Video Highlights: 8th Annual Women in Technology Awards
Enjoy these highlights from the 8th Annual Women in Technology Awards
Announcing our New Executive Director
Change is Good – Meet Our New Executive Director
Let’s face it. No one likes change. But, change is never optional and everyone knows that nothing truly great happens without it.
The New Mexico Tech Council has undergone tremendous change over the past year. We have overhauled our operations to better manage our membership and deliver greater value. We have re-crafted a portion of our sponsorship opportunities (now called partnership investments) to better deliver and report our impact. We refreshed our logo, added new peer groups and launched several new initiatives around talent, women in tech, and STEM. And as you will notice with this month’s communications, we are changing the way we communicate to our members and our stakeholders – more personal conversations, shorter and sweeter emails and newsletters. (See more about that below.)
All of this change is about taking our organization to the next level. At the end of the day, what makes this step-up possible is the team (or the person) that leads you through it. For the New Mexico Tech Council, that person has been Ms. Nyika Allen and we are proud to announce that as of October 1, 2015, she has assumed the position of Executive Director of NMTC.
Lisa Adkins, Director of FatPipe ABQ and Chairwoman of the New Mexico Technology Council had this to say about Nyika and her new role: “I am so very pleased that Nyika has accepted the full-time position as our Executive Director. Her youth, energy and enthusiasm is a breath of fresh air for our organization and I know new and existing members are already seeing the benefits of Nyika’s leadership.”
Over the past year, Nyika has served as the Director of Community & Operations at NMTC and has worked to affect all the changes above with the board and other interim staff at NMTC. Nyika brings a variety of experiences from within and outside of the technology industry coupled with a fresh energy around what makes New Mexico THE place for technology businesses to start, grow, and thrive.
Nyika’s experience since graduating with a degree in International Management from the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management includes being the Tech Expert for 2KASA Fox, Director of Business Development at Volante Software, and President of Nyika Media. And, did we mention that in her spare time she was a speaker at TedXABQ 2015?
Join us in celebrating Nyika, the changes at NMTC and the future of the technology industry in New Mexico. This is a great time to get involved. We have so much more to tell you, so many more efforts where we need our members and community to get involved. But, as promised, our newsletters will be shorter and sweeter going forward and will include more unique news, perspectives and happenings in the tech industry. After all, the business of technology is everybody’s business.
Nominations Are Open for Women in Tech Achievement Awards
NMTC’s Women in Technology Celebration is our most popular event! Held annually to recognize the achievements of women working in New Mexico’s technology arena, promoting the role of women in tech and science, and encouraging women to pursue careers in these fields.
Do you know of an exceptional woman in NM who is leading the way in a tech-related field? Consider nominating her for a recognition award at our celebration breakfast to be held on Thursday, March 5, 2015 at 8:30am at the Albuquerque Marriot.
The criteria for nomination is simple: The woman must be a leader in a tech-related field, or a woman who encourages other young women to pursue career paths in technology and science.
Submit a nomination here before Friday, February 20, 2015. Women may be nominated more than once, but previous winners are not eligible.
NMTC Announces 2014 New Mexico Women in Technology Awardees
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., February 6, 2014– The New Mexico Technology Council (NMTC) announced the winners of its New Mexico Women in Technology Awards for 2014 at a breakfast celebration in Albuquerque. Nine women were honored, leaders from throughout New Mexico in IT, Social Media, Education and Entrepreneurship.
2014 award winners were:
- Lisa Abeyta, Founder & CEO, APPCityLife
- Kim Griego, Robotics Teacher, Cleveland High School
- Deborah Peacock, CEO & Managing Partner, Peacock Myers PC
- Karen Pena, APS Technology Teacher, Cochiti Elementary School
- Julianna Silva, Albuquerque Regional Manager & Marketing Director, WESST
- Dorothy Stermer, Manager, Sandia National Laboratories
- Janet Webb, President, Webb Design Inc
- Dr. Karin Wiburg, Distinguished Professor, Learning Design and Technology, NMSU
About the New Mexico Technology Council
The New Mexico Technology Council (www.nmtechcouncil.org) was founded in 2000 as the New Mexico Information Technology and Software Association (NMITSA) to promote the growth of New Mexico’s technology business community.
Community Update 5/12 (Part 2)
Of course most of the events in our wider community are put together by a wide variety of groups and other associations. Here’s a look at what’s going on in the near future and some of the recurring meetups and other events that they have.
IDEAS & COFFEE: PUTTING THE WEB TOGETHER IN YOUR MIND (5/12) )
In this conversation we will discuss how the technology of the web works and how all the pieces fit together in a spectrum ranging from iPhones to Google servers. As an entrepreneur, designer or developer creates a project or a business, questions come up repeatedly about where to begin and what to do next. We will attempt to put together something of a map of the huge world of the internet in order to make answering many of these questions a little easier.
WHEN: Monday, May 12th; 6 – 8:00 PM
WHERE: Ideas & Coffee l Albuquerque
SIGNUP: FREE with pre-registration HERE.
NMBIO: HEALTH, NOT HEALTHCARE AS A NATIONAL STRATEGIC PRIORITY (5/13)
Our nation faces multiple, simultaneous and interrelated epidemic scale crises across many levels – in our systems, our organizations, our communities, our families, and ourselves – that diminish our individual and collective security and capacity. We are caught in a self-fulfilling negative cycle – in which we suffer too much, spend too much, waste too much, and die too young – and the resilience of a nation so conceived cannot long endure. Dr Wayne Rosenkrans, of the Center for Biomedical Innovation at MIT will give us a vision of the future of “health”.
WHEN: Tuesday, May 13th; 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
WHERE: BioScience Center | Albuquerque
SIGNUP: $35 for non-NMBio members HERE.
SFBI: THE EUREKA EFFECT (5/14)
The Eureka Effect is like speed dating only smarter. Businesses from northern New Mexico will meet and mingle with scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory that can offer free technical and scientific assistance. Each business will spend 5 minutes of one-on- one alone time with each scientist to whisper sweet nothings of nano fibers and materials testing. If there’s a spark there will be plenty of time to kindle it during the open networking section. If that synthesis of data structures, algorithms, numerical analysis, programming methodologies, simulation, visualization, data analysis, and performance optimization applied to the study of complex problems – is a’rocking, don’t come a’knocking. Space is limited. Must Register..
WHEN: Wednesday, May 14th; 4:45 – 7:00 PM
WHERE: Santa Fe Business Incubator | Santa Fe
SIGNUP: FREE with Pre-Registration. Info HERE.
ABQ QUALITY NETWORK: GETTING YOUR ORGANIZATION ENGAGED IN QUALITY (5/22)
Participants will learn the definition, theory, and practice of preventing defects – and have the opportunity to become familiar with an example of how to prevent defects and how to apply it in any organizational setting. Organizations that prevent defects as a matter of everyday business have reached outstanding levels of success.
WHEN: Thursday, May 22nd; 7:30 – 9:00 AM
WHERE: UNM Continuing Education l Albuquerque
SIGNUP: $20; Registration HERE.
NMFO: NEW MEXICO FILM & MEDIA INDUSTRY CONFERENCE (5/30-31)
The New Mexico State Film Office’s annual Film & Media Industry Conference offers a broad range of panels, workshops, vendor exhibitions and networking opportunities that target all areas of film and media from budgeting and attracting investors to post production and emerging media.
WHEN: Friday, May 30th – Saturday May 31st
WHERE: Hotel Albuquerque l Albuquerque
SIGNUP: FREE with pre-registration HERE.
RECURRING COMMUNITY EVENTS
The Albuquerque WordPress Group has several meetups including a monthly session at WESST on the 2nd Thursday evening of the month, weekly Workalong Wednesdays, and Women Working w/WordPress the first Monday of each month. Visit http://www.meetup.com/
Cocoa Conspiracy is an informal gathering of iOS (and other) developers 9:00 AM Thursday mornings at Winning Coffee (across from UNM). More athttp://cocoaconspiracy.com
The iOS Developers Workshop meets the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month at Ideas & Coffee. Look for Friday events at http://www.meetup.com/
Lean Startup Monthly meets the first Tuesday night of each month at Ideas & Coffee. More info at: http://www.meetup.com/
The New Mexico .NET Users Group (NMUG) exists to help facilitate education and knowledge exchange among developers, architects and managers with an interest in Microsoft’s .NET technologies. NMUG meets on the first Thursday of each month. More at: http://www.nmug.net/
The New Mexico AIGA chapter produces a handful of events each month, from the S.I.P Social Hours to CoffeeTalks, workshops and more. Find it all at http://newmexico.aiga.org/
NM Internet Entrepreneurs is for internet entrepreneurs with an existing business or actively working
on a business idea. Meets monthly with info at: http://www.meetup.com/NM-
The NM Tech Council and other community members post several tech meetups and other events
at: http://www.meetup.com/
New Mexico SolidWorks User Group is a user community for the SolidWorks 3D CAD program dedicated to improving the technical abilities of their members as well as providing a forum for business and employment networking. Their meetings are on the 2nd Wednesday of alternate months (June, August, etc.) at 5:30pm with pre-registration requested at https://nmsug.eventbrite.
OpenHackABQ meets the third Thursday of each month at Convivium CoWorking, beginning at 6PM. More info at: http://openhack.github.io/
The RubiABQ Meetup Group for Ruby on Rails developers meets the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month at Ideas & Coffee. Find them at http://www.meetup.com/
The Sandbox is a new space at the South Valley Economic Development Center for co-working, learning, incubation and more. Join this new and growing community at http://svedc.org/sandbox
To sign up for our e-news letters and other communications, please visit http://www.nmtechcouncil.org/about-nmtc/media-channels
Community Update 5/12 (Part 1)
New Groups & More Events!?
Yep, all the time. We’d like to highlight two groups whose events will appear in the ongoing section toward the bottom – and sometimes in the Community Events section too.
(Note: this is an edited version of our most recent community update. This section includes most events and activities from the NM Technology Council. For community events, visit HERE.)
There’s an ongoing iOS Developers Workshop meeting the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month at Ideas & Coffee – many other good things there as well. (Much) More at http://www.meetup.com/
Also at Ideas & Coffee TONIGHT, our friend Bill Bergman demystifies the world of modern web technology with “Putting the Web Together in your Mind” (sign up HERE).
New Mexico SolidWorks User Group is a user community for the SolidWorks 3D CAD program dedicated to improving the technical abilities of their members as well as providing a forum for business and employment networking. Their meetings are on the 2nd Wednesday of alternate months at 5:30pm with pre-registration requested at https://nmsug.eventbrite.
Can your business recover from data loss? “Don’t get caught with your pants down” is the title for this month’sNM Cybersecurity Lunch on May 21st, addressing issues in business continuity and disaster recovery (Sign up HERE).
On Thursday, May 22nd, join our Women in Techgroup for “The Advantage: is Good Communication Really That Important for Your Business?” A session that translates ‘The Advantage’ model into something you can use to improve your business or organization (Sign up HERE).
Learn more about Open Data and Civic Tech on ABQ Civic Tech Day, May 31st.
Are you getting the emails from us that you want? We send emails to several groups, through they’re primarily lists for NMTC paid members (join here!), those interested in NMTC, and those with a general interest in business development activities around New Mexico (Shandra’s List). Update your preferences HERE.
Is that all a bit much anyway? Check out the NM Innovation Community Calendar!
There’s always a lot going on. Let us know if your tech community event should be on our list. And JOIN US if you’d like to help us grow New Mexico’s tech business community!
And please share!
NM CYBERSECURITY: DON’T GET CAUGHT WITH YOUR PANTS DOWN (5/21)
There is no Business Continuity w/o Disaster Recovery. In 2002, our speaker’s finance company collapsed when it didn’t protect its data when migrating from ACT to Goldmine. After losing all of the company’s data, and an average of 1 million dollars a month, the company closed its doors In just 13 months.
In this session we’ll learn more about how this catastrophe happened and a variety of tools and approaches to ensure this doesn’t happen to you and your company.Join us!
WHEN: Wednesday, May 21st; 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
WHERE: bigbyte.cc | Albuquerque
SIGNUP: Varied Pricing; Info & Registration here.
ABQ WEB GEEKS: HAPPY HOUR (5/21)
Meet others in web design and development, software and other tech at the area;s longest running tech meetup.
WHEN: Wednesday, May 21st; 6:00 – 8:00 PM
WHERE: ArtBar | Albuquerque
SIGNUP: FREE with pre-registration HERE.
LOBONET CONNECT (5/28)
Connect with the students, faculty and staff of UNM’s School of Engineering & others who are making Albuquerque an up and coming Tech Hub.
WHEN: Wednesday, May 28th; 5:30 – 7:30 PM
WHERE: ArtBar | Albuquerque
SIGNUP: FREE for Students and pre-registration.
ABQ CIVIC TECH DAY (5/31)
ABQ Civic Tech Day is part of the “National Day of Civic Hacking” on May 31st. The day is intended to build awareness around ‘Civic Tech.’ ‘Open Data’ and ways our communities can work together to provide useful tools that not only increase civic engagement and more responsive government, but also improve our experience as we live and work in the Albuquerque area. What ‘app’ or other civic tech tool would you suggest to improve our communities? Share your ideas and vote at: http://bit.ly/
WHEN: Saturday, May 31st; 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM
WHERE: UNM City Lab | Albuquerque
SIGNUP: $5 Register HERE.
To sign up for our e-news letters and other communications, please visit http://www.nmtechcouncil.org/about-nmtc/media-channels
NM Women in Tech 2014 Awardees Announced!
For those who attended today, it’s obvious why we love our annual Women in Tech Celebration. We’re blessed to live and work in a state with so much talent and acheivement.
We’re proud to announce our 2014 NM Women in Tech Celebration honorees:
LISA ABEYTA
Lisa is a visionary leader and entrepreneur, dedicated to not only growing her company, the civic tech mobile platform, AppCityLife, but also creating opportunities to inform, connect and inspire women in tech and entrepreneurship through her writing, speaking engagements, coaching, and now “Hautepreneurs” – a newly launched peer network for women entrepreneurs. Her efforts are strengthening our local community are helping lead New Mexico into the future and put New Mexico on the map.
KIM GRIEGO
Kim is a passionate believer in the power of team projects and robotics to inspire students to learn and grow. The new tools and innovations she incorporates build enthusiasm for her students to create relationships with these technologies and empower them to control their learning. As a ‘Technology Champion’ for Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho and leader, coach and volunteer for robotics and STEM programs at her school and throughout New Mexico, she is a great role model for us all.
http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/video/v-sue-cleveland-high-school
DEBORAH PEACOCK
Deborah Peacock’s experience as a professional engineer and manager in the mining industry as well as CEO, Managing Partner, Director and Chair of a prominent intellectual property law firm has given her insight that’s helped guide Fortune 500 companies through myriad complex issues. Her work as a patent attorney and service on the Board of Regents for the New Mexio Institute of Mining and Technology, as chair of the Environmental Improvement Board for New Mexico and with other non-profits has contributed to tech business growth and helped raise the professional standards of our state as a whole.
KAREN PENA
Cochiti Elementary School’s Karen Pena is a part-time Technology Coordinator, but her dedication to ensuring her school has the best education technology resources possible has inspired students, teachers and community members alike. In addition to actively seeking new tools and pursuing grants and support to bring them to her school, Karen employs these technologies to reach both students and teachers, creating a supportive environment that embraces change and plants the seeds of success for young learners.
JULIANNA SILVA
Accessing the tools and resources that help business grow and building connections with the tech community are challenging to many emerging entrepreneurs. In her role as WESST Albuquerque Regional Manager Julianna Silva is a tireless advocate for women and businesses in general. As a coach, volunteer and a driving force behind the WESST Technology Toolkit, she provides companies with the skills and environment they need to improve operations, seek funding, become self-sufficient and grow.
http://www.wesst.org/
DOROTHY STERMER
Dorothy has been a tireless advocate of women working in technology and programs that support the community good throughout her career. In her early days at Sandia she founded and chaired the “Women’s In-Reach Network” – now the “Sandia Women’s Action Network” – to promote networking, education, mentoring and support for technical and administrative women at Sandia. Through her leadership in both technical and management roles at Sandia as well as countless volunteer efforts in the community, Dorothy exemplifies much of why we celebrate Women in Tech.
JANET WEBB
Janet Webb founded Webb Design Studio in the early 1980’s and became an early adopter of Apple Computers for design and publishing, and later website development, registering the very first commercial domain in Taos County, “TaosWebb.com.“ To ensure the reliability of her sites, she partnered to launch the region’s first Internet service provider, TaosNet. Her work – and work with – the community continues to evolve with award-winning sites that promote the region she loves. Today we recognize Janet as a true pioneer. http://webbdesigninc.com/
NMWIT 2014 Honoree Dr. Karin Wiburg
DR KARIN WIBURG
Dr. Karin Wiburg has been instrumental in changing the culture of how teachers use technology in the classroom. The research and development work she’s led with funding from NSF and DOE has helped put NMSU and New Mexico on the map for educational resources available online. Most recently, as PI for the “Math Snacks” project she led a team of developers, mathematicians and educators to create new interactive experiences that improve the teaching and learning of difficult mathematics concepts in middle school mathematics.
NMTC Announces 2014 Women in Tech Celebration Nominees
NMTC Announces 2014 Women in Tech Celebration Nominees
We’re excited to see another diverse list of women from New Mexico’s technology communities throughout our state, representing a variety of different roles, from tech business, science and academia. Our judges, comprised of previous honorees, will have a tough job ahead. We hope you’ll join us on Thursday, February 6th when we recognize this year’s winners!
This year our 26 nominees include a variety of outstanding women from throughout New Mexico:
Lisa Abeyta
CEO, Co-Founder
APPCityLife and Hautepreneurs
Leslie Boni, PhD
Department Chair and Associate Professor of Finance
UNM Anderson School of Management
Kathy Cooke
Director, IT Operation
Summit Electric Supply
Lorraine Deck
Professor Emerita
Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, The University of New Mexico
Meredith Eisenberg
Co-Founder
Magic Marketing Machine / Launch Ladies
Stephanie Forrest
Professor of Computer Science
University of New Mexico
Kim Griego
Teacher, Robotics
Cleveland High School
Laurie G. Hudson
UNM Regents Professor
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Health Sciences
Center, The University of New Mexico
Linnea Ista
Research Assistant Professor
Center for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Chemical & Nuclear
Engineering, The University of New Mexico
Patricia (Marquez) Knighten
President
Prescient 360, Inc.
Lisa Kuuttila
President & CEO
STC.UNM
Ciara Martinez
Founder
Twenty Fourward
Jackie Kerby Moore
Executive Director
Sandia Science & Technology Park
Renay Moya
Technology Talent Scout
Robert Half Technology
Pamela Nicolary
Information Security Analyst
Central New Mexico Community College
Justyna La Pay
Director, Strategic Development and Marketing
Ultimate Knowledge Institute
Deborah Peacock
President / CEO / Managing Partner
Peacock Myers PC
Karen Pena
APS Technology Teacher
Cochiti Elementary School
Julianna Silva
Albuquerque Regional Manager & Marketing Director
WESST
Zetdi Runyan Sloan
Director, Arrowhead Technology Incubator
Arrowhead Center at NMSU
Dorothy Stermer
Manager
Sandia National Laboratories
Susie De La Torre
Career & Tech Teacher
Deming High School
Janet Webb
President, Webb Design Inc
Webb Design Inc
Dr. Karin Wiburg
Distinguished Professor, Learning Design and Technology
NMSU
Carolyn Zerkle
Associate Laboratory Director, Information Technology
ADIT, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Jan Zimmerman
President
Watermelon Mountain Web Marketing
This year’s event will also feature New Mexico’s Aspirations in Computing Awardees from the National Center for Women & Information Technology. Come see some of New Mexico’s brightest young female students who’ve chosen to pursue schools and careers in computing as part of our event.
Additionally, we’re still taking nominations for our first professional development scholarship for female NMTC members (and employees of member companies) in need of some financial assistance and mentorship to change or advance her career in technology. If you – or someone you know – might be interested, please complete the application and submit by US mail to the New Mexico Technology Council by January 27th. Find more information about the event, qualifications, and submission details at: http://www.nmtechcouncil.org/2014/01/6th-annual-women-in-technology-celebration
6th Annual Women in Technology Celebration
NMTC is very excited to host the 6th annual Women in Technology celebration. Join us on Thursday, February 6, 2014 at the Marriott Pyramid Hotel in Albuquerque to recognize amazing women in technology across the state of New Mexico and New Mexico’s Aspirations in Computing Award winners! We are honored and pleased to have Megan Kamerick, seasoned journalist, Producer of New Mexico in Focus on PBS, and esteemed TEDxABQ speaker, with us again this year to emcee the event.
We are so excited to announce our keynote speaker – Justyna La Pay!
Justyna is a change facilitator and an organizational trailblazer of ambitious projects. She is the director of global strategic development and marketing for UKI, a leading national IT and cybersecurity training organization and training partner for the Department of Defense, Federal Agencies and Fortune 500 companies. Justyna is also volunteering as the head of operations for TEDxABQ, a locally licensed TED event, where she developed the organizational structure and processes to support the growing number of events that fulfill the mission of spreading innovative ideas and fostering meaningful connections in our community.
Justyna’s topic will be “Letting Go of Perfectionism and Falling in Love with Limitations” and she will also share a TED video. Justyna is a dynamic speaker and we promise you will enjoy her talk.
THANKS TO ALL FOR YOUR NOMINATIONS!
DEADLINE TO NOMINATE A WOMAN IN TECH – Nominations are now closed.
DEADLINE TO APPLY FOR THE SCHOLARSHIP – Nominations are now closed.
"Women who 'Lean In' – Success in IT" Panel announced for Tech Junction THIS THURSDAY
We’re glad to announce a new panel at this Thursday’s TechJunction event in Albuquerque: “Women who ‘Lean In’ – Success in I.T.” is scheduled for 1:20 PM.
The book, “Lean In – Women, Work, and the Will to Lead”, by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, is an insightful look at women in the workplace, the cultural, institutional, and emotional challenges that hold women back and timely advice on overcoming those issues. Whether or not we as women agree with everything in this author’s avowed proud feminist approach to these issues, there are some very salient positive points she makes in terms of some of the behaviors that make us successful in the field of technology.
With all the “dire” statistics, we’ll discuss what is different about the women on this panel and the POSITIVE reasons they’ve stayed in the field and achieved success.
Panelists include:
Lisa J. Adkins – Chairwoman, New Mexico Technology Council; Director, The BioScience Center
Lisa Abeyta – Founder and CEO, APPCity Life
Kathy C. Cooke – Director, I.T. Operations, Summit Electric Supply
Marilee Garza – President, PMC Solutions
Nerissa Whittington – Principal, bigbyte.cc Corp
We hope you’ll join us!
More information and registration available at: http://www.techjunctionevents.com/albuquerque-new-mexico.html