#not the full blown bogan one

[babvblue]

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[slicewifi]

Women in IT Awards USA: Finalists Revealed

Finalist Revealed

The finalists for the US edition of the world’s largest tech diversity event are today revealed. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Gotham Hall, New York, on 22 March ‘As tech companies continue to disrupt industries and business models with new innovation, platforms that ensure the workforces behind this innovation are diverse and innovation are absolutely critical’ The world’s largest tech diversity awards event today reveals the finalists for its inaugural USA program, which will gather top leaders from America’s technology sector to further efforts to tackle the industry’s diversity challenges. The Women in IT Awards is the technology world’s most prominent and influential diversity program. Held for the last four years in London, the most recent event on 31 January 2018 was attended by 1,200 business and tech leaders. On 22 March 2018, the event will come to the US for the first time, taking place in one of the world’s most prominent business cities – New York – at the grand Gotham Hall in Manhattan. The Women in IT Awards USA marks the event’s first expansion out of Europe. With just 25% of computing jobs in the US held by women – and much fewer at senior and executive levels – the event seeks to tackle the industry’s gender imbalance by showcasing the achievements of women in technology, identifying new role models and promoting constructive dialogue around diversity among key industry leaders.

Organised by business-technology magazine and website Information Age, the Women in IT Awards has gathered resounding support from trade associations, politicians and companies of all sizes and sectors since launching in 2015. Through a series of 16 awards, the event acts as a flagship and high-profile platform for the industry’s wide-reaching diversity efforts. The awards, which attracted over 400 nominations, are sponsored by premium partner BMC Software, as well as AT&T, Bluewolf, Equinix, FireEye, Frank Recruitment Group, Neustar, Rolls-Royce and Zayo. “We were blown away with the incredible volume and standard of nominations for an event landing in the US for the first time,” says Ben Rossi, editorial director at Information Age publisher Vitesse Media and founder of the Women in IT Awards. “It’s been a privilege to watch the Women in IT Awards grow over the last four years as people from across the technology world have embraced it as the platform for identifying female role models in the industry and shining a light on their innovation and achievements. “As tech companies continue to disrupt industries and business models with new innovation, platforms like the Women in IT Awards that ensure the workforces behind this innovation are diverse and inclusive are absolutely critical. Congratulations to all of the finalists.” Advocate of the Year Kristy Wallace, Ellevate Network Anita Khandekar, Enova Bianca Jackson, JAX Digital DeLisa Alexander, Red Hat Selina Suarez, Salesforce Hala Hanna, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Marta Zanchi, Stanford University Elizabeth Hunter, T-Mobile Carita Marrow, UNCF Ronni Eloff, Women in Technology International Business Leader of the Year Kate O’Keeffe, Cisco Lisa Stanton, InAuth Brynne Kennedy, MOVE Guides Candice Corby, Cobra Legal Solutions Nancy Harris, Sage Meredith Whalen, IDC Trish Thomas, TEEM Kristel Lataste, Amadeus North America Paula Hunter, NFC Forum Business Role Model of the Year Rebecca Parsons, ThoughtWorks Heather Wilde, WithMe Margaret Dawson, Red Hat Rebecca Wynn, Matrix Medical Network Teena Piccione, Fidelity Investments Donna Wells, Mindflash Technologies Brenda Peick, Thomson Reuters Liz Tinkham, University of Washington Priyanka Vasudevan, Morgan Stanley Nabila Aydin, FDM Group CIO of the Year Marykay Wells, Pearson Kristy Simonette, Camden Property Trust Sherry Aaholm, Cummins Paula Tolliver, Intel Corporation Kimberly Ingram, Lansing Board of Water & Light Nancy D’Amico, LeasePlan Janice Withers, TD Bank Nicole Raimundo, Town of Cary Michaele James, CSAA Insurance Group Sandi Mays, Zayo Group Data Leader of the Year Sangeeta Krishnan, Asembia Olisa Stephensbailey, Booz Allen Hamilton Valerie Logan, Gartner Kjersten Moody, State Farm Jennifer Nelson, Rocket Software Aimee Webster, S&P Global Sara Garrido, Sizmek Jessica Kirkpatrick, Slack Tendü Yoğurtçu, Syncsort Jacquelin Speck, U.S. Navy Digital Leader of the Year Jessica Wong, Amorepacific Aurora Losada, Houston Public Media Kristina Villarini, Lambda Legal Jo Ann Saitta, Omnicom Health Group Monica Caldas, GE Melissa Stevens, Fifth Third Bank Jaime Chambron, NTT Data Services Daryl Drabinsky, Aetna Teesee Murray, Infor Karen O’Brien, Western Union e-Skills Initiative of the Year Tracey Welson-Rossman, Chariot Solutions / TechGirlz Renee La Londe, iTalent Digital Marlin Williams, Sisters Code Olga Mack, ClearSlide Ruthe Farmer, CSforALL.org Judith Spitz, Women in Technology and Entrepreneurship in New York (WiTNY) Viola Maxwell-Thompson, Information Technology Senior Management Forum Women on their Way, NetScout Elizabeth Lindsey, Byte Back Diane Flynn, ReBoot Accel Editor’s Choice Rina Brahmbhatt, Atos Global Consulting Mylea Charvat, Savonix Lauren Cooney, Spark Labs Rita Torkzadeh, The Pew Charitable Trusts Christina Zuniga, InTouch Health Winnie Cheng, Io-Tahoe Jane Harper, Henry Ford Health System Shelley Westman, EY Liz Rowe, State of New Jersey Marlene Williamson, Watermark Entrepreneur of the Year Zhuo Li, AutoX Neha Sampat, Built.io Contentstack Autumn Manning, YouEarnedIt Jennifer Kyriakakis, MATRIXX Software Angela Hood, ThisWay Global Lora Ivanova, myLab Box Srii Srinivasan, Chargeback Gurus Mary Dee, Digital Altitude Meg Columbia, Walsh Wylei Rachel Bogan, Work & Co Future CIO of the Year Julia Lomax, Tengelmann Group Priya Aswani, Microsoft Jamila Parham, City of Chicago Eryka Johnson, ExxonMobil Amber Williamson, Robert Half Technology Anne Mette Hoyer, SAP Andrea Adams, Spanning Cloud Apps Tracy Vo, Bank of the West Leslie Hielema, GuideWell Praniti Lakhwara, Apttus Innovator of the Year Jin Zhang, CA Technologies Angela Nicoara, Intel Corporation Vicki Reyzelman, Akamai Rachelle Oribio, Techstars Jo-Anne Dressendofer, Slice Wireless Solutions Kristin Lovejoy, BluVector Natalie Gil, rational7 Veena Gundavelli, Emagia Corporation Bhavini Soneji, Heal Sophie Vandebroek, IBM Rising Star of the Year Velvet Johnson, Accenture Etosha Ottey, Chicago Black Women In Tech Jamie Migdal, FetchFind Robyn Gray, Otherworld Interactive Jennifer Perusini, Neurovation Labs Yana Zaidiner, Token Payments Margaret Gratian, US Department of Defense Lana Jovanovic, UBM Annie Eaton, Futurus Sarah Mogin, Work & Co Security Champion of the Year Rhonda Shantz, Centrify Christy Wyatt, Dtex Systems Linda Conrad, Exelon Deneen DeFiore, GE Lila Kee, GlobalSign Monica Jain, LogicHub Julie Cullivan, ForeScout Technologies Sydney Klein, Capital One Financial Deb Briggs, NetScout Terri Cetera, Quest Diagnostics Transformation Leader of the Year Alejandra Roslyakova, Amadeus North America Lisa Litherland, CDW Ozlem Coskun, Chubb Insurance Sandy Hogan, HERE Technologies Kelly Switt, Citi Barbara Morgan, FIS Carol Houle, Cognizant Chiara Bersano, LSI Consulting Erica Volini, Deloitte Kerry Small, Vodafone Group Enterprise Woman of the Year Kesha Williams, Chick-fil-A Ishita Majumdar, eBay Li Lo, SPANX Dianne Dain, United Nations Mayumi Hiramatsu, Infor Laila Beane, Intellect SEEC Anita Sands, Symantec Karen MacKay, Rolls-Royce Sheela Ramamurthy, VirtualHealth Jeanette Maister, WCN Young Leader of the Year Hannah Osborne, DXC Technology Miranda LeBlanc, Liberty Mutual Insurance Karen Parisi, Oodi Caitlin Burniske, Premier Logic Jessica Angelotta, Target Data Arlyn Burgess, University of Virginia Ali Greenwood, JLL Camille Stewart, Deloitte Ayesha Liaqat, UW Health Lisa Godwin, The New York Times See Original Post Here: information-age.com/women-awards Read the full article

[sarahjbowman]

Shortly after arriving at our Nomads hostel we headed out to find South Bank, the home of the open air cinema we had booked to attend. In keeping with Halloween, the American Express pop up screen was showing IT, a terrifying but simultaneously hilarious horror. After doing a big loop of the area to find a 7 Eleven to quench our need for grapes (which they ended up not having and we thought best to replace with Snakes sweets, which contain carrot so are basically one of our five a day anyway...) we arrived at the perfect setting. Sat amongst the bushy areas of the bank and overlooking the city line above the treetops, it was a fantastic view topped off with bats flying overhead. Perfectly fitting for Halloween. We'd treated ourselves to the additional chairs, which ended up being funny shaped blown up bags with extra slip and slide. We spotted a few others deflating theirs and thought 'how hard can it be?!' so gave it a go ourselves, but of course, nothing happened... At risk of then letting them down completely we decided against it and attempted to wedge ourselves in to watch the film. Once the screening finished we roamed the city trying to find a spot for dinner, but everything was shut. Places seem to open late and shut early here, so we resorted to another 7 Eleven. Bon appetite! After a restless night in our Nomads hostel (terrible, never go!) we woke early to find a nice cafe spot for breakfast before meeting Nick. Pleasantly surprised, we found a great little place just down the road. Amazing coffee, maple syrup infused bacon and homemade sourdough. Yum! Nick came to collect us just after and we went to explore Kangaroo Point, Mount Neebo and his local, Oxford Street. Kangaroo Point and Mount Neebo offered some great views across the city and down some beautiful hidden valleys. We drove along Mount Neebo to different lookout points and saw some more spectacular birdies along the way. Along with the Black Boy bush, great name. The days are going quicker and quicker and we were soon back at Nick's place to meet his roommate, Clint. Nick kindly made us dinner, so Becca and I took the rare opportunity to kick back and relax while listening to some hilarious stories of their school days. Their strict school teachers were certainly very different to good old RMS. Lots to compare and laugh about. Before bed we were introduced to the film, The Castle. A charming little Aussie production. Of course, I fell asleep, but I heard after it was very funny. Thursday morning we packed up again to head to Stradbroke Island (or as the Aussies say, Straddie Is, because the full name is just too long to pronounce...) After stopping at the local police station to collect Nicks short lost wallet, and to his parents mansion house to collect the rods and bodyboards, we were on our way to the barge. A lovely 45 min trip to the island with views over Horseshoe Bay and Moreton Island. We met the owner of our Airbnb, which turned out to be a room with minimal shared facilities, rather than a full apartment as we thought. Sneaky David with his false advertising and stone statue that may well be of himself... Friendly enough, but definitely a character. Once checked in, we drove to the South Creek Walk. Nick doesn't really do walking, in fact, I don't think any Aussies are keen. So the drive took about 2 minutes and we were there. The walk was spectacular and I'm happy to say that's not even an exaggeration. What a beauty! The cliff walk wrapped around the island with beautiful views of the crystal clear turquoise waters to the right. En route there was a rocky lookout area, luckily deserted of people, so we headed down to enjoy the view. But boy did we enjoy so much more than that! Out of the corner of my eye I could see a big splash in the distance. Making sure it wasn't the water against some rocks, I watched it a couple more times before I realised it was definitely a whales tale! Pointing it out to Becca and Nick we jumped around in excitement, doing the happy dance! After five weeks of hoping, it turns out we only needed to go to Straddie! Shortly after, we spotted a group of dolphins jumping through the rolling waves crashing beside us. We couldn't believe it! Double whammy! Our eyes darted around the water, sharing time between the two groups of incredible sea life, Nick just laughing at our excitement! As the waves crashed and the sun shone down, the reflection made beautiful mini rainbows just next to us. One of the most mesmerising scenes I think we've experienced on this trip so far. After the animals dispersed we dragged ourselves away to the next lookout point for a picnic lunch. Chatting and sharing the view before we ventured down to Cylinders Beach for a swim. Nick chased around beach crabs while Becca and I attempted to bronze our pasty white selves. I'm not sure we're achieving anything... For the evening we drove down to Amity Point to watch the sunset. David promised us more dolphins but there weren't any in site. It seems when they're 'guaranteed' they like to avoid us, but the unexpected encounter earlier had topped our day off nicely already. The sunset was another corker! Sipping our bevies and amusing ourselves listening to the local bogans. After dropping the car back off at Allure Resort, we persuaded Nick to endure the pain of walking 5 mins up the road to the pub for dinner. A couple of Curlues were having a barnie on the decking, while we had some dinner and chatted into the evening. Tuesday morning started with our classic soaked oats speciality and readied us for a day of lakes and swimming. We started with Brown Lake. Which turns out to have a bit of an ironic name. Becca and I were preparing ourselves for a murky watering hole, but when we arrived we were more than pleasantly surprised. The lake had a clear sandy beach entrance and the water only started to appear brown once we'd paddled in with our bodyboards. A couple of women nearby overheard us questioning why it goes brown and they explained that the Tea Tree leaves fall into the water and change the colour. Luckily we weren't wearing white bikinis as it would apparently dye them. The water was warm and we enjoyed a paddle around on the boards while Nick prepared the fishing rods for the evening. (Hopeful to catch our supper). Shortly after our swim we were greeted by a big ole Goanna climbing down the tree in front of us, then back up the next and down again. Doesn't know if he's coming or going. While Becca sat by the water reading her book, Nick attempted to teach me how to tell the time using the sun as a guide. I'm pretty sure I've got midday down. Eventually we left Brown Lake and drove to Blue Lake for another explore. The road doesn't meet the water so we hopped out and started the 2km walk down to the basin. Chatting, sweating, chatting and sweating some more (Becca and I are confused how most people we've seen in Aus still look glowing in the heat, when we just turn to tomatoes...) we soon arrived at a perfect spot by the water, and just in time to see a Long Neck Turtle. As the two groups that were there before us departed, we had the whole place to ourselves. The women Becca and I were talking to in Brown Lake warned us of the resident leeches, so I stayed clear of the water (and got attacked by flies instead) but Becca and Nick floated in for a refresher. Afterward we sat and watched the water and listened to the surrounding birds. The Kookaburra gangs sang to each other from opposite trees across the lake. Well, I say sang, the Kookaburra sounds more like a laughing monkey. Once we'd finished we reluctantly made the walk back to the car. Nick then thought this would be the perfect time to tell us all about the super poisonous snakes and spiders they have to endure in Aus which certainly quickened our pace. Once back at the Airbnb Nick went down to the beach for a swim, while Becca and I ventured to the shark free pool for a quick dip. For the evening we grabbed the rods and went to Cylinder Beach for a spot of sea fishing. Within five minutes Nick had caught a little Whiting but after that all we had were false leads. The little buggers were too quick and clever for the likes of us. Although we didn't catch anything else we still enjoyed the attempt along with the incredible sunset. The sky glowed and highlighted the full moon, when all of a sudden an eagle flew overhead and looped the area as he kept an eye on the fish in the water. Just within the Allure Resort was a lovely little French owned cafe restaurant, so we resided there for the evening to stock up on some fishy dishes and play UNO! 3-1-1 to Becca. Saturday morning was upon us, happy birthday to me! Being in front of the UK by 11 hours felt its strangest today, as I was celebrating my birthday before my parents would think it was my birthday. I'm just so ahead of my time aye. Becca, Nick and I went back to the little cafe from the night before and enjoyed a bargain $10 breakfast sarnie and coffee. They'd bought me a card and Becca had treated me to a lovely bow toe ring. Very sneaky purchase in Townsville. Thank you! We said goodbye to our host, the smiling assassin, and drove down to Adder Rock to take a little wander up to the view point. Low and behold, more dolphins, they just can't keep away! What a birthday morning treat! Shortly after, we went back to Amity Point to cast our rods over the jetty. The area is a hotspot for shark attacks so we were surprised to see a group of French tourists jumping off the jetty and swimming back and forth to shore. More annoyingly, they were scaring away our fish, so we moved along to the rocky lookout point that ventured out into the water. Becca and I definitely grasped this type of fishing a lot better than the seashore fish from the night before. Minimal effort just dropping the line in the water over the edge. Nailed it. No fish though. As Nick and I were fishing Becca noticed some commotion at the jetty. The boys that had been jumping in were signalling at a nearby boat travelling with two small children attached to the back on a blow up pad. They quickly reeled them in and turned around. We couldn't really see properly from where we were, but quite possibly could have been a sharky. It's been one of the biggest struggles of the trip, the waters look so inviting and the heat just makes you want to jump in, but with all these little critters around, it's quite frustrating not being able to enjoy it properly. We sadly had to make a quick getaway to get our barge back to the mainland at midday. But not without a fight. It's always when you actually need to be somewhere that the traffic comes out. First there was Father Christmas who couldn't get his boat in the drive, then there was the attack of the Kookaburra, shortly followed by convoy with the slowest driver in the world. With 2mins to spare we arrived just in time and good ole Tracy checked us in with a warm welcome. The rush didn't stop there. Now we had to beat the clock to make it back to the city for our bus to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Nick had already been, so he dropped us off at the station to make our way there. The whole trip I'd been looking forward to this birthday treat, we were going to make it! And we did, just in time. They were so cute! We queued for a little while before meeting our new furry little friends. Ah ma gawd, so fluffy! The Sanctuary was full of interesting animals, including Becca's new favourite, the Princess Parrot. We also saw a Platypus, who turn out not to be as innocent as they seem. The males have poisonous ducts in their back paws which can cause excruciating pain to humans. Avoid those fellas! Short on time, we Ubered our way back to Nicks for some delicious and nutritious tinned stew... Clint and another one of their friends, Ben, were also there and we sat around the lounge chatting for most of the evening as they educated Becca and I about some 'need to know' Australian musicians. Amongst a hilarious video of an Aussie kangaroo whisperer squaring up with a male roo. A few drinks later we made our way to the city. Our Uber driver was such a gem, all the way from South Africa and certainly bringing the entertainment factor to the table. We'd hoped to go to a free comedy night but when we arrived at the bar it was already closing, so we ended up at a nearby jazz bar. I'm not sure what Australians think jazz is, but it definitely wasn't what we heard. Great all the same though, the lead singer had so much sass and the oldies on the dance floor we're loving it, busting out the sweet dad moves. We continued late into the night, hoping from bar to bar until I got hungry and needed pizza. Oh hey Dominos. The next morning we were up early and raring to go. We had important markets to visit. Nick, being a man that doesn't like to walk more than five minutes down the road, decided to stay at home and let us do our thing. So we said our thank you's and see ya's before departing for our next hostel, Brisbane YHA. The last of our hostels for the trip and definitely worth the wait. Finally a place that understands what it means to be a good hostel. Wallah! We were even upgraded to a 4 bed ensuite. Don't mind if we do. Once we'd dropped our bags we made the walk to the first market, which reminded me of the women we were talking to in Brown Lake. One was saying how Poms (which is apparently what they call us Brits) love to walk everywhere. To them, a five minute walk is an outrageous expectation, but for us, we'll walk miles to get to where we need to go. Which is definitely accurate in mine and Becca's case. We walked 19km yesterday around the city, which was definitely worth it as we uncovered lots of great gems along the way. From Milton Market, to South Bank Young Designers, through the Botanic Gardens and along the embankment past Story Bridge, to Bakery Lane, Winn Lane and James Street. Our feet were begging us to stop but we powered through and made the walk back through the high rise city to our hostel. The kitchen is situated at the top of the building with a long balcony view over the city. At night the place is lit with vibrant lights that transform the grey buildings to more memorable patterns of colour. Tired from the night before we headed to bed to rejuvenate for my final day in Aus. So here we are, currently sat on a train to Tallebudgera Creek for a spot of paddle-boarding along the water before dinner out in the city this evening. Then I'll be heading off to the airport to start the long 23 hour journey back home. I can't quite believe how quickly the trip has gone! The start feels like a life time ago already and we've fitted in so many great things. I'm looking forward to the rest of today (once we've had our coffee) and then I'll be home sweet home tomorrow! And another day younger ; )