Aurora Program 2024 Kickoff—Welcome New Leaders!
March 3, 2024
At Rocket Software, we understand that our employees are our greatest asset, and it’s essential that every Rocketeer feels encouraged to show up as their whole self every day. This means we must prioritize amplifying diverse voices across the organization to reflect our core values of Empathy, Humanity, Trust, and Love.
In 2021, Rocket Software’s Rocket Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (RIDE) Program partnered with reacHIRE to launch the Rocket-Aurora Program, a development course tailored to fit the needs of our women leaders as they build and strengthen their careers and hone their leadership styles and practices. Rocket Software’s Aurora program focuses on developing the next generation of women leaders. The emphasis of this program is to create a network of women who are empowered to take control of their careers and to inspire them to help others build confidence and amplify impact.
Aurora Program Kicks Off its Fourth Year
In February, Rocket Software celebrated the launch of Aurora’s fourth year as we welcomed a new group of participants to the program. The new cohort of women was welcomed at the event by Addie Schwartz, the CEO of reacHIRE, and Libby Hillenbrand, the senior director of leadership, development & DEI at Rocket Software.
“It will be a journey full of self-discovery, learning, and fellowship,” said Hillenbrand at the celebration. “Rocket Software could not be more excited to help empower you all and make way for the next group of women in leadership.”
“This program is designed to have something for everyone, and everybody comes to it with different experiences and perspectives, making it so special,” Schwartz echoed. “I’m so excited for everyone to take advantage of this opportunity and pay it forward.”
During the celebration, a panel of women Rocketeers and Aurora graduates—Vidhya V Kumar, manager of information development, Jamie Stetler, a manager of customer care and technical support engineering, and Veronika Seliverstova, a senior software engineer—talked about how much the program meant to them and what they learned through their group discussions and homework that they still reference today.
“This program helped me be more aware of subtle cultural nuances and the immense strength that women can give each other,” said Kumar. “I learned that as women leaders, despite the diverse cultures and geographies, there are some prevalent challenges that bind us and allow us to share the same core values. The Aurora network allows us to find respect for others and faith in ourselves.”
The Aurora program aims to teach members how to become the strongest version of themselves, giving them the ability to then help uplift other women and invest in their futures as leaders under their guides. This year’s guides, Sarah MacConduibh, Amanda Kato, Cathy Steele, and Marie Francesca, each possess over 30 years of experience in engineering, enterprise systems, acquisitions, and communications for the U.S. Department of Defense as well as the Aerospace Corporation and MITRE Corporation. We cannot wait to have them mentor this year’s Aurora Program participants.
Learn More About RIDE
Every day, Rocket Software is expanding our RIDE Program to provide awareness, education, resources, and support for Rocketeers, customers, and our community as a whole. Rocket Software strives to celebrate differences and expects that every Rocketeer will show up as their authentic selves regardless of who they are, what they look like, where they are from, or who they love.
RIDE serves as a platform to reinforce a workplace culture of belonging. Having a robust inclusion, diversity, and equity program aligns with our core values of Empathy, Humanity, Trust & Love.
Our Aurora program participants represent that commitment, and we are so proud of their achievements! Learn more about the RIDE Program and Rocket Software’s investment in our employees here.