June 4, 2025
531 words, 3 minutes read time.
Today, we have a pattern interruption. Instead of a standard 25 minute interview, we will sit down with five nominees for a leadership award from Women in Technology.
The ceremony took place at the Hyatt Regency Reston, in lovely downtown Reston, Virginia on May 15, 2025.
Each candidate sits for a “lightning” round of eight minutes where they answer three questions about leadership and give their reason for participating in Women In Technology.
In order to see who won, you will have to visit Women In Technology
Why are you involved with Women in Technology?
Really, it's for community and the ability right for us to lift each other . . for me, it's a celebration of my mentors, peers . . it's about driving to results and doing that in a way that creates opportunity for others.
. .and I think it's really inspiring to see what they're doing with girls in technology and girls in STEM and trying to evoke and bring those girls into the fold and inspire them to join this industry, because I think going back to my childhood, I wasn't necessarily, like, persuaded not to go into technology, but I was never really given options or opportunity.
I am involved in this agency because the mission means a lot to me as a woman in the field. And I have a daughter that I want to inspire, and I want to set an example for, and I want to create a future where the tools that we build are fundamentally a reflection of the society that we live in, and I want those tools to reflect the richness of the world we live in, and that means diversity in all shapes and sizes and forms. And so that's why I do what I do . . .
. . . when I went to college, I was the only woman in my computer science class. Wow, and it didn't matter to me, and I worked hard and I strived and I did well. But recently, I was at Purdue University in a group of engineering students, first year engineering students, and over half of the students in that class were women. So I think just really seeing the progression of women again . . .
. . . my core value around inclusion, I just again. Maybe it's coming from Ohio. Maybe it's growing up on the farm. I don't know. I'm a big you know, let's lay out everything on the table. Let's bring everyone to the table, get the best ideas out on the table and and leverage those ideas to move forward. So, so to me, My why is, is we really aligns with those core values that I carry forth every single day.
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