My View: International Women’s Day should last a year
This year’s International Women’s Day has come and gone. For one day, it’s a chance to show those women closest to us how much they are admired and the impact that they have on our lives.
But why just one day?
I would be kidding myself if I believed that one day is plenty. After all, I’m surrounded by women who make a critical difference when it comes to operating the Arizona Technology Council.
I’m referring to the women who maintain relationships with our members. They are Laura DeGeorge, chief of staff; Deborah Zack, vice president of Membership Services; Karla Morales, vice president of the Southern Arizona Regional Office; Jamie Neilson, director of operations of the Southern Arizona Regional Office; and Bianca Buliga, director of Marketing and Communications. Working behind the scenes but very much essential to our team are Angelica Espinoza, our bookkeeper, and Kris Sullivan, my assistant.
In fact, I asked some of them who should be recognized in this column since Business Journal readers can always can hear from me monthly. Plus, their experiences allow them to know the respective back stories that have left lasting impressions. They compiled their own lists in a matter of minutes!
By no means is the list that follows expected to be comprehensive. You no doubt could even add names of your own. We really just want you to become familiar with their names and know that some are even extended members of the Council team. If you want more details, LinkedIn is a click away.
- Mary Bailey, president and CEO of Rincon Research, and Arizona Technology Council board member
- Cathleen Barton, principal of Cathleen Barton Consulting and former U.S. and Arizona education manager at Intel
- Christine Boles, general manager, Industrial Solutions Division at Intel, and Council board member
- Linda Capcara, senior vice president of Brodeur Partners, the Council’s partner in our public relations
- Molly Castelazo, chief content strategist and CEO of Castelazo Content, and contributor to the Council’s quarterly Arizona Technology Industry Impact Report
- Rebecca Clyde, co-founder of Ideas Collide, CEO and co-founder of Botco.ai, and Council board member
- Anne Dougherty, founder and co-owner of Illume Advising, and Council board member
- Annette Finsterbusch, president and CEO of EnPower
- Sybil Francis, president and CEO of Center for the Future of Arizona
- Kelly Greene, COO of SciTech Institute
- Angie Harmon, regional manager, Community Development (North America) at Freeport-McMoRan, and SciTech Institute board member
- Angela Hughey, co-founder and president of ONE Community & ONE Community Foundation
- Dawn Jones, chief diversity and inclusion officer of Intel
- Karen Katzorke, executive director of Invest Southwest
- Sheila Kloefkorn, president and CEO of KEO Marketing, and Council board member
- Drena Kusari, vice president and general manager of Lyft, and Council board member
- Teresa Lamberger, vice president of Marketing and Strategic Solutions at Benchmark
- Renee Levin, equity champion at Arizona Educational Foundation
- Ilana Lowery, Arizona regional director of Common Sense Media
- Bianca Lochner, CIO of City of Scottsdale
- Jennifer Mellor, chief innovation officer at Greater Phoenix Chamber
- Karen Nowicki, president and owner of Phoenix Business RadioX, and moderator of the Council’s AZ TechCast
- Ngan Pham, workforce development manager of Cybersecurity and IT of Greater Phoenix Chamber
- Calline Sanchez, vice president of IBM Systems Services & Technical at IBM, and Council board member
- Diane Smigel, president and CEO of Palladium IT Advisors
- Scarlett Spring, co-founder and CEO of TapRoot Interventions & Solutions
- Carol A. Stewart, associate vice president at Tech Parks Arizona at The University of Arizona, and Council board member
- Caroline VanIngen-Dunn, director of Arizona State University’s Center for Broadening Participation in STEM
- Diana Vowels, CEO of StartupAZ Foundation
- Sandra Watson, president and CEO of Arizona Commerce Authority, and Council board member
- Fanny Zylstra, director, operations, TGen
As I mentioned earlier, this list is not meant to be comprehensive. Instead, it’s encouraging that Arizona has so much talent living right here. For that, we can all be proud and celebrate every day.
Steve Zylstra is president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council.