Women Wednesday with Linda Calvin
#womenwednesday
Across all Hope's social media platforms, this biweekly series will highlight inspiring women to know.
Hope Magazine is a team of thinkers, seekers and creatives who find inspiration in movement, exploration and sisterhood. We want to create meaningful relationships inspired by real women and their stories - all designed for the way you live today!
Meet Linda Calvin, a 20-year veteran of the private IT sector with strengths in communication, law, digital and application development, and global tech leadership.
Linda graduated cum laude with her BA in Journalism from Butler University. She also earned a Juris Doctor from Indiana University and is licensed to practice law in the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana.
She is currently the Chief Impact Officer for Reboot Representation, an organization dedicated to doubling the number of Black, Latina and Native American (BLNA) women graduating with computing degrees by 2025. In her role, Linda collaborates with Reboot tech coalition partners to help create cultures that attract and retain BLNA women in tech. She also facilitates panels on emerging tech and the tech talent gap. She is a speaker for Transcend Consulting and regularly talks on topics of tech equity, mapping passion to tech, designing diverse tech talent pipelines, and women’s empowerment.
Linda holds many board and volunteer positions, including the Executive Women’s Forum Director for Women & Hi Tech, a volunteer at Guardian ad Litem and a board member for Kids’ Voice of Indiana, the Indiana Technology and Innovation Association (ITIA), and an advisory board member for the Six Sigma Racial Equity Institute in Indianapolis and the Digital Fluency Council for Franklin College.
Linda most recently joined the board of Rooted Schools Indy, a technology charter school serving students in underserved communities in Indianapolis, and the Indiana Executive Council on Cybersecurity. As a woman of color in tech, she is committed to diversity and being visible to youth and those who aspire to tech careers in the community.
Linda believes, “When you see us, you can be us.” Thus, she regularly volunteers to speak with girls at Girls Inc of Greater Indianapolis, at STEM camps and with organizations like Brown Girls Code. Linda and her husband started a scholarship in 2021, the Transcending Boundaries Scholarship, to provide funding for Black, Latino/a, and Hispanic residents and current students in Indianapolis to earn tech credentials at Ivy Tech Community College.
Do you have a personal quote or life's motto you live by?
“Find your Fierce.”
As a biracial female, it’s challenging to find a place to belong. I have no family members who are Black and I was never exposed to Black culture, not even a doll, growing up. I was severely bullied growing up – for being Black or being “too white.” I experienced a lot of trauma as a result, but I figured out a way to navigate the pain by finding what I loved and pouring myself into my passion. As a young girl and teen, that was writing, homework and organizing groups. I found that I could have a voice and rally people to a cause. My first cause was organizing students against assigned seating and from there, I found my strengths and my passion. Even with adversity and trauma, I found my strength and light. I found my fierce and it powers me to this very day.
What inspires you?
Equity. There’s so much work to be done. We must roll up our sleeves and lean in. I want my legacy to be that I helped organizations realize the power of diversity and create cultures of equity. I want to be remembered for inspiring others to change.
A fun fact about yourself:
Growing up, I never had any Barbies or other dolls that looked like me. Every doll I ever had was white. I didn’t even know there were black dolls. My mother, new to raising a biracial child with no resources to help her, did not know to look for them. Now I collect Black Barbie dolls. I have 32. They are on shelves and in cabinets throughout my office. Every day I’m in my office, I see beautiful Black Barbies and it makes me smile.
Follow Linda on LinkedIn and Instagram
