Leanne Pittsford
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San Francisco State University (M.A.)
Leanne Pittsford | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1980 or 1981 (age 44–45)[1] |
| Alma mater | California Polytechnic State University (B.A.) San Francisco State University (M.A.) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Organization | Lesbians Who Tech |
| Spouse | Pia Carusone |
| Website | leannepittsford |
Leanne Pittsford[3] is an American entrepreneur. She is the founder of Lesbians Who Tech, a community of queer women and their allies in technology.[1][4]
Pittsford grew up in San Diego, California.[2][1] Being from a conservative family, she did not formally come out as a lesbian until the end of college.[2]
Pittsford attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, earning a bachelor's degree in political science. She went on to earn a master's degree in equity and social justice in education from San Francisco State University.[2]
Career
Pittsford began her career working for Equality California. At that time, the LGBTQ rights group was working to overturn Proposition 8 in California, which banned same-sex marriage in 2008.[1] She became head of operations for the organization.[5]
Pittsford co-founded the Lesbian Entrepreneur Mentoring Program. She was also the founder and CEO of Start Somewhere, a digital agency helping nonprofits and social enterprises.[5][6]
Pittsford founded Lesbians Who Tech in 2012, wanting to create more networking opportunities and increase visibility for lesbians and queer women.[3][1][7] The organization grew from 30 people at the first happy hour meeting in San Francisco[8] to over 15,000 queer women and allies in 33 cities in 2016.[2] The organization also hosts three annual conferences, and has created scholarships with the help of a grant from Marc Andreessen and Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen and a Kickstarter campaign.[2][9][10]
In August 2016, Pittsford organized the third annual LGBTQ Tech and Innovation Summit at the White House.[11] She also co-organized the summit in 2015.[12]
In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Pittsford was part of Nerdz4Hillary, a tech industry group campaigning for Hillary Clinton.[13][14]
Pittsford was recognized as a "soldier of social change... on the front lines of the culture wars" by San Francisco Magazine in 2015.[15] She was also recognized as one of "40 under 40" young business leaders in 2015 by the San Francisco Business Times.[16]
In 2017 Pittsford launched include.io, a recruiting platform for underrepresented technologists and recruiters.[17]
In 2019 Pittsford was recognised by Business Insider as one of the most powerful LGBTQ+ people in Tech.[18]
On Oct. 6, 2019, Pittsford was featured as a guest on the American LGBTQ+ podcast, Queery.[citation needed]
Personal life
Pittsford married Pia Carusone in June 2017.[19]