Emcee
- Janet E. Phipps Burkhead
Janet’s practice focuses mainly in Intellectual Property litigation and licensing. Janet graduated with a degree in Food and Nutrition - Dietetics and a Masters of Public Administration degree from Iowa State University. Janet graduated from Drake University Law School in 2005. She was a member of Drake Law School’s 2003-04 National Moot Court team. Before entering law school, Janet worked in the public sector in both Iowa and Michigan. She is currently a Brigadier General in the Iowa Army National Guard. Janet joined McKee, Voorhees & Sease in 2005.
Keynote Presentation
- Susan M. Puglia
Susan M. Puglia was recently named as Vice President, IBM Global Sales Technical Leadership with responsibility to drive development and deployment of technical leaders to IBM’s global clients. For the past three years, Susan led IBM’s Corporate Quality initiative and Process Transformation for end-toend technical support and developments. Susan has held a variety of executive positions in product development in both IBM’s Systems and Technology Group, and Software Group. As Vice President for Systems Architecture, Design and Development from 2002 through 2004, she led the development and delivery of IBM’s virtualization solutions and user technologies. She also gained IT experience in IBM’s CIO organization when, in 2000 & 2001, she set the direction for IBM’s information technology, established IBM’s global IT infrastructure and applications’ standards and architecture, and managed the worldwide deployment of these technologies. Susan is a graduate of New York University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science and Math, and an MBA in International Business and Finance. She is a member of IBM’s Integration and Values Team, and she also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Rochester Institute of Technology.
2008 Iowa Women of Innovation Award Winners
Research Innovation and Leadership
- Jacqueline Shanks, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University. Shanks, considered a world leader in the field of plant metabolic engineering, is with ISU’s Engineering Research Center on Biorenewables, a program supported by the National Science Foundation.
Academic Innovation and Leadership in Secondary Education
- Andrea Spencer, Director of the State Science and Technology Fair. The fair, a program of Iowa State University Extension, annually awards over $70,000 in scholarships and awards to Iowa science students in grades 6-12.
Academic Innovation and Leadership in Post-Secondary Education
- Sarah England, Ph.D., director for the Iowa Biosciences Advantage program at the University of Iowa. The program, supported by the National Institutes of Health, identifies talented undergraduate minority students and provides them with training and mentoring to facilitate their entry into doctoral programs in biomedical, behavioral, and biophysical sciences.
Non-Profit/Government Agency
- Lorrie Tritch, Administrator, State of Iowa Information Technology Enterprise (ITE). Under her direction, ITE’s has become an entirely self-funded agency. As the State of Iowa’s information technology services department, ITE provides website management and desktop management, Blackberry service, mainframe operations, and email directory services for all state agencies.
Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership
- Cindy Rockwell, Chief Executive Officer of CustomerVision in Carlisle. CustomerVision provides web 2.0 social networking and knowledge management software. Rockwell is considered a national leader in this field, and is a featured speaker at industry and technology conferences. CustomerVision’s work has been featured in Inc. magazine and other business publications.
Small Business Innovation and Leadership
- Susan Walters-Flood, President of NuWorld Amaranth, Inc. in Dyersville. NuWorld Amaranth makes food products from amaranth, a gluten-free grain, and provides research and development, packaging, and order development to other companies. Since 2001, when Walters-Flood joined NuWorld Amaranth, the company has grown consistently year over year. The company’s 2008 projected revenue is $2 million.
Large Company/Government Agency Innovation and Leadership
- Gayle Roberts, P.E., President of Muscatine-based Stanley Consultants. The company provides engineering, environmental, and construction services world-wide. When Roberts was named its president last year, she became the nation’s only female president of a large international consulting engineering firm. She is a board member of the Iowa Council of Engineering Companies.
Collegian Innovation and Leadership
- Julie Rursch, a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Engineering at Iowa State University. Rursch helped create and is assistant director of the IT-Adventures project, a partnership among Iowa State University’s Information Assurance Center, the Iowa Department of Economic Development, the Technology Association of Iowa, the Iowa chapter of InfraGard, and several Iowa businesses. IT-Adventures engages Iowa high school students in exploring cyber defense, game design, and robotics.
Youth Innovation and Leadership
- Erin Brasser, a 9th-grader at South O’Brien High School in Paulina. As recipient of this award, Brasser also received a $2,500 scholarship for an Iowa college or university. Since the 6th-grade, Brasser has been doing research in the field of cranberry bacterial resistance. She was a Discovery Channel Young Scientist Nominee three years in a row; last year, she was National Semi-Finalist for her work in developing organic cranberry antibiotic toothpastes and hand creams.
2008 Iowa Women of Innovation Award Finalists
Research Innovation and Leadership
- Beverly Davidson
Dr. Beverly Davidson holds the rank of Full Professor in Internal Medicine with joint appointments in the Departments of Neurology and Molecular Physiology & Biophysics. Her excellence as a leader doing research at the cutting edge in her field is also recognized by a variety of high level appointments: Roy J. Carver Biomedical Chair in Internal Medicine, Director of the UI Gene Transfer Vector Core, and a 2007 Regents Award for Faculty Excellence. In 2006, she was elected by her peers from across the U.S. as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and this recognition is made for meritorious efforts to advance science and/or its applications. Dr. Davidson leads a large research team that is seeking to use novel RNA-based strategies for delivery of therapeutic agents across the blood-brain barrier to alleviate the devastating effects of some neurodegenerative diseases. Her early success with these initiatives was very recently recognized by the National Institutes of Health with the award of a EUREKA (Exceptional, Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration) grant. This grant was one of only 38 given and is an entirely new program targeted to fund exceptionally innovative research that promises to yield revolutionary results that will transform many areas of science. - Carolyn Lawrence
Dr. Carolyn Lawrence is the Director of the ARS Maize Genetics and Genomics Database (MaizeGDB). Maize is the number one crop in the world and is supported by a large research community (505 researchers attended this year’s Annual Maize Genetics Conference). Because of the large and active research community, a number of independent and disparate databases containing myriad components of biological research exist. The dispersion of key databases and the plethora of informatic platforms make it difficult to compile complex datasets requiring researchers to access to each independently. Because the maize genome is currently being sequenced, integration of various research groups’ assembled contigs into a single view for improved genome annotation is a major need that must be met for the research community. Dr. Lawrence directs a team that is changing the paradigm of how databases interact. Through Web service tools she is allowing the integration of data from divergent databases. These tools will permit the compilation of complex data sets into a single view. This is a unifying concept of data recovery and analysis and provides scientists with an unbiased decision-making tool that will greatly speed data access and hypothesis-driven research. This concept can be extrapolated beyond the plant kingdom into any field encompassing mega-datasets, such as medicine, astronomy, and geology and promises to create a new level of access to a world of burgeoning information. - Jacqueline Shanks
Dr. Jacqueline Shanks is a Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University. Professor Shanks, a native of Iowa, who grew up as one of nine children in Granger, has made a significant impact on our state through her outstanding research in plant metabolic engineering. She is a world-leader in this field, and her innovative research in this area has helped define plant breeding targets, allowed bioremediation of dangerous environmental contaminants using plants, and enabled synthesis of medically important compounds and biorenewables from plants. Her research has been supported by many highly competitive federal and industrial research grants totaling several million dollars. She has a key leadership role in the $18 million Engineering Research Center on Biorenewables at Iowa State University recently awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Her research has been recognized nationally and internationally through several prestigious awards including the NSF Young Investigator award, the Amoco Outstanding faculty award, the American Chemical Society Van Lanen Award, and an Iowa State University Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research. She has been invited to serve on several national panels and workshops including a National Academy of Engineering workshop. She is one of the few female full professors in Chemical Engineering and a true pioneer and trail-blazer. As a result of her exceptional mentoring, several of her former students now teach at top schools across the nation and serve as leaders of industry.
Academic Innovation and Leadership in Secondary Education
- Nancy McIntire
Nancy McIntire is the Coordinator of Quality Learning for the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency and is the heart and soul of technology innovation for not only our organization, but also for the 22 public school districts and 18 private schools that the our agency serves. Nancy demonstrates extraordinary leadership and dedication to improving teaching and learning as a tireless advocate for media and technology integration into the learning environment of Iowa schools. Her AEA has one of the highest media specialists in school rates for the state. This is a result of her academies for media specialist and her impressing upon superintendents the importance of the media specialist to the learning of students. Nancy looks for innovative ways to integrate technology into the learning environment for both students and teachers. She has helped her AEA create electronic professional learning communities for teachers to help them better implement the new teaching strategies they are receiving via professional development activities. These communities have resulted in higher levels of student achievement, especially in the area of mathematics in the high schools. In addition, Nancy helped lead the state AEA joint directors and media directors in their effort to develop a systemic approach to improving teaching and learning in the state. Her leadership style and communication skills help contribute to an environment that allows for the free exchange of ideas and the development of a better educational environment for all of Iowa’s students. This has resulted in the creation of a distant learning environment for the benefit of all. Nancy has the highly valued ability to not only know the “what” of technology innovation but also the “how” of making technology innovations a sustainable reality. - Tabetha Rabenberg
Tabetha Rabenberg has worked with Siemens Corporation to secure funding to develop the Iowa Energy and Sustainability Academy with career pathways for Iowa high school students. These pathways will empower students with “Sustainability Literacy” and enable students to prepare for post-secondary education and careers incorporating sustainability concepts and technologies. This academy will be the first of its kind in the nation, addressing the need for more scientists and engineers in the fields of sustainable and renewable energy. Drawing on resources from Siemens professionals, post-secondary institutions, and Des Moines Public School teachers, this academy reflects a true partnership between education and industry. The implementation of this career pathway involves a major renovation project to the Des Moines Public Schools’ Central Campus facility. The renovation will enable the facility to be a world-class
demonstration site for school districts, higher education, and professionals working to study sustainability themes. She has been working with architects and engineering professionals to meet the needs of this innovative approach to education where teachers and students will engage in projects involving problem-based learning. Tabetha has brought teachers from existing Central Campus programs together to determine how sustainability themes can be incorporated into their curricula. Additionally, the formation of a community advisory panel ensures this pathway will meet the needs of students’ future employers and tap into existing community resources. Tabetha’s work on this initiative demonstrates her abilities as an innovative educator. - Andrea Spencer
Andrea Spencer, in her role as Director of the State Science and Technology Fair, has been at the center of the growth of the Fair and the elevation of the Fair to a greater level of excellence. Through her work over $70,000 in scholarships and prizes are awarded to 6-12 grade students annually. The fair is funded through grants and gifts, and Andrea is responsible to secure the funding for a $150,000 plus budget. She has developed and conducted teacher and student workshops to help support student research and inspire future scientists and engineers here in Iowa. The fair produces scientists that have had research that has been published in leading journals (while still in high school), resulted in patents and licenses, and been presented at international meetings. The latest innovation is the development of a website that will allow students, mentors, and sponsors to keep track of their work and streamline communication with the goal of enhancing the student’s work. The website was developed with grant money obtained specifically for this development. The Fair provides a platform for these students and allows peer role models to arise naturally based on their work. The State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa has risen to a respected status due to her dedication and innovation, and she is worthy of being recognized for the impact she has had at schools across the state. Over 400 youth and in 2008 62 schools were involved, giving her impact a wide scope.
Academic Innovation and Leadership in Post-Secondary Education
- Sheila Castaneda
Professor Sheila Castaneda has led the Computer
Science/Computer Information Systems
department at Clarke College for the last 20 years
with a passion for teaching her students the
latest in computer technology.The department
continues to be a source of attraction for highly
motivated students. With the continuing changes in the field of computer
science, Sheila strives to make sure all class syllabi contain the most recent
advances in computer technology and her courses reflect that innovation.
Aware of the nation-wide low enrollment rate of CS students, Sheila has
been working with the Dubuque and the State of Iowa community to
overcome this problem. She arranged meetings with local companies to
discuss low enrollment and has provided them with analysis data on how
this will eventually affect their jobs. As a result, there have been a series of
meetings between Iowa companies and local high schools to encourage high
school students to enroll in Computer Science. Sheila is one of the founding
board members for the Computing Research Association, (CRA-W) an
action-oriented committee of women in computing. The goal is to increase
participation of women in computing research from undergraduate students
to senior researchers. Her collaboration with prestigious researchers
has provided Clarke students with an excellent source of graduate study.
Sheila goes above and beyond to encourage students to pursue their Ph. D,
realizing the importance of providing high quality scholars to the State of
Iowa and nationwide. As a result, many students from Clarke are at different
stages of their graduate study at institutions across the country. - Sarah England
Sarah England, Ph.D., serves as Director
for the Iowa Biosciences Advantage (IBA)
program at The University of Iowa. IBA is
funded primarily by a grant from the National
Institutes of Health, and Dr. England secured
continued funding over two four-year renewal
cycles (in 2003 and 2007). IBA seeks to
identify academically talented undergraduate underrepresented minority
students with aspirations for a research career and provide them with firstrate
training that will facilitate their entry into doctoral programs in the
biomedical, behavioral, and biophysical sciences. As an African American
scientist herself, Dr. England serves as a role model for all IBA students,
and specifically for IBA women. In IBA, Dr. England has led efforts to
connect first-year students with top faculty researchers to serve as students’
mentors. She has assisted in the design of a four-year student development
curriculum. She also assists upper-level IBA students in preparing for
graduate school applications and interviews. Dr. Sarah England’s leadership
in the IBA program has led to numerous women of color pursuing graduate
education. In the last five years, 14 of 22 women graduates have gone on to
pursue terminal degrees, such as a Ph.D., M.D., or D.D.S. - Diane Rover
Diane Rover is Professor of Electrical and
Computer Engineering and Associate Dean for
Academic and Student Affairs in the College of
Engineering at Iowa State University. She directs
the Student Enrollment and Engagement Through
Connections project, a cooperative effort between
Iowa State the Des Moines Area Community
College. DMACC’s goal is to increase its enrollment in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics, with some DMACC students planning to
transfer to engineering at Iowa State. ISU intends to produce 120 more
engineering graduates each year and increase the proportion of women to
at least 20%. The project is funded by an NSF grant of $2 million over five
years. The National Academies believe increasing enrollment in science
and engineering is a national priority. To accomplish the project’s goals,
a statewide network of mentors will guide secondary students toward
careers in science and engineering, and new scholarships will be provided.
Dr. Rover also leads Iowa State’s Scholarships in Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics program, with NSF funding of $0.6 million
over five years. Besides their enrollment in an engineering discipline,
scholarship students will receive training in Engineering Leadership.
Women, underrepresented groups, and transfer students are especially
targeted for support. In curriculum development, Dr. Rover contributes
to Improving Embedded System Education with Software Engineering
Methodologies, funded at $2 million over two years. The project will
develop new courses at three levels. She also mentors women in high
school and college.
Non-Profit/Government Agency
- Christine Kohlmann
Christine Kohlmann has been with the City of
Dubuque’s Information Services Department
for 26 years and has served as manager of
the department since 1985. In her work, she
supervises a staff of seven who support all
City departments with the exception of the
Library and Airport. She also oversees the IT requirements of the City
Council, Greater Dubuque Development Corporation and the Dubuque
Law Enforcement Center that includes City Police, County Sheriff, Jail
Administration and joint City-County Dispatch. She is in charge of
managing the infrastructure and all IT-related activities for more than 400
desktops and nearly 500 users. During her tenure with the City, Chris has
been in charge of the planning, managing, and implementing of many
large projects, including the utilization of wide area networking and an
extensive GIS system. Her goals always include saving taxpayer money and
implementing cross-departmental utilization of resources while bringing
the City into the forefront of new technology use. She has contributed
immeasurably to the City’s employees and citizens through her positive
leadership and passionate dedication to the continued success of technology
integration for the City of Dubuque. Chris is a graduate of Clarke College
where she serves on the Computer Advisory Board, offering her wisdom,
experience and guidance to the curriculum and students. She is a member
of the Dubuque Downtown Kiwanis club and was the first female to be
inducted into the club. - Cheryl Nuno
Cheryl Nuno has led the creation and staffing of
a unit within ACT for the past year that supports
the new back office suite based on Oracel’s
eBusiness product family. She has singlehandedly
defined organizational requirements,
processes, procedures, and staffing required
to support this new corporate system. Cheryl led the staffing of this team
and personally filled in the gaps as recruits were integrated into the project.
Results from Cheryl’s efforts are remarkable. While this has been clearly
a team effort, the success of this unit is directly attributable to Cheryl’s
innovative leadership. The impact of her work has been felt company-wide
and, indeed, across the nation. As a result of her innovative leadership,
Cheryl has effectively leveraged ITIL methodologies to initially support
continuous operations of the new eBusiness platform. Seeing immediate
results in improved stability and performance, she expanded the scope of
her deployment to cover all ACT production systems. Consequently, ACT
was able to process more than double the number of registrations and
on-line assessments over the previous year. Her ingenious deployment of
off-the shelf and custom technology has given her team leverage to monitor,
control, and maintain the applications and production systems 24-hours
a day, 365-days a year. Some of the programs benefiting from Cheryl’s
leadership are: the ACT college entrance and placement exam; WorkKeys
foundational skill assessments, Wendy’s High School Heiseman Scholarship
Recognition program, the COMPASS college placement exam, and the new
National Career Readiness System. Cheryl is an inspiration to all, a role
model for women in technology, and a credit to herself, her team, ACT, the
state of Iowa. - Lorrie Tritch
Lorrie Tritch, Administrator for the State of
Iowa, Information Technology Enterprise
(ITE), is truly an entrepreneurial manager.
In 2004 the Governor challenged service
departments to find a way to be entrepreneurial
and become self funded organizations that
would no longer seek general fund appropriations. As the manager for the
State’s centralized data center, Lorrie led the transformation of ITE from a
general funded division to a customer driven, self funded division. Lorrie
has emphasized the commitment for users to receive outstanding services
and support, all at a price that is affordable and competitive. Today, ITE is
a self funded organization. State departments purchase utility services for:
· Website management (300 sites/applications) · Desktop management
services (1,000 workstations) · Blackberry Service (530 BlackBerry
devices) · Mainframe Operations (3 million online transactions daily) ·
Email directory services (32,000 accounts for 21 state entities). Lorrie’s
leadership experience extends beyond Iowa as she is Past President of the
Technology Solutions Management (ISM) for the American Public Human
Services Association (APHSA). Lorrie has been active with the National
Association of State Chief Information Officers where she recently shared
her experience in conducting tabletop training exercises for continuity of
operations. Her efforts to help state agency leaders learn what information
technology infrastructure they need in a disaster convinced Iowa legislators
to increase budgets for COOP planning. Lorrie is respected by her peers and
appreciated by her staff for her leadership skills and innovative management
style. She has helped to transform ITE into an entrepreneurial organization.
Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership
- Becky Hays
Becky Hays is owner-manager of the
UltraInsights processing lab. She and her
husband Craig moved back to her hometown
of Diagonal six years ago to start the private
business, which is modeled after work they had
done in an Iowa State University lab. During each
subsequent year, UltraInsights has exceeded the
previous year’s number of images interpreted
while adding breed associations, field technicians
and breeders to its growing clientele. Becky’s
experience as an interpreting technician has
led her to serve as a reference technician for several UGC (Ultrasound
Guidelines Council) field certifications and to work with several research
projects in which ultrasound data is compared to carcass data. Becky grew
up on a registered Angus farm in southern Iowa. She has an Animal
Science degree from Northwest Missouri State University. Becky and her
husband Craig have three children and live in rural Diagonal, Iowa. The
business is a ‘win-win’ to both meet a need in the cattle industry and the
Hays’ desire to raise a family in rural Iowa. Becky Hays says the business
invests in the local community to keep it viable for her family and others.
Becky Hays attended two Renew Rural Iowa seminars, and used what
she learned to develop a business plan for UltraInsights. She’s also in the
process of beginning another related business venture. “I hope we can be
seen as an example to other young professionals that even a technologically
driven company can set down roots in rural Iowa,” says Hays. “I am excited
to see the growth of UltraInsights over the past few years and am committed
to maintaining the same excellent service our customers are accustomed
to. We will remain focused on training our lab technicians, comparing our
software with actual carcass data, and cross-checking images regularly to
ensure the accuracy of the ultrasound data.” - Sunnie Richer
Sunnie Richer has worn many hats during
her entrepreneurial career. Sunnie Richer
founded DoExtra Corporation in 1997 to
provide companies with superior Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) and sales
automation solutions. DoExtra is an authorized
reseller of Sage Saleslogix, Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics CRM,
and Landslide. With over a decade of experience and nearly 100 CRM
implementations, Sunnie’s innovative vision and leadership continue to
foster growth in the company through new and existing business. Prior to
Doextra, Sunnie was President of Opis Corporation, a leading provider of
Customer Support Software systems. Opis was a software manufacturer in
the infant stages of help desk systems, and Sunnie helped build Opis into
an 800 company client base. Opis was purchased by SalesLogix in 1997,and
Sage Software purchased the combined companies. Sunnie’s experience in
technology began with IBM, where she had seventeen years of experience
in management and business development. Positions included running the
IBM operation in Iowa, serving a role in developing the Services strategy
for IBM and managing a department to develop solutions for complex
projects. In her transition from IBM to Opis and the CRM marketplace,
she ran technology, marketing and retail for Brenton Banks. In addition to
her distinguished and successful business career, Sunnie is active in many
professional and civic activities, including the United Way of Iowa, the
Greater Des Moines Partnership, Simpson College, Prairie Meadows and
Nexus, Executive Women’s Alliance. - Cindy Rockwell
Cindy Rockwell, CustomerVision’s CEO,
brings to the company and its customers
an expertise in managing business and
technology and a passion for the web’s
collaborative communication potential. Cindy
is responsible for developing and implementing
CustomerVision’s business strategy and vision. CustomerVision brings
together the best features of traditional knowledge, content and document
management solutions with emerging social networking technologies
such as blogs, wikis and RSS. CustomerVision’s revolutionary approach to
collaboration has created the first industry solution that brings together the
administration and control of a content management solution with the easeof-
use of a business wiki. CustomerVision’s solutions enable organizations
to increase overall employee knowledge and reach important business
objectives. Clients range across a diversity of industries with many client
successes. “At the current rate, CustomerVision will save MWABank one
million dollars every 3 years,” said Steve Ollenburg, President, MWABank,
a customer of CustomerVision. Cindy has been a featured speaker at
numerous industry and technology conferences, and her company’s
work has been published in national business magazines, including Inc.
magazine. Over the past twenty years, Cindy has held leadership positions
at Principal Financial and at Wells Fargo, started several of her own
businesses and is the CEO of a technology based solutions company called
CustomerVision. She has an extensive network of relationships in the IT
industry, the VC community and in the financial services industry in Iowa.
Small Business Innovation and Leadership
- Dawn Ainger
Dawn Ainger is the CEO of Genova
Technologies, a national company that
specializes in project solutions and
management, custom software development,
requirements gathering, and IT consulting.
Under Dawn’s visionary leadership, Genova
has turned around and experienced explosive growth, winning numerous
high-profile customer contracts and subsequently increasing its staff by
nearly 85% in the last three years. Genova now has grown to a multimillion
dollar, profitable business with over 75 employees. Her exemplary leadership
has also caused employee attrition to be less than 3% in the past 10 years.
Examples of this explosive customer/project success includes Genova
winning a multi-million dollar Blanket Purchase Agreement with Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services to perform systems requirements,
design analysis and documentation. Genova Technologies has also won
Department of Defense contracts, including a multimillion dollar IDIQ
(Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity) contract with the Navy. Genova’s
work on these contracts involves completely revising and developing
information systems. In addition, Rockwell Collins has appointed Genova
with Preferred Provider status. For more than a decade, Genova has been
assisting Rockwell with its training, application development, networking
and staffing needs. Dawn continues to be an award-winning, innovative,
visionary leader. Most recently she directed Genova in the development
of a patented tool (in collaboration with the University of Iowa), providing
physicians with a revolutionary new way to acquire Continuing Medical
Education (CME) Credits. Today, Genova is bringing that product to the
multi-million dollar medical market. - Joan Severson
Joan Severson is an extraordinary technologist.
Once a stay at home mom with no prior
technology education, the simple act of reading
just the right article in a tech magazine was
enough to set this high-energy woman on fire
and inspire her to go back to school, earn B.S.
and M.S. degrees in computer science and human factors. Armed with
technical knowledge (and two young children in tow), she founded and
bootstrapped the Iowa-based 10-year-old Digital Artefacts and the recently
VC funded Cognitive Media. She advises a wide range of highly specialized
engagements for global powerhouses like Northrop Grumman, the Scripps
Oceanographic Institute in San Diego, while simultaneously delivering
uniquely creative work for the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. She is an
ardent breeder of highly local skilled talent. There are PhDs from around the
globe trying to “get a job with Joan.” Joan motivates people and clients to
achieve excellence from the theoretical. Where some ask “What if?” she goes
well beyond “Why not” to deliver “Here it is.” She is widely published, cited
and sought for advice and counsel. Among her most recent credentials, Joan
is: Co-Founder of Cognitive Media Inc.; Venture Capital Funded by Iowa
First Capital/Corridor Management; President of Digital Artefacts LLC;
appointed member of Governor of Iowa’s Small Business Advisory Council;
Proposal reviewer for the National Institutes of Health; and Co-director
Virtual Environments Research Project, Smithsonian. - Susan Walters
Susan Walters-Flood left corporate America
in 2001 and joined the family owned business
as President. Formerly a consulting partner
candidate of Arthur Andersen, her desire was
to be involved with helping people with food
challenges find foods that they can eat and
enjoy. Susan brings 15 years of entrepreneurial
and strategic business experience to the
NuWorld Amaranth team. Utilizing her strategy,
marketing, business development, sales and
people skills and her passion for change, Susan
helped her clients transform their businesses and lead the rapid growth and/
or establishment of three divisions within Anderson. With NWA, Susan is
responsible for assuring an actively progressing business plan and for the
establishment and success of NWA’s in the retail consumer focus in the
functional food segment. She is also responsible for ensuring that NWA
is establishing the appropriate sales, distribution and customer support
and medical alliances necessary to achieve rapid and sustained growth.
Moreover, Susan provides input into the NWA operational, education/
marketing and product development activities. Finally, Susan continues
to identify potential strategic business alliances and/or joint ventures as
appropriate. Her success includes positioning the company to grow with new
products dedicated to allergen and gluten free markets. Research indicates
Celiac Disease and Autism currently affect over one half million people. A
gluten free diet is essential for these afflictions; consequently, the new food
products produced by NuWorld Amaranth continue to increase in demand.
Susan has secured both first and second round financing from institutional
sources, as well as Farm Bureau’s Rural Vitality and Ag Processing Funds.
Susan successfully convinced Dyersville Industries to construct a new
20,000 sq. ft. facility and negotiated a major supply agreement with
ConAgra. Susan’s innovative efforts are positioning NuWorld Amaranth,
Inc. for significant growth in the next five years from its current projected
revenue of $2 million for 2008.
Large Company/Government Agency Innovation and Leadership
- Terri Jensen
Terri Jensen is the Chief Information Officer
with The Weitz Company. This 150 year-old,
Des Moines based General Contractor has
offices throughout the U.S. with 1300 employees
and $1.6B revenue. As CIO, Terri provides
strategic direction and overall management
of the company’s information technology, communication networks,
and enterprise systems. Although new to this role, she brings a clientcentric
focus to the technology department. Beginning with the 18 month
implementation of ITIL, the department aims to standardize processes
to improve customer support and promote IT as a true business partner
at Weitz. Before accepting the role of CIO, Terri was the Vice President of
Client Services for Data Builder, Inc., a Weitz technology company that
develops document management software. During her three years at Data
Builder, she built a Client Services department that focuses on excellence
in help desk support, product quality, and training services. Terri founded
Integrated Software Solutions in 1988. After exponential growth, she later
sold this innovative technology training and consulting company with 15
employees and revenues approaching $2M in 2003. In all leadership roles,
Terri is an effective listener, making decisions by thinking globally and
not in a vacuum. While providing direction and the tools necessary for the
job, she empowers her employees to work independently toward a common
customer focused goal. - Susan Leatherwood
Susan Leatherwood is a recognized thought leader within the AEGON/Transamerica family of companies. Her successful track record as an IT architect, project manager and most importantly change agent paid off in her promotion to CIO of Transamerica Retirement Management (TRM). Transamerica Retirement Management opened its doors for business in 2007, and Susan was there from the beginning. She was hand-picked by the executive staff of AEGON USA to design and develop the necessary systems to launch this new business unit quickly in a marketplace that is competing aggressively to reach the retiring “baby boomer” population. Susan leveraged relationships with others inside AEGON USA and IBM to establish a base Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) infrastructure that could grow rapidly in support of the business. In less than 6 months they were up and doing business on the web. In less than a year, TRM launched a completely new Master Data Management (MDM) system based on IBM technology that allows their financial advisors to cross sell and upsell to the AEGON USA customer base as well as potential prospects they have not yet reached. Susan’s MDM vision and ultimately fast execution on that vision is admired both inside her company and within the industry. Through Susan’s leadership and the implementation of the new systems, TRM is and will be experiencing exponential growth in 2008 and beyond. - Julie Proffitt
Julie Proffitt, Assistant Vice President of Retail Information Technology for Hy-Vee Inc., is responsible for technology and support for all store locations. Julie and her team were faced with a significant business challenge in 2004 regarding the multiple hardware and software Point Of Sale legacy systems in the stores. The disparaging systems created many challenges for Hy-Vee, including the fact that store sales data was very difficult to obtain in a timely manner. Julie led a team of Hy-Vee retail specialists along with representatives from IBM and Retalix to roll out an entirely new hardware and software platform across more than 225 grocery and drug stores. This effort included managing an extremely complex equipment installation schedule, conversion of software and hardware to new platforms, while at the same time offering innovative ideas to improve the overall workflow. Julie and her team worked tirelessly with each store to eliminate downtime during the transition and eliminate anything that could adversely impact service to their customers. Julie showed outstanding leadership in bringing together this extended team of professionals. After completion of the nearly four year project, Hy-Vee now has one hardware and software platform across its entire grocery, liquor and drug store chain. The result of this project was a significant improvement in gathering critical customer sales and inventory information that will help Hy-Vee more quickly respond to the needs of their customers. - Gayle Roberts
Gayle A. Roberts, P.E. was elected President of Stanley Consultants on September 18, 2007 and thus became the nation’s only female president of a large international consulting engineering firm. This is a monumental achievement in a profession where women are severely underrepresented. Headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa, Stanley Consultants provides engineering, environmental and construction services worldwide. The company is among the largest engineering firms in the world and consistently ranked as one of the nation’s best places to work. Gayle has a chemical engineering degree from Iowa State University and an MBA from St. Ambrose University. Her 27-year career with the firm has been a progression of successful assignments from lead engineer to project manager, and from department manager to business unit leader and to her current position as the company’s President. “Gayle has always brought unique and innovative ideas to her assignments. She is not satisfied with the status quo and looks for ways to improve our processes to better serve our employees and clients,” according to Gregs Thomopulos, Chairman & CEO of Stanley Consultants. “Innovation can come in many forms. It can be as simple as embracing change,” says Gayle. “We’re bringing together isolated areas of expertise throughout the company to create new services for our clients. We’re encouraging younger members to present new service line ideas. Giving them the freedom to execute their plans with corporate support creates an exciting entrepreneurial spirit.” Gayle’s advice to women is to “have confidence in yourself and your abilities. Take charge of your career by seeking opportunities; don’t wait for them to come to you. The glass ceiling is a myth.” - Susie Thomann
Susie Thomann is Vice President and CIO for the largest business of the Principal Financial Group: Retirement and Investor Services. This segment offers pension, mutual fund, annuity and bank products and services. In her role, Susie oversees nearly 500 IT professionals and an annual budget of approximately $150 million. The Principal Retirement and Investor Services business is noted as an industry-leading user of technology. Susie’s team has helped the company create systems that assist in retaining at-risk retirement assets from retirees and job-changers, translating to billions of dollars each year. Technology-enabled product offerings, such as Principal Total Retirement Suite, have fueled rapid growth in the retirement business. The Principal is the top in the nation for the number of bundled 401(k) plans and deferred compensation plans administered and number two in the number of defined benefit plans administered. Examples of thirdparty recognition include Dalbar’s seal of excellence for the retirement sponsor and member Web sites, along with Dalbar’s top award for our annuity statements. The Principal has been consistently recognized as one of Computerworld magazine’s “Best places to work in IT,” and one of InformationWeek’s “Most Innovative Users of Technology.” The first woman to serve as a business unit CIO at The Principal, Susie has been an officer of the company since 1992. Susie is a native Iowan, earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa. She is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute.
Collegian Innovation and Leadership
- Rebekah Cooper
Rebekah Cooper graduated with honors from high school last year. Since the 6th grade she had been a member of TSA (Technology Student Association). She served as an officer at her local high school chapter for three years. She was elected to the State Officer team her senior year. She competed in such events as Structural Engineering, Promotional Graphics, Problem Solving, Technology Bowl, and Chapter Team (parliamentary procedure). Her success in these events allowed her to compete at the state and national levels. She is a leader in every sense of the word. An example would be the Freshman Open House. Becky attended the event and spoke to the younger girls, letting them know that it was okay to take classes such as Welding, Small Engines, CADD, and Construction Tech. – classes that she herself had taken. She was one of two students selected to compete at Kirkwood College’s High School Welding Contest.
Currently, she is attending UNI on scholarship in pursuit of a teaching degree in the area of Industrial Technology. She will be a great role model for young women. She is a person of great integrity, hard work, good character, and humility. - Julie Rursch
Julie Rursch is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Engineering at Iowa State University and the Assistant Director of the IT-Adventures project. Julie was instrumental in creating and implementing the IT Adventures project, which served over 400 Iowa high school students. Julie remains a key member of the team responsible for developing and running the IT-Adventures program. Julie’s responsibilities include: · Created the learning materials for the cyber defense competition · Created all learning materials for the game design competition · Creation of the IT-Olympics public relations materials · IT-Olympics web site design and online volunteer registration system. Julie is leading the effort to collect and analyze data from the participants in order to improve the IT-adventures project for 2009. Without Julie’s efforts, the IT-Olympics would not have materialized last spring, leaving over 400 Iowa high school students without
that experience. Julie is also working on the Map Iowa research project. Map Iowa will develop a simulation of the state’s critical infrastructure for use by the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division for preparedness planning, training, and real-time disaster response. Map Iowa will undoubtedly become an indispensable tool for Iowa’s preparation and disaster response. Julie serves as a role model to ISU students and often takes a leadership role in many other projects. Julie is truly a leader in science and technology and has shown innovation in both her research work and her efforts. Julie is an inspiration to high school students and others considering a career in IT. - Morgan Steffen
Morgan Steffen has demonstrated a passion for and love of science. She has worked in a variety of areas, including microbiology, environmental toxicology, and ecology, either as a research assistant or intern. Since early on in her undergraduate career, she has exhibited independence and curiosity that have allowed her to participate in her own research projects. She has presented two research posters at regional conferences and shared her findings with lab groups at the university, as well as spoken at a workshop for high school AP teachers. Recently, she collaborated with the USDA and Iowa State University on a study that will be published in a scientific journal early next year. Currently, Morgan is spending the semester as an intern with NASA at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Hunstville, Alabama. This not only involves working with top researchers at the NASA facility, but also the completion of an independent
project and presentation that will be aired on NASA TV. As a young Iowa woman, Morgan is an example of a young scientist who has excelled early on and who will continue to surpass all expectations throughout her career. Her future endeavors will only continue to allow her to achieve new heights, and there is no doubt that her impact on science will be great.
Youth Innovation and Leadership
- Erin Brasser
Erin Brasser is a very self-motivated, creative young women. She has been doing research the last 4 years (since 6th grade) in the field of cranberry bacterial resistance. Erin was the State of Iowa Science and Engineering fair’s 6th grade state champion, 7th grade Top 10, and 3rd place as an 8th grader last year. In addition, Erin won an Iowa State Engineering scholarship as a 6th grader and last year won a $2500 Iowa State Scholarship for her efforts. She has been a Discovery Channel Young Scientist Nominee all 3 years and became a National Semi-Finalist in 2007 for her work in developing organic cranberry antibiotic toothpastes and hand creams. Erin has the rare combination of academic work ethic, ambition, and creativity skills. She is a natural leader in her class and is admired greatly by her peers. She not only excels in the classroom, but is also a natural athlete and musician as well. She has been consistently on her school’s high honor roll. She is active in community service and church mission projects. At the present time, as a 9th grader, Erin is continuing her research on cranberry bacterial resistance in a Phase/Year IV project, concentrating on medicinal extract potencies from cranberry vines and leaves. - Kaitlyn Haggerty
Kaitlyn Haggerty has demonstrated leadership in the launching of Technology Association of Iowa’s (TAI) student website, Hyperstream. This website will be used to promote student technology-based projects in Iowa schools. Kaitlyn has devoted her time and talent to creation of a YouTube video for this Internet project. She and fellow Waukee High School students contributed their acting, editing and writing talents to the creation of this video that is linked on the TAI Hyperstream website. This video will motivate Iowa students to explore technology careers and opportunities right here in Iowa. She has also helped with the development of TAI’s Ambassador Program. This PowerPoint presentation will be used by technology mentors in schools throughout Iowa to start technology clubs and projects. Kaitlyn is a motivated young woman who is dedicated to academic excellence and leadership. She is exploring engineering this year by taking Iowa State University’s Project Lead the Way Engineering classes at Waukee High School. These courses help students explore the world of math, science and technology. Kaitlyn has a natural curiosity, an outstanding work ethic and has demonstrated that she values learning. Kaitlyn has shown leadership and creativity by helping TAI promote technology education, projects and jobs here in Iowa. We believe that her efforts will inspire other young Iowans to initiate and create their own technology projects. - Tracy Older
Tracy Older is a junior at Holy Trinity High School in Fort Madison, Iowa. She is committed and passionate about pursuing a career in chemical engineering with a focus on environmental issues. Her current project (C02 Emission Filtration System Using Lithium Hydroxide and Zeolite) has earned her top awards at the Invent Iowa State Invention Convention (Meritorious Invention and a $500 scholarship from the Colleges of Engineering at UI and ISU), State Science Fair (Best in Class in Chemistry, Outstanding Entry and 1st place in mechanical engineering and chemical engineering divisions), and Honorable Mention at the I-SWEEEP first annual International World Energy Sustainability Convention. This year she was one of 2 Iowa teens (out of 50 US teen representatives) selected for participation in Teens for a Greener American, a conference on public transportation issues held in Washington, DC. As a role model and the top female in her class, Tracy is always eager to learn
more and sets high goals by taking on special projects and challenging courses such as AP Environmental Science and Introduction to Engineering (Lead the Way). Her leadership abilities transcend her classroom peers in that her high expectations also act as a catalyst in challenging and energizing her teachers.
