When I’m at work, I’m thinking about my kids. When I’m with my kids, I’m thinking about work. The truth is, work-life balance isn’t always a balanced equation, and one side will always tip the scale. In this talk, we’ll have an honest conversation about the unspoken and unexpected challenges of being a parent in the tech world. We’ll explore the realities of imposter syndrome, guilt, and the relentless pressure to “do it all” (spoiler alert: you can’t).

Before becoming a parent, I was super focused on my career goals and obsessed with how to advance them. It’s still extremely important to me (hello super Type-A personality), but I have learned to manage and adjust expectations for myself.

To that end, we will discuss practical strategies for setting realistic boundaries, managing priorities, and, most importantly, embracing the chaos. Let’s explore how companies can better support working parents and how all of us can advocate for a healthier work-life balance, both for ourselves and for those around us. Whether you are a parent or not, you’ll leave this talk with actionable ways to help create a work environment that values people and productivity and learn some balancing skills of your own.

Sarah Peters is a web developer at Georgetown University, building and maintaining web solutions for the Office of Advancement. She began her development career at Crema, a digital product agency in