New summit striving to address problems for women in Utah tech companies

“Starting the conversation” was the point of the Women Tech Council’s first Talent Innovation Summit Wednesday.

“If we don’t have the conversation, nothing changes,” said WTC president and co-founder Cydni Tetro.

Senior executives, human resources personnel, and business leaders filled Adobe’s Alpha Bravo gym to capacity Wednesday to discuss how to recruit and retain women in local technology companies. Because it was the WTC’s first try at a summit of this size and breadth, the goal was to bring in some top leaders to start the conversation, and present their ideas on what has worked and what hasn’t.

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T05:38:17-07:00

11 Utah organizations changing the tech game for women

SALT LAKE CITY — The Silicon Slopes are growing more diverse thanks to innovative groups, initiatives, organizations and companies that are pushing for more Utah women to pursue technology careers. Many female leaders at major tech companies are leading the charge.

Utah, which topped Forbes’ list of Best States for Business, has high household incomes and great job-growth rates. Forbes calls it a “technology hub,” with companies like Novell, WordPerfect, Microsoft, Oracle and Adobe Systems building major hubs within the state.

“The talent pool in Utah is incredible,” Scott Murray, vice president of global customer experience for eBay, told the Associated Press. An integral part of that talent pool […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T05:44:57-07:00

How I learned the value of networking in 10 minutes

Networking is a nearly everyday experience for us MBA students. From in-class speakers to alumni events to mingling with our peers, networking opportunities abound.

Unlike other networking events, however, the Women’s Tech Council Speed Networking event on Oct. 21 offered a unique experience to interface with five inspiring female business leaders from around the Salt Lake valley.

The Women’s Tech Council is a nonprofit community organization that seeks to empower women in technology roles and technology companies through mentoring, networking and visibility. For the past three years, the group has participated in a speed-networking event at the Eccles School. The event was sponsored by Women in Business, a club that aims to engage, develop and support women […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T05:56:45-07:00

Eight women awarded for achievement in technology

Eight prominent women were selected Tuesday from a pool of 16 finalists to receive the Women in Tech Award.

This year marks the eighth time the Women Tech Council (WTC) hosted its award program, which seeks to recognize innovative women who are positively impacting the technology industry.

The 2015 recipients are: Denise Leleux (eBay), Mary Anne White (Orbital ATK), Jill Layfield (Backcountry.com), Stormy Simon (Overstock.com), Catherine Wong (Domo), Vicky Thomas (Lucid Software), Jessica Harris (Utah Valley University) and Amanda Hudson (Western Governors University).

Wong, as well as runners-up Mary Sinnott, Tricia Schumann and JoCee Porter, all have affiliations with the U. Wong served on the advisory board for the College of Engineering, Sinnott is an alumna with her […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-14T03:13:11-07:00

Utah colleges host events centered around women

SALT LAKE CITY — In honor of women around the world, Utah universities are offering many resources that people may not be aware of. Some are direct results, while others are recurring events aimed at women.

As a way to empower women to progress in their community and careers, students and others in the community are encouraged to actively engage in the events.

Brigham Young University

BYU Women’s Conference

BYU will be hosting over 200 presenters for a two-day conference. The conference is the “largest gathering of LDS women in the world.” Topics such as womanhood and sisterhood, gospel principles, marriage, family, etc., will be focused on during the event.

Women of all ages are invited to attend the event April […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T06:25:15-07:00

The Women Tech Awards Phenomenon

Women Tech Council just celebrated its 7th Annual Women Tech Awards. To date, 77 women have been recognized through this powerful program, thanks to our community of 2,000+ women and men who support our programs. The Women Tech Awards has brought the tech community together for 7 years now, with over 700 attending this most recent event. Now that we have a sense of our community, it’s interesting to look at what happens to the Finalists after they are recognized.

With six full years of Finalist data, I was able to look at the career movement of our Finalists after they had been named a Finalist. First, I grouped Finalists by award year to see how many of […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T21:47:02-07:00

EXPERTS DISCUSS VALUE, FUTURE OF ONLINE EDUCATION

When it comes to higher education, does it matter to a hiring manager if someone got a degree through a traditional college or an online program? The answer is no, according to three of Utah’s online education experts.

Sally Johnstone, vice president of academic advancement at Western Governors University; Jonathon Nichols, associate director for online programs at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business; and Claire Peterson, professor and eLearning task force member at Salt Lake Community College, made up the panel of online education experts at the Women Tech Council’s monthly Tech Talk meeting Tuesday, where they discussed several facets of online education, including costs, class sizes, types of online education and the […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T21:53:43-07:00

5 More Women in Tech Orgs You Should Know

Folks, a while back my team and I created a list of the Top 10 Women in Tech Orgs and I’m following up with some of the suggestions that have been sent in. I checked out all of the orgs that people commented about, and appreciate the great women in tech organizations that are really getting the job done.

Here are five more women in tech orgs that you should know about:

App Camp For Girls teaches girls how to brainstorm, […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T21:57:41-07:00

Local entrepreneur says to retrain from within

PROVO — One of the most serious shortages in high-tech or innovative companies that employers face is finding technologists and programmers.

By 2020, there will be 1.4 million computing jobs and only 400,000 computer science students graduating.

“We need a new talent pool,” Sara Dansie Jones said and then gave solutions.

Jones comes with an impressive list of qualifications. Jones is vice president of Strategic Development for Patent Law Works LLC and a former shareholder and patent attorney. More […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T22:02:07-07:00

OpenWest event doubles its numbers

OREM — Director Victor Villa had an aha moment just a few days before the Utah Open Source Foundation’s 10th annual conference at Utah Valley University.

“I have got to be honest with you, it was a Field of Dreams moment for me,” Villa said.

In 2012 there were 481 who participated in the conference and Villa had made a goal for 700 this year.

A few days before the OpenWest Conference, online registration spiked. Organizers capped registration at 760, and a conservative estimate of those in attendance including speakers and volunteers is 840.

“This has been a huge increase […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T22:09:39-07:00

5 honored at Women Tech Awards

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Kristin Wright2017-03-25T23:35:45-07:00

5 honored at Women Tech Awards

SALT LAKE CITY — Carol Fineagan grew up in an alcoholic and emotionally abusive household in Baltimore which, if she had let it, could have sabotaged her entire future.

Instead, Fineagan drew strength from her participation in the Girl Scouts and from her mother’s best friend, Joyce Britton, who provided encouragement, help and a positive role model.

Fineagan went on to earn several degrees, changed careers a number of times and now is senior vice president and CIO at EnergySolutions.

Fineagan on Thursday was one of five women recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to the technology world and the community at the Women Tech Awards luncheon sponsored by the Women Tech Council.

The event at the Grand America […]

Kristin Wright2017-04-12T22:14:42-07:00