“Joan Westenberg launched PR and branding firm Studio Self at the end of 2019. Despite Covid-19 setting her back before she’d barely begun, she’s come back stronger than ever, with Studio Self passing six figures in the space of six months”, according to a Tess Connery post in Mediaweek. https://bit.ly/3pCnjTX
Joan Westenberg talks on how she uses her experiences as a trans woman in tech to steer the industry towards transgender inclusion, in this Aishwarya Jagani interview for Virtasant, https://bit.ly/3GiFYdD
“I’ve always loved technology. I taught myself to code when I was 12 years old, and I’ve just fallen in love with it. I love being online, doing anything cool, building cool stuff, and just exploring online communities. So it’s always been really important to me,” she shared.
But it hasn’t always been easy. Westenberg, who used to head PR and communications for tech brands, and who has always been in demand by tech companies looking to leverage her skill in shaping their voice, experienced a shift in attitudes after transitioning.
“Suddenly, I was told that I wasn’t a culture fit. That I wasn’t experienced enough. That the founders didn’t feel that with my background, I could relate to their stakeholders. One tech recruiter asked me what it was like “being a transgender,” she told The Next Web in a June 2020 article.
Grappling with an industry that didn’t support or see her, Westenberg decided to create opportunities and built a trans-inclusive space for the tech industry’s other ‘outsiders’.
Photo Joan Westenberg, Mediaweek.