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2014 Leading Light Award Nominees 

Congratulations to our 2014 Leading Light Award Nominees.  We have a record number of nominees this year.  We are also very proud to have a variety of prestigious and influential companies represented.

Please join us for the 2014 Leading Light Awards on the evening of October 1st.  Come out to support your company, your nominee, Women & Hi Tech, or just come out to honor these women and their amazing list of achievements! 

Outstanding Achievement in Science Technology or Engineering

The nominee must have positively promoted or provided significant value or innovation in the field of science, technology or engineering. The winner will have made noteworthy contributions in areas that may include but are not limited to research & development, design, operations management, logistics, legal, human resource management, marketing, information technology, or supply chain management.

 Nominee Title  Company 
Anastasia Morrone Associate Vice President Learning Technologies, Office of the Vice President for IT and CIO, Indiana University
Andrea Borucki General Patent Counsel Dow AgroSciences, LLC
Carla Yerkes Senior Research Scientist Dow AgroSciences
Denise Dilworth Senior Content Strategist, Digital Strategy Discipline Fusion Alliance
Lisa Teague Head, Research & Technology Rolls-Royce Corporation
Lori Boyer Software Application Developer Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Sharon Dean Vice President of Quality and Reliability Allison Transmission

 

You Inspire Us!

The nominee will have demonstrated success in inspiring women and others in science, technology, and/or engineering to look beyond their own horizons and set professional and personal goals that exceed those originally conceived. The nominee need have no connection to those she inspires. Rather, based on her advocacy, leadership, presence, and/or visibility in the community for having advanced the areas of science, technology, or engineering in Indiana, she inspires us all to push the limits.

Nominee Title Company 
Anushree Bag Managing Director NextGn
Carol Curran President/CEO Phoenix Data Corporation
Dr. Cheryl Beal Anderson Senior Director, Regulatory Development Strategy & Registration Lundbeck
Kathy Koehler President Koehler Partners, Inc.
Sachiko Koyama Associate Research Scientist Indiana University, Bloomington
Tracy Kemp Vice President & CIO Allegion, PLC

 

 

Leadership

This award will recognize an individual who has exhibited outstanding leadership in her field and/or in community contributions, thereby increasing the impact of Indiana’s Women, their representation, and/or their effectiveness in the technology community.

 Nominee Title  Company 
Angie Lewis Chief of Staff NSWC Crane
Bev Bitzegaio Director of Outreach and Student Career Support Indiana State University
Cynthia Pizarro President CSpring
Beth Howen Chief Information Officer (CIO) Information Services Agency, City of Indianapolis/Marion County
Erika Redmond IT Regional Services Director, North and South America Rolls-Royce North America
Karen Mangia Sr. Director, Listening Services Center of Excellence & Global Supplier Diversity Business Development Cisco Systems
Laurie Burns McRobbie IU First Lady, IU Foundation Senior Advisor, IU Adjunct Faculty, IU CEWiT Advisory Council Chair Indiana University
Liz Greenamoyer Vice President, Customer Service & Policy Administration UnitedHealthOne
Nitocris Perez Emerging Technology Specialist Indiana University Information Technology Services (UITS)
Shankali Pradhan Graduate Student Purdue University
Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth Professor and Director, Military Family Research Institute Purdue University
Stacy Mill Director of Information Risk KAR Auction Services

 

Mentor Me!  

The individual or organization must be employed by or have an Indiana-based headquarters, subsidiary, or division, and have concentrated their mentoring efforts in Indiana. The winner will have committed to the encouragement and advancement of women in the science or technology fields and will have demonstrated success in career, leadership, and education opportunities for women. This commitment might be demonstrated in the field of education, or with a non-profit or for-profit corporation. 

Nominee  Title  Company 
Abigail Engelberth Assistant Professor Purdue University
Deb Parson Fellowship Coordinator for the Neonatal/Perinatal Program Neonatal/Perinatal Med
Emily Blue Postdoctoral Fellow Riley / Indiana Univeristy School of Medicine
Ayanna Jackson Associate Scientist Dow AgroSciences
Karen Plaut Senior Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs Purdue University College of Agriculture
Linda Hicks Vice President, Global Technology Vertellus Specialties, Inc.

 

Outstanding Educator in Science, Technology or Engineering

The nominee must be a current educator at a K-12 school or an institution of higher learning in the State of Indiana and must have a primary academic focus in science, technology, or engineering. Public, private, and parochial school nominees will be considered.
The winner will have demonstrated excellence in teaching innovative programs that promote student interest, success, and leadership in science, technology, or engineering. Special consideration will be given to those who have implemented programs to teach these disciplines in a hands-on environment and to those who have demonstrated a commitment to young women in these areas.

Nominee  Title  Company 
Brenda Capobianco Associate Professor, Science Education Purdue University, College of Education
Connie Justice Clinical Assistant Professor of Computer and Information Technology Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Diane Evans Full Professor of Mathematics Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Emily Sprowls Science Teacher Harmony School
Gloria Townsend Professor of Computer Science DePauw University
Haley Oliver Assistant Professor Purdue University
Kara Heichelbech Digital Communications Teacher / Related Arts Departmetn Chair / Yearbook Advisor Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation
Marcy Towns Professor of Chemistry Purdue University
Nicole Otte Director of Curriculum Central Nine Career Center

 

Risk Taker

The nominee must have demonstrated courage in promoting purposeful change for which success was not guaranteed. The winner will have successfully pursued innovation, whether in pursuit of programs, projects, initiatives, technology adoption/innovation in the public, private, or non-profit sectors.

Nominee Title  Company 
Alyssa Panitch Leslie A. Geddes Professor of Biomedical Engineering Purdue University
Chrysa Ake Senior Manager, Global Support Operations, CaaS Interactive Intelligence
Denver Hutt Executive Director of The Speak Easy The Speak Easy
Dr. Catalina Lopez Correa VP/CSO Scientifc Affairs Genome Quebec, Canada
Jenny Vance President LeadJen
Mary J. Wirth W. Brooks Fortune Professor of Analytical Chemistry Purdue University
Sue Workman Associate Vice President, Client Services and Support Indiana University Office of Vice President for IT

 

Rising Star 

The nominee will have demonstrated exceptional and substantive achievements early in their technology, science or engineering related career.

Nominee  Title  Company
Amanda Haapala Ph. D. Candidate Purdue University
Claire Couch Event Marketing Campaign Manager ExactTarget Marketing Cloud
Emily Webber Physician Lead, Clinical Informatics; Ped. Hospitalist Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health
Judy Qiu Assistant Professor, Computer Science School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University Bloomington
Katy Jenkins Senior Technology Analyst Apparatus
Louise Hughes Solution Manager Allegient, LLC
Melanie Abel Instructor/Director of Safety Indiana State University
Reetal Pai Technical Group Leader Dow AgroSciences, LLC
Sarah Klinefelter Sr Automation Developer Interactive Intelligence

 

Scholarship Nominees 

Women & Hi Tech, thanks to our wonderful Sponsors, are honored to offer two $5,000 scholarships this year!  The Women & Hi Tech Scholarships are open to women pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in science, technology or engineering.  The recipients must be an Indiana resident with plans to remain in Indiana after graduation.
Nominee Degree Program 
Megan Bryant Biomedical Engineering
Brianna Hibbler Bachelor of Science: Mechanical Engineering with Aerospace concentration
Peyton Spreacker BS in Biochemistry
Danielle McDougal Technical Communications
Megan Switzer Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology
Alexa Sears CGT Graphic Design
Emily Erickson Biochemistry BS
Abigail Curdes Engineering
Tamara Gibbs Master of Library Science
Yihao (Sara) Zhang Computer Science, Psychology
Shelly Moline Computer Information Technology - Database Administration and Programming
Taylor Griffiths Electrical Engineering Technology
Prianka Rayamajhi Master School of Informatics
Glenda Hernandez Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Renee Suding Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Elcin Icten PhD in Chemical Engineering
Shannon Britt Computer Information Technology
 Kristina Tabar Purdue University

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