Women leaders in technology, science and engineering to be honored during March 31 awards dinner
Dr. Ella L.J. Edmondsen Bell, noted author and academic to keynote
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HARTFORD, Conn., February 15, 2011 - The Connecticut Technology Council (CTC)'s Women of Innovation planning committee today announced the finalists for the seventh annual Women of Innovation Awards Program. This program recognizes women across Connecticut – those in the workforce and students – who are innovators, role models and leaders in their technology professions or fields of study.
The winner in each of the eight awards categories will be announced during the 2011 Women of Innovation Awards Dinner at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington on March 31, 2011.
“This year's 2011 finalists represent another outstanding class of women innovators and leaders,” said Beth Alquist, chair of the planning committee for the Women of Innovation Awards Program. “These women represent extraordinarily, outstanding contributors to their professions and to their employers.
This year’s list of 56 finalists includes researchers, educators, engineers, managers, and entrepreneurs who work in biotech, pharmaceuticals, software, computer hardware, advanced materials, medical devices and Information technology.
High school, undergraduate and graduate students who have demonstrated extraordinary and unique achievements in their technology studies disciplines are also among the finalists. The winner in the Youth Innovation and Leadership category will receive a scholarship from Covidien Medical Devices.
This year’s keynoter is Ella L.J. Edmondson Bell, Ph.D., the founder and president of ASCENT‐Leading Multicultural Women to the Top, as well as an Associate Professor of Business Administration at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. She is considered by industry to be one of the leading experts in the management of race, gender, and class in the workplace. PepsiCo, American Express, Intel, Goldman Sachs, Booze Allen Hamilton, and the U.S. Department of Labor are among her clients. Dr. Bell is also the coauthor of the groundbreaking and critically acclaimed book Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity (Harvard Business School Press). She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Boston Globe, Black Enterprise, Newsweek, Working Mother, and Fast Company. Her latest book is Career GPS: Strategies for Women Navigating the New Corporate Landscape.
The Women of Innovation Program is sponsored by the Boehringer Ingelhiem USA Corporation, the law firm of Day Pitney LLP and United Technologies Corporation.
The 2011 Women of Innovation awards finalists are, by category:
Academic Innovation and Leadership
Antonella Bona, teacher, Farmington High School
Deborah Day, science research instructor, Amity Regional High School
Donna Jean Fredeen, dean of arts and sciences, Southern Connecticut State University
Amanda Harper-Leatherman, assistant professor of chemistry, Fairfield University
Rachel O'Neill, assistant professor of molecular and cell biology, University of Connecticut
Collegian Innovation and Leadership
Jacquelynn Garofano, doctoral student, University of Connecticut, and EO Coordinator, CRISP (Yale/SCSU)
Elisa Jorgensen, medical student, Yale University
Anuradha Kodali, doctoral student, University of Connecticut
Junxia Ma, doctoral student, University of Connecticut
Community Innovation and Leadership
Nadia Glucksberg, hydrogeologist, Haley & Aldrich
Sharon Killian, accounting associate, Pratt & Whitney
Elizabeth Peterson, nuclear engineer, Dominion/Millstone Power Station
Theresa Riggs, senior engineering analyst, Pratt & Whitney
Madeline Sola, structural engineer, Pratt and Whitney
Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership
Phoebe Browning, COO, YourNurseIsOn.com
Jill Lawrence, principal, J Lawrence LLC
Lakshmi Nair, senior founding scientist, Soft Tissue Regeneration, Inc.
Leonora Valvo, CEO and founder, etouches
Nancy Westcott, president, GoatThroat Pumps
Large Business Innovation and Leadership
Theresa Christy, fellow, Otis Elevator Co.
Teresa Cowles, AMS project Lead, Airbus A380 Air Generation, Hamilton Sundstrand
Jennifer Diederich, senior design Engineer, Covidien
Beverly Elliott, director, project management, Comcast’s Western New England Region
Dorothy Goettler, engineering specialist, Electric Boat Corporation
Laura Holmes, general manager, Customer Training Center, Pratt & Whitney
Agnes Klucha, program manager, Eng Innov Center , Pratt & Whitney
Jeanne Larsen, senior fellow, discipline lead, Hamilton Sundstrand
Mary Lombardo, director engineering, Carrier Corporation
Elizabeth Maerz, vice president, strategy and execution,The Travelers Companies, Inc.
Irina Moore, senior vice president, Risk Analytics and Regulations, GE Capital Aviation Services
Janice Nykyforchyn, principal engineer, Electric Boat Corporation
Deborah Orosz, AMS manager, Operating Effectiveness, Hamilton Sundstrand
Tara Picard, senior project manager, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
Danyel Racenet, manager of R&D, Covidien
Research Innovation and Leadership
Tahany El-Wardany, principal engineer, United Technologies Research Center
Rajeswari Kasi , assistant professor of chemistry and polymer programs, University of Connecticut
Andrea Marra, associate director, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Susanne Opalka, principal engineer, United Technologies Research Center
Lisa Pfefferle, professor of engineering, Yale University
Small Business Innovation and Leadership
Laura Dietz, vice president, Sonalysts, Inc.
Billie Jo Mitchell, director, Manufacturing, RSL Fiber Systems, LLC
Pauline Murphy, managing director, Investments, Connecticut Innovations
Jessica Rowen, president, Mitchell-Vance Laboratories
Carla Tillery, associate and team leader - Northeast Traffic, Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc.
Youth Innovation and Leadership
Dominika Bajguz, high school student, Sacred Heart Academy
Emily Briere, high school student, E.O. Smith High School
Jennifer Dalecki, high school student, Amity Regional HS
Pauline Dutka, high school student, Amity Regional HS
Emily Feng, high school student, Amity Regional HS
Marina Kaneko, high school student, Greenwich High School
Amanda Kelly, sigh school student, Sacred Heart Academy
Joan Kim, high school student, Amity Regional HS
Jenny Liu, high school student, Amity Regional HS
Katherine Schultz, high school student, Greenwich Academy
Guste Urbonaite, high school student, Newington High School
Rachel Winsor, high school student, Stamford High School
Finalists were nominated by their peers and selected based on their professional experience, history of innovation, ability to think creatively and solve problems and demonstration of leadership. Students were judged on inventiveness and accomplishment in science and technology and academic achievement. To view the full list of criteria, please visit CTC’s Web site, www.ct.org. Please contact Mike Scricca at (860) 289-0878, ext. 334 or mscricca@ct.org with questions regarding the program or awards dinner.
About the Connecticut Technology Council, www.ct.org
The Connecticut Technology Council is the state’s industry association for the technology sector. CTC’s mission is to be “the catalyst for innovation and growth. CTC seeks to identify and connect the entire technology community, works to increase innovation that leads to entrepreneurship and job creation in all size firms and is a strong advocate for specific programs as well as a public understanding of the need for a world class innovation environment in Connecticut. The Council produces many events that help, bring together and recognize achievement from start-ups to the state’s fastest growing companies.
