The goal of the Millennials/GenZ Member Resource Group is to increase awareness and inspire innovation among the future digital builders of this world, while giving them safe spaces to ask questions and grow their knowledge.
Objectives
- To educate the industry on better ways to interact with the youth and future data center professionals.
- Design programs around education and mentorship for young people to get more interested in the technology field.
- Help all members and community organizations diversify their employee base with young people and people of diversity.
- Remove barriers to entry for younger people wanting to enter the industry.
- Support and further STEM (STEAM) programs around the country to facilitate more thinkers and innovators in the technology space.
- Provide a safe and anchoring space for Millennials and Gen Z members who wish to further their career in the tech space.
Activities, Duties, and Responsibilities
The Infrastructure Millennial-GenZ Committee will have several duties as part of the larger iMasons organization. This includes:
- Recruit new members and bring candidates to the board for review.
- Develop new programs for companies, schools, and local communities to help further young people in the tech space. This includes scholarship opportunities, speaking engagements, event leadership, and so on.
- Be an active participant in all iMasons events and meetings.
- Be an active resource to all iMasons members and leaders.
- Develop a platform for young people to interact with industry leaders.
- Develop a forum for open communication between established technology leaders and young people coming into the industry.
- Develop a new stream of candidates for member organizations to help fuel diversity in our industry.
Millennial-GenZ Executive Sponsor Chair
Using the latest innovations, such as AI, machine learning, data center design, DevOps, cloud and advanced technologies, Bill Kleyman delivers solutions to customers that help them achieve their business goals and remain competitive in their market. An active member in the technology industry, he was ranked #16 globally in the Onalytica study that reviewed the top 100 most influential individuals in the cloud landscape; and #4 in another Onalytica study that reviewed the industry’s top Data Security Experts.
Mr. Kleyman enjoys writing, blogging and educating colleagues about everything related to technology. His work can be seen within thousands of articles, blogs, chapters in various books, white papers, journals, and more. His published and referenced work can be found on WindowsITPro, Data Center Frontier, Data Center Knowledge, InformationWeek, NetworkComputing, AFCOM, TechTarget, DarkReading, Forbes, CBS Interactive, Slashdot and others. Mr. Kleyman is a regular featured keynote presenter and speaker at major industry events including Oracle Cloud Day, Oracle OpenWorld, Interop, AFCOM Data Center World, DCD, Channel Partner Expo, ITProToday, Citrix Synergy/Summit, VMware VMworld, Cisco Live, Google Partner Days, and many others.
Millennial-GenZ Co-Chairs
Christopher Stapakis
Chris is a Project Engineer, Data Analyst and Internship Coordinator at Northshore where he uses his degree and first few years of experience in the industry to implement energy and water saving opportunities to data centers and other high utilization buildings. He graduated with a mechanical engineering degree with an emphasis in tech management from the University of California, Los Angeles. As a Southern California native he has always had a love for green infrastructure and sustainable living which led him to join Northshore as an intern during his time at UCLA. From this he developed a fascination for sustainability project work through his hands-on experience and mentorship from trusted colleagues.
Previously, Chris worked in mechanical design labs on campus designing anything from 3D modeled rockets to a self leveling and tracking tripod system. Growing from his experiences both as an undergrad and an employee in the data center industry, he expanded his field of interest to include using data science to solve practical problems and help to process information associated with the operation of a successful data center. He hopes to foster relationships with incoming talent to the industry and connect with experienced professionals to bridge the generational gap of knowledge to support the ever evolving digital infrastructure industry toward a more sustainable and reliable future.
Valeriya Chulyukina
Valeriya Chulyukina is an Energy Project Engineer at Northshore, where she applies her appreciation for the environment and an interest in sustainability to reduce power and water consumption in datacenters. She’s only been in the industry for a couple years but already loves being involved with all the different parts that go into data center design and retro commissioning, as well as learning and networking through attending conferences and work travel. She believes that the rapidly changing digital infrastructure industry needs new innovative and data driven ideas to be brought to the table by young professionals.
Previously, Valeriya worked at a long-duration energy storage systems flow battery startup and researched alternatives to traditional HVAC systems and life cycle analysis during her time in school. She received her mechanical engineering degree with a minor in mathematics from Santa Clara University in 2022 and has always been involved in organizations that encourage other young people to explore their interests and expand their professional development in STEM related fields; from Girlstart and VEXrobotics to ASME and SWE!
Millennial-GenZ EMEA Lead
Liz Raven leads Continuous Improvement at Yondr, where she manages the Group Audit Programme, ensures Yondr stays compliant against internationally recognised standards and ensures the company management system is kept relevant and continually improves. She brings 15 plus years of construction experience, 8 plus of those of data center experience across Europe.
Liz is also the EMEA lead for the Infrastructure Masons EMEA Millennials-GenZ, which is a group dedicated to raising awareness and building a community within the Tech industry for young professionals looking to build a career within this sector. She is extremely passionate about bridging the technology gap and has joined up with iMasons to bring awareness to Tech Inclusions UK, who have developed a hassle-free and secure process to put your old tech to good use, they deliver a circular solution to solve digital exclusion and tackle e-waste.”
Lindsay McConnville
How to Participate
Participation starts with a simple ‘hello.’ Our digital industry needs young people to lead the future. But, it’s sometimes hard to get started. So, to participate and have your voice be heard, simply start by visiting the iMasons webpage and navigate to the Millennial/GenZ MRG page. From there, just reach out, and we can find a way for you to become a more significant part of this industry. Your participation can include:
- Contributions to major industry blogs
- Become a member of the iMasons organization and gaining access to the leaders of the digital world
- Speaking opportunities in front of industry leaders and peers
- Networking opportunities and a chance to expand your knowledge
- An opportunity to become heard as a young part of our industry
- Help shape and shift policies and procedures to help more young people join the industry
- Become a technology leader and help others in your age group to understand the impacts of a digital society