Biography:Lisa Gelobter

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Short description: Computer scientist, technologist and chief executive
Lisa Gelobter
Lisa Gelobter.jpg
Gelobter, third from right, at a NASA STEM panel
Born1971
NationalityAmerican
Alma materBrown University
OccupationFounder and CEO of tEQuitable
EmployertEQuitable

United States Department of Education Black Entertainment Television

Macromedia
Notable work
Macromedia Shockwave software

Lisa Gelobter (born 1971) is a computer scientist, technologist and chief executive. She was the Chief Digital Service Officer for the United States Department of Education.

In 2006, Gelobter founded and took on the role of Chief Executive Officer of tEQuitable, a start-up that provides an independent and confidential platform to address issues of bias, harassment, and discrimination in the workplace.[1] She raised more than $2 million for tEQuitable, becoming one of the only thirty-four Black women to ever raise $1 million or more in venture capital.[1]

Personal life

Her father was a Polish Jew, and her mother was Afro-Caribbean. She graduated from Brown University in 2011[2] with a computer science degree with a concentration in artificial intelligence and machine learning.[1]

Career

In her early career, Gelobter was the Director of Program Management at Macromedia.[3] During her time there, she invented Shockwave, a multimedia platform that laid the foundation for the modern web.[4] After that she held several executive level positions at companies like The Feedroom, Comet Systems, Brightcove, Joost Technologies, and NBC Universal, which lead to her senior management position for the launch of Hulu.[1][3] From there Gelobter spent several years as the Chief Digital Officer for BET Networks.[5]

Gelobter served as Chief Digital Service Officer for the United States Department of Education during the Presidency of Barack Obama.[6][7][8][9] In this position, she helped to improve HealthCare.gov, reducing the number of individual pages and overall application time.[10] She led the team that built the College Scorecard, an online tool for comparing the cost and value of higher education institutions in the United States.[11][12][13] This program helped raise the country’s college graduation rates by 1.5%.[2]

In 2016, Gelobter founded tEquitable, an independent, confidential platform to address issues of bias, discrimination and harassment in the workplace.[14][15][16][17][18] She raised more than $2 million for the platform.[8]

She is also a former member of the New York Urban League STEM Advisory Board[1] and was named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People.[19]

Honors and Awards

  • In 2019, her and her business tEQuitable are recognized in Inc.'s 100 Women Building America's Most Innovative and Ambitious Businesses.[20]
  • In January 2016, she is recognized as one of the Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company.[21]
  • In March 2014, she is honored by an article in The Roots called "17 Black Women in Science and Tech You Should Know".[22]
  • In November 2011 she was recognized in The Roots' article "Blacks in Silicone Valley".[23]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Coen, Ross (2020-09-19). "Lisa Gelobter (1971- ) •" (in en-US). Blackpast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/lisa-gelobter-1971/. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Lisa Gelobter" (in en-US). https://anitab.org/profile/lisa-gelobter/. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 Gelobter, Lisa (2021-06-01). "Lisa Gelobter" (in en-US). LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisagelobter. 
  4. Dada, Jumoke K.. "Meet The Computer Scientist Who Puts Equity In Diversity And Inclusion Work Culture" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/jumokedada/2021/02/18/meet-the-computer-scientist-who-puts-equity-in-diversity-and-inclusion-work-culture/. 
  5. Gilbert, Tori (2020-02-12). "Black History Month Founder Features: Lisa Gelobter ’91, Ayanna Howard ’93, Brickson Diamond ’93, & Kerlyne Jean-Baptiste ’16" (in en-US). Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship. https://entrepreneurship.brown.edu/lisa-gelobter-91/. 
  6. "Inside Obama's Stealth Startup" (in en-US). Fast Company. 2015-06-15. https://www.fastcompany.com/3046756/obama-and-his-geeks. 
  7. Ries, Eric (2017-10-17) (in en). The Startup Way: How Entrepreneurial Management Transforms Culture and Drives Growth. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 9780241972717. https://books.google.com/books?id=PNCWDgAAQBAJ. 
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Tech Spotlight: Lisa Gelobter is helping employees and employers navigate the complexities of work place harassment - theGrio" (in en-US). theGrio. 2018-10-17. https://thegrio.com/2018/10/17/lisa-gelobter-helping-employees-and-employers-navigate-sexism-racism-harassment/. 
  9. "Inside Obama's Stealth Startup" (in en-US). Fast Company. 2015-06-15. https://www.fastcompany.com/3046756/obama-and-his-geeks. 
  10. Moore, Madison (2015-10-15). "Government organizations turn to ordinary measures to solve software problems". San Diego Times. https://sdtimes.com/digital-initiatives/government-organizations-turn-to-ordinary-measures-to-solve-software-problems/. 
  11. "College Scorecard" (in en). https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/. 
  12. Kamenetz, Anya. "The New College Scorecard: NPR Does Some Math" (in en). http://www.kbbi.org/post/new-college-scorecard-npr-does-some-math. 
  13. "Obama Pushes A New System For Scoring Colleges" (in en). BuzzFeed News. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/mollyhensleyclancy/the-white-house-has-a-new-system-for-scoring-colleges. 
  14. Staff, Entrepreneur (2018-05-31). "10 Companies That Are Doing Good While Doing Well" (in en). Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/313598. 
  15. "Sexual Harassment Inc: How the #MeToo movement is sparking a wave of start-ups" (in en). Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2018/01/05/sexual-harassment-inc-how-the-metoo-movement-is-sparking-a-wave-of-startups/. 
  16. "#MeToo Called for an Overhaul. Are Workplaces Really Changing?" (in en). https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/23/us/sexual-harassment-workplace-response.html. 
  17. "Sexual Harassment Inc: How the #metoo movement is sparking a wave of startups". San Antonio Express-News. 2018-01-05. https://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/Sexual-Harassment-Inc-How-the-metoo-movement-is-12476339.php. 
  18. Path, Adaptive. "UX Week 2018 - Lisa Gelobter of tEQuitable, CEO and Co-founder" (in en-US). http://uxweek.com/speakers/ceo-and-co-founder-tequitable. 
  19. "#BlackHistoryMonth: Celebrating Lisa Gelobter- the Foremost Scientist Who Laid Groundwork for Gif | Duchess International Magazine" (in en-US). Duchess International Magazine. 2020-10-07. https://www.duchessinternationalmagazine.com/blackhistorymonth-celebrating-lisa-gelobter-the-foremost-scientist-who-laid-groundwork-for-gif/.. 
  20. "Lisa Gelobter tEQuitable". 2019-09-16. https://www.inc.com/profile/lisa-gelobter. 
  21. Lawson, Sarah (2016-01-26). "Meet The New Members Of The Most Creative People In Business Community". http://www.fastcompany.com/3056036/meet-the-102-new-members-of-the-most-creative-people-in-business-community. 
  22. Holloway, Lynette (2014-03-07). "17 Black Women in Science and Tech You Should Know" (in en). https://www.theroot.com/17-black-women-in-science-and-tech-you-should-know-1790868408. 
  23. Dreyfuss, Joel (2011-11-11). "Blacks in Silicon Valley" (in en). https://www.theroot.com/blacks-in-silicon-valley-1790868140.