Meet Dijana Steward

Dijana Steward’s bright smile and easy-going nature were the first things that struck me about her as she talked about her passion for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. That smile conveyed to me a strength and unshakeable confidence in herself and her work. 

Transitioning from fundraising to tech

Dijana confided that her transition into tech was a “gift”. As a young single mother, she was working for a medical group opening mail before being progressively promoted to different areas with the group. She eventually left and went to work for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation where she worked mainly as a fundraiser. It was during this time that she was approached by the Chief Technical Officer of the medical group she had previously worked for; they were adopting a new electronics records software and they asked if she would lead the project to implement the new software and train the staff. Since then, she has worked in many industries carving a space for herself as a technical project manager. She has become comfortable leading technical projects in many industries but admits that she enjoys the medical industry the most. 

Her voice is her tool

In addition to being a confident and accomplished Technical Project Manager, Dijana has proven to be an invaluable Diversity, Equity and Inclusion resource. She proclaimed “my VOICE is my TOOL” as she recounts how she has championed DEI in the various organizations she has worked for. She has led focus groups on what these concepts mean and how they translate into actionable steps forward towards real change. She has addressed issues faced by marginalized individuals from the candidate to the employee stages of the hiring process. 

In one organization she became very vocal, persistent and insistent that they follow through with their public promise to “do better” made many years earlier. And while she takes pride in the catalyst for this significant change, she is disappointed that the credit for the enormous body of work that went into creating a viable, sustainable plan for improvement was not bestowed on the ones who did the actual work.

Watching her oldest son navigate the job market as a high-functioning autistic, she also discovered that employers had more of a reactive than proactive partnership with the neurodivergent community. She noticed that data was being collected on various forms of diversity and belonging, but not much was being done with the information to create comfortable working conditions for those concerned. Dijana seeks to lend her voice to increase awareness and promote inclusion for everyone that doesn’t fit into traditional labels.

Empowering women and girls

Dijana is determined to use her voice—her tool—to effect change. When asked what differences she would like to see regarding women in technology, she says she would like to see women’s roles change. Dijana would like to see more women utilized as actual executives instead of figureheads with administrative duties. She would like to see Black women being fairly compensated for their consulting and expertise in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion space and recognized as the subject matter experts they are. She is always open to opportunities to combine her skills as a technical project manager/leader with her passion and experience at DE&I tooling.

And what does she do in her spare time? She may laugh and ask “What is this ‘spare time’ you speak of?” She does give time to Girls, Inc. of the PNW, as a current board member. She is passionate about empowering girls to grow into their wildest aspirations whether that be in the boardroom, the athletic field or in the home. She believes every girl should be the woman she wants to be. Dijana also very much enjoys starting good trouble in her children’s current school district by encouraging district leadership to widen their lens and consider educational and social emotional needs of all children and the diverse families they come from.

About the Author

Coretta Knight - Application Specialist by day. Some call her an Application Engineer, Support Engineer, Software Support Engineer, but the bottom line Coretta is the person to call when the software won’t act right. By night, she is a social justice advocate, with a particular focus on neurodiversity. She likes to use her life as proof positive that being different is not an insurmountable obstacle.