#empowHER50 – Leona Dotson (Locke)

When service becomes strategy, and purpose meets precision, impact becomes inevitable. 

For more than two decades at Microsoft, Leona has embodied the quiet power of servant leadership elevating underrepresented communities, reshaping partner ecosystems, and creating enduring pathways for women and youth to thrive in tech. 

As Director of Go-to-Market Benefits & Partner Engagement, Leona has played a transformative role in empowering women- and Black-owned cloud and services partners across the globe. Through her leadership of the Black Partner Growth Initiative and partner engagement with organizations like Women in Cloud and the Black Channel Partner Alliance, she has driven programs that expanded Microsoft’s ecosystem and amplified economic opportunity for thousands. 

Her leadership philosophy is simple but profound: “Lead with purpose, serve authentically, and embody a spirit of peace and gratitude.” 

From leading the team that designed the AI Cloud Partner Concierge program to orchestrating over 1,3100 global events that redefined Microsoft’s regional marketing and operations strategy, Leona’s work is a masterclass in scale and soul. Her efforts have reached thousands of strategic partners over the last several years, boosted partner satisfaction, and unlocked millions in reinvested impact. 

But her legacy stretches far beyond business metrics. 

Leona co-founded Blacks @ Microsoft (BAM) within the Customer and Partner Solutions division and spent five years nurturing the High School Intern Program mentoring over 120 students, several of whom are now Microsoft employees. She’s a fierce advocate for STEM education, endowing the Leona H. Dotson Women in STEM Scholarship and championing lifelong access to learning through the Educational Advancement Foundation and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. 

Whether mentoring young professionals, leading ERGs, or uplifting communities through organizations like The Greater Seattle Chapter of the Links, Incorporated, The Seattle Chapter of Jack & Jill of America, and the College Success Foundation, Leona’s commitment is unwavering: to leave every space more inclusive, more inspired, and more equitable than she found it. 

Her story is a blueprint for what happens when leadership is led by heart, and legacy is built not just in what we create, but in who we lift along the way. 

About #empowHER50 campaign

This campaign celebrates women leaders at Microsoft, past and present, who have been instrumental in democratizing access to technology, opportunity, and growth. By honoring their contributions over the last half-century, this campaign highlights stories of resilience, innovation, and inclusivity. Through digital spotlights, a commemorative coffee table book, live recognition events, and more, the campaign inspires collective action toward achieving equitable societal goals. To learn more about empowHER50, please visit https://womenincloud.com/empowHER50 

To learn about Microsoft 50th celebrations: https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-50/  

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#empowHER50 – Karen Bergin

There are moments in a career when purpose and precision align so perfectly, they create something larger than impact—they create infrastructure. For 23 years, Karen Bergin has been engineering such moments at Microsoft, where giving is no longer a gesture but a global operating system for change.  

Bergin doesn’t talk about charity—she talks about access. Not as an afterthought, but as a blueprint. In 2022, she spearheaded the global expansion of Microsoft’s Employee Giving Program, transforming a US centric effort into a worldwide platform across 80+ countries. Since then, employees have contributed over $500 million, volunteered 2.5 million hours, and supported more than 50,000 nonprofits. In her hands, generosity became both system and standard—scalable, sustainable, and deeply human.  

“When compassion becomes code and generosity becomes infrastructure, we don’t just scale impact—we rewrite the blueprint of corporate purpose,” Bergin reflects. 

But Bergin’s legacy is not just written in metrics—it’s embedded in moments of crisis and community. As the leader of Microsoft’s Disaster Response program, she has mobilized over 150 tech-enabled relief projects in 30 countries—combining cloud infrastructure, digital tools, and volunteer expertise with breathtaking speed and empathy.  

And when the crisis subsides, she builds again. Her Change Agents and Nonprofit Advisors initiatives bridge the skills divide between Microsoft employees and thousands of nonprofits around the world—ensuring access to AI, cloud technology, and strategy isn’t a privilege, but a promise.  

Outside Microsoft, she lends her voice to the arts—as Chair-Elect of ArtsFund, where she champions equity in creative expression with the same urgency she brings to tech.  
Bergin’s work is a quiet revolution—evidence that systems don’t change by chance, but through vision, design, and heart. She didn’t just help redefine giving at Microsoft—she redefined what it means to lead. 

About #empowHER50 campaign

This campaign celebrates women leaders at Microsoft, past and present, who have been instrumental in democratizing access to technology, opportunity, and growth. By honoring their contributions over the last half-century, this campaign highlights stories of resilience, innovation, and inclusivity. Through digital spotlights, a commemorative coffee table book, live recognition events, and more, the campaign inspires collective action toward achieving equitable societal goals. To learn more about empowHER50, please visit https://womenincloud.com/empowHER50

To learn about Microsoft 50th celebrations: https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-50/

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#empowHER50 – Karen Fassio

When you skill a generation, you don’t just empower people you create ecosystems of opportunity that ripple for decades. 

For over 30 years in tech and 24 at Microsoft, Karen Fassio has been a force behind some of Microsoft’s most pivotal programs—quietly shaping the tech industry by connecting people, purpose, and progress. 

Her journey began with an invitation from a circle of women to join Microsoft, where she made it her mission to get people skilled. That rallying cry sparked the launch of game-changing initiatives like TechNet Subscriptions, the 2000 Windows Global Certifications program, and SMB licensing offers tools that empowered countless professionals and expanded access to technology on a global scale. 

Karen’s impact only grew from there. She became a founding force behind BuildFor2030, amplifying solutions aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and co-founded Women in Cloud, helping unlock over $500M in economic access and creating career pathways for more than 5,000 women in AI and cybersecurity. 

Beyond Microsoft, Karen continues to lead with intention. She serves on the board of the Black Channel Partner Alliance, architects’ go-to-market strategies for AI startups, and heads the Microsoft Alumni Network for the Pacific Northwest, ensuring inclusive innovation doesn’t stop at the exit badge. 

“Being part of #empowHER50 is more than an honor it’s a legacy. It’s a bridge between generations, ensuring my granddaughter sees the women who shaped the industry and the path she shares with them 50 years from now.” — Karen Fassio 

Karen’s legacy is rooted in skilling, storytelling, and strategic generosity. She doesn’t just prepare people for the future she helps them build it, lead it, and thrive in it. 

#empowHER50 honors her extraordinary blueprint: one that elevates women, enriches communities, and ensures everyone has a seat and a voice at the table. 

 
About #empowHER50 campaign

This campaign celebrates women leaders at Microsoft, past and present, who have been instrumental in democratizing access to technology, opportunity, and growth. By honoring their contributions over the last half-century, this campaign highlights stories of resilience, innovation, and inclusivity. Through digital spotlights, a commemorative coffee table book, live recognition events, and more, the campaign inspires collective action toward achieving equitable societal goals. To learn more about empowHER50, please visit https://womenincloud.com/empowHER50 

To learn about Microsoft 50th celebrations: https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-50/  

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#empowHER50 – Gena Goh

When we unlock access through ecosystems, innovation doesn’t just scale—it transforms communities. 

Gena Goh has made it her mission to activate technology as a force for impact—by amplifying the voices, solutions, and talents of others across Microsoft’s global partner ecosystem.  

In 2020, she launched the #BuildFor2030 Initiative, a movement that enabled startups and partners to co-innovate with Microsoft in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Through hackathons, marketplace spotlights, and targeted campaigns, Gena helped elevate hundreds of partner solutions that empower customers to become more energy-efficient, manage climate risk, and improve digital accessibility with AI.  

But Gena’s impact goes far beyond driving tech innovations. She understood that access isn’t equal—so she changed the equation. By advocating for Microsoft to sponsor partner-led community organizations, she helped drive digital skilling and professional development initiatives that reached thousands of women. Her leadership has created pathways that are inclusive, measurable, and lasting. 

“As we navigate the changes of the AI era, let’s keep creating pathways for access and opportunity, and enable communities to adapt, benefit from these new capabilities, and thrive.” — Gena Goh 

Gena’s approach is grounded in three strategies: create momentum behind a purpose, build a platform that enables access and innovation, and tap into partners and community to expand impact. She doesn’t wait for change—she builds the systems that make it possible.  

And today, Gena is focusing her attention on enabling teams and organizations to be at the forefront with cy

bersecurity solutions and stay protected. 

Gena’s legacy is one of activation and amplification—turning collaboration into outcomes and partnerships into power. By opening doors, she’s helping women and innovators around the world walk through them—and thrive. 

About #empowHER50 campaign

This campaign celebrates women leaders at Microsoft, past and present, who have been instrumental in democratizing access to technology, opportunity, and growth. By honoring their contributions over the last half-century, this campaign highlights stories of resilience, innovation, and inclusivity. Through digital spotlights, a commemorative coffee table book, live recognition events, and more, the campaign inspires collective action toward achieving equitable societal goals. To learn more about empowHER50, please visit https://womenincloud.com/empowHER50 

To learn about Microsoft 50th celebrations: https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-50/  

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#empowHER50 – Regina N. Johnson

When we center people, we redefine what growth looks like. 

That belief sits at the core of Regina N. Johnson’s work at Microsoft and in the world. As Senior Manager supporting Partner Engagement, Regina builds pathways, not just programs. Her focus is clear: help small businesses and underestimated entrepreneurs scale with power, clarity, and visibility. 

“Real innovation starts by listening. When we center people, we unlock the kind of growth that transforms communities. One story and one entrepreneur at a time.” — Regina N. Johnson 

At Microsoft, Regina serves as a liaison to external organizations that empower small business owners that are Microsoft partners. She supports strategic initiatives within the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program through capital access, technical enablement, skilling, and community-led partnerships. Under her leadership, efforts working with various organizations have driven a 30% increase in partner revenue and market engagement, while deepening representation in emerging markets. 

One standout initiative: a multimillion-dollar channel investment that supports high-growth Black-owned businesses. From tailored coaching to strategic messaging, the impact is measurable with partners reporting a 40% increase in customer engagement and stronger alignment with Microsoft’s ecosystem. 

But for Regina, numbers are just the beginning. What drives her is the people behind progress, including the founders who dared to dream and the changemakers rewriting the rules of possibility. 

Her work extends beyond Microsoft. She’s the founder of Wonder, a storytelling platform that uplifts the lived experiences of changemakers; the founder of Strata, a consultancy solving complex organizational problems; and a doctoral candidate at Columbia University, researching entrepreneurial resilience and learning strategies for long-term success. 

Regina’s leadership is a powerful reminder that real systems change begins with listening, and thrives through trust, investment, and shared purpose. 

About #empowHER50 campaign

This campaign celebrates women leaders at Microsoft, past and present, who have been instrumental in democratizing access to technology, opportunity, and growth. By honoring their contributions over the last half-century, this campaign highlights stories of resilience, innovation, and inclusivity. Through digital spotlights, a commemorative coffee table book, live recognition events, and more, the campaign inspires collective action toward achieving equitable societal goals. To learn more about empowHER50, please visit https://womenincloud.com/empowHER50 

To learn about Microsoft 50th celebrations: https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-50/  

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