Leanne Pittsford facts for kids

Leanne Pittsford is an American entrepreneur who creates and leads businesses. She is best known for starting Lesbians Who Tech. This is a community group for queer women and their friends who work in technology.

Early Life and Education

Leanne Pittsford grew up in San Diego, California. She came from a family with traditional views. She shared her identity as a lesbian after finishing college.

Pittsford went to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. There, she earned a bachelor's degree in political science. Later, she received a master's degree from San Francisco State University. Her master's degree focused on fairness and social justice in education.

Career Highlights

Pittsford started her career working for Equality California. This group works for the rights of LGBTQ people. At that time, they were trying to change a law in California. This law, called Proposition 8, had stopped same-sex marriage in 2008. Leanne became the head of operations for the organization.

Pittsford also helped create the Lesbian Entrepreneur Mentoring Program. This program helped women who wanted to start their own businesses. She also founded and led Start Somewhere. This was a digital company that helped non-profit groups and social businesses.

Starting Lesbians Who Tech

In 2012, Pittsford started Lesbians Who Tech. She wanted to create more chances for queer women to meet and connect. She also wanted to make sure they were more visible in the tech world. The group began with only 30 people at its first meeting in San Francisco. By 2016, it had grown to over 15,000 queer women and their allies. These members were spread across 33 cities.

The organization also holds three big conferences each year. They have also created scholarships to help students. These scholarships were made possible by a grant from Marc Andreessen and Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen. They also received support from a Kickstarter campaign.

Working with the White House

In August 2016, Pittsford organized a special event. It was the third annual LGBTQ Tech and Innovation Summit. This important meeting took place at the White House. She also helped organize the same summit in 2015.

Other Recognitions

In 2015, San Francisco Magazine called Pittsford a "soldier of social change." This meant she was working hard to make society better. The San Francisco Business Times also named her one of the "40 under 40" young business leaders in 2015.

In 2017, Pittsford launched a new platform called include.io. This platform helps connect people from underrepresented groups in technology with job recruiters.

In 2019, Business Insider recognized Pittsford. They named her one of the most powerful LGBTQ+ people in the technology industry.

On October 6, 2019, Pittsford was a guest on the American LGBTQ+ podcast, Queery.

Personal Life

Leanne Pittsford married Pia Carusone in June 2017.