Meet the Inaugural Iowa Tech Connect Cohort Class
DES MOINES, Iowa (June 1, 2023) – The Technology Association of Iowa (TAI) recently announced the 2023 cohort for Iowa Tech Connect, a new talent development initiative designed for early-career tech professionals in partnership with John Deere and EMC Insurance Companies.
“Iowa Tech Connect is truly a unique program that is strategically targeted at a critical inflection point in a technology professional’s career. This program blends the area’s most astute technical leaders with our most promising local talent,” said Joe Riesberg, Senior Vice President, and Chief Information Officer at EMC Insurance Companies. “EMC is proud to support this initiative and help build an even stronger network of technical talent right here in Iowa.”
The interactive, six-month program will focus on providing professional development and guidance led by experienced tech professionals from diverse industries. Twenty-five candidates were accepted into the program and represent companies and organizations from a wide range of industries and markets across the state of Iowa.
“We believe Iowa Tech Connect will have a tremendous impact on talent development, and we are proud to announce this special inaugural class,” said TAI President, Brian Waller. “We are thankful for the partnership and investment from John Deere and EMC Insurance in making this meaningful initiative a reality.”
Iowa Tech Connect 2023 Cohort list:
Alex Boettger
Application Analyst, TruStage
Addelyn Brewer
Business Intelligence Analyst III, Athene
Amanda Calmer
IT Business Relationship Consultant, Farm Bureau Financial Services
Breton Clark
Marketing Coordinator, Technology Association of Iowa
Dobson Douglass
Developer, VGM Fulfillment
Leah Haugh
Staff Software Engineer, John Deere
Kyle Hauswirth
System Engineer, Krause Group
Grant Heckman
IT Systems Engineer, Krause Group
Emma Langston
Talent Acquisition Lead, Lean TECHniques Inc.
Shifali Malhotra
Professional Software Consultant, Lean TECHniques Inc.
Alec McGlasson
Cloud Platform Engineer, EMC Insurance Companies
Joe McNally
Data Engineer, Principal Financial Group
Teresa Middleton
Research Scientist II, Iowa State University
Holton Miller
Embedded Software Engineer, John Deere
Tyler Morphew
Systems Technician II, ITA Group, Inc.
Juan Navarro
Retail Systems Analyst II, Fareway Stores, Inc.
Iris Nguyen
Software Developer, The VGM Group, Inc.
Brandon Niemeier
Sales Development Representative, LightEdge Solutions
Tim Paulson
Senior Data Analyst, Product Owner, Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield
Josh Phillips
IT Team Lead, Pella Corporation
Mariya Ruffcorn
Application Analyst III, TruStage
Gabriel Stackhouse
Software Engineer III, GlobalVetLink
Kayla Tan
Data Scientist, revology
Devan Vander Veen
QA Engineer Automated 1, GlobalVetLink
Colin Ward
Industry Specialist, Kingland
Matthew Wharff
Support Analyst, ITA Group, Inc.
About the Technology Association of Iowa (TAI)
Founded in 1997, The Technology Association of Iowa is a statewide, member-based organization focused on building and uniting Iowa’s technology community. TAI advances the tech industry through engaging programming, premier events, talent development, driving public policy, and fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion to lead Iowa forward.
Get involved at technologyiowa.org and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Media Contact:
Nick Donovan, Vice President of Marketing and Communications
Technology Association of Iowa
Email: nick@technologyiowa.org
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