Honoring all Wonder Women at the 9th Annual NMTC Women in Technology Celebration!

The New Mexico Technology Council was proud to host the 9th Annual Women in Technology Celebration on Thursday, March 2nd, 2017 at the beautiful Sandia Golf Club Event Center. This annual event recognizes the achievements of women working in New Mexico’s technology arena, promotes the role of women in tech and science, and encourages women to pursue careers in these fields.

The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Aspirations in Computing winners were also recognized. The NCWIT Aspirations in Computing awards honors young women at the high school level for their computing-related achievements and interests. Recipients are selected for their computing and IT aptitude, leadership ability, academic history, and plans for post-secondary. Awardees from NM honored at the event included: Jenay Barela of Taos High School, Monique Chavez of Jemez Valley High School, Matuke Fomukong of Rio Rancho High School, and Jen Marie Phifer of Los Lunas High School, plus Naomi Rankin of Volcano Vista High School for National Honorable Mention. The Aspirations in Computing Educator Award was given to Tracy Gilligan at Taos High School.

In recognition of the vital need for ongoing technology education and certification, NMTC and our sponsors also awarded a single scholarship to one of our members. The scholarship may fund additional education, job re-training, or certification so that one of our own can switch to a career in technology or gain the skills needed to advance in her technology career.

Carmelina Hart from KRQE 13 served as MC., and the keynote speaker was Anne Marie Kadkhodaian,, Director for DellEMC. Professionally, Anne Marie has spent the last 27 years in Technology Sales and Solutioning.  She is currently a Director for DellEMC where she leads a team that designs solutions enabling businesses to leverage technology and ultimately creating market advantages.  She focuses on  technologies found in the Enterprise and Data Center designs; Cloud technologies, Data Analytics, Data protection, Compute  and Network.  She most recently played an integral part of the largest IT Merger to date when Dell and EMC came together this past September.