Women in Tech, Mentorship and Practical AI with Shaneeka Abram

Women in Tech, Mentorship and Practical AI with Shaneeka Abram

Getting into tech takes more than learning the tools. Shaneeka Abram joins me for Indiana Women in Tech Week to talk about the people who open doors, the barriers that remain, and how to use AI without pretending it replaces your expertise.

Shaneeka's father taught her to code before she was particularly interested. That early start led to software development, consulting and AI education. She shares what it took to be heard in rooms where her work was questioned, and why she keeps showing up for the next generation.

WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY

How early mentorship can create opportunities that take years to appreciate.

Why visible role models and a community of peers matter for women entering tech.

A practical starting point for AI: a business bottleneck in work you already understand.

Why professional judgment still matters when anyone can generate code or an answer.

We also talk about students questioning AI's answers and the questions communities deserve to ask about data centers. Shaneeka describes the disruption she experienced during nearby construction. We discuss bringing residents and experts into the same conversation, with room to say when we don't have an answer.

ONE THING TO TRY

Pick one recurring task you know well. Try AI on it, check the result against your own expertise, and write down what still needs a human decision.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Indiana Women in Tech Week and meeting Shaneeka

03:40 Learning to code with her father

06:46 Listening to clients and moving into consulting

08:51 Facing barriers as a woman in tech

14:54 What has changed and why community matters

18:33 Helping small businesses make sense of AI

21:50 Getting young people interested in technology

24:17 Vibe coding and the value of expertise

26:31 Learning from our kids and questioning AI

30:14 Making women in tech visible

35:51 Data centers and the questions communities need answered

44:47 Co-facilitating the conversation and closing thoughts

CONNECT WITH SHANEEKA ABRAM

Brand architect, AI educator and speaker, Abundant Solutions Consulting LLC.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sreneeabram/

Abundant Solutions Consulting: https://www.linkedin.com/company/abundant-solutions-consulting-llc/

RESOURCES MENTIONED

Indiana Women in Tech Week

The AI Advantage, Shaneeka's business training

Analytics Indiana

CONNECT WITH JASON PADGETT

Jason Padgett | AI Solutions Architect | Co-Founder, Wooden Boy Industries | Host, AGI Podcast | AI Adoption, LLM Systems & Human-AI Workflows

AGI - Advance Grow and Innovate with AI Podcast Network

🌐 https://schoolsout.agipodcast.ai/

CoFounder, Wooden Boy Industries

🌐 https://woodenboyindustriesai.com/

Chief Solutions Architect, Chakra AI Solutions

🌐 https://chakrasolutions.ai/

📧 jason@agipodcast.ai

TOOLS DISCUSSED

ChatGPT

Google Gemini

Claude

Perplexity

#WomenInTech

#IndianaWomenInTechWeek

#AI

#AGIPodcast