After taking over as owner and President of The GForge Group in 2011, Tony has had to go from very technical to strategic overnight. He often jokes that he got his undergrad from UNI, his “masters” working in industry and his “Ph.d.” through business ownership. Tony attributes his professional success
Bridger is a 30 year IT veteran skilled in aligning with strategic organizational goals and currently serves as Chief Technology Officer at Manatt’s Inc. He builds teams that take on innovation with a valuable purpose. Bridger earned his MBA from Iowa State University and his compassionate leadership skills from a
Bex Streeper is an HR process analyst at Casey’s General Stores, Inc., in Des Moines. Prior to that, she spent 12 years at MidAmerican Energy Company, where she performed a variety of roles in business and technology analysis. She recently earned her bachelor’s degree in organizational studies from the University
Sondra Ashmore is an assistant vice president – business partner at Berkley Technology Services LLC. Prior to that, she held leadership roles at Principal and IBM, and was an adjunct professor at her alma mater, Iowa State University. She has a doctorate in human-computer interaction from Iowa State University and
The Technology Association of Iowa stands with the Black community in the fight against systemic racism and injustice. Black Lives Matter. TAI stands firmly for equality and will continue to be intentional about creating a safe and inclusive environment for Black technology professionals in the Iowa tech industry. We have taken
Fostering a workforce that prioritizes diversity and inclusion (D&I) is one of TAI's commitments. TAI's dedicated D&I committee has been researching how the recent change in workforce setting has influenced a sense of belonging every employee deserves. Since much of the workforce has suddenly started working from home, we want
Gary Scholten is the Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer and Chief Digital Officer at Principal. He has served on the Board of Directors for TAI for the past 13 years. Throughout his nearly 40-year career at Principal, he’s been a champion for diversity and inclusion. He says assembling teams
Kerty Levy is a mentor, investor, and community leader in Des Moines. After traveling the world (literally — she grew up in Belgium and Sweden, earned degrees from UC Davis and Harvard, and worked in China early in her career), she settled in Des Moines and has become an integral
Ike Brown, a Des Moines native and graduate of Drake University, is a team leader at Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, where he oversees data management and recovery. In his 21-year tenure at the company, he’s worked steadfastly to facilitate conversations across departments and communities, encouraging people from different
As senior IT manager of infrastructure and architecture at Pella Corporation, Praveen Mohan makes sure the company’s systems are fast and reliable, 24/7. While Mohan emigrated from India to the Midwest almost 20 years ago, it wasn’t until he landed in Pella that he knew he’d found his calling. The
Louis Moreno, a student at Drake University studying economics and business administration, is one of the first graduates of the Ruan Information Technology Apprenticeship Program. In the two-year program, he helped roll out new mobile logistics software used by thousands of Ruan drivers — and completed high school concurrently. For
Edudzi (Eddie) Etsey is the director of information technology at University of Iowa Athletics, where he provides leadership, strategic planning, and operational oversight for all of the university’s athletic programs. Born in Ghana, Eddie moved to Iowa City with his family in the early ’90s and studied computer science at
Shea Daniels is a lead software engineer at Dwolla, where she manages a team of front end developers, helps with planning and hiring, and still finds time to code. As the first openly trans employee at the company, she's helped raise awareness about gender nonconformity in the workplace and collaborated
As the IT Director for Meskwaki Nation, Janice has been seminal in making broadband internet access available to every member of the community. She oversees connectivity, data management, and resource management across all the settlement’s departments, and is looking forward to continued growth in the future. She says knowing the
As Fareway’s first CIO, Lisa is helping the traditional grocery retailer adapt in a rapidly changing and increasingly competitive landscape dominated by big chains and Amazon. The former aerospace engineer and software developer believes building lean IT teams and leveraging technology strategically will be key in evolving the brand while
Marty is the Chief Information Officer at The University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, where she provides leadership for university-wide IT services, strategic planning, governance and policy, compliance, and resource management. An alumnus of the university, she is passionate about helping UNI continually evolve its systems, technologies, and services
As Senior Director, Strategy Implementation and Operations at ACTNext by ACT, Ada Woo is passionate about higher education and creating opportunities for learners to access personalized educational experiences. A classically trained statistician and researcher, Ada believes that effectively applying artificial intelligence to assessments and educational tools is the way to
Kate is a Partner & CEO at Far Reach — a custom software consulting and development company based in Cedar Falls. While growing her business, she has helped build a vibrant and supportive tech community in the Cedar Valley. Kate is committed to building a culture and work environment that
Nancy founded Des Moines based Pi515 to empower refugee and underserved youth through teaching technology skills and fostering supportive learning environments focused on innovation and critical thinking. She believes that access to education, technology and active engagement with tech companies can unlock the potential of her students and prepare them
Michelle is the new Chief Innovation Officer at Involta — a managed IT service provider based in Cedar Rapids. Michelle was formerly the President and Founder of BluPrairie — a cloud technology strategy and design company, which was recently acquired by Involta in October 2018. An accountant by trade, Michelle
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