TECNA NOTES

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.