The globe with the constellation is an ode to the building owner’s (Robert H. Craven Jr) great aunt Irene Davis (born Elizabeth Irene Craven) whose tenacity helped to keep F.A. Davis, an independent health science college textbook publisher, a thriving business. FA Davis remains to be one of the oldest independent, family-managed publishing houses in America, founded in 1879. Over her 43 year reign, Aunt Irene navigated the company through the Depression and two bank receiverships while widowed and fostered her younger siblings and nephew, Robert H Craven Sr, who succeeded her as President. She is a testament to women leadership and her story serves as the baton to pass on and inspire future generations.

About the artist, Serena Saunders

Serena Saunders is a full-time mother and practicing artist. Native to Philadelphia, Serena's core is Fine Art but she also creates in the realm of Fashion Design and Writing. Her work as a painter has a fresh, color-strong perspective that speaks to our imagination while the subjects ask of our awareness. Her often large-scale, graphically bold and poetically composed paintings offer the viewer layers of narrative. The painter works with a color palette that gives her intricate prints a world of their own. She then uses these environments on canvas as a backdrop to her portraits and their stories. You will often find a matter of injustice or undying hope fighting its way through the line work to prevail at the surface. Read more.

About the program

This mural was born out of a corporate initiative between Amdocs and Comcast to invest in closing the gender gap. This is the first effort of this kind where significant investment has been made to tailor a six-month program aimed at sharing knowledge, networking and creating a platform for professional growth and collaboration among women in technology. What occurred over the following six months was a transformative experience. We created a community; a group of women in technology getting to know each other and bonding over shared experiences. A safe space to open-up and a forum for honest discussion. A place where we could learn new skills and push each other to step out from our comfort zones. Along the way we were individually challenged to dream, to go further and to set goals. To do our part to encourage the young women of the next generation to pursue their passion in STEM subjects, we commissioned a mural in Philadelphia that will stand in testament to our commitment to see more women entering the tech industry, encouraging them to make the most of opportunities, by taking their place and taking up space.