talk to people who will
understand it and be able todiscuss it with you in more
depth rather than just askingyou what is xr?
So without having to go to thatlevel, we dive in deep right
away.
We can assume a certain level ofknowledge on the part of our
(13:52):
community members, although wedo try to be welcoming to those
who are new.
Nathan C (2) (13:57):
Yeah, innovation, being in deep technologies can
be a really lonely space'causeyou're in a frontier.
the number of people that canrelate, isn't always, that many.
turning to a global audience,can really help you build those
connections, that you need whenyou're in, a rarefied space like
that.
Can you tell us about this fifthyear and how you're using the
(14:19):
power of five, to step into thisnext era for XR women?
Sophia Moshasha (14:24):
Definitely, we are.
Very excited to be able to havemade it this far and built, this
virtual empire that we all knowand love.
and it is growing organically,and we want to empower our
community to do that becausewhile, we need leadership to
(14:45):
help push this movement forward.
We always tell people like, youare an XR Women if you're in
this space, or you're an XRWomen ally, and we wanna empower
people to take this badge ofhonor and represent proudly and
through this next month inNovember, we have five pillars.
That, kind of frame our missionat XR women, to include,
(15:10):
Leadership, which is all of uswho help run these Weekly shows.
And, it is not easy as we have,as we've talked about before,
and we'll go into that in alittle bit of detail.
Education is another one, andit's everybody that we have been
able to give, a megaphone to, toshowcase their.
(15:30):
Talent and expertise andexperience in this space and
archiving that for everybodyelse to learn from.
Innovation is another one.
Helping to be that foundationwhich people can take these
learnings and grow and prosperfrom.
Collaboration is threaded ineverything that we do, both
(15:52):
within our community as well aspartnerships, among other
industries and otherorganizations and our allies as
well.
Impact, because that's thereason why we're doing all this,
to create impact both as acommunity as well as on an
individual level.
part of that is also helping to.
(16:13):
up this next generation ofcreators as well.
And we're doing that through,our student chapters also.
We're celebrating, just beingestablished as a 5 0 1 3.
So we're really excited forthat.
And that brings about.
opportunities as well.
both as an organization to beable to again, create real
impact within our community andbeyond.
Nathan C (2) (16:34):
I have to jump in.
Sophia, you had a fantasticlist, but you.
Just mentioned that XR Women isnow a 5 0 1 C3 nonprofit, which
opens up a ton of doors, forpartnerships, collaborations,
and sponsorships to help reallypush that mission.
And I feel like that's somethingworth just celebrating and
(16:57):
sitting on, for a moment.
Congrats.
Sophia Moshasha (17:00):
Yes.
Nathan C (2) (17:00):
Amazing.
Sophia Moshasha (17:01):
time coming it's the community that we built
up till now that really makesVery special, even more special
and even more impactful.
we have this brain trust as,Karen mentioned, of much
perspective and so muchexperience that span across
industry verticals, that isreally special.
(17:24):
And I think there's a lot thatwe can do to help, educate.
industry verticals on thistechnology, through that depth
of experience that is broughtfrom these amazing women across
the world.
Nathan C (2) (17:38):
Amazing.
Sophia Moshasha (17:39):
So with that, we also have events going on
throughout the month of Novemberthat kind of celebrate these,
and showcase these differentpinnacles that we're trying to
highlight.
they are themed around ourawards that we give out each
year, around innovation,trailblazing, and real world
impact.
we are.
(18:00):
Taking people through, thedifferent platforms that we
typically host events on.
I think this is what makes we'vedone really special and unique
because we're not just hostingvirtual events every week.
We are hosting them on variousplatforms in the metaverse.
because We are not onlyshowcasing how to produce
(18:23):
virtual events at scale throughindividual platforms, we're also
helping people to onboard andget exposed to these different
platforms through our efforts.
that is really unique and Ithink a lot of people appreciate
that.
So we'll be demonstrating themagic behind that through this
event.
(18:44):
And the work that goes intoproducing this.
another event that we're doingis around trailblazing,
celebrating our five years ofspeakers.
So we'll be, highlighting somespeakers and some knowledge
that's been shared over the fiveyears that has really, hit home
with us and our community aswell.
we'll be asking your communityto chime in on that and just to
(19:05):
share with us on, on, what hasbeen extra special and there,
experience over the five years,attending these events.
And then real world impact.
we're highlighting the impactthat basically our community has
had, in, our community andbeyond.
I think those are gonna bereally interesting stories to
(19:25):
share.
'cause then we'll hear about,success cases of people
collaborating together, thedifferent knowledge that people
have shared and what they'vebeen able to do with that.
how people have been able to,get on other stages as a result
of us helping them with this.
and giving them the firstopportunity to showcase their
work at XR women, and so muchmore.
(19:46):
we have so much to share onthat.
So I'm really excited for, theworld to see this community make
that real world impact.
Julie Smithson (19:54):
I'm sitting here listening, going, wow, that
sounds like a greatorganization.
Nathan C (2) (19:58):
How can I be a part?
Julie Smithson (20:00):
Yeah.
Nathan C (2) (20:00):
Sophia you did mention, a number of different
events, different showcases,ways to get involved.
What's the best way for peopleto learn about all the five year
celebration and, the differentways that they can engage?
Sophia Moshasha (20:16):
Yes.
First and foremost, definitelyjoin our mailing list to get all
the information, that we shareevery week.
If you go to xr women.com on theupper right hand side, you'll
have an option to do that andyou'll get regularly updated.
We also have, a landing page,called Power of Five that you'll
see in our menu options Kind oftells you about these different
(20:39):
pillars and what we are doing,as a community, as an
organization, to propagate thosepillars and asking people to
support us because we are, acommunity run organization,
nonprofit, been doing this for along time and growing our team,
we need all the help that we canget to continue our mission
here.
So if you Go on that landingpage of so many ways to
(21:01):
contribute, both with donationsand also getting involved with
the community and organization.
we would love any and all inputfrom the community.
Nathan C (2) (21:10):
Amazing there.
There was something you said,Sophia, that Inspires me to
maybe bring something back tothe group as a whole.
As the core leadership andco-founders of XR women, you've
been in the thick of it for 240,virtual events in multiple
(21:30):
different, metaverse platforms.
There's no way that this amountof engagement of, listening to
global experts fromcollaborating and building
community together, that, thiswork hasn't.
Changed or impacted you?
I'm curious, can you take a lookback internally and how this
(21:53):
five years of XR women has,helped you grow and learn and
build a.
Julie Smithson (22:00):
Yeah, sure.
I'll take that one on.
I know for a fact that Iwouldn't be me without XR women
today.
it was in December of 2020.
And I remember Juliana Lowesaying to me, and some of you
know her from the industry, shesaid, Julie, you're a leader.
Help us.
lead us through this.
And that rolled into 2021 and wehaven't stopped since.
(22:23):
I've grown as a leader.
I've seen Karen and Sophia bothgrow as leaders people change a
lot in five years, and we bothhad our personal stories along
with, growing this ecosystem oftaking women under this massive
umbrella that we've created.
And there's just.
There's so much good vibes therethat every time we come
(22:45):
together, we're seeing eachother grow in little bits and
pieces, being on stages, beingable to, run these production
events, which are very technicalthat we challenge ourselves,
when we go live on YouTube, it'sokay, who's gonna do this today?
And we challenge each otherwe're always looking for, how we
can engage our audiences indifferent ways, not being
(23:06):
fearful about this technology.
We've created an ecosystem thatadapts very well, one of the
reasons why we need to meetevery week now is to adapt to
the information that we'retaking in and, apply that into
our world, impact it into ourecosystem.
So we've created this reallysafe.
Communal, adaptive, place tolearn.
(23:30):
And every week, like today, wetalked about quantum narratives.
And that was that touchpoint forall three of us five years ago,
was if we're gonna continuelearning, let's bring in people
who are smarter than us andlearn from them.
What a great concept.
And that's what we've built.
Nathan C (2) (23:46):
Sophia, what are you proud of?
How do you mark, your growth andsuccess in this time?
Sophia Moshasha (23:53):
Oh, first of all, learning by doing as Julie
said.
I haven't personally seen anyinitiative that does what we do,
and hosts these.
Larger scale productions invarious virtual platforms every
single week.
I think building that knowledgearound what works best, best
(24:14):
practices, troubleshooting allof these things, is really
valuable.
I remember when I first startedin the industry.
Had to fight your way to be seenand, get on stages and have your
voice heard being able to nowoffer that to women who are
looking to share their knowledgeand their voice is really
(24:38):
rewarding I see them.
to others in our community.
Now they're pulling them in tothe opportunities that they have
and us included also.
So I think, it's been rewardingfor us personally, but also to
be able to see that like justkeeps flowing and people are
taking it in their own hands andsaying, we, have something share
(24:59):
back with you.
Or, Hey, should get involvedwith this community XR women,
because they have somethingvaluable for you in the
industry.
So it's been really rewarding tosee it grow organically through
our community.
And that's just a testament to,the impact that we're having.
So that's really special.
Nathan C (2) (25:18):
Yeah, I love that idea of, to learn by doing,
there's often this sort ofmythos about, startup innovators
as like having some perfectdivine message that delivers
them a fully whole technologythat's viral.
But like most of the time whenyou're on the cutting edge, you
(25:40):
have to slog through trying itevery day, trying it a million
ways until you.
find that fit, that connects thecommunity to the impact.
And it's so cool to hear that,that's just baked in to how
you've been building.
Karen, how about you?
what have you learned from thisprocess and your partners?
Karen Alexander (25:59):
Oh wow.
It's just been incredible tohave a front row seat to
everything that is happening inthe industry in so many
different aspects of it.
And I feel incredibly fortunatethat I'm able to bring what I
learn from not just our speakersthat XR women, but from our
other community members who weengage with.
(26:20):
to bring what I learn about theindustry and the tools and the
concepts and the ways thatpeople are using them back to my
own consulting practice.
And so whether I'm working withhigher ed institutions or
working with corporations orworking with startups, I can
bring what I have, gleaned at XRWomen to bear on that work.
(26:47):
I also just wanna say a littlebit more about our global
community and the ways thatwomen are hungry for this.
they come to us and say, wow, Iwas hoping to find an
organization like this, or, Ican't believe you exist.
when someone says, oh, I'm sohappy to find you, or, I love
these events.
I love coming to these eventsevery week.
(27:09):
It means an awful lot.
Nathan C (2) (27:12):
I can envision the community user generated content
campaign that collects all ofthose sound bites and.
celebrations of discovering XRwomen.
Yeah, that's gotta just be soinspiring.
This is just fantastic.
I so appreciate hearing about,all that you've been building
(27:33):
and growing.
It wouldn't be the glow up if wedon't talk about goals and
growth.
What's the fabulous next versionthat you're building toward?
I'm curious, where's XR womengoing in the next five years?
how are you gonna top, the first242 episodes?
(27:53):
Julie, what's the big call toaction?
Karen Alexander (27:56):
Yeah.
one of the things that's reallyimportant to me right now is to
get us on a solid foundation,and as was mentioned earlier, we
got our 5 0 1 C3 designationfrom the IRS.
we're a grassroots organization.
one of the things that I havebeen really, concerned with is.
(28:17):
building the structure of theorganization and, how do we
operate, what are our policiesand all of these sorts of things
that will keep us going, sustainus into the future.
So for me, the short term goal.
Is to make sure that we arestable, that we have a solid
(28:39):
foundation, which we do in termsof the community.
but we need to be able tosustain the work that we do.
That's why these support of ourcommunity is so very important
to us.
And that's absolutely crucial.
Right now, we're at this keymoment where if we can do that.
(29:02):
Then the sky's the limit Okay.
Nathan C (2) (29:04):
Yeah.
XR Women is looking for sponsorsand partners to help further the
mission.
they need folks to step up tosupport the mission as
community, but are also lookingfor financial backers to support
this mission in the future.
Sophia Moshasha (29:22):
And I'll jump in.
just something else that we'reproud of and we're starting to
get, more inbound requests toeducate back to community
outside XR women and helpconnect, right?
We've been asked to doworkshops, for various topics
Help funnel in creators, likewomen creators to ecosystems for
(29:46):
both software and hardwareplatforms, for large companies.
we're very proud to be able todo that and we want to continue
to do that.
we know that this is a hugevalue add to.
Our industry at large, or anycompany that's really trying to
build the creator ecosystem.
(30:07):
And so that is one of the thingsthat I see ourselves growing in,
is not only connecting andcollaborating amongst our own,
but now that we have this poolof talented individuals, how do
we then continue to connect themto other opportunities to see
other ecosystems grow as well?
(30:27):
and we're really good at doingthat.
And we're seeing a lot of,again, these inbound requests
for doing this.
We wanna continue to be able todo that.
and that is why, supporting theorganization and the community
and continuing to leverage it,to help it grow is really
important.
Not just for us, but really forthe industry at large to keep
(30:47):
this going.
because there's a lot of thingsthat we can do.
And with the 5 0 1 C3designation especially.
I'm looking forward to moreprograms through this
accreditation, throughpartnering with organizations
and government and others aswell.
We now have the opportunity ofdoing that.
(31:08):
And again, we have a pool oftalented individuals from all
over the world, all professionalindustries.
So we have a lot of knowledgeand talent, that we can pull and
culminate together to be able tostart building some really
impactful solutions andprojects, revolving around the
designation.
So we're definitely putting afocus on growing that.
Nathan C (2) (31:30):
I love the, you've really caught my attention,
right?
With the knowledge trust and thenetwork that XR women has
created globally is such aunique.
Set of perspectives andexperiences and insights about
(31:51):
spatial computing technologiesFor an industry that is so
predominantly like white dudesin Silicon Valley, to have, an
outside perspective, to have aperspective that represents the
whole a little bit more, or likethe state of the actual world.
it seems incredibly valuable andlike Bravo for understanding
(32:12):
where your own expertise anddata sets are and how you can
turn those into, Value back intothe industry.
That's the kind of feedbackloops that get people moving on.
Julie, how about you?
what's your big call to actionfor the next five years?
Julie Smithson (32:28):
Yeah, for sure.
And I'm gonna touch both on whatKaren and Sophia said that are
behind XR women.
one of the things, the realworld impact that we've been
able to accomplish is starting,our student chapter in Kenya and
Africa.
So within that stability ofbeing a 5 0 1 C3.
our reach and our impact, itgoes far beyond that and
(32:48):
building out the governancebehind.
the stability goes deep.
understanding the laws, theaccessibility of some of the
women to this technology.
we're hearing stories from wartorn countries where they're
going into the tunnels to accesswifi to be able to connect with
other women.
That's happening and I thinkit's incredible.
(33:10):
we hear about these storiesthrough, the channels of our
community, Us having this globalimpact.
it's, incredible during this dayand age where there's a lot of
disturbance in the force outthere, in the real world.
But with that comes thegovernance.
that's the first piece.
And then second to tie it towhat Sophia was saying.
The important thing for us is tocontinue learning about this
(33:31):
technology.
How do we introduce robotics anddrones into XR and ai?
How about Augmented reality andglasses and things like that.
So for us, that's the kind ofthat next phase beyond the five
years, we're gonna take a deeperlook into some different topics.
Especially for the three of us,for our leadership team is
important on how we pull inthose speakers to be able to
(33:52):
educate us.
We've got a machine going.
XR Women is a huge machine.
We've got a massive footprint.
We have, the XR Women MuseumGallery and the Frame Platform
curated by Paige Daner.
The exhibition's called She WhoCodes herself.
So learning about how AI istransforming art.
In the designers themselves,female designers.
(34:14):
We've done a lot of thingsaround even, putting people's
businesses.
it was a while ago, it's almosttwo years, I can't believe this
already.
The spatial computing businessshowcase.
We've been able to put these,exhibits together where it
features the XR women's.
Talents and their ecosystem toteach others.
And again, it just comes back tothe power of our community.
(34:35):
We've got this massivefootprint.
We're gonna be celebrating itwith our community, in the next
month, and then the celebrationsdon't continue.
We keep learning and we keepmeeting because the ecosystem's
not stopping anytime soon.
So we're really proud to be onthe forefront of it and we can't
do it without the community.
This isn't just a Sophia, Karen,Julie show.
(34:55):
This is the XR Women movementand yeah, we're proud to be a
part of it.
Nathan C (2) (34:59):
Oh goodness.
Thank you so much for that.
So cool to see that five yearsin, you're still thriving and
being inspired, on a Weeklybasis by both, the technology,
the community, and, theopportunities to grow and learn
together to make an impact, inreal people's lives.
(35:23):
so fantastic.
Are there any sort of lastclosing thoughts or calls to
action that you wanted to shareout?
Karen Alexander (35:31):
Oh wow.
I think, as Sophia said before,first of all, just join XR
Women.
It's free to do, and it doesn'tmatter what your gender
orientation is, you can join andyou can come to our sessions.
there is a tiny little thing youhave to tick a box underneath
where your email goes on thatjoin form in order to receive
our Weekly newsletter, whichwill let you know where we're
(35:53):
going to be on Wednesday.
The newsletter comes out onTuesday.
I'll let you know on where we'regonna be on Wednesday.
we do have this Power of Fivecampaign going on where we are
asking people to donate just$5.
if you appreciate what XR Womendoes.
Give us$5.
If you've got a little more roomin your wallet and you can give
(36:15):
us$50, that would be very muchappreciated.
If you can give us$500, wow.
That goes a long way toward,helping us to make what we do
happen.
$5,000 would sponsor two XRwomen's student chapters for us
to found new ones.
(36:37):
And$50,000.
That would do a great dealtoward help us achieving that
will allow us to continuegrowing this incredible
community of learning andcollaboration and connection.
Sophia Moshasha (36:54):
Karen said it very well.
We provide.
Value to our own community, butmore importantly to the industry
at large.
So I think people need to keepthat in mind in terms of what we
do, and the value that communityactually has.
you will not find a collectiveof professionals.
(37:15):
This large and this dedicatedanywhere in the virtual world.
so I think there is, so muchthat we can do together as an
industry with XR women, and Iwant, people to understand that
we're not siloing ourselves.
In fact, we need thepartnership, in collaboration
with others in the industry, tobe able to.
(37:38):
Add the value that we've beenseeing within and creating
within XR women to theinitiatives that are happening
in the industry.
so we definitely.
Want people to reach out to us.
We want to help.
and we want our community to beable to help and let's leverage
them.
There's so much that they wantto give and they can give The
(37:59):
purpose of this is to give backto the industry, and so let's
figure out how we can continueto do that and leverage our
community to be able to providethat value.
Karen Alexander (38:08):
Yeah, I like the way you said that, Sophia,
because, we all got started inthis because we were passionate
about.
XR technologies and what theycould do for people.
Whether it would be, giving themmore ways to create and tell
stories share a perspective onsomething, or make a business
process safer or more efficient.
(38:31):
we.
Really believe in the power ofthis technology to improve
people's lives.
so we are helping to build thisindustry and move it forward
through what we do at XR Women.
Nathan C (2) (38:44):
Oh my goodness.
This is lovely friends.
Sophia Moshasha (38:48):
XR Women isn't just a community.
a movement, redefining how weshow up, learn and lead in the
metaverse.
Karen Alexander (38:58):
XR women isn't just a community, it's a
movement.
Redefining how we show up, learnand lead in the metaverse.
Julie Smithson (39:07):
XR women isn't just a community, it's a
movement.
redefining how we show up, learnand lead in the metaverse.
Nathan C (2) (39:15):
Yo.
Julie Smithson, Karen.
Alexander Sophia, Sasha.
So fantastic to talk with you,co-founders of XR Women and to
hear how you're using the Powerof Five to both celebrate, your
amazing run to date as well ashow you're planning to ignite
(39:36):
the future.
Thanks for joining me on thisvery special episode of the Tech
Glow Up.
Karen Alexander (39:42):
Thank you so much, Nathan,
Sophia Moshasha (39:43):
Thank you.
Julie Smithson (39:45):
Thanks,
Nathan C (2) (39:45):
Amazing
XR Women isn't just a community.
A movement, redefining how weshow up, learn and lead in the
metaverse.
Karen Alexander (00:09):
XR Women isn't just a community, it's a
movement.
Redefining how we show up, learnand lead in the metaverse.
Julie Smithson (00:18):
XR Women isn't just a community, it's a
movement redefining how we showup, learn and lead in the
metaverse.
Nathan C (2) (00:26):
Hello and welcome to a very special episode of The
Tech Glow Up.
I'm Nathan C, Today I'm talkingwith the leaders of XR women.
We're gonna talk about the powerof five years of XR women and
how they're igniting the future.
XR women, thank you for joiningme.
Karen Alexander (00:44):
Thanks for having
Julie Smithson (00:45):
Excited to be here.
Nathan C (2) (00:46):
Amazing.
Julie.
can you, tell us a little bitabout this idea of the power of
five igniting the future?
You've got some, big thingsyou've accomplished and big
things you're celebrating.
Julie Smithson (00:58):
Yeah, absolutely.
the power of five, we'veactually been in existence for
five years now.
XR Women started in November of2020, so we're approaching our
five year anniversary and we'vegot lots to celebrate, to
celebrate the leadership, theeducation.
Innovation, collaboration andimpact that we've been making
(01:18):
over the five years.
Super excited to, celebrate thatwith my co-founders, the
leadership team and our growing1500 member community that we
have around the world.
Nathan C (2) (01:29):
Oh goodness.
Let's actually meet everybodyindividually.
Julie, why don't you start andthen we can, Pass it around the
horn.
Julie Smithson (01:36):
Yeah, my name is Julie Smithson.
I'm the co-founder of XR Women,also CEO of my own company,
metaverse and co-founder ofUnlimited.
Awesome.
together with my co-founders inour, leadership team, we
provide, Weekly learning events,In the Metaverse for our XR
women community to, be educatedabout the technology, the real
(01:57):
world impact, that it has, andto come together and collaborate
with a global group of women ona Weekly basis
Sophia Moshasha (02:05):
hi.
My name is Sophia Mosasha.
I've been in the industry for 10years and XR Women for five.
can't believe it's been thislong and I'm very excited to
celebrate with everyone.
Uh, co-founder of XR WomenCurrently working on the
(02:25):
Interactive Media team leadingclient engagement at the World
Bank.
And lots of other fun stuff inthe XR community.
Nathan C (2) (02:31):
Amazing.
Karen Alexander (02:32):
Hello.
So I'm Karen Alexander.
One of the co-founders of XRWomen, along with Julie and
Sophia and I came to XR from abackground in higher education
where I had observed howtechnology was changing these
huge systems already and forcingthese changes.
(02:53):
I was seeing how newtechnologies were opening up
creative possibilities forpeople.
Took a head first dive into XRback in 2016, and I say that I
haven't looked back, I do workwith educational institutions,
specifically higher ed, onadvising them on adoption and
(03:14):
implementation of xr.
I am also one of the co-foundersof the Academy of Immersive Arts
and Sciences which is anorganization that seeks to
promote XR and promoteexcellence in XR through
education, inspiration, andrecognition.
Nathan C (2) (03:36):
So Julie, five years means that XR women has
been around long enough for somepeople.
Maybe haven't already met youyet.
I would love it.
Can you take us back, to theorigins of XR women five years
ago, and, how did it all begin?
Julie Smithson (03:56):
Yeah, absolutely.
So I started in the immersivespace back in 2010.
I was building VR and AR.
We started our company MetaVRsein 2016.
And then in 2019, actually atthe V-R-A-R-A conference, we met
that was an in-person event.
along came that pandemic whereit shut everybody down and we
(04:19):
started to say, okay, we knowhow to do this.
We can get into VR, we can getinto these immersive worlds as
avatars.
Let's keep meeting.
Let's keep learning about this.
And it was in September, 2020.
I still remember the event.
There was a group of women thatgot together.
We learned about a real worldapplication of the technology,
said this is coming fast.
(04:40):
Because of the pandemic, becauseof everything, being, becoming
remote, our industry, ourimmersive industry just exploded
and things were happening on aWeekly basis that we said, okay,
we need to meet next week.
if we're going to become leadersin this industry.
And we did.
so on November 18th, 2020, wesaid, I don't like the term, but
(05:02):
eat our own dog food, right?
Let's go in, let's present inthe metaverse.
Let's present in an immersiveworld and share education and
let's bring speakers in.
Let's learn from each other.
And that's what we did.
And that was five years ago.
we're approaching our, inNovember, it'll be around the
240th event, immersive in a rowthat we have produced.
(05:24):
our community's grown.
we cover so many countries.
The footprint that we builtthrough the passion of not just
Karen, Sophia, and myself.
But our leadership team and thecommunity, it's accelerating.
It's really exciting.
We have a lot planned.
we've done a lot in five yearsand we're looking forward to
celebrating next month with ourcommunity and, sharing, how we
(05:45):
can collaborate and educate andlearn with each other to enhance
our own skills.
it's pretty special thecommunity we've built and I'm
pretty proud to be a part of itwith.
these two ladies.
Nathan C (2) (05:57):
Doing anything in a series.
Is way harder than it eversounds in the beginning.
So to be 240, puts you in somerare space
Julie Smithson (06:09):
And just to clarify That's an immersive
event as an avatar, and it's nota Zoom call, We, we take this
seriously, we go immersive andwe present immersive.
So the whole mantra about, whatwe're trying to educate about.
try and learn about how thesetechnologies impact our
(06:29):
communications, ourcollaborations, how we learn,
and then learning how thattechnology's impacting places
around the world.
It's pretty special.
Nathan C (2) (06:38):
Thank you for that history.
I love this.
there's this interesting, bitsof timing that you called out
that are very right, like thatthe pandemic and, being isolated
through that really started toopen people up to different
digital ways of connecting.
But even five years ago, therewere tools and platforms that
(07:02):
were accessible enough that youcould literally meet in a
virtual world like the nextweek, once you decided on that.
so that culmination of ease ofentry and a strong demand, a
strong driver, for change, isvery well timed.
Love it.
Amazing.
Karen, this idea that XR womenstarted, five years ago as a
(07:28):
response to a local communityneed, or, this newly identified
community need.
Now, five years later, you'recelebrating, this global
movement that you've happenedinto.
when did you realize that you'dcreated something that was much
more than just a local meetup.
Karen Alexander (07:47):
Yeah, sure.
That actually happened prettyearly on because we would start
to recognize, oh.
Wow, so and so is coming herefrom France, or someone is here
from Indonesia.
And we noticed that at first,and then eventually we started,
tracking it and keeping track ofhow many different countries
(08:10):
were represented by ourmembership.
And we're now more than 60countries.
We range between four and ninedifferent countries represented
at any of our Weekly events.
it's pretty special to be ableto come together in real time
with people from all around theworld connect with one another,
find out what we're working on,and, have the opportunity to
(08:33):
come back again next week andcontinue the conversation.
Nathan C (2) (08:37):
That sort of Weekly revisiting of topics and
conversation seems like it canbe really valuable for, drawing
a thread between ideas,technologies, relationships,
there's a lot of differentperspectives, right?
how do you balance, the focus ofthe group plus all of the
different, interests and inputsthat come from being a global
(09:01):
organization.
Karen Alexander (09:03):
That is something that we really try to
be intentional about.
we try to be a space whereopinions can be voiced and can
be heard respectfully, and wemake a point of saying that at
the beginning of each of ourevents, and we also make an
effort in our programming.
(09:24):
To represent different aspectsof the ways that XR technologies
or are used, whether it's,someone who is an artist
creating spatial narratives, orit's someone working in the
energy sector who is, using XRfor training their employees,
Community using xr.
(09:44):
So we really try to representall the ways in which this
technology, can be beneficialand to identify, women who are
working in that space to help uslearn a little bit more about
it.
there is a creative aspect towhat we do.
(10:06):
we've decorated up our virtualspaces to give them a little
pizazz.
Julie does a motivation of theweek every week, which is, I
think a very popular, Thing thatpeople look forward to.
they always want to hear that.
I know.
I do.
So I think we all bring a littlebit of ourselves to it, and the
education comes from.
(10:27):
Hearing about these use cases,people did things, how they made
things happen in their space,and we all learned quite a lot
when we come together.
the q and a sessions can beamazing.
The exchange of ideas there oncethe, guest presenter has
finished are excellent.
Nathan C (2) (10:49):
the q and a, at least in my experience in these
virtual events, right?
there's something.
Incredibly equalizing abouteverybody being in an avatar, in
a virtual space, in that, someof the barriers that you might
have, like walking up to anexecutive and just introducing
(11:10):
yourself, melt away wheneverybody's, in an avatar.
I find that access, to all kindsof perspectives and even, folks
across the business spectrum hasbeen, I love the networking that
I get at XR women events.
And I think there's somethingthat's really unique and dynamic
about, how virtual and avatarconnections can enable, Kinda
(11:33):
gets rid of some of, the thingsthat makes it hard in other
places.
Sophia Moshasha (11:37):
Yeah, I completely agree.
I think the time where Irealized that this was like
bigger than us, is when throughthose engagements, whether it's
in virtual worlds or whetherit's through Slack channel,
social media, all of thoseplaces, Where people started
collaborating with one another.
Like they, it's not only aknowledge exchange, it is like
(12:00):
people are leveling themselvesup, personally, professionally,
like from an educationperspective, whatever it might
be.
And they're very vocal about it.
And that is really incredible tosee.
Pioneers in the industry whohave been in this space for a
long time and truly, innovativein this space.
And then we have people that arejust getting their feet wet,
trying to find, where theybelong in this space and where
(12:21):
they can add value, from ourstudent chapters as well.
So I think.
that open, welcome,collaborative environment is
really unique and special.
'cause we as professionals, inthe industry don't often get an
opportunity to have that opendialogue with one another.
we're busy creating for clients.
It's really nice to be able tohave those spaces, to do that.
(12:44):
And we've seen some reallyincredible things unfold from
that.
Karen Alexander (12:47):
Can I, comment on that because, when you were
talking about the q and a Nathanand then what you just said,
Sophia reminded me of occasionswhen.
you've got this incredible braintrust in the room and of women
coming from different countriesor the east coast of the US and
(13:07):
the west coast of the us butthey're able to be there in real
time and have these deep.
Conversations about thespecificities of the technology
and how it is used, and that'sreally indicative of the
expertise of our community.
And there are very few spaces.
(13:29):
Where you can find that and beable to talk to someone about
the work that you're doing to beable to talk to people who will
understand it and be able todiscuss it with you in more
depth rather than just askingyou what is xr?
So without having to go to thatlevel, we dive in deep right
away.
We can assume a certain level ofknowledge on the part of our
(13:52):
community members, although wedo try to be welcoming to those
who are new.
Nathan C (2) (13:57):
Yeah, innovation, being in deep technologies can
be a really lonely space'causeyou're in a frontier.
the number of people that canrelate, isn't always, that many.
turning to a global audience,can really help you build those
connections, that you need whenyou're in, a rarefied space like
that.
Can you tell us about this fifthyear and how you're using the
(14:19):
power of five, to step into thisnext era for XR women?
Sophia Moshasha (14:24):
Definitely, we are.
Very excited to be able to havemade it this far and built, this
virtual empire that we all knowand love.
and it is growing organically,and we want to empower our
community to do that becausewhile, we need leadership to
(14:45):
help push this movement forward.
We always tell people like, youare an XR Women if you're in
this space, or you're an XRWomen ally, and we wanna empower
people to take this badge ofhonor and represent proudly and
through this next month inNovember, we have five pillars.
That, kind of frame our missionat XR women, to include,
(15:10):
Leadership, which is all of uswho help run these Weekly shows.
And, it is not easy as we have,as we've talked about before,
and we'll go into that in alittle bit of detail.
Education is another one, andit's everybody that we have been
able to give, a megaphone to, toshowcase their.
(15:30):
Talent and expertise andexperience in this space and
archiving that for everybodyelse to learn from.
Innovation is another one.
Helping to be that foundationwhich people can take these
learnings and grow and prosperfrom.
Collaboration is threaded ineverything that we do, both
(15:52):
within our community as well aspartnerships, among other
industries and otherorganizations and our allies as
well.
Impact, because that's thereason why we're doing all this,
to create impact both as acommunity as well as on an
individual level.
part of that is also helping to.
(16:13):
up this next generation ofcreators as well.
And we're doing that through,our student chapters also.
We're celebrating, just beingestablished as a 5 0 1 3.
So we're really excited forthat.
And that brings about.
opportunities as well.
both as an organization to beable to again, create real
impact within our community andbeyond.
Nathan C (2) (16:34):
I have to jump in.
Sophia, you had a fantasticlist, but you.
Just mentioned that XR Women isnow a 5 0 1 C3 nonprofit, which
opens up a ton of doors, forpartnerships, collaborations,
and sponsorships to help reallypush that mission.
And I feel like that's somethingworth just celebrating and
(16:57):
sitting on, for a moment.
Congrats.
Sophia Moshasha (17:00):
Yes.
Nathan C (2) (17:00):
Amazing.
Sophia Moshasha (17:01):
time coming it's the community that we built
up till now that really makesVery special, even more special
and even more impactful.
we have this brain trust as,Karen mentioned, of much
perspective and so muchexperience that span across
industry verticals, that isreally special.
(17:24):
And I think there's a lot thatwe can do to help, educate.
industry verticals on thistechnology, through that depth
of experience that is broughtfrom these amazing women across
the world.
Nathan C (2) (17:38):
Amazing.
Sophia Moshasha (17:39):
So with that, we also have events going on
throughout the month of Novemberthat kind of celebrate these,
and showcase these differentpinnacles that we're trying to
highlight.
they are themed around ourawards that we give out each
year, around innovation,trailblazing, and real world
impact.
we are.
(18:00):
Taking people through, thedifferent platforms that we
typically host events on.
I think this is what makes we'vedone really special and unique
because we're not just hostingvirtual events every week.
We are hosting them on variousplatforms in the metaverse.
because We are not onlyshowcasing how to produce
(18:23):
virtual events at scale throughindividual platforms, we're also
helping people to onboard andget exposed to these different
platforms through our efforts.
that is really unique and Ithink a lot of people appreciate
that.
So we'll be demonstrating themagic behind that through this
event.
(18:44):
And the work that goes intoproducing this.
another event that we're doingis around trailblazing,
celebrating our five years ofspeakers.
So we'll be, highlighting somespeakers and some knowledge
that's been shared over the fiveyears that has really, hit home
with us and our community aswell.
we'll be asking your communityto chime in on that and just to
(19:05):
share with us on, on, what hasbeen extra special and there,
experience over the five years,attending these events.
And then real world impact.
we're highlighting the impactthat basically our community has
had, in, our community andbeyond.
I think those are gonna bereally interesting stories to
(19:25):
share.
'cause then we'll hear about,success cases of people
collaborating together, thedifferent knowledge that people
have shared and what they'vebeen able to do with that.
how people have been able to,get on other stages as a result
of us helping them with this.
and giving them the firstopportunity to showcase their
work at XR women, and so muchmore.
(19:46):
we have so much to share onthat.
So I'm really excited for, theworld to see this community make
that real world impact.
Julie Smithson (19:54):
I'm sitting here listening, going, wow, that
sounds like a greatorganization.
Nathan C (2) (19:58):
How can I be a part?
Julie Smithson (20:00):
Yeah.
Nathan C (2) (20:00):
Sophia you did mention, a number of different
events, different showcases,ways to get involved.
What's the best way for peopleto learn about all the five year
celebration and, the differentways that they can engage?
Sophia Moshasha (20:16):
Yes.
First and foremost, definitelyjoin our mailing list to get all
the information, that we shareevery week.
If you go to xr women.com on theupper right hand side, you'll
have an option to do that andyou'll get regularly updated.
We also have, a landing page,called Power of Five that you'll
see in our menu options Kind oftells you about these different
(20:39):
pillars and what we are doing,as a community, as an
organization, to propagate thosepillars and asking people to
support us because we are, acommunity run organization,
nonprofit, been doing this for along time and growing our team,
we need all the help that we canget to continue our mission
here.
So if you Go on that landingpage of so many ways to
(21:01):
contribute, both with donationsand also getting involved with
the community and organization.
we would love any and all inputfrom the community.
Nathan C (2) (21:10):
Amazing there.
There was something you said,Sophia, that Inspires me to
maybe bring something back tothe group as a whole.
As the core leadership andco-founders of XR women, you've
been in the thick of it for 240,virtual events in multiple
(21:30):
different, metaverse platforms.
There's no way that this amountof engagement of, listening to
global experts fromcollaborating and building
community together, that, thiswork hasn't.
Changed or impacted you?
I'm curious, can you take a lookback internally and how this
(21:53):
five years of XR women has,helped you grow and learn and
build a.
Julie Smithson (22:00):
Yeah, sure.
I'll take that one on.
I know for a fact that Iwouldn't be me without XR women
today.
it was in December of 2020.
And I remember Juliana Lowesaying to me, and some of you
know her from the industry, shesaid, Julie, you're a leader.
Help us.
lead us through this.
And that rolled into 2021 and wehaven't stopped since.
(22:23):
I've grown as a leader.
I've seen Karen and Sophia bothgrow as leaders people change a
lot in five years, and we bothhad our personal stories along
with, growing this ecosystem oftaking women under this massive
umbrella that we've created.
And there's just.
There's so much good vibes therethat every time we come
(22:45):
together, we're seeing eachother grow in little bits and
pieces, being on stages, beingable to, run these production
events, which are very technicalthat we challenge ourselves,
when we go live on YouTube, it'sokay, who's gonna do this today?
And we challenge each otherwe're always looking for, how we
can engage our audiences indifferent ways, not being
(23:06):
fearful about this technology.
We've created an ecosystem thatadapts very well, one of the
reasons why we need to meetevery week now is to adapt to
the information that we'retaking in and, apply that into
our world, impact it into ourecosystem.
So we've created this reallysafe.
Communal, adaptive, place tolearn.
(23:30):
And every week, like today, wetalked about quantum narratives.
And that was that touchpoint forall three of us five years ago,
was if we're gonna continuelearning, let's bring in people
who are smarter than us andlearn from them.
What a great concept.
And that's what we've built.
Nathan C (2) (23:46):
Sophia, what are you proud of?
How do you mark, your growth andsuccess in this time?
Sophia Moshasha (23:53):
Oh, first of all, learning by doing as Julie
said.
I haven't personally seen anyinitiative that does what we do,
and hosts these.
Larger scale productions invarious virtual platforms every
single week.
I think building that knowledgearound what works best, best
(24:14):
practices, troubleshooting allof these things, is really
valuable.
I remember when I first startedin the industry.
Had to fight your way to be seenand, get on stages and have your
voice heard being able to nowoffer that to women who are
looking to share their knowledgeand their voice is really
(24:38):
rewarding I see them.
to others in our community.
Now they're pulling them in tothe opportunities that they have
and us included also.
So I think, it's been rewardingfor us personally, but also to
be able to see that like justkeeps flowing and people are
taking it in their own hands andsaying, we, have something share
(24:59):
back with you.
Or, Hey, should get involvedwith this community XR women,
because they have somethingvaluable for you in the
industry.
So it's been really rewarding tosee it grow organically through
our community.
And that's just a testament to,the impact that we're having.
So that's really special.
Nathan C (2) (25:18):
Yeah, I love that idea of, to learn by doing,
there's often this sort ofmythos about, startup innovators
as like having some perfectdivine message that delivers
them a fully whole technologythat's viral.
But like most of the time whenyou're on the cutting edge, you
(25:40):
have to slog through trying itevery day, trying it a million
ways until you.
find that fit, that connects thecommunity to the impact.
And it's so cool to hear that,that's just baked in to how
you've been building.
Karen, how about you?
what have you learned from thisprocess and your partners?
Karen Alexander (25:59):
Oh wow.
It's just been incredible tohave a front row seat to
everything that is happening inthe industry in so many
different aspects of it.
And I feel incredibly fortunatethat I'm able to bring what I
learn from not just our speakersthat XR women, but from our
other community members who weengage with.
(26:20):
to bring what I learn about theindustry and the tools and the
concepts and the ways thatpeople are using them back to my
own consulting practice.
And so whether I'm working withhigher ed institutions or
working with corporations orworking with startups, I can
bring what I have, gleaned at XRWomen to bear on that work.
(26:47):
I also just wanna say a littlebit more about our global
community and the ways thatwomen are hungry for this.
they come to us and say, wow, Iwas hoping to find an
organization like this, or, Ican't believe you exist.
when someone says, oh, I'm sohappy to find you, or, I love
these events.
I love coming to these eventsevery week.
(27:09):
It means an awful lot.
Nathan C (2) (27:12):
I can envision the community user generated content
campaign that collects all ofthose sound bites and.
celebrations of discovering XRwomen.
Yeah, that's gotta just be soinspiring.
This is just fantastic.
I so appreciate hearing about,all that you've been building
(27:33):
and growing.
It wouldn't be the glow up if wedon't talk about goals and
growth.
What's the fabulous next versionthat you're building toward?
I'm curious, where's XR womengoing in the next five years?
how are you gonna top, the first242 episodes?
(27:53):
Julie, what's the big call toaction?
Karen Alexander (27:56):
Yeah.
one of the things that's reallyimportant to me right now is to
get us on a solid foundation,and as was mentioned earlier, we
got our 5 0 1 C3 designationfrom the IRS.
we're a grassroots organization.
one of the things that I havebeen really, concerned with is.
(28:17):
building the structure of theorganization and, how do we
operate, what are our policiesand all of these sorts of things
that will keep us going, sustainus into the future.
So for me, the short term goal.
Is to make sure that we arestable, that we have a solid
(28:39):
foundation, which we do in termsof the community.
but we need to be able tosustain the work that we do.
That's why these support of ourcommunity is so very important
to us.
And that's absolutely crucial.
Right now, we're at this keymoment where if we can do that.
(29:02):
Then the sky's the limit Okay.
Nathan C (2) (29:04):
Yeah.
XR Women is looking for sponsorsand partners to help further the
mission.
they need folks to step up tosupport the mission as
community, but are also lookingfor financial backers to support
this mission in the future.
Sophia Moshasha (29:22):
And I'll jump in.
just something else that we'reproud of and we're starting to
get, more inbound requests toeducate back to community
outside XR women and helpconnect, right?
We've been asked to doworkshops, for various topics
Help funnel in creators, likewomen creators to ecosystems for
(29:46):
both software and hardwareplatforms, for large companies.
we're very proud to be able todo that and we want to continue
to do that.
we know that this is a hugevalue add to.
Our industry at large, or anycompany that's really trying to
build the creator ecosystem.
(30:07):
And so that is one of the thingsthat I see ourselves growing in,
is not only connecting andcollaborating amongst our own,
but now that we have this poolof talented individuals, how do
we then continue to connect themto other opportunities to see
other ecosystems grow as well?
(30:27):
and we're really good at doingthat.
And we're seeing a lot of,again, these inbound requests
for doing this.
We wanna continue to be able todo that.
and that is why, supporting theorganization and the community
and continuing to leverage it,to help it grow is really
important.
Not just for us, but really forthe industry at large to keep
(30:47):
this going.
because there's a lot of thingsthat we can do.
And with the 5 0 1 C3designation especially.
I'm looking forward to moreprograms through this
accreditation, throughpartnering with organizations
and government and others aswell.
We now have the opportunity ofdoing that.
(31:08):
And again, we have a pool oftalented individuals from all
over the world, all professionalindustries.
So we have a lot of knowledgeand talent, that we can pull and
culminate together to be able tostart building some really
impactful solutions andprojects, revolving around the
designation.
So we're definitely putting afocus on growing that.
Nathan C (2) (31:30):
I love the, you've really caught my attention,
right?
With the knowledge trust and thenetwork that XR women has
created globally is such aunique.
Set of perspectives andexperiences and insights about
(31:51):
spatial computing technologiesFor an industry that is so
predominantly like white dudesin Silicon Valley, to have, an
outside perspective, to have aperspective that represents the
whole a little bit more, or likethe state of the actual world.
it seems incredibly valuable andlike Bravo for understanding
(32:12):
where your own expertise anddata sets are and how you can
turn those into, Value back intothe industry.
That's the kind of feedbackloops that get people moving on.
Julie, how about you?
what's your big call to actionfor the next five years?
Julie Smithson (32:28):
Yeah, for sure.
And I'm gonna touch both on whatKaren and Sophia said that are
behind XR women.
one of the things, the realworld impact that we've been
able to accomplish is starting,our student chapter in Kenya and
Africa.
So within that stability ofbeing a 5 0 1 C3.
our reach and our impact, itgoes far beyond that and
(32:48):
building out the governancebehind.
the stability goes deep.
understanding the laws, theaccessibility of some of the
women to this technology.
we're hearing stories from wartorn countries where they're
going into the tunnels to accesswifi to be able to connect with
other women.
That's happening and I thinkit's incredible.
(33:10):
we hear about these storiesthrough, the channels of our
community, Us having this globalimpact.
it's, incredible during this dayand age where there's a lot of
disturbance in the force outthere, in the real world.
But with that comes thegovernance.
that's the first piece.
And then second to tie it towhat Sophia was saying.
The important thing for us is tocontinue learning about this
(33:31):
technology.
How do we introduce robotics anddrones into XR and ai?
How about Augmented reality andglasses and things like that.
So for us, that's the kind ofthat next phase beyond the five
years, we're gonna take a deeperlook into some different topics.
Especially for the three of us,for our leadership team is
important on how we pull inthose speakers to be able to
(33:52):
educate us.
We've got a machine going.
XR Women is a huge machine.
We've got a massive footprint.
We have, the XR Women MuseumGallery and the Frame Platform
curated by Paige Daner.
The exhibition's called She WhoCodes herself.
So learning about how AI istransforming art.
In the designers themselves,female designers.
(34:14):
We've done a lot of thingsaround even, putting people's
businesses.
it was a while ago, it's almosttwo years, I can't believe this
already.
The spatial computing businessshowcase.
We've been able to put these,exhibits together where it
features the XR women's.
Talents and their ecosystem toteach others.
And again, it just comes back tothe power of our community.
(34:35):
We've got this massivefootprint.
We're gonna be celebrating itwith our community, in the next
month, and then the celebrationsdon't continue.
We keep learning and we keepmeeting because the ecosystem's
not stopping anytime soon.
So we're really proud to be onthe forefront of it and we can't
do it without the community.
This isn't just a Sophia, Karen,Julie show.
(34:55):
This is the XR Women movementand yeah, we're proud to be a
part of it.
Nathan C (2) (34:59):
Oh goodness.
Thank you so much for that.
So cool to see that five yearsin, you're still thriving and
being inspired, on a Weeklybasis by both, the technology,
the community, and, theopportunities to grow and learn
together to make an impact, inreal people's lives.
(35:23):
so fantastic.
Are there any sort of lastclosing thoughts or calls to
action that you wanted to shareout?
Karen Alexander (35:31):
Oh wow.
I think, as Sophia said before,first of all, just join XR
Women.
It's free to do, and it doesn'tmatter what your gender
orientation is, you can join andyou can come to our sessions.
there is a tiny little thing youhave to tick a box underneath
where your email goes on thatjoin form in order to receive
our Weekly newsletter, whichwill let you know where we're
(35:53):
going to be on Wednesday.
The newsletter comes out onTuesday.
I'll let you know on where we'regonna be on Wednesday.
we do have this Power of Fivecampaign going on where we are
asking people to donate just$5.
if you appreciate what XR Womendoes.
Give us$5.
If you've got a little more roomin your wallet and you can give
(36:15):
us$50, that would be very muchappreciated.
If you can give us$500, wow.
That goes a long way toward,helping us to make what we do
happen.
$5,000 would sponsor two XRwomen's student chapters for us
to found new ones.
(36:37):
And$50,000.
That would do a great dealtoward help us achieving that
will allow us to continuegrowing this incredible
community of learning andcollaboration and connection.
Sophia Moshasha (36:54):
Karen said it very well.
We provide.
Value to our own community, butmore importantly to the industry
at large.
So I think people need to keepthat in mind in terms of what we
do, and the value that communityactually has.
you will not find a collectiveof professionals.
(37:15):
This large and this dedicatedanywhere in the virtual world.
so I think there is, so muchthat we can do together as an
industry with XR women, and Iwant, people to understand that
we're not siloing ourselves.
In fact, we need thepartnership, in collaboration
with others in the industry, tobe able to.
(37:38):
Add the value that we've beenseeing within and creating
within XR women to theinitiatives that are happening
in the industry.
so we definitely.
Want people to reach out to us.
We want to help.
and we want our community to beable to help and let's leverage
them.
There's so much that they wantto give and they can give The
(37:59):
purpose of this is to give backto the industry, and so let's
figure out how we can continueto do that and leverage our
community to be able to providethat value.
Karen Alexander (38:08):
Yeah, I like the way you said that, Sophia,
because, we all got started inthis because we were passionate
about.
XR technologies and what theycould do for people.
Whether it would be, giving themmore ways to create and tell
stories share a perspective onsomething, or make a business
process safer or more efficient.
(38:31):
we.
Really believe in the power ofthis technology to improve
people's lives.
so we are helping to build thisindustry and move it forward
through what we do at XR Women.
Nathan C (2) (38:44):
Oh my goodness.
This is lovely friends.
Sophia Moshasha (38:48):
XR Women isn't just a community.
a movement, redefining how weshow up, learn and lead in the
metaverse.
Karen Alexander (38:58):
XR women isn't just a community, it's a
movement.
Redefining how we show up, learnand lead in the metaverse.
Julie Smithson (39:07):
XR women isn't just a community, it's a
movement.
redefining how we show up, learnand lead in the metaverse.
Nathan C (2) (39:15):
Yo.
Julie Smithson, Karen.
Alexander Sophia, Sasha.
So fantastic to talk with you,co-founders of XR Women and to
hear how you're using the Powerof Five to both celebrate, your
amazing run to date as well ashow you're planning to ignite
(39:36):
the future.
Thanks for joining me on thisvery special episode of the Tech
Glow Up.
Karen Alexander (39:42):
Thank you so much, Nathan,
Sophia Moshasha (39:43):
Thank you.
Julie Smithson (39:45):
Thanks,
Nathan C (2) (39:45):
Amazing
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