Nomination Deadline EXTENDED: February 2, 2018
(HARTFORD, Conn., January 17, 2018) – The Connecticut Technology Council (CTC) is actively seeking nominees for its 2018 Women of Innovation® awards, the only annual program in the state that recognizes local women for excellence at all levels of STEM fields. The program, now in its fourteenth year, will also honor high school and college students for their studies, research and accomplishments.
Nomination of candidates can be made at the CTC website at ct.org. The deadline to nominate is January 26, 2018.
2017 Women of Innovation category award winners (L to R) Nickolina Doran – Youth Innovation Leadership, Michelle Bellinger – Academic Innovation and Leadership, Janice Naegele – Academic Innovation and Leadership, Claudine Phaire – Community Innovation and Leadership, Women of Innovation Committee Co-chair Beth Alquist, presenter from UTC Gail Jackson, Wendy Davis – Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership, Erin Duffy – Collegian Innovation and Leadership, Anna Felicitas Thurmayr – Small Business Innnovation and Leadership, Jackie Jones – Large Business Innovation and Leadership.
Award recipients in eight categories will be recognized during the 2018 Women of Innovation® awards dinner at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington on Wednesday, March 28, 2018. The eight award categories are: Research Innovation and Leadership, Academic Innovation and Leadership, Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership, Large Business Innovation and Leadership, Small Business Innovation and Leadership, Youth Innovation and Leadership for STEM leaders in high school, Collegian Innovation and Leadership and Community Innovation and Leadership.
Women of Innovation® nominees are accomplished and recognized leaders in their professions, often entrepreneurial, and inspirational to their peers. The award focuses on women “in the trenches” of STEM fields who may be rising in their careers or well-established in their professional lives. These women may be shaping the future of their industry or institution or company, starting their own company, or serving as a role model for young women thinking about careers in technology, science, or engineering.
“Connecticut is an excellent place for women in technology as the state has extensive intellectual, legal, financial, and STEM resources,” said Susan Froshauer, Yale Entrepreneur in Residence, VP of CURE Collaborations, Women of Innovatio®n Finalist in 2005 and 2006, and current CTC Women of Innovation® Committee member. “The culture here celebrates and elevates individuals of all genders with tech talent, intellect, and skill. CTC’s Women of Innovation has been a foundational part of the community of Connecticut women in tech for over a decade, and I’m privileged to have been both an honoree and now part of the award and selection process itself.”
Connecticut’s technology industry offers a welcoming and inclusive environment, and the Women of Innovation® awards seek to showcase and enhance this culture. The Connecticut Technology Council has encouraged an increasingly diversified group of women to help support, plan, and direct the event.
“CT is becoming the East Coast version of Silicon Valley,” says Rose Day, graduate student in data science at WPI and Women of Innovation® committee member. “It offers a wide variety of great tech related high schools, colleges and industry jobs that allow women from a young age to push further into the field. From insurance tech to home automation, and everything in-between, CT is thriving and growing hub for the technology industry. When you start young, you can empower others to pursue and achieve in tech!”
To submit a nomination or view the criteria for the 2018 Women of Innovation® awards, visit the CTC’s web site, ct.org or contact Taylor Van Antwerp, Manager of Talent & Workforce Programs at (860) 289-0878 x 340 or tvanantwerp@ct.org with questions regarding the program or nomination guidelines. The deadline for nominations is January 26, 2018.
About the Connecticut Technology Council
The Connecticut Technology Council is a statewide association of technology oriented companies and institutions, providing leadership in areas of policy advocacy, community building and assistance for growing companies since 1994. Speaking for 2,500 companies that employ some 200,000 residents, the mission of the Connecticut Technology Council is to spark innovation, cultivate tech talent, foster business growth, advocate for industry-beneficial law and policy, expand the scope of industry networking and professional development, and celebrate industry achievements in the state. The CTC seeks to serve Connecticut’s technology ecosystem by providing leadership, support, mentoring, and advocacy to companies across every industry and at every stage of growth. For more information, visit ct.org.
For more on women leaders, join us on February 6, 2018, at the People’s Bank center in Bridgeport for our next FREE HR Forum: Strategies for Attracting, Retaining, and Growing Women Leaders in the Technology Sector. This panel-based event will share proven and actionable best practices for advancing women from within your own ranks right here in Connecticut. Register Now!