TECNA NOTES

TECNA Member Spotlight- June 2015: Jennifer Carlson

Jennifer Carlson, Vice President, Business Development & Acting Executive Director of the Washington Technology Industry Association Workforce Institute

Bio: I’ve been with the WTIA for one and a half years; it’s my first foray into the non-profit world as an employee, though I’ve sat on a number of c3 and c6 boards.  Beginning college originally as a pre-law major, I quickly realized that I didn’t want to be a legislator, i.e., graduate school would be a must to practice law, so I decided to go a different route.  I shifted to Technical Journalism, with a concentration in PR, minor in Sociology and followed it up with an MBA from Ohio University.  My prior life was spent working in risk management with direct P&L responsibility of $200MM+ in personal lines insurance divisions with AIG and Progressive Insurance on the east coast, and SeaBright Insurance- workers compensation, in Seattle.  On the fun side of my career, I’ve also spent time working with MLB and agent Scott Boras plus the NBA representing players for their endorsements, sponsorship retention and operational best practice development.

The great part about this experience has been the approach our CEO has taken, challenging the management team, to think about who the WTIA is as an organization differently.  Applying our joint ‘for-profit’ point of view is driving a new direction and new life into the organization. Our members are feeling the winds of change and perception is that we are the industry change makers in Washington.

In addition to general new member acquisition, my focus areas at the WTIA are program underwriting, large account solicitation/management, select board relationship management, and strategic optimization. (I.e., looking for creative funding models we can employee for larger initiatives and ways to expand our reach in the market for low investment.)

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at the WTIA? How has WTIA responded to this challenge/opportunity?

The completion of our ICT Economic Impact Study was by far the most impactful deliverable we’ve generated. It’s unified our sector, offered a mutually agreeable baseline for our conversations with the State’s Department of Commerce whenever we address policy initiatives impacting our sector.  Since Michael’s start with the organization two years ago, we’ve spent a lot of time working on/answer the questions “what will the next 10 years of our mission look like”, “what will be our legacy”, “what does our industry need us to be”? 

Addressing these meaty issues, with the support of an independent empirical study, is giving us a different lens in how we’re delivering programs and how we prioritize our offerings.  It’s driven a significant amount of change in our org over the last six months with much more to come.

 

What is one event or program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?  The creation of a sister organization, a workforce institute focused on addressing several critical industry needs. I’d love to dive into this more deeply, but it’s too soon. (Would love to be on the agenda for next summer! We’ll have a fully baked product in the market by then.)  Stay Tuned….. !

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time? In other words, what would you recommend to someone doing similar work so they learn from your previous experience?

Having no prior non-profit experience, only big Fortune 100 and top brand experience, I did not understand the decision dynamics around why companies join. For the benefits received at a nominal annual investment, I was surprised at the challenges I met in building our membership community, typically ROI based.

Our approach prior to my arrival was to offer product benefits to a prospective member’s marketing representative. However, when the product was no longer needed, the membership ended. When I arrived, I continued to approach the same audience, but with an advocacy and program directed message.  After a few attempts at getting buy-in from the marketing representative with the changed message, it was clear that we needed to change the entire approach.

In the end, new momentum sparked after changing our target audience and speaking to a group of stakeholders, which took the need for a marketing ROI off the table.  Focusing more on ROO, multiple stakeholders being engaged offered a higher perceived value even if not quantifiable; it delivers a platform to discuss multiple value propositions and helps create a relationship depth chart within the organization thus ensuring the renewal.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc., that you find very helpful professionally.

The passé answer is LinkedIn, it’s completely invaluable, but I am also really enjoying Sidekick. It’s the add-on to my email, notifying me when my email has been delivered, when it was opened, if/when it’s forwarded, and even who opened it- great for group messages.  It’s great for a whole host of reasons, not the least of which is to serve as a reminder to me when I see the “opened” notifier pop up on my screen.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?  When in Seattle I’m a voracious reader – current affairs and politics to fiction and legal thrillers. I’m also a strong ‘green’ advocate and spend time serving on the board as a co-founder of the Green Sports Alliance, a now global organization focused on the greening of sports venues at all levels.  Lastly, I’m an adjunct professor at Seattle University teaching graduate level Marketing and Revenue Generation.

When traveling, like I’m doing before I see you all in K.C., I’ll be in Alaska hiking, camping and deep-sea fishing for Salmon and Halibut. If you get your request in early, maybe I’ll ship you some :) 

TECNA Member Spotlight - May 2015: Megan Ryan

Megan Ryan, Vice President of Marketing & Events, Colorado Technology Association

Bio: I am the vice president of marketing and events at the Colorado Technology Association, where I have worked since December 2013. I manage marketing and 60+ events per year for our association. I oversee a team of 2.5 and work with volunteers on a variety of programs. Prior to entering the tech industry, I was at the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau for 9.5 years promoting tourism to Albuquerque, New Mexico.  My degree is in Human Ecology & Mass Communications with emphasis on Hotel & Restaurant Management and Public Relations from Kansas State University. I have always been interested in event planning and marketing so this role was a perfect fit. I’m still learning a lot about the constantly-changing tech industry, but it is an exciting time to be in the midst of all of the change and economic growth in Denver and Colorado. I love to be engaged with my community and CTA has some really exciting partnerships around the city and state.

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at the CTA? How has CTA responded to this challenge/opportunity?

As with other areas of the country, Colorado is experiencing a major shortage of qualified tech workers. The momentum at which our industry is growing is tremendous and the workforce can’t keep up. The industry growth is a positive for our state, and employers are looking for all possible solutions to help bridge the gap. CTA has just formalized a foundation to address this issue with a mission to bridge companies to education, technology and workforce programs. Since September, we have launched multiple new programs to provide opportunities for our members to make a difference in the lives of students through internships and shadow days, and many other ideas on the horizon. I look forward to seeing the foundation grow and serve an even broader audience.

 

What is one event or program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

I am most proud of our Women in Technology Conference. The annual event is in its 5^th year and is tremendously popular selling out weeks in advance each year. This year we will have 550 women for a full day conference! This is an important topic in the industry and we are serving an important role in connecting the women in the industry and helping them build relationships that help with their future success. From an events perspective, it is also a lot of fun to put together an outdoor event in a beautiful setting with fantastic speakers.

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time?

A very specific example was a project where we partnered with our local business paper to tell the stories of our annual awards program winners. We worked far in advance, but did not allow enough time for all of the people that needed to weigh in on some of the award categories, which put us behind deadline. That is not popular with a print editor and it became very challenging to work together based on some missed deadlines on our end that could have been avoided with more buffer time built in. We have learned the lesson for this fall and implemented firm deadlines that are already on the committee’s calendars to ensure it does not happen again.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

Teamwork.com – we use it for project management and assigning tasks to all members of the team.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

We just bought a new house so I’ve been busy shopping, decorating and entertaining house guests. I enjoy traveling, biking, hiking, skiing and being out in the Colorado sunshine!

TECNA Highlights - April 2015

Dear members,

This issue, I’d like to start by highlighting a few important upcoming items:

First, our Call for 2016 event hosts closes May 8. If you would like to be considered as a host of the CEO Retreat or Summer Conference, please let us know.

We are also seeking names of consultants who can help us research and validate a TECNA initiative around workforce development. Consultants with knowledge of the technology industry and this issue are preferable. Please email leads to me ASAP.

U.S. members will soon start receiving policy updates/action emails via CompTIA’s online advocacy tool, CapWiz. Over the next two weeks, keep an eye out for alerts on the Trade Priorities and Accountability Act and Export-Import Bank Reauthorization. You may opt out of receiving these messages, but we want to give all U.S. members the opportunity to increase your awareness of these policy issues, even if you’re not a TechAmerica Alliance Partner.

 

Taking a look back, we made progress on several policy issues. TechAmerica Alliance Partners signed on to two letters supporting the Trade Priorities and Accountability Act and Export-Import Bank reauthorization. These letters will be strategically released in the coming weeks as events unfold on the Hill.

The TECNA board also issued a release calling for federal non-discrimination protections for LGBT individuals. As you may be aware, the recent Religious Freedom and Restoration Act (RFRA) in Indiana created quite the firestorm, much like it did in Arizona last year. While AZTC helped to successfully defeat it, Indiana wasn’t as proactive until receiving significant backlash. Since this time, more than 100 tech companies have signed onto a growing list of supporters of federal non-discrimination for LGBT employees through the Human Rights Campaign. While half of states have RFRAs on the books, they either have built in non-discrimination clauses or the state has separate legislation protecting LGBT individuals. Since there is a growing trend of RFRAs that present an opportunity for discrimination if such compendium protections are not included or available, TECNA had an opportunity to proactively act. This has the potential to affect technology industry business and workforce development in certain states.  Secondly, our tech councils in these states with pending RFRAs will need to start discussing how they would like to address the situation. Please feel free to share this release with your members and local media channels.

I’d also like to thank, once again, the Chattanooga Technology Council and planning committee for hosting a terrific CEO Retreat. 91% of attendees found the conference a valuable/very valuable use of their time. Great job!

 

Until next month’s post,

Bob Moore, CAE

TECNA, Executive Director

TECNA Highlights - April 2015

Dear members,

This issue, I’d like to start by highlighting a few important upcoming items:

First, our Call for 2016 event hosts closes May 8. If you would like to be considered as a host of the CEO Retreat or Summer Conference, please let us know.

We are also seeking names of consultants who can help us research and validate a TECNA initiative around workforce development. Consultants with knowledge of the technology industry and this issue are preferable. Please email leads to me ASAP.

U.S. members will soon start receiving policy updates/action emails via CompTIA’s online advocacy tool, CapWiz. Over the next two weeks, keep an eye out for alerts on the Trade Priorities and Accountability Act and Export-Import Bank Reauthorization. You may opt out of receiving these messages, but we want to give all U.S. members the opportunity to increase your awareness of these policy issues, even if you’re not a TechAmerica Alliance Partner.

 

Taking a look back, we made progress on several policy issues. TechAmerica Alliance Partners signed on to two letters supporting the Trade Priorities and Accountability Act and Export-Import Bank reauthorization. These letters will be strategically released in the coming weeks as events unfold on the Hill.

The TECNA board also issued a release calling for federal non-discrimination protections for LGBT individuals. As you may be aware, the recent Religious Freedom and Restoration Act (RFRA) in Indiana created quite the firestorm, much like it did in Arizona last year. While AZTC helped to successfully defeat it, Indiana wasn’t as proactive until receiving significant backlash. Since this time, more than 100 tech companies have signed onto a growing list of supporters of federal non-discrimination for LGBT employees through the Human Rights Campaign. While half of states have RFRAs on the books, they either have built in non-discrimination clauses or the state has separate legislation protecting LGBT individuals. Since there is a growing trend of RFRAs that present an opportunity for discrimination if such compendium protections are not included or available, TECNA had an opportunity to proactively act. This has the potential to affect technology industry business and workforce development in certain states.  Secondly, our tech councils in these states with pending RFRAs will need to start discussing how they would like to address the situation. Please feel free to share this release with your members and local media channels.

I’d also like to thank, once again, the Chattanooga Technology Council and planning committee for hosting a terrific CEO Retreat. 91% of attendees found the conference a valuable/very valuable use of their time. Great job!

 

Until next month’s post,

Bob Moore, CAE

TECNA, Executive Director

TECNA Member Spotlight - April 2015: Dhruv Patel

Dhruv Patel, Director of Investor Relations, Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED)

Bio: Dhruv Patel is the Director of Investor Relations at the Council for Entrepreneurial Development - the largest and longest-running network for tech-based companies in the country. He has been working with North Carolina entrepreneurs for over 10 years. In his current role, Dhruv is responsible for the building key relationships with leading investors including venture funds, angel investors and strategics around the country.

Prior to CED, he was a part of launch team for the Piedmont Triad Entrepreneurs Network and was a Licensing Associate at UNCG’s Office of Innovation Commercialization, which evaluates the commercial feasibility of technologies. Prior to arriving in North Carolina, Dhruv was a part of ICICI Bank’s sales team in Mumbai, India.

He currently serves on the Board of Advisors of Rex Health Ventures – a $10 million strategic investment fund that invests in healthcare. In addition, he served on the Leadership Council of Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, a grant making foundation supporting public education, community-based economic development, environmental sustainability and racial & gender equality in NC. 

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at the CED? How has CED responded to this challenge/opportunity?

As our entrepreneurial community has grown we’ve seen a number of great resources emerge to help early-stage startups gain a foothold and have a shot at success.  What CED has noticed is that there isn’t much formal support for companies who are scaling up from that startup phase.  Those scaleups are where we really start to see the economic and other benefits of successful entrepreneurship, so CED has decided to step in and become a resource for those “scaleup” companies.  We’re leveraging our network to help these companies form better relationships with investors, especially those who are out-of-market, and we’re helping to promote companies and our entrepreneurial ecosystem to national media and other audiences.  CED is perfectly positioned to fill this role as a connecting network, helping companies with traction to take that next step and truly build out our entrepreneurial community in North Carolina. 

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

Our two marquee conferences, Tech Venture and Life Science, have really grown over the past few years and now attract national attention from media, investors, companies, and entrepreneurs.  The Life Science Conference counts over 30% of its attendees from out of state and Tech Venture has become a key showcase event in the Southeast where companies are announcing product releases, partnerships, and other key milestones.  We see these events continuing to grow in both attendance and prestige over the next few years.

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time?

The best thing you can do as an organization like ours is to “talk to your customer.”  Our main customer is the entrepreneur, so we are constantly engaged in dialogue with them and adjusting our approach and offerings based on their feedback.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

We have transitioned our entire database and many of our operations to salesforce.com and it has transformed our organization.  It’s rare for a non-profit to be data-driven but we have embraced that strategy using Salesforce and we’re already seeing results – becoming a more efficient, outcomes-based organization.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

I enjoy running.  I also enjoy a good quality beer… usually post-run.

TECNA Highlights - March 2015

Dear Members,

Spring has sprung, and we’re continuing our growth. 31 CEOs participated at last week’s, well-reviewed CEO Retreat (15% increase over 2014). Many thanks to our event host, the Chattanooga Technology Council, and the planning committee! As a result of the conference we’ve also added 29 new turnkey tools to our online toolbox – check them out. Additionally, the 2015 TECNA CEO Salary Survey was distributed. If you’d like a copy, please email me.

The Board had a great meeting prior to the Retreat strategizing ways the TECNA network can increase collaboration, and build on the great regional work, around workforce development. We’ll continue this conversation over the next few months and at the Summer Conference – stay tuned.

Our membership now totals 52! Please help me welcome our two newest members: the Circuit and the Greater Memphis IT Council. If you haven’t updated your staff roster in the new CRM, please do so. Each member CEO received an email with organizational log in information to make these changes.

We’re also growing our social media presence. In just the first few months of 2015, we’ve grown our base by 13%. If you, or your organization, are not following us, please do so @TechCouncils.

This month on an advocacy front, we’ve supported the re-authorization of the Perkins Act and funding for the Regional Innovation Program, as have many tech councils. We’ve continued our ask of tech councils to contact their Senators to co-sponsor the I-Squared immigration bill. See this issue of TECNA Digest for tips and tools for supporting this outreach.

Last, but not least, the Board approved a by-law change that allowed the membership to reappoint and/or elect board members in open positions for the upcoming 2015-17 term at the CEO Retreat Business Meeting. Congratulations to:

Skip Newberry, President, Technology Association of Oregon - Chairman

Julie Huls, President & CEO, Austin Technology Council - Vice Chairwoman

Brooks Raiford, President & CEO, North Carolina Technology Council - Vice Chairman

Kathie Shields, Executive Director, Tech Collective - Treasurer

Kathy Knight, CEO, ICTAM - Director

Richard Nelson, President & CEO, Utah Technology Council - Director

Tino Mantella, President & CEO, Technology Association of Georgia - Director

Doug Robertson, President & CEO, Venn - Director

Tom Hopcroft, President & CEO, MassTLC - Director

Don't forget the Summer Conference is quickly approaching. Be sure to register by the early-bird deadline: June 1. View the most current program and other information.

Looking ahead, we're conducting an open call for 2016 event hosts. If you'd like to be considered for the 2016 CEO Retreat or Summer Conference, please review the host responsibilities and complete this form by May 5.

Best,

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Member Spotlight - March 2015: Melissa Skazel

Melissa Skazel, Communications Coordinator, ICTAM

Bio: Before ICTAM, I worked for 3 years as a Marketing Assistant at an engineering software company. Using my educational background (Bachelor of Business Administration) and interest in all things technology, it helped me develop a further appreciation and insight into the sector. I’ve only been with ICTAM for three months, but getting to network with other professionals in ICT at events while being creative in marketing with activities such as website and newsletter design is exactly where I want to be at this stage in my career.

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at ICTAM? How has ICTAM responded to this challenge/opportunity?

Prior to my hiring, ICTAM was finding it challenging to communicate with our members on a consistent basis. As a result, they were not always as well informed about events, benefits and opportunities as they might have been otherwise.  Since I joined ICTAM, we’ve been able to send out regular newsletters, event alerts and other relevant communications in a consistent and timely fashion.  As a result, our member engagement has increased and our members have been calling to ask how they can get more involved. 

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

Every April, ICTAM holds an evening of networking, engaging entertainment, and fine dining, called “The Innovators”. The 400 people in attendance get to watch an informative conversation between a big-wig in the ICT industry and a well known TV host.  It’s been exciting to be involved in the planning and promotion of this big event, and seeing everything that is required to pull an event of this stature off successfully.

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time?

Keeping up with members regularly is key: making sure that they are up-to-date with all of your events (as well as partner and member events), sending member survey’s to get fresh opinions, and giving them a common space on your website to submit their information, helps them feel that they are getting the most out of their membership.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

Photoshop. When you need a quick banner ad made, or logo resized, it’s pretty much impossible without a great editing program. Once you get the hang of using it, you can avoid using graphic design agencies for the smaller jobs.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

Other than spending quality time with my family and friends, you can usually find me at a local concert, on a downtown patio, or on a road trip with friends to summer festivals across Canada.

TECNA Highlights - February 2015

Dear Members,

February was a very busy and productive month! Of note, we launched TECNA’s new website and database. Please visit www.tecna.org to view new features including:
• Aggregated member Twitter and blog content on our Trending page• Member’s only pages with access to best practices, member survey data, past Community of Interest recordings, and more. (log in required)
• Social sharing of site content
• New members only directory with advanced search capabilities to better facilitate networking among member organizations and staff. (log in required)
• Enhanced public directory listing your association’s logo, description and twitter account

All members in our system received an email on February 26 giving them access to the member’s only pages and ability to update your information. All CEOs received a second email with instructions on logging into the system on behalf of your association to add/delete staff and make other organizational updates. Please be sure to review your staff so they have access and receive our communications.

 

Advocacy

I’d like to thank the 21 councils that participated in this year’s TechAmerica DC Fly-In. We really helped make an impact on the Hill with more than 110 hill visits!

We also signed on to the following letters of support:

02.25.2015 - TECNA and the Coalition of Small Business Innovators Strongly Support recently introduced COMPETE ACT

02.03.2015 - TECNA, TechAmerica and the Coalition of Small Business Innovators (CSBI), write in strong support of your Start-up Jobs and Innovation Act

02.02.2015 - TECNA, 26 members and TechAmerica support the introduction of the Start Up Jobs and Innovation Act

 

Research

We also had a busy month helping launch two new industry research reports:

02.11.2015 - Joint research with University of Phoenix and Apollo Group examines and identifies strategies to address shortage software development talent

02.10.2015 - Cyberstates 2015 released by CompTIA and TECNA: Employment growth in 38 states 

View the Cyberstates report and interactive map (Tech Council members are listed with each state’s data summary)

 

Best Practices

Two of our Communities of Interest met this month. Check out these recordings and resources (Member log in required):

Keeping Members and Attendees Engaged With Events

Tech Council Efforts to Workforce Development

 

CEO Retreat

The CEO Retreat is less than a month away and the most current information is on the website. CEOs have until March 3 to register for the hotel and registration.

 

Summer Conference

The planning committee is busy drafting the preliminary agenda that will be released when registration opens on March 6. Early bird hotel and event registration runs through June 3. View up to date information here.

 

Governance

Today the Nominating Committee met to review open director and officer positions. They will present a slate of candidates to the membership at the CEO Retreat. The Board is currently revising the by-laws to move up the vote from the Summer Conference so there is more time to plan for their participation at the July Board meeting.

Tino Mantella, Julie Huls and myself met to frame out an approach to identify strategic initiatives that can help secure large corporate and foundation monies to help support the work of tech councils and solidify TECNA’s financial sustainability. These will be discussed with the board and membership at the next two meetings. Stay tuned!

Best regards,

Bob

 

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

 

TECNA Member Spotlight - February 2015

Angela McLaughlin, Director of Events, Minnesota High Tech Association

Bio: Angela joined MHTA in January 2013 to organize flagship events like Spring Conference and the Tekne Awards, in addition to other professional development, networking and advocacy events for MHTA – including the 2013 TECNA Summer Conference. Prior to MHTA, Angela spent nearly 10 years at the Minnesota International Center where she managed senior level diplomatic visits, special events, corporate relations and gala fundraisers. A high point of her MIC experience was being selected as a citizen diplomat for a 10 person national delegation to China in 2009. Prior to entering the nonprofit sector, Angela worked in higher education administration as a college student activities director (student government, concert planning committe, college radio, etc). She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota-Morris and holds a Master’s Degree in educational administration from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at the Minnesota High Tech Association? How has MHTA responded to this challenge/opportunity?

From what I see through the events lens, there are more technology events and more competition than ever in the Twin Cities – especially Minneapolis. An example is that as print media circulation declines, publications who have been long time media sponsors are starting to organize events that sometimes compete with ours – including innovation awards! We are responding by taking a close look at established events and seeing how we can refresh them to keep them differentiated. Our 2015 Spring Conference has been held at the Minneapolis Convention Center for years, and has included up to 18 breakout sessions, keynotes and a trade show. Input from guests and from our board resulted in us shifting the focus toward thought leadership content and moving away from the trade show aspects, and moving the venue to the Guthrie Theater, a state of the art modern theater facility on the Mississippi River. We’ve identified multiple keynote speakers, increased the networking opportunities, and are organizing fewer, higher level panel discussions.  We’re also partnering with compatible organizations, like Life Science Alley or the North Start STEM Alliance, when ever possible.

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

Now in its sixteenth year, the Tekne Awards honors innovations in science and technology across several categories. Reviewing the award applications always blows my mind as I’m thrilled by the exciting new things that fellow Minnesotans develop, but the event itself is also spectacular. People call it the “academy awards of technology;” 900-ish people attend a black tie event with champagne, high quality custom video production, dinner, and beautiful award statues made by a local glass artist, and MHTA’s foundation scholarships are awarded to college students. It’s a unique snapshot each year of excellence in the Minnesota science and technology community, but present and future.

 

What are you hoping to learn from your TECNA colleagues to help grow your organization?

As an educator, experiential peer-to-peer learning was my passion. That was part of my attraction to working for a professional association. I appreciate being able to tackle common problems in groups with others who understand the context of my work and can share best practices.

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time?

This is totally specific to event planners: Label all of the food on buffets with allergy info, gluten, nuts, etc. People are increasingly aware of what they eat and have questions, and can get anxious if you can’t answer them.  Labeling food puts guests at ease. For our Spring Conference in 2014, I ordered the exact same food that I ordered the year prior, except that it was all labeled. I was shocked by how many people raved about the food in their post-event surveys, saying it was so much better than last year.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

Linked-In is increasingly valuable to me. Because several MHTA events involve securing technology professionals as event hosts, speakers, or committee members, Linked-In is a convenient way to secure a headshot, confirm a title, or even see if the name you’re working with belongs to the face you think it does. I like being able to walk up to sponsors at an event and greet them by name. It’s also handy for email introductions between members.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

I enjoy reading, attending performing arts events, traveling, and furniture restoration. Taking conversational Polish classes is something my fiancé and I do together; following our wedding in May, my last name will become Skrowaczewski. (I couldn’t pronounce it at first, either).

TECNA Highlights - January 2015

Happy New Year,

From my conversations with many members, 2015 is starting off VERY busy. The same is true at TECNA. This month we continue to get great press from the National Survey of Technology, Policy and Strategic Issues. Since the report’s release in December, we have had 147 unique placements with a potential audience of 129.4 million! If your council participated and has not yet sent out the pre-drafted release to your local media, please do so soon. We’d like to beat our exposure from last year.

On Monday February 2, we’ll open registration for the 2015 CEO Retreat. We just secured Adrian Davis to come back from the Summer Conference for an in-depth workshop on developing your organization’s value proposition. We have other exciting sessions lined-up addressing:

• 2015 technology sector economic forecast
• Events of the future
• Access to talent
• Turn key programs
• And much more

TECNA’s CEO salary survey being conducted by the Management Association closed January 30. Data will be presented in aggregate at the CEO Retreat.

In February we will launch our new TECNA website and member database. Stay on the lookout for new member log-in information. Also note that some links may be broken from previous communications, but the content will all still be accessible at www.tecna.org.

Finishing touches are being put on the Buildingand Sustaining Software Development Talent Survey that was conducted in partnership with the University of Phoenix and Apollo Education Group. A press release will launch on February 10 and full materials will be posted on our website. You’ll find several recommendations presented for tech councils, educators, legislators and industry. We will have a corresponding suggestion box to collect additional ideas you may have to help address this critical issue. We look forward to continuing the conversation.

With the new Congress in session, our U.S. advocacy efforts are picking up steam. TECNA and 25 tech councils gave support for the Startup Act 3.0. We are also currently working on letters of support to U.S. Senators on immigration reform and the Start Up Jobs and Innovation Act. Five new strategic partners signed onto our TechAmerica powered By CompTIA collaboration: California Technology Council, Howard Technology Council, Metroplex Technology Business Council, Nashville Technology Council, and the Wisconsin Technology Council.  We are now up to 21 councils partnering and have 6 in the process of re-signing! Last, but not least, we have broken records for the DC Fly-In with two-weeks left in registration. There is still time for members who are TechAmerica Alliance Partners to register and/or bring more delegates.

Advocacy efforts are also quickly moving ahead in Canadian where members are close to finalizing their 2015 advocacy priorities. Stay on the look out for those on our website in the next few weeks.

Best,

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Member Spotlight - January 2015

Mike Scricca, Director of Membership, Connecticut Technology Council (CTC)

Bio: I am probably an anachronism in the tech association world, having been in my job here at CTC for 16 years. I started here in 1998 when the Dot.com and internet boom were raging here in Connecticut as it was everywhere. Some of our members went public and saw spectacular rises in their stock prices and then faded almost as spectacularly.

I started out just handling membership, but over the years I have assumed more responsibilities to include both membership and sponsorship sales. I also help a great deal with our event planning, spending at least half of my time working on our signature events.  In small organizations like CTC, one has to be able to handle multiple jobs to further an organization’s goals.

With the New Year upon us, do you have any resolutions that you plan to bring into your member outreach and support?

We have just migrated to a new membership management platform (Weblink for those of you who are curious) and I am determined to use it to better engage our members as well as provide them a better level of service. So far, staff here is impressed with the product. I like it as well.

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your 15+ year tenure at the Connecticut Technology Council (CTC)?

In Connecticut, I think we have done a good job of raising the awareness of elected officials to the engine that technology can be for economic development. Every year we delivered a compelling message to policy makers about how we needed to be more tech friendly and competitive with other states, and we found allies among legislators. However, you have to keep at it, as many legislators move on or retire and not everyone gets it. And while Matthew Nemerson, our previous CEO, was the consummate cheerleader, our new CEO Bruce Carlson, is prepared be equally as aggressive in succeeding him.

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

I have two. One is the annual Women of Innovation Awards Dinner. I started managing it its second year and it has become our best attended event in the years hence. I also manage a CEO peer group that meets each month. I learn more from the 12 CEOs who participate each month when they put their business problems on the table than I do from any other job activity.

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time?

I have learned to be more patient and more willing to consider the ideas of others. I often believed that my way was the best way, but after finding out that the ideas of others in the office were sometimes better, you learn to be more open to other people’s workplace thinking.

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

I could not live without my cell phone. I know that sounds trite, but it makes me much more productive. It obviously wasn’t available in 1998.

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

I like to ride my bike when I can. I switched from my racer road bike to a hybrid last year so I could go off road a bit more and take bike riding a bit more leisurely. I play bocce on weekends in the summer and fall with a bunch of guys that I have played with for 30+ years. Being of Italian heritage, it was something I was playing when I was very young. I am also an avid gardener and love to tinker around my small condo garden.

TECNA Highlights - December 2014

Happy Holidays,

As we bring 2014 to a close, I wish you all a happy holiday season and wonderful New Year!  We’re off to a great start to 2015 already:

• Wells Fargo Private Bank is now TECNA’s Financial Services Partner – Thank them for their support!
• The CEO Retreat working agenda is now available.
• DC Fly-In registration is increasing  - Don’t forget this is an important time for U.S. members planning to participate in the Fly-In. Be sure to register and promote your involvement so that you have a well-represented delegation.

We have also had a series of successful Communities of Interest webinars this last month (See the membership and STEM/Workforce recordings). We kick off January with a membership call. View our website for updated information.

Last but not least, take a look at what we’ve accomplished in 2014. I want to thank our board, volunteers and members for helping grow and enhance TECNA’s resources and offerings. I look forward to working with all of you in the coming year.

Best,

Bob Moore, CAE

TECNA, Executive Director

TECNA Member Spotlight - December 2014

Malcolm Hong, Project Manager, Idaho Technology Council

Bio: As Project Manager for the Idaho Technology Council, Malcolm Hong helps build Idaho’s technology ecosystem through development of strategic initiatives, event management, and empowering the ITC’s leadership team and volunteers. He was first exposed to the Idaho Technology Council (ITC) through a volunteer opportunity and officially joined the ITC as an employee in January 2012.

Malcolm has five years of experience in strategic communications and public relations. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho and a Master’s Degree in Communication from Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. 

 

As project manager, you touch a lot of projects. What tips do you have for keeping organized?

1. Assess and work towards your Most Important Task’s (MIT’s) on a daily basis. As a Project Manager, it’s easy to get pulled in a lot of different directions. To help manage my workflow, I create no more than three MIT’s each day and strive to accomplish those tasks as quickly as possible. This gives me a focus on my workflow and helps ensure the highest return on investment for my day-to-day efforts.  

2.  Maintain the “two-minute” rule. If something can be done in two minutes or less, do it immediately. If an action item takes longer to store and track than dealing with it immediately, it harms your productivity. Implementing this rule also reduces tasks from piling up, which can distract you from other projects.

3. Define project scope clearly and keep workflow within your parameters. A clearly-defined project scope needs to goals, objectives, tasks, and scheduling to achieve the desired outcome. Without having these parameters, it’s easy for project creep to set in. Having a clear project scope also makes it easier to keep your focus on workflow that helps you accomplish your key goals.   

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at the Idaho Technology Council (ITC)? How has ITC responded to this challenge/opportunity?

The most notable change that’s impacted our members was ITC’s legislation that defined cloud-computing services as non-taxable transactions in Idaho.

In 2013, members of the Idaho Technology Council who offered cloud-based services were abruptly informed by the Idaho Tax Commission that their services would be taxed. On top of that, our members were told they would be subject to back taxes since the inception of their businesses, which in some cases, ranged up to thousands of dollars.  Although services in Idaho are defined as non-taxable transactions, the Idaho Tax Commission’s ruling was based from a dated portion of Idaho’s tax statue that authorized sales tax on purchase and sale of software.   

This abrupt ruling impacted many of Idaho’s fastest growing Idaho technology companies, such as Clearwater Analytics, Internet Truckstop, and TSheets. Many of the companies in our membership stated they would be unable to continue doing business in Idaho unless this position was reversed. ITC leaders were also concerned that this ruling would harm Idaho’s business reputation and make it difficult for us to attract high-tech companies to our state.

The ITC acted decisively to address this issue and formed a strong coalition that included industry leaders and partners such as the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Idaho Department of Commerce. We proposed new legislation that clearly defined cloud-based services as non-taxable transactions. Through acting as a single voice for Idaho’s tech industry and through building relationships with key stakeholders, this legislation passed with nearly unanimous support from Idaho lawmakers.

Idaho made history through becoming one of the few states that clearly define cloud computing services as non-taxable transactions. We believe this legislation will help Idaho tech companies start, grow, and thrive. It also demonstrates that Idaho is a business-friendly state that understands how innovation drives today’s economy.    

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

Members of the Idaho Technology Council are launching a program that will give every Idaho public school access to a computer science curriculum.

To make progress towards this goal, the ITC’s Education Committee explored different educational programs and decided that Code.org provided the best curriculum to help ensure that every Idaho student has the opportunity to learn 21^st century skills. Because signing up each individual school district with Code.org would be a long process, one of the members of our committee had the innovative idea of using Idaho Digital Learning Academy (IDLA) to accelerate integration of a CS curriculum in Idaho schools.   

IDLA is a state-sponsored online school that provides digital and logistical solutions to school districts across Idaho. Because IDLA already has an established presence in Idaho school districts for professional development, ITC members proposed using the organization to provide logistics and operations support for the entire state. Code.org was open to utilizing IDLA as a "Virtual District" for the state and is currently finishing a partnership agreement with IDLA. 

ITC members presented a proposal at a conference to Idaho Superintendents and received positive feedback and support from Idaho educators. We’re currently in discussions with school districts in the Treasure Valley who want to integrate computer science classes in their curriculum. Because the U.S. Bureau of Labor predicts that Idaho will have 41,000 STEM jobs by 2018, we see this program as a huge step in preparing Idaho students for jobs of the future.

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time?

Through working with entrepreneurs and startups in my role with the Idaho Technology Council, I’ve learned new concepts that have influenced my approach to solving challenges. One of the concepts that’s stood out to me is “pivoting” to adapt to change and overcome challenges. This concept means you change directions, yet stay grounded in what you’ve learned.

For example, when I first joined the Idaho Technology Council, we hosted monthly networking mixers. Generally, these mixers were lightly attended and I felt there was a way to increase attendance and differentiate it from other similar business networking events in Boise. I spoke to a few of our members and learned they were looking for new opportunities to learn more about tech-related topics that weren’t usually covered at other Boise networking events.

I decided to tap into the talent of our members and find a keynote speaker for each event. I presented the call for speakers as a valuable opportunity to demonstrate industry knowledge and create new business opportunities. When we found speakers, I would promote each speaker ahead of time and emphasized the relevance of their topic to our tech community.

At the first event when we had a guest speaker, we had over 50 people packed into the conference room of Keynetics – an increase of 30 people from our previous event. Adding speakers to our monthly mixer was a relatively small change that made a significant impact the first time we tried it. The lessons learned are to avoid getting mired down into a routine or doing things out of habit, but rather, to constantly look for ways to provide more value and be nimble in meeting the needs of your target audience.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

I recently installed an app called Trello to help organize my workflow. I’m a visual person and I enjoy how the program makes it easier to quickly see and organize the workflow of different projects. I’m also a fan of how Trello makes it easy to set up checklists/due dates, share attachments, and receive notifications across my devices.  

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?  

I enjoy photography and my specialties are portraits, events, and nature photography. I enjoy photography because I take great satisfaction when I can capture special moments, human emotion, or the beauty of the natural world to display for others. I also enjoy the outdoors and love taking advantage of the many opportunities that come from loving in Boise, Idaho. We have over a hundred parks and a wide variety of recreational opportunities through easy access to the foothills, mountains, and the Boise River.

Boise is a hidden gem among the nation’s tech communities, but we’re starting to gain recognition. Earliest this year, the Spare Foot Blog listed Boise as the #1 Under-The-Radar Tech Hub and SML rated Boise as the #1 Best City to Move to in 2014. Members of our tech community are fortunate to enjoy a relaxed and well-balanced lifestyle.

For example, our old office was hosted close to the Boise River and from my office window, I would sometimes see deer close to the banks of the river. After work, I would often run along the Greenbelt, the 25-mile pathway that follows the Boise River through the city. Some of the workers in my office would bring their waders and fish during lunch. You might be surprised to learn that our office was less than five minutes away from downtown Boise. It’s truly a blessing to live in a state where we have these opportunities available.

TECNA Highlights - November 2014

Dear Members,

With the Thanksgiving season past or upon us in Canada and the U.S. respectively, I’d like to thank all of our leaders and volunteers who help bring valuable programs and resources to the membership.

Over the last few weeks, I joined our Canadian organizations who hosted an Ottawa policy meeting to set collaborative priorities for 2015. We also wrapped up two research initiatives. The National Survey of Technology, Policy and Strategic Issues closed November 9. Results are currently being analyzed and the report and draft press materials will be distributed by the first week of December. Twenty-three of the 32 councils participating will receive custom regional reports based upon their great response rates! In partnership with the University of Phoenix, on October 30 we hosted a software skills development virtual roundtable with 12 professionals from regional tech councils. The report detailing panel insights, coupled with the quantitative survey, will be released by February.

Is your council hosting an Hour of Code event between December 8-14? If so, let Code.org and me know. This is a great way to interest students in coding and a career in technology.

If you missed the Membership Community of Interest webinar on implementing ambassador programs, check out the recording. We have two more webinars next month. Learn more about the December 3 Events and December 10 STEM/Workforce COI networking and learning opportunities.

In an effort to further explore ways to maximize our relationship and support through CompTIA, a TECNA/CompTIA Exploratory Task Force met November 10-11 to assess new opportunities to create a win-win scenario. The task force and board will continue to assess options to take TECNA to the next level through the March 2015 board meeting.

TechVoice Alliance Partners are currently reviewing an updated TechAmerica powered by CompTIA Strategic Services Agreement. In addition to the existing federal commercial policy support, TECNA members have two new ways to get engaged with state advocacy. The Nashville Technology Council is our newest Alliance Partner and we’re talking with four other councils about joining. Please let me know if you’d like more information.

As a reminder, I’ll be sending member invoices in the next few weeks and 2015 dues are payable by January 16. We are offering a new way to remit payment through an ACH withdrawal. CEOs will receive the invoice and details on how to pay by ACH.

Last but not least, having launched our new brand, we'd like all members to update their website and materials with our new logo. Download various file types of our new logo here.

Best regards,

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Member Spotlight - November 2014

Alice Ng, Director of Marketing & Events, New York Technology Council (NYTECH)

Bio: I’m the Director of Marketing and Events at the New York Technology Council (NYTECH). I jumped on board in January of 2012. As the organization’s first full-time hire, I oversee marketing, events, community partnerships, member benefits, and social media. In addition, I am the co-producer of the International Space Apps Challenge in NYC, which is a global hackathon initiated by NASA and run by faithful volunteers in numerous cities throughout the world.

Prior to joining NYTECH, I worked in legal marketing for a San Francisco-based international law firm. I earned a BBA in marketing from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University in NYC.

 

Having recently attended the TECNA Summer Conference, what was your biggest take-away and how will you use this insight in your organization?

My biggest takeaway from the conference is the importance of community. Unlike veteran TECNA members, I’m new to the “game” and value the opportunity to meet members from other tech councils. Since we don’t compete directly with each other, I really appreciated how open everyone was about sharing what and how they do things at their own councils. Also, being part of TECNA has improved our value proposition. For example, our partner, Per Scholas, is expanding into the Washington, DC area, so we introduced them to the Technology Council of Maryland and the Northern Virginia Technology Council to get more information about the region. Amazon Web Services also had similar goals for the Austin area, so we connected them to the Austin Tech Council. As a result, our partners and sponsors see us as connectors.

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at NYTECH? How has NYTECH responded to this challenge/opportunity?

The most notable change that has impacted our members is the explosive growth of the technology sector in New York. Over the past three or four years, this growth has generated hundreds of new companies and tens of thousands of new jobs.  We’ve responded to this growth by expanding and broadening our offerings such as offering additional membership tiers and increasing the number of events.  We’re also getting more involved in policy issues, particularly those that relate to workforce development and tax incentives.

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

I’m extremely proud of the International Space Apps Challenge, which is a global hackathon initiated by NASA in 2012 and NYTECH, along with StartupBus NYC, have been producing the NYC site ever since. We bring together talented thinkers and doers, give them access to NASA data, and ask them to build applications and hardware that will solve challenges in space exploration and quality of life on Earth. Since our inception, participation has grown 150% and attracts a diverse community of developers, designers, astrophysicists, data scientists, researchers, and students. Our 2015 event will take place on April 11-12.

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time?

NYTECH has been growing steadily since our inception in 2009, but we’re still a staff of two and generate less than $1M in revenue per year; therefore, we rely heavily on bartering to accomplish necessary goals. One of these goals is launching a new website, and for this, we’ve partnered with a NYTECH member who was willing to do the work at a deep discount. Our website was slated to launch in May 2014, but six months later we’re still fixing bugs and need to hire a new person to take us to the finish line.

This is the unfortunate downside of bartering or receiving discounted services. You’re often at the bottom of the totem pole, so deadlines get stretched and you have little to no negotiating power. Before entering a bartering situation, have a candid talk with the vendor about expectations and deadlines, so everyone is on the same page.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

At NYTECH we use Twitter extensively for promoting events and news, but also outreach. I’ve used Twitter on numerous occasions to contact potential speakers, particularly high profile individuals whose email address is unavailable and calling doesn’t work.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

In my spare time, I am a Big Sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC and a community leader at StartupBus NYC. I also enjoy writing, experimental art, cycling, cooking, and traveling.  

TECNA Highlights - October 2014

Dear Members,

Today is an exciting day. After several months of planning, we are launching our new brand identity! Building on our market research, it was clear that we wanted our logo and new tagline to reflect connections.  You are all connectors in our own organizations and TECNA helps connect all of your insights and expertise. Additionally, we wanted a fresh look reflecting the energy and forward-looking aspects of our membership. Hopefully you’re as happy with the end product as we are. You'll start to see updates to communication channels, such as the TECNA Digest, website, social media outlets, etc. While our website may look new, a full web redesign will be unveiled in early 2015. Many thanks to our branding task force including Chair, Julie Huls, President & CEO, Austin Technology Council and Ryan Weber, President, KCnext and Doug Robertson, President & CEO, Venn Innovation. 

In other news, we are preparing for the launch of the National Survey of Technology, Policy and Strategic issues on October 27. This will be in the field until November 7. Thirty-six councils are now participating – an increase of 35% from last year. Thanks to all! On October 31, we conclude the second phase of our joint research with the University of Phoenix. A virtual roundtable will be held with professionals from 13 councils discussing findings of our recent research on software development skills.

Efforts are underway for a meeting in November of the TECNA/CompTIA Exploratory Task Force. Participants will assess opportunities to more closely align with CompTIA further enhancing the support of TECNA and our financial sustainability. The Board will continue to assess opportunities and will vote in March if any changes will be made to the existing agreement.

As we look toward 2015, the membership committee emailed all member CEOs this past week with updates on TECNA dues. In order to keep up with the pace of our ambitious strategic objectives, while maintaining valuable benefits such as free CEO registrations and comp nights at the CEO Retreat, the Board recently asked the membership committee to review the current membership levels so that we can maintain and build upon our recent growth. On average, TECNA directly invests between $2,500 - $7,000 per member association. This means the ROI has been between 56-1000% per organization, depending on your level and involvement as a CompTIA policy alliance partner. Furthermore, it has been more than 8 years since dues were last adjusted.

After thorough review of several options, the membership committee proposed adjusting dues on a sliding scale. This means that there will be no increase in dues for small associations and affiliates, and modest increases for medium, large and very large associations. You may review the new dues structure and member handbook here.

Best regards,

Bob

TECNA Member Spotlight - October 2014

Barb Ells, COO, Venn Innovation, Inc.

Bio:

I joined Venn (formerly Tech South East) in March 2010 when it was in its infancy – just three months old.  My role at that time was Manager of Programs and Member Relations and was involved developing programming and policies from the ground-up, in addition to meeting with companies to understand their challenges and connect them to the appropriate resources. 

With the rebranding of Venn, my role changed to COO.  Given the lean nature of our organization, in addition to the tasks outlined above, my role also has oversight on a number of projects that deliver value to our members, including projects that provide market research to companies and connect youth with careers, career coaches and companies in New Brunswick.  I am heavily involved in planning and organizing of workshops and seminars, scheduling of events taking place in our new Venn Centre, email communication to our network, as well as administrative tasks for Venn.

Prior to Venn, I was a co-founder in an instrumentation company that was a spin-off from the National Research Council in Ottawa.  I was the Product & Marketing Manager at that company which was acquired by a US-based multi-national company that focuses on laboratory equipment.

I have a background in analytical chemistry and hold a Ph.D. from the University of Alberta and a B.Sc. (Hon) from Dalhousie University.

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at the Venn Innovation? How has Venn responded to this challenge/opportunity?

I believe the most notable change has been the development of the ecosystem that supports innovation-based businesses in our province.  The New Brunswick government introduced an innovation strategy that is still being implemented.  This has produced movement among the supporting organizations, and we seem to be moving toward a greater alignment of resources and an increase in communication between the stakeholders.

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

New Brunswick finds itself in a situation of many of its youth leaving the province for greener pastures and opportunities that they feel only exist elsewhere.  We have recently started a project called InspireNB that is focused on increasing the awareness of youth on the companies, careers, and opportunities that exist in New Brunswick in hopes of keeping more of our youth here, or at least providing them with a resource that they can access when they want to move back.  Over time, this project will give companies the ability to see the talent pipeline coming through our education system, and the ability to engage with students, and their future workforce, earlier.  This project resonates with many of us who have not followed the career path that we originally envisioned, and wish that we would have had access to this type of information when we were making career decisions.

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time? In other words, what would you recommend to someone doing similar work so they learn from your previous experience?

For us, there are always lessons to be learned from the workshops and seminars that we hold – whether it be the time of day of the sessions, the bandwidth that our entrepreneurs have to attend events, or the topics that draw the most interest.  We strive to present high value sessions with great presenters who are providing content that is otherwise difficult to find in our small market.  If the topic is one that is being addresses by another group, than it is not the topic for us.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

MaRS, based in Toronto, has built out a fantastic website (www.marsdd.com) that is very rich in content for entrepreneurs and tech start-ups.  We reference it often and highly recommend it to companies with whom we work.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

My spare time is spent with my family.  Our two children keep us very busy with piano lessons, swimming, basketball, and hockey, and through these activities we have met lots of great friends.

TECNA Highlights - September 2014

Dear TECNA members,

September has been a busy month for Community of Interest (COI) webinars. Don’t forget, the Events COI meets September 25 at 2pm CDT. Register here.  Additionally, the STEM/Workforce COI highlighting Code.org resources and Membership COI talking about alternative membership models are now available for playback.

Starting next month, the TECNA Digest, among other things, will have a new look. The board just approved TECNA’s new brand and you’ll get to see it in action in October!

TECNA’s National Survey of Technology, Policies and Strategic Issues is off to a great start with 35 councils confirming participation – a 21% increase over last year! If you’re still interested in participating, please let me know. This survey, supported by CompTIA, will deploy October 20. We’ll announce findings the first week of December.

We are also entering the final phase of our Software Skills Development research being conducted with the University of Phoenix. Approximately 12 industry professionals will participate in a virtual roundtable next month. The qualitative findings will be released afterwards with a combined report including our recently released survey data.

Until next month,

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Member Spotlight - September 2014

Alex Rodriguez, Vice President, Southern Arizona Regional Office, Arizona Technology Council

Bio:

Alex Rodriguez was recently promoted to Vice President of the Arizona Technology Council and leads the Southern Arizona Regional Offices.  He joined the council as Director 2 years ago and has not looked back in growing the brand, influence and value proposition of the tech council in Southern Arizona.  Alex holds his master's degree from Harvard University and a BA from the University of Arizona.  An Army ROTC graduate of New Mexico Military Institute, Alex served as a Captain in the U.S. Army with deployment to Bosnia over the millennium and worked at the Pentagon under President Clinton.

Alex held several business leadership roles in three fortune 100 companies including Raytheon prior to joining the tech council.  He was elected to serve on the Governing Board for the Tucson Unified School District and was a one-time candidate for U.S. Congress in 2006.  He is a frequent speaker on business leadership effectiveness, was recognized by the Arizona Daily Star as a 40 Under 40 leader and selected by Latino Leaders National Magazine as a Top 20 Latino Leader in Arizona.  He is an Amazon Best-Selling Co-Author with legendary Brian Tracy of Counter-Attack, Business Strategies for Explosive Growth in the New Economy by Celebrity Press Publishing.

 

Having recently attended the TECNA Summer Conference, what was your biggest take-away and how will you use this insight in your organization?

The TECNA Summer Conference was highly impactful and empowering.  All staff members who work in technology associations should attend next summer as the experience provides a strong framework by which to gauge how effective you are in comparison with other similar associations TECNA-wide.  You pick up gems and best practices left and right!  At TECNA, professionals genuinely work to help each other get better across the board.

It is indispensable training and the networking is unmatched for those of us running technology trade associations.  My single biggest take-away was the use of storytelling when it comes to selling our value proposition and new membership.  The Monday upon return from TECNA, I landed a coveted new member who we have pursued for years by utilizing the storytelling methodology that Adrain Davis taught us!  My hats off to Adrian!  Please bring him back.

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at the Arizona Technology Council (ATC)? How has ATC responded to this challenge/opportunity?

The most notable change is and continues to be the broader economic challenges that are still underway as the Economic Recovery improves.  Confidence in new revenue growth is vital for our members and it determines in large part the amount of dollars they are willing to set aside for membership, sponsorship, etc.  The biggest single factor that we have lead to impact decision-makers is to raise the perceived value and brand of our organization by executing a number of value-driven events, actions, committees, etc to be seen as a key driver for their business growth.  We have to lead change or change will lead us.  Examples range from new events to new ways of thinking that add increasing value to our members.

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

I am most proud of our Tucson Ambassadors program.  Volunteers from regional member companies serve tirelessly to help me execute our programming and they tout the countless membership benefits to everyone they know.  I've never seen such dedicated commitment by a small group of volunteers out to help transform and improve our region's economy through technology innovation and improved membership value in everything we do.

If anyone would like tips and tricks for launching or revitalizing your Ambassadors program, shoot me an email or pick up the phone.  520-275-0519 or [email protected].

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time? In other words, what would you recommend to someone doing similar work so they learn from your previous experience?

Membership turnout at our over 150 events per year statewide and approximately 50 or so events in Southern Arizona either breed confidence or a lack there.  With so much else competing for our member’s time and attention, it is imperative that our events are flawless and value-added each and every time.  So I shifted the way I held the first couple events when I was new on the job by focusing more on showering warranted attention and due recognition upon our members.  They love it, need it and thrive on getting even a small boost of recognition before other members because it helps them achieve their business objectives.  We are here to serve them and their needs and not the other way around.  It boils down to improving leadership skills to have more positive impact!

Second, embracing use of local media by conducting radio, TV and print interviews from time to time has helped attract new members and position the tech council as a key influencer in the business community.  I highly recommend you provide relevant content for the media to cover your organization today!

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

Linkedin is a powerhouse for developing local leads for membership growth.  Having said that, I am working to master use of this tool to fully leverage its impact on our organization here in Southern Arizona.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

My wife Claudia and I love taking our six-year-old daughter Emi Sofia to University of Arizona events including football games!  Emi Sofia loves the excitement and always manages to lead cheering fans with her Arizona Wildcats cheerleader uniform!  "Bear Down Arizona!"  Check out the pic for fun!

TECNA Highlights - August 2014

Dear Members,

In the weeks since the Summer Conference, I’ve had a few productive trips. First, I visited beautiful Chattanooga, TN to begin planning for the 2015 CEO Retreat being hosted by the Chattanooga Technology Council. Stay tuned for exciting details about this must-attend event March 25-27.

The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) appointed me to their Small Staff Committee, which met during their annual meeting in Nashville, TN earlier this month. I look forward to being able to share new resources I discover through this volunteer experience.  While attending the ASAE meeting, I saw a very cool way to raise funds for your organization. Various sponsors supported a headshot lounge so that attendees could get a professional picture for social media and other uses. While the lounge is scalable in size, this one included three photographers, 4 make-up artists, music and a bar. Attendees were asked to make a $20-$50 donation to the foundation.

I also attended CompTIA’s ChannelCon meeting and participated in leadership development meetings for their communities. You may find several of these communities of interest to your organizations efforts. Check them out.

TECNA’s rebranding efforts continue to move along as planned. The new logo and brand kit is almost complete and being used in the early stages of the website development. Early 2015 is the anticipated launch date for the new site.

Last but not least, TECNA and about one third of our members signed on to the following advocacy letters supporting:

Internet Tax Freedom Act

Export-Import Bank

Best regards,

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Member Spotlight - August 2014

Sandi Hoff, Director, Member Engagement, Nashville Technology Council

Bio: With a degree in Anthropology from Davidson College in hand, Sandi moved to Atlanta to begin her job search.  The first of many unexpected turns came when she changed gears from her planned career in museum management and began working in children’s issues.  Seeking to get more involved in advocacy for children and public sector change, Sandi went to graduate school for public policy and nonprofit management at Georgia State University and The University of Georgia.  That path led to teaching nonprofit and public management as an Assistant Professor at the University of North Texas. In 2003, the next unexpected turn came when Sandi and her husband joined the rest of her family in Nashville, Tennessee, and she took on the management of the research, policy and air quality programs for the Tennessee Department of Transportation.  Then, at long last, Sandi came back to her nonprofit roots in 2014.  She finally found her perfect home this past Spring when she joined the Nashville Technology Council (NTC) as the Director of Member Engagement.

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at the Nashville Technology Council? How has NTC responded to this challenge/opportunity?

This has been a year of great change for the NTC.  One of our most significant changes has been increasing our focus on member value.  The NTC has become very intentional in all that we do.  If an event or initiative is not improving our members’ experience, then it is not a good use of our resources.  

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

I am most proud of our increased number of Peer Groups and the addition of Leadership Exchanges.  I believe that this type of targeted programming adds exponential value to our members.

What are you hoping to learn from your TECNA colleagues to help grow your organization?

Everything!  With less than six months in this role, there is so much to learn.  I want to avoid reinventing the wheel as much as possible.  There is so much experience out there, and I know that we can achieve our vision that much faster if we learn from our peers.

More specifically, I would like to know how other Tech Councils are identifying significant non-dues revenue sources that provide member value and how they building programming around workforce development and education. 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time? 

As a Director of Member Engagement, I don’t think that you can ever have enough feedback from your members.  From formal program evaluation to hallway conversations, all of it helps you to add member value to everything that you do.  Understanding what your customers want and need can only improve the services that you provide!

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

That’s easy – my Microsoft Surface.  It’s a laptop.  It’s a tablet.  It’s so light and portable that I have it with me all of the time.

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

I love to cook, drink wine, and spend time with my family.  And then I go and see my personal trainer to try balance out all of the cooking and drinking wine!

TECNA Highlights - July 2014

Dear Members,

While TECNA operates on a calendar year, the Summer Conference provides an opportunity to reflect on the year since we all last met – and a lot has happened.  First, I want to thank the staff at AQT and the Summer Conference planning committee for hosting a phenomenal event. 100% of survey respondents found the conference a valuable use of their time. If you missed it, the energy was electric.

We also took the opportunity to thank outgoing Board members Maxine Ballen (NJTC) and Joan Siefert Rose (CED) for their years of leadership and service. The membership also voted in three new board members:

• Avvey Peters, vice president, marketing and communications, Communitech;
• Brooks Raiford, vice president and CEO, North Carolina Technology Association; and
• Kathie Shields, executive director of Tech Collective. Shields will also serve as TECNA’s new secretary/treasurer.

Skip Newberry, president of the Technology Association of Oregon, will serve as a vice chair of the TECNA board. Newberry had previously been a member of the board of directors. View the updated Board roster.

Overall, TECNA’s strategic goals around best practices, industry research, advocacy, branding, and financial sustainability are all on track per this year’s annual operating plan. Of note, this year alone we have:

• Collected best (promising) practices:
  • 32 Turnkey programs collected for CEO Toolbox
  • 100+ Summer Conference presentations and resources supporting the session topics
  • 10+ STEM model programs
  • Launched four Communities of Interest (STEM, Workforce, Events and Membership)
  • Developed a speaker database
  • Increased councils participating in the National Survey of Technology, Strategic and Policy issues by 25%
  • Developed a framework for a North American State of the Industry report which will be used to enhance and expand CompTIA’s newly acquired Cyber States report (including a Cyber Canada report)
  • Conducted research to re-brand TECNA and identify workforce skills gaps
  • Welcomed six new member organizations
  • Secured the highest level of combined sponsor and partnership funding topping $120,000
  • Updated TECNA’s governance structure, bylaws and developed board and financial policy manuals to better govern the organization forward

These and other initiatives could not have been accomplished without the support of 17 workgroups and committees involving 51 leaders (13% of membership). Thank you to all TECNA leaders and volunteers!

As we look ahead, TECNA’s rebranding, new website and CRM are scheduled to launch by year’s end.

Best,

Bob Moore, CAE 

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Member Spotlight - July 2014

Axah McCalla, Director of Membership & Sponsorship, Tampa Bay Technology Forum (TBTF)

Bio: After studying Communications and Business at the University of Kansas, Axah went on to get her Masters in Sports Management. She worked for a few years in positions varying from a personal banker to working with the Australian Football League in Sydney, Australia. She finally found her way to Tampa, Florida in 2010 when she began working with the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team. She got her start in the Technology Industry in 2012 with a Digital Solutions company, evaluating her clients’ needs from large scale robust solutions for clients like AARP to small digital business solutions for citrus farmers. With the desire to learn more about the technology environment and find a way to make a larger impact philanthropically, Axah joined TBTF in 2013 as the Director of Membership and Sponsorship.

Having recently attended the TECNA Summer Conference, what was your biggest take-away and how will you use this insight in your organization?

Thought Leadership was one of the most insightful ideas I pulled from the conference. TBTF needs to further enhance ourselves as Thought Leaders for all topics tech related. We want all local media and government to consider us a go-to resource for national and international technology information.

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at the Tampa Bay Technology Forum? How has TBTF responded to this challenge/opportunity?

The most notable change was cutting our number of events from 70 to 35. By decreasing the number of events and focusing on improving them, we have increased the number of attendees and quality of the events. Sponsors can now see more value in our events and we are able to deliver a stronger ROI while reducing our overall event expenses.

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

Code Club is part of our initiative to foster a better future for Tampa Bay’s at-risk youth. We teach valuable coding and computer science skills to children in impoverished school districts. Many of the children had no access to computers prior to Code Club, but now express interests in working as a programmer for companies like Nintendo and Apple when they finish school.

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time? In other words, what would you recommend to someone doing similar work so they learn from your previous experience?

Recently, there has been a lot of transition within our organization affecting our existing sponsor agreements. I would recommend that when an organization is facing transition, it is critical to understand the thought process of your former team member and evaluate what had enabled them to be successful or not. The new team member must also be willing to account for any steps that may have been missed along the way. Gaining this insight is critical to the success of the association’s sales team, the sponsor, and the team members coordinating the event. 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

I currently utilize Evernote for a variety of tasks, it allows me to record, photograph and organize my notes, expense receipts and tasks.  I also utilize CamScanner while on the go. It gives my smartphone the ability of a scanner, offering options to turn a file into a PDF and enhance clarity of the scanned image if needed.

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time? 

In my spare time, I enjoy volunteering as an Executive Committee board member at the YMCA, traveling, creating allergy friendly meals, practicing pilates and going to the beach.

TECNA Highlights - June 2014

Dear TECNA Members,

The Summer Conference is just a few weeks away, and excitement continues to build. I am thrilled to report that 37 of our 50 member organizations are currently registered. If you are new on staff or plan to attend, there is still time to register. Check our website for new lodging information as the host hotel is sold out.

This month we launched our annual TECNA member survey. CEO’s, or their #2 designee, are requested to complete this important survey by June 27. Benchmarking and trending data will be presented at the Summer Conference.

In partnership with the University of Phoenix and our members, we launched an important workforce survey that will identify professional skills for critical roles in software development. Results will be shared at the Summer Conference and used by our organization and others interested in helping industry-wide efforts to close talent gaps in the technology industry.  There is still time to ask your members to complete this survey. The survey will close on June 27.  Tweet this out “Calling managers & above that employ software developers/software engineers. Survey extended til 6/27 http://svy.mk/1nlNpCv”

A few TECNA workgroups have completed their work over the last month. First, the Board approved their new board policy and financial manuals that were generated with the support of the TECNA Governance Task Force. The TECNA Annual Member Survey Task Force worked tirelessly to focus the survey by reducing the questions in half. And last, but not least, our first Nominating Committee met and has identified a slate of candidates for open board positions. These will be presented to the members on July 18 for approval. A heartfelt thanks to the members of each group for their insights, time, and energy.

Last week, the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) attended the White House Maker Faire event to talk about a cooperative arrangement with TECNA.  The ASTC/TECNA “Making it Real!” Initiative will be designed to facilitate more hands-on experiences at science centers and museums and to draw young students closer to the individuals and organizations that are the targets of their growing interests in science. If your organization is interested in working with a local science center by provided a volunteer expert to speak, among other options, please email me at [email protected].

See you in Montréal,

Bob Moore, CAE 

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Member Spotlight - June 2014

Cindy Pearson, Chief Operations Officer, BC Technology Industry Association

Bio:  Cindy has a 15-year history working in technology associations and non-profits. Most recently she is celebrating 10 years with the BCTIA, as Chief Operating Officer. While her official title may be COO, BCTIA likes to think of her as the glue that holds everything together. From managing day-to-day operations to stakeholder collaboration and policy development, Cindy wears many hats, and she wears them all well. Prior positions include: Communitech (VP), SMART Toronto (CEO), Mondex Canada (Marketing Manager), Government of Ontario (Premier’s Initiatives, and Chief of Staff to the Minister of Environment & Energy).

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at the BCTIA? How has BCTIA responded to this challenge/opportunity?

The BCTIA is in its 20^th year, and has “grown up” alongside the technology industry.   Like so many of our members, the organization has weathered two significant economic happenings, the Dot-com crash and the 2008 economic downturn.  Members today have higher expectations of organizations like ours.  They want more impactful engagement, with programs and services that deliver tangible results to their company and employees.   

 

Over the past several years, the BCTIA has been shifting its business model to an ‘enabling organization’ focusing on the growth of tech companies through the delivery of direct programs and services designed for companies of all sizes in every sectors.    

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

The BCTIA Centre4Growth, a virtual incubator for early-stage tech companies.  Launched in the fall of 2010, it was the first of its kind in British Columbia and a significant game changer for the BCTIA.  To date, Centre4Growth has supported almost 450 client companies.  Information about Centre4Growth and the success of our clients at:  www.bctia.org/centre4growth/results. 

 

What are you hoping to learn from your TECNA colleagues to help grow your organization?

I’ve been a member of TECNA since 1999 and have attended almost all of the summer conferences.  Each year, I look forward to reconnecting with my ‘old’ TECNA buddies and meeting new ones.  The peer networking has delivered significant value to me over the years.  I always leave the conference with new ideas, friends, and fresh perspectives.  

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time?

A plaque hangs in my office that says, “The one who says it can’t be done is generally passed by someone doing it.”  Ask ‘why not’, identify real barriers from those fueled by fear of change or lack of knowledge, listen to my spidey-sense, trust my gut, and never be afraid to ask for the sale. 

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

Not possible to have just one tool, here are my top 3: Salesforce, LinkedIn and Google.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time? 

I am blessed to live in one of the most beautiful places in Canada.  Vancouver, British Columbia has so much to see and offer.  After 10 years I’m still a tourist, exploring the city and province.

TECNA Highlights - May 2014

Dear TECNA,

With Summer, and our Summer Conference, quickly approaching, I want to celebrate surpassing last year’s conference total registration at the close of the early bird deadline. More than 100 staff, representing 35 of 50 councils will be in attendance. There is still time to register if you haven’t yet done so.

Please help me thank the University of Phoenix who has signed on as TECNA’s Education Partner. Through this relationship, we will be conducting a series of research projects intended to assess the workforce skills gap and identify professional competencies for critical roles in software development. We ask that all councils help in disseminating this to a segment of your members by June 9. The deadline to complete is June 22. Please email me with your staff contact who should receive the pre-developed survey materials for distribution. We hope you will enjoy being able to use this research in furthering your regional workforce efforts.

Taking into account feedback about our TECNA Annual Member Survey, the Board has appointed a task force to review and refine this survey. Since TECNA is currently rebranding and will need input from the membership, there will be two, shorter surveys launched over the next several weeks. This is being done to make better use of member’s time and focus on specific topics. Thanks in advance for your insights and participation.

The Nominations Committee held their first call to prepare for selecting and proposing a slate of candidates for our upcoming Board of Director terms. If you are a C-Suite executive, or equivalent, who serves as a primary point person for TECNA, and have an interest in learning more/being considered for one of the three open positions, please email Bob Moore.

With more than 1/3 of members not hosting a web-based job board to help support companies workforce development efforts, and about another third using their CRM to post jobs, TECNA has partnered with TechFetch to offer a no-cost solution that generates non-dues revenue. If you missed the webinar that details this opportunity, view the recording and resources here. Thank you TechFetch for being TECNA’s Technology Job Platform Partner!

In our continued efforts to collect and disseminate best practices, the STEM Community of Interest held a best practice webinar earlier this month. View the recording and materials. They also launched a survey to collect STEM, workforce and education benchmarking information among the councils. There is still time to take the survey by May 30. The Events Community of Interest kicked off with their first call on May 22. Check out the Communities of Interest pages for upcoming calls and webinars.

Last but not least, congratulations to the Chattanooga Technology Council for being selected as the 2015 CEO Retreat Host. The Board is still reviewing Summer Conference options. Additional information will be announced at the Summer Conference. Thanks to everyone who has expressed interest!

Best,

Bob Moore, CAE 

Executive Director, TECNA

 

CompTIA Acquires TechAmerica

TECNA’s strategic partner, CompTIA, acquired TechAmerica earlier this month, complementing its strengths in education, certification, advocacy and philanthropy with TechAmerica’s public sector expertise, regional and international policy offerings, as well as its member base of large technology companies. The TECNA Board met with CompTIA staff leaders to discuss how this will affect the partnership with TECNA. The most notable change is that TechAmerica will be the public sector and public policy division of CompTIA and branded "TechAmerica, Powered by CompTIA".  The TechVoice brand will sunset. In our current capacity, TECNA and members will work with TechAmerica on federal commercial policy, but there may be opportunities for regional councils to subscribe for additional services related to public sector, state advocacy and international affairs. Building upon TECNA's recent State of the Industry Report efforts, there is an opportunity to enhance the well recognized, Cyber States resource. It's very early in the transition, but other opportunities exist through the CompTIA partnership.  Read more.

TECNA Member Spotlight - May 2014

Allison M. Gilmore, CAE, Vice President of Communications and Strategic Initiatives,

Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC)

 

Bio:  As vice president of communications and strategic initiatives for the Northern Virginia Technology Council, Allison Gilmore develops and implements strategic initiatives, cultivates key partnerships and directs NVTC’s communications.  She joined NVTC in November 2009 as Director of Communications and Public Relations and was promoted to her current position in July 2013. 

Allison has 15 years of experience in strategic communications, public relations and campaign development, nine of which have been in association management. She earned her Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential in 2011. Allison also holds a Bachelor of Arts from Rice University in Houston, Texas and a Masters of Public Administration from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at the NVTC? How has NVTC responded to this challenge/opportunity? 

Ongoing federal government budget cuts and sequestration have been a major challenge over the past few years for our members involved in government contracting. NVTC has addressed this challenge in several ways. We regularly host events and meetings for members doing business with the government to share best practices and strategies for weathering the changes. Our Entrepreneur Center @NVTC also hosts annual events to help our small member companies find contracting opportunities, directly with government agencies or by teaming, partnering and subcontracting with other companies.

We also have hosted several town hall meetings with members of Congress and federal agency leaders to collaborate on how our members in the business community can help the government work more efficiently. In addition, we’ve grown our programs and content in areas where growth in government spending is expected, such as cybersecurity, Big Data and cloud computing. Finally, our committees and events have focused on how member companies can transfer their expertise with government clients to the commercial sector. We’re constantly on the lookout for new ways to help members find opportunities out of change.

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

In August 2013, NVTC launched the NVTC Veterans Employment Initiative to match transitioning veterans with jobs, internships, mentorships and certifications, while also providing support to NVTC member companies in their efforts to hire, train and retain qualified veteran employees. The Initiative is being driven by NVTC member companies, in conjunction with the region’s academic institutions and policymakers and aims to be a model for veteran employment programs across the country.

As part of the Initiative, NVTC and Monster.com (one of our members) have built an online community and resource (www.novatechvets.org) that facilitates the development, hiring and training of military veterans throughout the technology community. The website includes a searchable database of jobs at NVTC member companies, a military skills translator for veterans to match their skills to jobs in the civilian environment, and educational resources and tools. Nearly 200 NVTC member companies are currently participating with more than 5,000 jobs posted on the site.

In addition, NVTC is partnering with the region’s colleges and universities, most of whom are members, to address the skills gap faced by many veterans as they leave military service and to match veteran training and certification to the workforce needs of Virginia’s technology sector. NVTC is also collaborating with state and federal policymakers to expedite legislative and/or regulatory action that enhances companies’ ability to hire and train veterans on any federal contract.

I’m so proud of the work NVTC and our members are doing on this initiative, because we’re meeting the needs of both our members, who say workforce development is one of their greatest challenges, and our nation’s veterans who possess many skills and attributes that are extremely valuable to private sector employers. In addition, NVTC has begun the process of rolling this initiative out to other technology councils across Virginia and we are serving as a model that can be replicated by other regions across the country.

 

What are you hoping to learn from your TECNA colleagues to help grow your organization?

I’m always looking for new programs and initiatives to support our members, so I love hearing about all the innovative programs other TECNA members have developed to meet the needs of companies in their regions.  While TECNA members aren’t one-size-fits-all, I believe there are many great ideas out there that can be customized to provide value for each of our memberships. 

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time?

As association professionals, we can sometimes fall back on traditional models and processes because they’re proven. My advice is to always have an open mind, listen to members and don’t be afraid to try something new. Try to break out of the “that’s the way we’ve always done it” mentality whenever possible.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally. 

Google is my daily, go-to resource. Whether for research and fact-checking, news, finding contacts, or travelling among our various member offices and event locations, I use Google constantly throughout my day.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

Spending time with my husband and six-year-old daughter is at the top of my list, along with reading, movies and keeping up with a few can’t-miss TV shows. I also love to travel and am usually planning one or more future trips at any given moment.

TECNA Highlights - April 2014

Dear TECNA,

It's finally starting to feel like Spring here in Chicago. If not already, I hope you're starting to enjoy the change of season as well. Speaking of seasons, please remember to register for the TECNA Summer Conference by May 15 which is the deadline for hotel registration and our early bird registration savings. 

 

We recently held a membership best practice webinar and you may now access the resources and recording if you missed it.  Check out our upcoming STEM best practice webinar on May 2, Workforce Community of Interest (COI) Call on May 8 and Events COI call on May 22.  

 

At the end of March we held a very successful CEO Retreat where we unveiled a virtual CEO Tool Box of "turn key" programs that may be replicated by our members. A special thanks to NCTA and CED for hosting a terrific event! Here, we also held a special Board meeting where the Board of Directors adopted new bylaws and in so doing a new governance structure that will better position TECNA to be flexible and nimble in meeting our strategic objectives moving forward.

 

This PowerPoint summarizes the key changes, but in summary, every member organization’s CEO used to serve on TECNA’s board. Now the Board of Directors is comprised of 13 members (formerly known as the Executive Committee), including five officers (now known as the Executive Committee). Another notable change is that each organization can appoint a C-Suite or equivalent staff member to represent the organization when voting on open director and officer positions. All member meetings and other insight gathering opportunities will continue to ensure that member voices are heard. On last week's Board call, they approved a slate of nominees for the newly created Nominating Committee which will developed a slate of candidates for open director and officer positions at the July member meeting. Thank you to the task force and Erik Grimmelmann and Steve Zylstra for co-chairing.    

 

If you and your organization would like to be considered to host a 2015 TECNA event (I.e. CEO Retreat, Summer Conference), please complete this survey by May 5. Preview the survey is attached so that you can preview the questions before submitting online. Read the overview of roles and responsibilities of host locations and the support that TECNA provides.

 

Best,

 

Bob Moore, CAE 

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Member Spotlight - April 2014

Loren Spoklie, Technology Communication Specialist, Utah Technology Council (UTC)

Bio: Loren Spoklie has been Utah Technology Council’s Technology Communications Specialist since February of 2011.   In this role, he manages UTC’s technology needs, which include: website design and content, database management, event marketing and emails, project management and local support for UTC staff.

Loren has over 12 years of technology and sales experience gained from working with companies such as Qwest, Verizon Wireless and Tektronix.  Loren has studied many computer languages and enjoys dabbling in new technologies.

Loren has a B.S. in Technical Management from DeVry University. 

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

I am most proud of our C-level forums.  They provide a way for our C-level members to gain knowledge by sharing best practices and forming relationships that help them become better at their specific roles.

 

What are you hoping to learn from your TECNA colleagues to help grow your organization?

I would like to learn how they use their website analytics, how they get their members engaged in using their website and best practices for rolling out new features to members and tracking the success.

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time?

I have changed the way I develop content for our website.  The key is to always keep it simple, the more complex it is for people to use the less people will use it.  You can keep it simple by always asking these questions:  Who is my audience?  What is the purpose of this content?  Why is this important?  What action do I want them to take?  Is it easy to access? Why? Why Not?

If you can answer these questions, your content will be relevant to your audience and easy for them to access.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

In my role, the most helpful tool is Crystal Reports.  I am able to write reports that pull the data from our database and transform it into content that can be digested and used to improve the way we do business.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

Spending time with my family, fishing, bike riding and learning new technologies.

TECNA Highlights - March 2014

Dear TECNA,

Next week, March 26-28, the North Carolina Technology Association and Council for Entrepreneurial Development will serve as hosts for 30 executives registered to attend our CEO Retreat. I’ll report out highlights in next month’s update including the results of a virtual turn key toolbox that is being developed for our member CEOs.

Looking ahead to our next program, please remember to register for the TECNA Summer Conference. May 15 is the deadline for hotel registration and our early bird registration savings.

Over the next few months our Communities of Interest (COI) will have several engagement opportunities. Check out information about the STEM, Workforce, Membership, and Events COIs for updates and to sign up to participate in future calls. The Membership COI will host a best practice webinar on April 15.

Work is well underway to move forward a few of our 2014 priorities. Eleven RFPs were received to support TECNA’s rebranding and web redesign projects. Over the next few weeks the vendor(s) will be selected and timelines developed to meet our launch dates.  If you have an interest to volunteer with our branding and web redesign efforts, please email me. 

We are also currently collecting letters of interest from vendors interested in supporting our State of the Industry Report to assess the impact of the North American technology industry (specifically the U.S. and Canada) across a number of indicators at both the national and state/provincial level. A formal RFP will be launched in April to collect final bid information.

I’d like to thank all members who provided feedback on the proposed North American Awards Gala. At this time, we did not have the commitment level to move forward with the gala as proposed. The Task Force will reconvene this spring to explore alternative approaches for future consideration.

Over the last few weeks I’ve also had the privilege of meeting with several TECNA member organizations. From February 26-28 I traveled to Ottawa for a Canadian Policy Forum with participation from five TECNA member organizations including BCTIA, Communitech, ICTAM, Tech Southeast, and AQT. I also joined the Austin Technology Council with their participation in South By Southwest’s Interactive Festival.

Last but not least, TECNA is excited to welcome our newest member, the Yukon Information Technology and Industry Society. Welcome aboard!

Best Regards,

Bob Moore, CAE

TECNA, Executive Director

TECNA Member Spotlight - March 2014

Brian Kennedy, Vice President of Strategic Services and Government Relations, Pittsburgh Technology Council

Bio: Brian Kennedy currently serves as a Vice President of Strategic Services and Government Relations at the Pittsburgh Technology Council.

Having joined the Council in 2001, Kennedy leads a multidisciplinary team that provides a wide array of services aimed at supporting the success of southwestern Pennsylvania’s emerging and existing technology community. 

In this position, Kennedy has helped to bring innovative new services to the region’s technology ecosystem that accelerate the ability of employers to locate highly skilled talent, access national and international customers and secure the risk capital necessary to fuel their growth.

In his government relations capacity, Kennedy has played a key role in designing public policy, promoting the development of a competitive regional business climate and in bringing the voice of the region’s technology sector to state and national policy leaders.

In 2012, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett appointed Kennedy to serve on the board of the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, which is the primary funding organization for most of the Commonwealth’s technology based economic development organizations.

Prior to joining the Pittsburgh Technology Council, Kennedy served as an aid to U.S. Senator Rick Santorum. In that role, Kennedy was responsible for promoting projects and initiatives that created or retained jobs, developed the regional workforce and improved southwestern Pennsylvania’s quality-of-life amenities.

In addition to his professional experience, Kennedy has served as a past chair of the Local Government Academy, an organization focused on improving the performance of municipal governments. 

He received his Bachelor’s degree from Gannon University in Erie Pennsylvania.  He and his and his wife Sara reside in the north hills of Pittsburgh where they are raising two children Mary (four-years old) and Matthew (two years old).

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at the Pittsburgh Technology Council? How has Pittsburgh Technology Council responded to this challenge/opportunity?

In 2009, the Pittsburgh region played host to the G-20’s annual meeting, which attracted participation from the heads of state of the G-20 members. This pivotal event in our city’s history helped to establish Pittsburgh as the global poster-child for rustbelt reinvention.

Immediately after that event, Pittsburgh received a steady stream of inbound delegations from around the U.S. and around the world looking to learn from our experience.

In an effort to leverage this increased exposure, our CEO challenged us think globally with our programs and services.

With that in mind, we hosted our first international trade mission to China in 2011. Since then, we created a full-time position in our organization to help members pursue international business and we have hosted multiple inbound and outbound trade missions.

To support the fundraising success of our start-up community, we organized our first “trade mission” to the Silicon Valley, which included participation from 15 entrepreneurs who presented to more than a dozen Bay Area venture capital leaders. We have duplicated that process in Boston and New York and have two additional missions scheduled to Philadelphia and Washington D.C. We continue to improve upon this work.

On the talent attraction front, we created a full-time position to help our companies recruit talent and we now participate in job fairs and recruiting missions at many of the nation’s top engineering and computer sciences colleges and universities.

Finally, we have taken Pittsburgh’s story on the road, hosting major events at national trade shows and key business epicenters.  In 2013, for example, more than 1,000 people participated in Pittsburgh Technology Council programs that were held in cities such as Austin (at SXSW), New York and Boston.  

 

What is one program/initiative you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

Several years ago, the Council’s board of directors created a balanced approach to measuring our organization’s success. Today, the Council evaluates our success based upon our member impact (metrics that track how many companies secured investment, new customers, new hires or public policy/relations outcomes as a direct result of our work).

Though outcome focused goal setting is an important component of our success, the Council’s secret sauce is absolutely in the team of people that serve our members. Culturally, each of our team members understands the link between our ability to innovate new value propositions for our members and our own future financial sustainability.

 

What are you hoping to learn from your TECNA colleagues to help grow your organization?

I am interested in learning about creative, high impact, self-sustaining services (not government funded) that are being offered within the TECNA community.

I would also like to hear if anyone has created high-value training opportunities for their members.

For example, by offering full day events at reasonable rates ($499) on topics such as JAVA development, Google Analytics and social media, we have generated significant revenues, which have, in turn, enabled us to hire top-notch paid trainers.

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time? In other words, what would you recommend to someone doing similar work so they learn from your previous experience?

In 2007, the Council faced a pivotal moment in its history, having lost financial support from many government related programs.

Through adversity, we were forced to examine our business model and to focus on core services that could be sustained by our core customer: technology businesses. To that end, we transformed the organization to one that would sink or swim based upon the value proposition that we provided to those members. 

Today, all of our programs and initiatives are focused on four key areas of service: Business Development (attracting capital and customers), Talent Attraction, Visibility (helping our companies gain national exposure for their products and services) and government relations.

We eliminated dozens of program offerings and created a new rule for program speakers. If you want to sell to our members, you can’t be a featured speaker (not even if you hide it very well).  Today, almost 100 percent of our featured speakers represent customers that our members want to sell to, rather than those who are targeting our members for business.

Based upon this one change, our program participation rate skyrocketed, our attendance revenue doubled and our cancellation rate for programs with poor attendance dropped from 33 percent to 0.  We also created a standard non-member rate of $175 for all programs, which has helped to drive membership sales and communicate member value.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

Dow Jones Venture Source provides real time data about investment activity in the United States and for most major cities in North America. By knowing who is investing in our region, we can target firms for follow-on investment in additional Pittsburgh start-ups.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

I enjoy running (especially the end of a good run), politics and exposing my children to new experiences.

TECNA Highlights - February 2014

Dear TECNA,

We just finished a very successful TechVoice Fly-In. With the support of our partners at CompTIA, we were able to represent 26 states, learn about current policy issues, and meet with more than 100 US legislators. The TechVoice and TECNA Twitter feeds have some highlights as does the TechVoice Blog.

Our attention now turns to TECNA’s next learning and engagement opportunities. The registration deadline for the CEO Retreat is March 21. And the Summer Conference website and registration recently launched. Please note that the hotel block is released on May 15 – please book your lodging before this date. This is also the deadline for our early bird registration. Member CEO registration is free for both events.

Be sure to read this month’s TECNA Digest article about the US Tech Vets program that helps veterans transition to the civilian workforce all while providing your member companies access to the website to post jobs and search for veteran talent at no charge. Learn more about this member value opportunity on February 25.

Last but not least, please help me welcome the South Florida Technology Alliance who recently became our newest member of TECNA!

Best,

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Member Spotlight - February 2014

Kaitlin Motley, Marketing Specialist, KCnext 

Bio: I joined KCnext in March 2013, and it’s my first association position. As marketing specialist, I coordinate and generate content for all of our membership and community communications and social media, and I do event planning. I have a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism from the University of Missouri, and before KCnext I was associate editor at a local publishing company.

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at KCnext? How has KCnext responded to this challenge/opportunity?

Google Fiber began its rollout in KC shortly after I began at KCnext, and it has been a huge opportunity to elevate Kansas City as a tech hub and tell the stories of the other tech companies here. All eyes are on Kansas City right now—they might be interested in Google Fiber at first, but if we do our job well, they’ll learn a lot more about the inimitable tech ecosystem and assets we have here.

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

Last November, during Global Entrepreneurship Week, we hosted KC Reverse Pitch. Five major KC organizations—the Kansas City Chiefs, DST Systems, H&R Block, Sprint and the University of Missouri Kansas City—pitched real strategic ideas or challenges to an audience of innovators. We essentially turned the standard pitch process on its head. All of the presenters are looking for real local partnerships. It was a testament to Kansas City’s collaborative technology ecosystem and the corporations’ willingness to engage with the entrepreneur and innovator community. The positive response we got was tremendous, and it’s a format we hope to replicate and build upon in the coming years.

 

What are you hoping to learn from your TECNA colleagues to help grow your organization?

It’s exciting that KCnext is involved with TECNA, because we’re one of the youngest organizations involved. I look forward to learning more about member relations, especially retention as membership grows, and any innovative communications strategies the other tech councils have found successful—in particular ways to incorporate new media platforms.

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time? In other words, what would you recommend to someone doing similar work so they learn from your previous experience?

This might be my journalism background talking, but we really find it true that content is king. We get a lot of interest from companies wanting to plug their products or services, but we make an effort to change the conversation to that of education—what thought leadership can you share through an event or piece of writing that will benefit the greater tech industry?

This type of content marketing is more valuable for all of us in the long run and can often generate the leads that they were looking for in the first place. If the audience isn’t going to walk away saying, “Wow,” then we need to think twice before spending time or resources on a project.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

Asana! It’s a web-based, wonderfully user-friendly organizational app. It’s great for project management, scheduling and communication. If you’re like me, and your to-do lists have to-do lists, you’ll love it.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

If there’s wine and cheese involved, I’m usually interested. I have a beagle puppy that takes up a lot of my time.  When it’s warm, I like to be what I call a “jogging tourist” around downtown Kansas City—just (slowly) running around trying to find cool public art or buildings I never knew about before. I’m a big music fan, too, so I spend a lot of time on Spotify or checking out shows in KC.

TECNA Highlights - January 2014

Dear TECNA,

With the New Year upon us comes new opportunities and beginnings. We immediately kicked off the new with our new best practice webinar series. The first one covered tools and tips you can use for member engagement in your advocacy efforts. View the recording and access the shared tools.

We are also hosting calls on January 15 and 17 to provide additional information about the proposed TECNA North America Awards Gala. This program is designed for ALL members whether you have an awards program or awards that match this event. We ask that all members submit their Gala Commitment Form by January 31, 2014. View call information and materials.

TECNA bid farewell to long-time leader, Matthew Nemerson, as Mayor, Toni Harp, appointed him New Haven, Connecticut’s Economic Development Administrator. Matthew was previously President & CEO of the Connecticut Technology Council and served as TECNA’s President, Treasurer and Executive Committee member during his 10 years as a TECNA member. We thank Matthew for his years of service and wish him the best in his new post. 

In 2014 you will see that we are rebooting or, in several cases, starting to create TECNA “communities of interest” around topics such as membership, workforce and STEM. These are intended to help facilitate the networking among TECNA members in similar positions or with similar areas of focus and share best practices. Learn more.

Last but not least, registration deadlines are quickly approaching for three TECNA sponsored events:

TechVoice DC Fly-In – Deadline January 21, 2014

TECNA CEO Retreat – Deadline March 21, 2014

South by Southwest Interactive Festival (special discounts available through the Austin Technology Council) – Deadline February 1, 2014

We have an exciting and ambitious agenda for 2014. I look forward to working with you to make TECNA a meaningful and valuable experience.

Happy New Year,

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

 

 

TECNA Member Spotlight - January 2014

Kari Naone, Director of Events and Marketing, Technology Association of Oregon

Bio: As a marketing professional, Kari specializes in events. She has been in the event industry for over 20 years and has successfully developed, promoted, managed, fundraised for, and executed hundreds of celebrations, corporate, and educational programs/workshops and promotions. 

Kari has worked in-house at multiple technology companies but has found her time at nonprofits to be the most rewarding.  Currently, Kari works at the Technology Association of Oregon (TAO), the largest professional technology association in the Northwest. The TAO is comprised of over 300 companies in Oregon and SW Washington that are involved or affiliated with the software and technology industries.

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your approach to marketing and events during your tenure at Technology Association of Oregon? How has Technology Association of Oregon responded to this challenge/opportunity?

Our market is flooded with competing events so trying to rise above the noise is somewhat challenging but it always reminds me how valuable personal outreach and relationships are.  Taking care and nurturing our members and volunteers makes all the difference.  They want to support the TAO because we support them both personally and professionally.

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why?

I am most proud of the Oregon Technology Award Program.  This program and ceremony has been an annual tradition in Oregon since 1984.  I have managed this program since 2008 when the event was transferred over from the originating association who no longer had the connections needed within the technology community to produce a successful event.  This event is not only our largest fundraising event but it provides us the opportunity to raise money for other nonprofits within the region who promote science, math, technology and engineering to Oregon students.

 

What are you hoping to learn from your TECNA colleagues to help grow your organization?

I am always fascinated to hear the creative event and programming concepts other TECNA councils are doing in their markets.  I can’t wait to get home to introduce these new events to our market.  I also appreciate my colleague’s candor and understanding of the nonprofit world.

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time?

Even the best ideas fail (sometime).  Knowing your market and knowing when to make modifications to an event is critical. Sometimes it is as easy as a changing or right-sizing the venue.  Sometimes it’s more extreme like when your keynoter cancels a day before the event.  The one piece of advice is to never try to host an event without initial buy-in from your membership and without finding helpers (a committee, group, and/or interested party) to assist.  Relying on that network is key when things go awry. 

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

Does Google count?  I don’t go a day without Googling something!

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time? 

I have two very active boys at home so most of my “free-time” is spent on the baseball field, basketball court or with family at the beach!

TECNA Highlights - December 2013

Dear TECNA Members,

As 2013 rapidly comes to a close, I want wish you all a happy holiday season and a terrific start to 2014. We are thrilled to have you all as members in our growing community and look forward to a very exciting year head.

Since our last Digest, the second annual National Survey of Technology, Policy and Strategic Issues has gained significant media attention. Our preliminary media report showed that more than 266 news outlets have covered this report with a reach upwards of 154 million. UK, India, Singapore, Germany, Norway and Australia are covering this story as well as the US and Canada.

Before the year ends we still have an ambitious agenda. First, we plan to have our TECNA Strategic Plan finalized. Second, we will share this with the Board of Directors on December 19, and ask for their review and approval of the 2014 TECNA Budget that is designed to meet key priorities that are a result of the strategic planning process. We will also begin to share information about the proposed TECNA Awards Gala on this call. Additional calls will be set up in January to further communicate this program to non-CEO member staff.

We have also made several key advocacy efforts as part of our TechVoice partnership around the Start Up Jobs Innovation Act and patent reform:

12/10/13 - TechVoice announces support for S. 1658 - the "Start Up Jobs and Innovation Act"

12/5/13 - TechVoice Applauds House Passing of H.R. 3309, The Innovation Act

11/19/13 - TechVoice sends letter to Senator Leahy advancing patent reform legislation in the Senate

TechVoice DC Fly-In Registration – Time is Running Out

Don’t forget to register for the TechVoice DC Fly-In (February 11-12, 2014) and promote this to your delegation. There is no registration fee for TechVoice Alliance Partners and your delegation. TECNA Member CEO's received an email on October 30 with registration instructions.

Happy New Year,

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Member Spotlight - December 2013

Michael Robertson, Executive Director, TAG Education Collaborative, Technology Association of Georgia

Bio: Michael Robertson joined TAG Ed in November 2010 and serves as Executive Director. In this role, he works with TAG Member companies to support and promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs to today's students, the workforce of tomorrow.

Prior to joining TAG as a full-time staff member, Michael helped build bridges between businesses and education in a variety of volunteer roles. While serving as chairman of the Advisory Board of the GIFT (Georgia Industrial Fellowship for Teachers) Program at Georgia Institute of Technology, which offers summer fellowships to Georgia teachers, he was instrumental in expanding placements to over 100 teachers throughout Georgia. He has also served as a member of the Peachtree Executive Advisory Board for FIRST, which aspires to make science, math, engineering, and technology as cool for kids as sports are today. Michael has also been very active in a variety of volunteer roles with TAG including being a founding member & President of TAG Human Resources Society, as well as, serving on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee.

Professionally, Robertson spent the past 16 years at EMS Technologies, Inc. where he provided strategic oversight and direction as that company grew from 400 to 2,000 employees.

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your approach to STEM programming and promotion during your tenure at Technology Association of Georgia? How has Technology Association of Georgia responded to this challenge/opportunity?

The biggest challenge we face is focus.  On my second day at TAG, our President, Tino Mantella, said, “Your biggest challenge is going to be learning how to say no nicely.”  There are hundreds of programs working to address STEM education and they all have the best intentions to make a difference.  Two years ago I went to a Board meeting and outlined 11 different programs that at least one board member thought was a good program for TAG-Ed.  Our Board Chair, Chris Reinking, hosted a strategy session that led to our “Feed/Foster/Accelerate” strategy.  With a focused strategy as a filter, we have been able to make decisions on programs and initiatives that move us in a consistent direction.

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? Why? Is there a resource to direct TECNA colleagues to so they can learn more, borrow components of this program/initiative?

No question our proudest moment has been Georgia STEM Day!  On March 4, 2013 we embarked on an awareness campaign with a goal of engaging 3 partners and have 10,000 students throughout Georgia participate in a STEM activity in their classroom.  Two months later we had produced a marketing video, secured a proclamation from our Governor recognizing May 3, 2013 as Georgia STEM Day, presented our program to the State Board of Education, partnered with 40 business and education organizations, and most importantly, engaged over 275,000 students in 50 counties throughout Georgia.

Since STEM Day, the awareness of TAG-Ed has skyrocketed.  Not only did we raise awareness of our cause, we raised awareness of our organization.  And we did it without spending a lot of money or hosting an event.  We simply found a way to energize our community and let them take off with the concept.

TECNA members can learn more about Georgia STEM Day on our website: http://www.tagedonline.org/event/georgia-stem-day

                                                              

What are you hoping to learn from your TECNA colleagues to help grow your organization?

Finding the balance between raising funds to conduct meaningful programs and conducting programs that attract funding!  We have a small organization with so many more opportunities than hours in the day.  When we get too engrossed in conducting meaningful programs, the financial side falls behind and we have to scramble to raise funds.  It seems that the successful organizations are able to seamlessly conduct programs AND raise money.  That is a lesson I look forward to learning!

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time? In other words, what would you recommend to someone doing similar work so they learn from your previous experience?

When I started this job I thought I would be working on curriculum and education issues.  It did not take long before I learned two important lessons – 1.  Our opinions on education issues get lost in the maelstrom of common core, Next Generation Science Standards, etc… 2.  The education community is geared towards forming committees to study issues, discussing alternatives and building consensus.

In business, we are more focused on taking action and solving problems.  After spending too much time in meetings and reading study after study about what needed to be done, we decided to focus on an action oriented approach.  This has led TAG-Ed to narrow its focus on finding ways to give students and teacher real world, hands-on experiences that help them understand the relevance of their classroom STEM activities and introduce them to technology careers.  In 2013 we have provided over 1000 students and teachers these experiences and over 275,000 students experienced STEM Day.  We believe this course of action will ultimately have a more positive impact on the pipeline of students entering technology careers than any other approach.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

As simple as it sounds, Survey Monkey (www.surveymonkey.com ) has become an integral tool of ours.  We use Survey Monkey as a way to quickly poll our audience, as a registration tool for our challenge programs, and to gather application data for both students and companies in our High School Internship Program.  Survey Monkey is quick and easy to set up, user friendly and we can export data for easy manipulation and analysis.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

My wife, Vicki, and I are empty nesters.  We enjoy exploring new places, whether new cities or new neighborhoods in Atlanta.  We have strong ties with both of our daughters who live and work in Atlanta and enjoy playing with our Maltipoo, Charlie.

TECNA Highlights - November 2013

Dear TECNA Members,

Since our inaugural TECA Digest, we have accomplished much. Below is a quick recap of some highlights:

TECNA Strategic Plan Drafted

On October 15-16, twenty TECNA member organizations helped draft our new strategic plan. The Executive Committee will review the plan later this month and it will be further shared with members afterwards. Thank you to all who participated in this important activity that will help shape our focus and direction as an organization over the next few years.We accomplished much during our time together.

National Survey of Technology, Policy & Strategic Issues Report Launches

The second annual National Survey of Technology, Policy and Strategic Issues is being released to the media on November 12, 2013. This year we saw a significant response over our inaugural year with a 63% increase in the number of C-Suite executives and 38% more TECNA member organizations participating in this important survey designed to provide current and future technology trends locally, regionally and nationally. Read the survey report.  

TECNA Awards Gala Steering Committee Meets

A Steering Committee led by Leigh Goldstein, Vice President Operations and Events, Arizona Technology Council and Ryan Weber, President, KCNext and Executive Committee Liaison met with staff at four other TECNA member organizations on October 28-29, 2013 to review existing member’s approaches to awards programs and draft an approach for a North American Awards Gala to be implemented in 2015. The committee’s report will be shared with the Executive Committee this month and members will be informed of this proposed approach in December and January to gain feedback and assess support for this program. Stay tuned for exciting details….

TECNA Policy Efforts

On the policy front we have made the following progress: 

TECNA and TechVoice co-signed two letters (below) supporting the America COMPETES Act reauthorization bill. Our letter was also read in U.S. Senate hearings on November 6, 2013. 

• Association of American Universities Version 

• Semiconductor Industry Association Version 

As part of our participation in the Innovation Coalition, TECNA and TechVoice also co-signed a letter to the SEC regarding General Solicitation.

New TechVoice Alliance Partner

TechVoice welcomes KCNext as the newest TECNA member who has signed up to become an Alliance Partner. Twenty-two of our 47 members are now Alliance Partners and a few others are in the process of signing up.

TechVoice DC Fly-In Registration Opens

TechVoice Alliance Partners are now able to register for the TechVoice DC Fly-In (February 11-12, 2014). There is no registration fee for you and your delegation. TECNA Member CEO's received an email on October 30 with registration instructions.

Best,

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Member Spotlight - November 2013

Avvey Peters, Vice President, External Relations, Communitech

 

Bio: I’ve been with Communitech since 2007, and came to the organization after a decade in communications and government relations at the University of Waterloo. My formal title is Vice President, External Relations. But what I really am is “Chief Storyteller” for Communitech, and for the Waterloo Region tech cluster. I lead a team of five communications rockstars who manage our relationships with government partners, with media, and with our online communities. We build strategic relationships, create digital content, and tell the story of Waterloo Region tech to the world. 

I’m a writer by training. I have a Bachelor of Arts in English Rhetoric and Professional Writing from the University of Waterloo, and a Master’s of Journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa. I’ve worked as a TV news writer, magazine editor, and speechwriter for the president of a University.

Before joining Communitech, there wasn’t an ounce of technology sector experience in my background. But my master’s thesis was a video documentary about the tension between commercialization and university research

 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at Communitech? How has Communitech responded to this challenge/opportunity?

The biggest change I’ve noted is the significant increase in startup activity in Waterloo Region. When I joined Communitech, we had a part-time business coach who met with about 50 companies over the course of a year. Communitech responded to this early demand by launching the first Executive-in-Residence program at a not-for-profit organization in Canada.

We didn’t market this service, but demand has grown steadily – driven largely by a cultural shift. Today, doing a startup is cooler than it’s ever been. And entrepreneurs are local heroes in the community.

We now have a team of eight Executives-in-Residence and seven business analysts, who coach a portfolio of more than 600 active startups. Our current challenge is scaling our program to meet this growing demand.

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization and why?

I’m really proud of our digital strategy. Since 2009, we’ve built a 44,000 square-foot clubhouse for tech companies in the heart of Waterloo Region, created a national network of commercialization centres, and have become a model for business-driven commercialization that regions around the world are starting to emulate.

In our first five years, we have

• Helped attract $394.2 million in equity investment to local tech companies
• Supported the creation of 1,189 early-stage companies, which created 2,421 new jobs at startups
• Supported creation of 5,254 new jobs at existing companies, and
• Helped attract eight multinational firms to invest in Waterloo Region.

This is by far the most challenging and rewarding project I’ve ever worked on. And we’re just getting started.

 

What are you hoping to learn from your TECNA colleagues to help grow your organization?

I’d like to learn more about how my TECNA colleagues develop and execute their advocacy strategies. I want to do more on the public policy front to be an effective champion for Waterloo Region tech companies. I think the DC Fly-In is a great model for raising awareness of the importance of the North American tech industry, and I’d like to bring that model to Ottawa.

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time? In other words, what would you recommend to someone doing similar work so they learn from your previous experience?

Coming from a university department of 95 people into an association environment of 12 taught me that while carefully constructed process and policies ensure high quality results, they also slow everything down. I learned to be more flexible about formal process and systems, in the interests of delivering results. 

My advice is to build in as much process as you need to be effective, but think twice before you build anything that will slow you down.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

LinkedIn – it’s a great place to post job opportunities for people looking to join the Communitech team.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

In my spare time, I can sometimes be found volunteering for the United Way in Ottawa, which is where I live most of the year.

When I’m not in Ottawa, I love to hang out at my cottage on Conestogo Lake, where I sit on the deck to enjoy a good book or go for long walks with my dog, Banjo.

And when I’m not doing any of those things, you’ll find me listening to live music in a local pub.

TECNA Highlights - October 2013

Dear TECNA Members,

We have had a busy few months since the successful Summer Conference. Thanks again to the Minnesota High Tech Association for hosting a very positively reviewed conference. Overall, respondents strongly agreed with the statement “I found attending this conference a valuable use of my time” (4.3/5.0 average rating). Additionally, 12% more attendees are planning to attend next year’s meeting in Montreal than years past.

We made the most of the Congressional August recess, and promoted these efforts, when 14 member organizations held at least 35 meetings and roundtables with their representatives to encourage their support for balanced, workable high skilled immigration reform.  More than 136 companies participated in these efforts from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Utah and Washington. Even though immigration (and everything else for that matter) has been derailed with the government shutdown and debt ceiling debates, TechVoice continues to look for opportunities to advance this important policy objective and we thank you for your collective efforts.

The 2013 National Survey of Technology, Policy and Strategic Issues was launched with the support of our CompTIA partners and we increased TECNA organization participation from 22 to 29! Data is currently being analyzed and our report will be available in November.

TechVoice would like to welcome the newest TECNA members who have signed up to become Alliance Partners: Austin Technology Council, Idaho Technology Council and the Technology Council of Louisville Kentucky. Twenty-one of our 47 members are now Alliance Partners and a few others are in the process of signing up. Remember, becoming an Alliance Partner enables you to participate in the TechVoice DC Fly-In (February 11-12) and there is no registration fee for you and your delegation. Contact me with questions.

On October 15-16, 20 TECNA member organizations will participate in our strategic planning meeting being hosted by and at CompTIA headquarters. We will apprise you of discussions and recommendations from this important session intended to help clarify our strategic purpose, strategic priorities, and consequently our value proposition for our members and the technology ecosystem.

Our members have been busy discussing a variety of issues like STEM and workforce, planning for our 2014 Summer Conference and CEO Retreat. Additionally, new task forces are exploring TECNA offering a state of the industry report and a North American Awards Gala. This Gala Steering Committee will meet at CompTIA’s headquarters October 28-29, 2013 to review existing approaches to award programs and draft a program for a TECNA awards gala. Stay tuned for more details later this year.

If you haven’t checked out the TECNA website, you’ll find updated information, news highlights and member directory. If you’re not following us on Twitter, new tweets of industry news are being posted regularly. Consider contributing to the TECNA feed by including #TechCouncils on your relevant tweets. I’ll have additional updates on these and other operations in the months to come.

On a personal level, I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting and talking with many of you over the last few months. The insights you’ve shared during my onboarding process have been extremely valuable. I am very impressed with the positive energy and collaborative spirit you all bring to the TECNA community. Thank you for the warm welcome; I’m thrilled to be on board. 

Best,

Bob Moore, CAE

Executive Director, TECNA

TECNA Member Spotlight - October 2013

Sarah Habansky, Vice President, Illinois Technology Association

Bio: I provide the strategy, content and direction for all ITA programs, including forging partnerships with key leaders and organizations to extend the reach and awareness of the ITA. I joined the ITA in 2005 and have played an instrumental role in developing what is known today as Chicago's preeminent tech event, CityLIGHTS.  Under my leadership, sponsorships for the awards gala have increased by 300% with attendance growing dramatically year-over-year. I also have leveraged my days of working on Capitol Hill, to direct the ITA advocacy initiative including trips to DC to meet with key government officials. Prior to the ITA, I worked at the Executives' Club of Chicago and have extensive experiencing running association programs and political campaigns. 

What is the most notable change that has impacted your members during your tenure at the ITA? How has ITA responded to this challenge/opportunity?

The ITA has grown from around 200 member companies to over 600 during my tenure here. The rapid growth of ITA presented opportunities to expand our staff and modify our programming. We’ve morphed into an association who supports growth stage firms – those beyond start-up - and our team and programs needed to reflect that focus.  We help companies succeed through programs in growth, talent & visibility.

 

What is one program you’re most proud of at your organization? What tips do you have for other councils if they consider implementing this program?

The ITA Leadership Forums are invite-only C-level Executive dinners designed to connect and cultivate peer relationships.  ITA curates the invites to ensure we create a safe place for executives at the same level to network and drive their business forward. Each forum is intended to have a casual format where participants come away with new information, contacts, and actionable suggestions to effectively and efficiently take their companies to the next level.  We currently host events for CEO’s, CFO’s, CMO’s, CTO’s, Women in Tech & HR Executives.  If the dinner is sponsored, we allow them to attend and be recognized but can’t present or sell to the attendees.

 

What are you hoping to learn from your TECNA colleagues to help grow your organization?

I would like to learn how other organizations get their members to care about policy and advocacy. Do others have an advocacy committee to help vet issues outside of your participation in TechVoice?

 

Name one way you’ve changed your work based upon something not going as well as you hoped the first time? In other words, what would you recommend to someone doing similar work so they learn from your previous experience?

As ITA’s membership shifted to more growth stage companies, we saw the need to update the categories of awards at our annual gala, CityLIGHTS to reflect this change.  We had to address how we promote and market the new categories.

 

Name one tool, website, app, etc that you find very helpful professionally.

ITA Member feedback and other TECNA member’s websites. It is important to know what programs members want ITA to put on as well as keeping on top of what other tech associations are doing.

 

When you’re not working diligently on behalf of your members, what do you do for fun in your spare time?

I enjoy running, yoga, reading political thrillers and taking vacations to destinations that are warm and have a beach J

Orienting your new Board (Executive Committee) Members

Below is a summary of ways other association executives support their new board members in an effort to best prepare these individuals and get the most out of their volunteer time. Many of these ideas are pulled from recent discussion posts at the American Society of Association Executives.

1. Send new members materials to read in advance of their first meeting/call
Consider posting information online for future reference in a Leadership Guide that covers items like:

• Board (Executive Committee) roles
• Overview of committees, task forces, etc.
• Staff and other basic organization information
• Various entities you manage (i.e. foundations)
• Current bylaws
• Board Policy Manual (the accumulation of policies, such as investments, spending, privacy, whistleblower, confidentiality, etc.)
• Recent sets of board minutes (some do two, others a full year)
• Your strategic priorities/business plan

2. Consider holding a webinar to review some of the pre-reading that can’t be covered at an in-person orientation (Assuming you’re able to host one).

3. If possible, facilitate an in-person board orientation that covers:

• The strategic direction of the organization
• Recent and future initiatives
• Historical timeline of major changes and the milestones you have hit over the years
• Board (Executive Committee) responsibilities
• Governance – Association management primer
• Legal responsibilities
• Financial planning
• Organizational and Board performance measurement
• Personality profile assessment (have them take one (i.e. DISC) and compare to others on the board)
• Traditional and social media training
• Leadership development (i.e. crucial conversations, the will to govern, strategy development)
• Meeting the staff

4. To assist in transition and continuity, invite new members to attend a Board (Executive Committee) meeting/calls as guests before officially taking office.

Other/alternative orientation ideas:

• Have new members spend a couple of hours with the staff during a long lunch, learning about what each staff member does and how things work.
• Arrange a pre-meeting for new members before a board call/meeting.
• Organize a staff/CEO dinner with new members.

Waterloos Competitive Advantage for Incubating Startups

Waterloos Competitive Advantage for Incubating Startups.

Great article on Waterloo as an innovative region & leading innovation ecosystem hub - including the role of University of Waterloo and our excellent colleagues at Communitech. (thanks for sharing this with us, Doug Robertson at Tech South East!)

"Much like other innovation hubs, the genesis of this one is a university, the University of Waterloo, where an inventor-owned intellectual property policy has been a catalyst in the success of the city’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. Contrary to the lack of freedom at U.S. universities where commercialization is centralized in technology transfer offices, Canadian universities do not have major guidelines in this regard. "

TECNA 2012 Annual Conference

 

The TECNA 2012 Summer Conference is designed for tech council leadership – as a true peer to peer exchange, with valuable information and thought-provoking discussion on best practices and collaborative dialogue. Join us Wednesday, August 8, 2012 - Friday, August 10, 2012 in Seattle, Washington. For more information and to register click here.

Renée Winsky, chief executive officer of the Technology Council of Maryland, Elected to SSTI Board of Trustees

Renée Winsky, chief executive officer of the Technology Council of Maryland (TCM), has been elected to the board of trustees of SSTI. Prior to joining TCM in 2009, Renée served as the president and executive director of the Maryland Technology Development Corporation.

An SSTI member since 1999, Renée  has been a speaker at SSTI conferences and accepted the 2008 Excellence in TBED award for Commercializing Research Category on behalf of the Maryland Technology Transfer Fund. She previously held positions at the Information Technology Association of America, the National League of Cities and its affiliate, and the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors.

Renée serves as treasurer of The Technology Councils of North America (TECNA).

 

Redistributed with permission from State Science & Technology Institute,Westerville, OH, www.SSTI.org

White House Announces Initiatives to Accelerate Commercialization

White House Announces Initiatives to Accelerate Commercialization

President Obama last week announced several initiatives aimed at spurring technology commercialization following the signing of the America Invents Act, including two new programs to assist biomedical entrepreneurs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The administration also will develop a national plan focused on reforms to speed commercialization and open new markets. A blueprint outlining those efforts is due in January. Following is an overview of new and existing programs focused on accelerating commercialization:

• NIH will offer new license agreements for startup companies to reduce the cost and paperwork associated with obtaining patents related to drugs, vaccines or therapeutics in the NIH/FDA portfolio. Under the short-term Startup Evaluation License Agreement, which can be obtained for $2,000, small companies can apply for any of the available NIH patents and patent applications by submitting a business plan detailing how they propose to use them. Companies that are less than five years old, have fewer than 50 employees and receive investment of less than $5 million are eligible to apply beginning Oct. 1.
• NIH also will establish a new National Center for Advancing Translational Science to help industry shorten the time needed and reduce costs for developing new drugs and diagnostics.
• The United States Patent and Trademark Office, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Small Business Administration will pilot a program to provide comprehensive IP support to 100 NSF SBIR grant recipients and will engage external stakeholders to provide pro bono or low-cost IP services to awardees.
• The Coulter Foundation and NSF launched a competition to identify and promote incentives to adopt best practices that improve university commercialization efforts. The foundation also announced their selection of four universities to participate in a Translational Research Partnership Program where each university will create a $20 million endowment to foster research collaboration between biomedical engineers and clinicians.

In coordination with the bill signing, some of the more than 135 university presidents and chancellors who pledged in April to work with the administration to undertake greater efforts to advance regional and national economic growth reported on their recent activities.   Read the full announcement on whitehouse.gov.

 

Redistributed with permission from State Science & Technology Institute,Westerville, OH, www.SSTI.org

 

Entrepreneurs Need to Think Global From Day One

At TECNA's summer conference, we heard from Ari Huczkowski, CEO of Finland's Otaniemi Technology Hub and Jaime Parada, CEO and President of Mexico's  Monterrey International City of Knowledge.  Both spoke of international opportunities for markets, talent, partners & suppliers - and this article below gives entrepreneurs a list of ways to plan to be international from the get-go!

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New entrepreneurs who want to survive, and optimize the growth of their startups, need to think globally, and act locally, from day one. This approach, popularly known as “glocalization,” means you have to design and deliver global solutions that have total relevance to every local market in which you operate.

Recognizing this is as much about culture as about language, ensures an understanding of regional motivators, cultural taboos and local customs – so that your solutions are ideally designed and marketed to deliver value that has genuine local relevance.

What all this doesn’t mean is that you should roll out your product in every country at the same time. But it does mean that you think about the global implications at every step of the process:

• Pick your company and product names carefully.
• Anticipate greater growth outside of North America.
  
• Reinforce your brand in international markets.
  

Read more tips, the full article on Startup Professionals Musings, click here.

 

Keynote Chad Doiron's Presentation

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CEO Discussion lead by Mark Lewis

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Staff Discussion with by Keanin Loomis

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Staff Discussion with Mike Scricca

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CEO Discussion with Doug Robertson

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CEO Cracker Barrel with Brad Nellis

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Staff Discussion, Staying Current with Your Members

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Building a Tech Based Economy

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International Panelist, part 1

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International Panelist, part 2

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CEO Discussion with Marty Gupta

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