Letter From The NMTC Founder, Randy Burge
Dear NMTC Members,
June 9th, was the 20th anniversary of the day I launched the New Mexico Technology Council (formerly NMITSA) on a promise and a prayer. To herald this milestone is both humbling and amazing.
Congratulations to all who carried and who continue carrying the torch. NMTC is New Mexico’s leading voice representing the greater technology industries!
The organization has endured and thrived over the years through the tireless efforts, investments, and imaginations of many. Some of the greatest inspirations have been the insights gained through NMTC’s long affiliation with Technology Councils of North America, an international confab of 40+ regional tech councils (TECNA).
Notably, huge credit for NMTC’s successes goes to leaders during my era and beyond like Thomas J. Stephenson (Verge Fund), Webb Johnson, Lisa Adkins (Fat Pipe and NM Bioscience Center), Barbara Lopez (PNM CIO), Brad Key (Judy Lock Key), Jeff Lunsford, Julie Baur (Microsoft), Bill Fernandez (Apple’s first employee and neighbor to Woz and Steve) Clint Hubbard (City of Albuquerque CIO), Todd Underwood (now at Google), Chuck Wellborn (UNM Science & Tech Corp), Bonnie Paisley (our legal counsel), David Stanasolovich and Ronald Tafoya and Tom Greenbaum (Intel), Gary Tonjes (Albuquerque Economic Development (AED), Belinda Snyder and Thomas Bowles (Los Alamos National Laboratory), Nyika Allen (now aviation director for the ABQ International Airport), Amanda Giannini (now CFO at Descartes Labs), R David Franklin, Stephen Guerin (Redfish and Santa Fe Complex), Marc Orchant (recipient of NMTC’s first Maximum Impact award (Sue Orchant)), Deborah Breitfeld (current NMTC director), Robin Kennedy, Eric Renz-Whitmore, Patricia Knighten, Gene Grant, Pace VanDender (Sandia National Labs CIO), Tony Giancola, Renay Moya, Sayuri Yamada (PNM legislative director), David Sahd, and so many more — during my first 11+ years and since!
Unwavering commitments by NMTC’s board chairs, each serving multiple terms, have been the bedrock for the Council’s longevity and success. Lisa Adkins and her team have added so much over the past 8-10 years, building on and advancing the legacies. Jeff Lunsford led the transition from NMITSA to the NMTC and led several key initiatives. Brad Key’s genius guided NMITSA’s emerging programmatic profile and early home runs including the New Mexico TechEx Awards and Gala honoring the best software, IT, and other tech projects during the year. Tom Stephenson, the first board chair, has been the Wizard in NMTC’s Oz from the earliest org ideations.
For me, one of the greatest accomplishments among my original intents is the inclusion and leadership opportunities for and by women as highlighted in the roster above and through NMTC’s Women in Technology program, a result of early visioning and examples drawn from TECNA.
Another project, focused on youth and education, was our Computers for Classrooms endeavor that challenged high school students to learn how to plan, build, and boot up computers from donated components and software. Once assembled and operating, these 20-30 systems were competitively awarded annually to teachers for their classrooms. Brad, Jeff, and others developed and led this initiative.
May such NMTC efforts continue to engage and advance the connections and opportunities in the tech sector for years to come!
Sincerely,
Randy Burge
NMTC Founder
