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Amber Peckham is the new Communications Director of Women & Hi Tech. She applied for this position after volunteering with Women & Hi Tech for many years as part of her role as a Senior Content Manager at Metonymy Media, a longtime sponsor. “My past colleague Darcy Lee served as President of Women & Hi Tech during her time working at Metonymy. Through her we were able to get involved with creating content for Women & Hi Tech.” This included member and board member profiles, putting Amber directly in touch with the incredible stories every member of Women & Hi Tech has to tell.

“I was fascinated to learn about so many diverse STEM industries, and inspired and motivated by the women’s stories of overcoming barriers in their professional and personal lives.” When she learned the Communications role was available, she felt called to step up and help amplify the stories of the organization. “I am from a small town in rural Indiana. I loved chemistry, but I literally remember thinking that there wasn’t any way to have a job doing chemistry--because I wasn’t hearing those stories or seeing those role models.”

Amber’s goals in her role include supporting Women & Hi Tech’s statewide expansion initiatives, which will be starting in Fort Wayne and Columbus in 2022. “I want to make sure we are telling stories of people in those communities, and the work they are doing to improve their own little corner of our beautiful state and its hidden gem, the STEM ecosystem.” Amber also aspires to drive member engagement and make more potential members aware of Women & Hi Tech statewide through keyword optimization of the website.

“As a creative professional, I bring a unique perspective to the table, since most of my fellow board members have backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and math. Working together, we are going to achieve incredible things.”

Hannah Stork is a Client Executive for the software development company Rural Sourcing, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Hannah decided to join Women & Hi Tech because of her desire to engage with, support, and learn from other women in STEM.

As our Corporate Engagement Director, Hannah has made it her mission to help Women & Hi Tech become a statewide movement. In her role, Hannah develops creative and engaging ways to grow the organization’s sponsorship base across Indiana with focuses currently in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and Columbus. She is also a member of our Infrastructure task force which is committed to engaging and support more women outside of the greater Indianapolis area. Hannah is leading the implementation of Women & Hi Tech’s first Fort Wayne in-person event in 2022.Details will be published in Q1 of 2022.

Hannah brings a fresh pair of eyes and creativity to her role. As an example, she recently met with a potential sponsor who didn’t have very many employees based in Indiana. However, they were so impressed with Women &Hi Tech’ s mission and organization, they decided to become a sponsor and donate some of their memberships to Indiana STEM college students and other individuals who may not otherwise have access. Hannah’s ability to “sell” the benefits of Women & Hi Tech membership has resulted in several new sponsors and a great pipeline of sponsor candidates. Needless to say, she’s keeping very busy!

Regarding her overarching goals as a board member of Women & Hi Tech, Hannah wants to be an active force in helping women without STEM degrees be equally represented in STEM. “I want women like me to understand that a STEM career is not off-limits. There are plenty of opportunities in STEM for people who don’t have a technical background but are interested in technology and science. I feel honored to be part of an initiative that is exposing women and young girls to the endless opportunities that exist in science, technology, engineering, and math.”

We currently need two volunteers to lead committees to support the planning of our Leading Light Awards. Time commitments are estimated to be 10-20 hours per month, likely increasing as the event date approaches on Oct 6, 2022.

Registration Chair and Committee: The Registration Committee Chair will be responsible for running registration for the 2022 Leading Light Awards. They will gather additional Registration Committee Members to help with managing guest check-in at LLA, seating chart maintenance and management, and maintaining monthly registration counts compared to goal, among other duties. They will also manage the on-site registration process (check-in, drink tickets, seat assignments) as well as the 24-48 hour notice of attendee name changes. They will create a form to collect information of attendees from each sponsor (name, dietary restrictions), and contact bundle admins to determine attendees from each sponsor, managing any changes, and other needs as applicable.

Volunteer Chair and Committee: The Volunteer Committee Chair will be responsible for gathering, managing, and being the main point of contact for volunteers specifically for the 2022 LLAs. They will coordinate with committee chairs to determine on-site volunteer needs, as well as coordinate on-site volunteer assignments, prep, instruction, and escalations. They will also assist in the planning and execution of the event within the approved budget. Volunteers will help with many tasks including: greeting guests at arrival, escorting guests to their seats, acting as human arrows, running candy tables, assisting with registration, setup and teardown assistance, and other needs as applicable.

If you are interested in one of these positions, please reach out to Lauryn Andrews at lla@womenandhitech.org and Amber Peckham at communications@womenandhitech.org by November 8.

By Glenn Keller

On October 14th, 2021, we were honored to hear from speaker, coach, and author Caroline Dowd-Higgins at our  Executive Women’s Forum, the first in-person event we hosted in over a year. Ivy Tech sponsored the event at their Culinary and Conference Center, including the historic Courses Restaurant, operated by Ivy Tech culinary students.

“The purpose of Network like a Ninja was to help women understand how they can network better and to instill the confidence required to network. And of course, to practice,” said Linda Calvin, Director of the Executive Women’s Forum. “The post-event networking session gave attendees the opportunity to use the skills Caroline shared in her presentation in a very common environment for networking, ‘the happy hour.’”

Board President Linda Hicks, was on hand to kick things off and Ivy Tech President Dr. Sue Ellsperman made time in her busy schedule to also offer her welcome and support. Both women gave a personal example of the power of networking and how networking played a pivotal role in their career development.

Caroline Dowd-Higgins covered the importance of networking not only as a career supercharger but as a necessity. She made it clear from the start that this was not going to be a lean-back-and-watch session. Her message was interactive, thought-provoking, and full of helpful, practical advice.

The beautiful Courses restaurant was a perfect backdrop for drinks, hors d'oeuvre and conversation. We played a game of Networking Bingo, gathering information about the new friends we made. The first two attendees to complete their bingo cards won copies of Caroline’s book, "This Is Not The Career I Ordered." We even learned that "Elvis Slept Here" prior to performing his final concert at the old Market Square Arena. Who knew?

Attendees had the chance to get their picture taken by the incredible Faith Blackwell, who also generously donated a PowerShots session to support Girls Inc of Greater Indianapolis in honor of International Day of the Girl. Our Girls Inc. friends were on location to accept donations in support of their programming. Congratulations to our networking package raffle winners, Sonal Sheth Zawahri and Lisa Petersen, and the winner of the PowerShots session, Rinn Neidig.

Takeaways From the Event

It is hard for some people to effectively network. Women especially can view it as "non-authentic" or awkward. Introverts in particular also find networking difficult, but the super-power that many introverts have is their ability to listen. Extroverts may not be as tentative to network, however, listening to understand and not just jumping in with comments is a struggle which may make their networking efforts less effective.

Caroline covered some important "dos" for networking:

• Listen first: encourage people to talk about themselves. Invite others into the conversation--which is also a good way to exit.
• Think about what you want the person to remember about you when they walk away...short term memory will allow them to remember 1-3 things at the most.
• Always close with an offer to help and then follow-up quickly with something of value to them such as an introduction, a link to an article, etc.

Of course, there were some networking "don'ts" as well:

• Don't start right off with a pitch or asking for a job. And never ask if you can pick their brain; people make a living with their expertise and shouldn't be asked to give it away.
• Don't rush to fill in any quiet space. Others in the conversation may still be processing what was just said.
• Remember that though you may be comfortable dominating a room or a conversation, that can be a turn-off to those you are speaking with. Honor others by adjusting your approach to match their energy while staying authentic.

Quick LinkedIn Tips:

• Stay away from "needy" LinkedIn headlines like "looking for an opportunity."
• LinkedIn gives more exposure to people with over 500 connections.
• Follow companies you are interested in working with on LinkedIn. Someone will notice.
• Comment on content that interests you, especially from influencers.
• An audience member shared that you can easily generate a QR code of your LinkedIn profile, which is helpful at networking events.

In Closing

Many thanks to Caroline Dowd-Higgins for helping us all break out of our shell on our own terms, to Linda Calvin for organizing this great learning opportunity, and to presenting sponsor Ivy Tech Community College for hosting us! As we move into 2022, Women & Hi Tech looks forward to continuing our tradition of providing our members with meaningful career development – wait until you see what we have planned!

Our bi-annual Fall Retreat at French Lick Resort in early October 2021 left attendees feeling refreshed, recharged, informed, and inspired. That's all thanks to a keynote presentation from author Angel Henry, as well as the power of the fellowship and friendship we shared--especially at our Western-themed dinner!

Special shoutout to our President-Elect Dr. Maria Alvim-Gaston (below) and our Fall Retreat planning committee for all their work creating this special getaway for our members and guests.

Women & Hi Tech President Linda Hicks shared the story of a chance meeting with a hotel guest in the casino. This gentleman celebrates his birthday annually at the resort.

"He remembered our group from two years ago and had taken a picture with us dressed as flappers--and still had that photo in his phone! He and his wife wanted another photo with us in our Western gear." We had fun sharing with him about our organization and joked that we will see him in 2023!

A highlight of the retreat was hearing from Angel Henry, who is so passionate for diversity in the field of IT and beyond. Her knowledge of why women and minorities are often missing from the room helps advance the conversation of inclusion and make real change.

"Angel brings differing advice for audiences based on age, race, and professional level," recalled Rebecca Bormann, Women & Hi Tech Past President. "Her advice hit home and sparked a great discussion and many women authentically sharing their personal experiences being a woman in STEM."

Women & Hi Tech was delighted to have a mix of new members, long-time members, college students and STEM professionals join us for the retreat. Thanks again to all who attended.

Rebecca Leon is our new Director of Community Outreach. Rebecca is a mom of three boys and a Principal Research scientist at Eli Lilly & Company. She is also a transplant from southern Florida. As a scientist at Eli Lilly, Leon works in cross functional early drug discovery teams, and mentors new scientists.

“I became interested in Women & Hi Tech when I learned of the scholarships provided to students in STEM and the impact the organization has had in the community,” said Leon. “As a recipient of scholarships myself, I know first-hand how essential it is to enable students to pursue their education.”

Leon is familiar with the challenges faced by women early in their science careers and wants to help pave the way for the next generation.

“Networking between organizations is important in community building, especially for those new to the Indiana community,” said Leon. “The goals for Women & Hi Tech’s community outreach program are to raise awareness of career paths and provide role models and career skills for the next generation of women in STEM.”

As director of community outreach, she plans to strengthen relationships with the local community by building upon Women & Hi Tech’s strong reputation to support events and organizations that are working to drive diversity and inclusion in the Indiana STEM pipeline. Some recent ways Women & Hi Tech members have supported community organizations include the Girl Scouts Circle the City event, the upcoming Conexus Collegiate Case Competition, and through individual mentoring via Pass the Torch for Women.

If you know of a community event, program, or organization that aligns with Women & Hi Tech’s mission and who would benefit from our support, contact Rebecca at outreach@womenandhitech.org

Join a board committee and help Women & Hi Tech advance our mission!

Are you passionate about changing the landscape of women represented in STEM to be equally inclusive to all? Can you spare a few hours a month to advance that goal along with us? 

The following committees are seeking members for a minimum one-year term:

• Volunteer Recruitment Committee
• Engagement, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee
• Networking and Member Events Planning Committee
• K-12 Outreach Committee
• Communications Committee
• Community Outreach Committee

Whatever strengths and talents you bring to the table, joining a committee to support our all-volunteer Board of Directors will benefit your professional development by growing your marketable skillset, expanding your professional network, and gaining experience contributing to a well-established Indiana nonprofit.

See below for information about each of these opportunities and next steps to apply for a role! We are so grateful for your interest and can't wait to hear from you. 

Please note all candidates must be members in good standing and must remain in good standing throughout their time on the committee.

Volunteer Recruitment Committee

• Seeking 2 volunteers to assist with coordinating and managing volunteers for all our events
• Time Commitment: up to 1 hour per week to respond to volunteer requests, post volunteer opportunities and attend Women & Hi Tech events as assigned to manage volunteers for the 2021-2022 fiscal year
• Qualifications: Candidates are needed with a friendly, welcoming and patient demeanor
• Contact: Sahara Williams, networking@womenandhitech.org

Engagement, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee

• Seeking 1 additional volunteer to assist with developing and implementing Women & Hi Tech’s DEI goals including strategy development, metrics tracking, and communicating DEI objectives to others
• Time Commitment: 4-6 hours per month for the 2021-2022 fiscal year
• Qualifications: Candidates should have the ability to positively influence others. Ideal candidates have background or experience in diversity, equity and inclusion. Candidates must have flexibility in their schedule to attend monthly virtual calls and occasional face to face strategy meetings.
• Contact: Joy Neely, edi@womenandhitech.org 

Networking and Member Events Planning Committee

• Seeking up to 2 volunteers to assist with the planning and implementation of 4-5 of Women & Hi Tech signature networking and membership events 
• Time Commitment: 4-6 hours per month generally plus day-of event assistance for the 2021-2022 fiscal year
• Qualifications: Candidates should be creative, willing to share ideas, and be comfortable working in a team environment. Planning experience is a plus!
• Contact: Sahara Williams, networking@womenandhitech.org

K-12 Outreach Committee

• Seeking up to 3 volunteers to help attract more girls to STEM careers by increasing STEM exposure, engagement, and mentorship opportunities.
• Time Commitment: 2-3 hours per month for the 2021-2022 fiscal year, Committee meetings are the 1st Monday of each month from 4pm-5pm
• Qualifications: Candidates should enjoy working with youth.  Ideal candidates would have a background in education.   
• Contact: Crystal Morton, k12@womenandhitech.org

Communications Committee

• Seeking 1-2 additional volunteers to assist with social media scheduling, website updates, copywriting, and other projects when interested. 
• Time Commitment: 2-3 hours a month, broken out into small tasks weekly.
• Qualifications: Experience with Hootsuite is a plus but not required, it’s easy to learn. 
• Contact: Amber Peckham, communications@womenandhitech.org

Community Outreach Committee

• Seeking up to 3 volunteers to help identify and support events that align with Women & Hi Tech’s mission that are outside the scope of the K-12 and Collegiate Outreach committees
• Time Commitment: 4-6 hours monthly for the 2021-2022 fiscal year
• Qualifications: Committee members will be requested to participate at events as volunteers, Women & Hi Tech representatives, and STEM industry professionals. This may include coordinating activities with host organization,  planning and facilitating events (set up and tear down), staffing the booth during in person or virtual events, networking and recruiting new members during events.
• Contact: Rebecca Leon, outreach@womenandhitech.org

On June 24, 2021, Women & Hi Tech was excited to host our summer Executive Women’s Forum: Let’s Talk About Your Cyber Hygiene. This important discussion informed attendees about secure online behaviors and how critical cybersecurity is in today’s technology age. According to recent reports, cybercrime has increased every year as people try to benefit from vulnerable business and personal systems. Often, attackers are looking for ransom: 53% of cyber attacks resulted in damages of $500,000 or more.

Linda Calvin, director of the Executive Women’s Forum and Ben Phillips, Treasurer, kicked off the event as moderators for the discussion. “This forum gave us the opportunity to provide our members and the community with best-in-class thought leadership on the evolving personal and enterprise cybersecurity risk landscapes,” said Phillips. “We are extremely grateful for the outstanding attendance and the content provided by our panelists.

The panelists were Meredith Harper, VP and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Eli Lilly, Chetrice Mosely-Romero, Cybersecurity Program Director at Indiana Office of Technology & Indiana Department of Homeland Security, and Nicole Sigler, Senior Security Consultant at Pondurance. These women shared their wise words on major recent cybersecurity events, the implications of poor security, and how we can improve our cybersecurity report card.

Takeaways from the event 

The forum covered cyber security from both corporate and personal angles. Panelists discussed topics for corporate security such as the recent attack on SolarWinds and how it affected federal and local governments, as well as how to integrate cybersecurity training effectively in a corporation. The conversation then shifted to tips on personal cyber security, such as changing your passwords every few months and segmenting routers in your home when bringing in technology such as Alexa or the Ring doorbell.

“A lot of what we’re dealing with in cybersecurity is human behavior. A computer doesn't click on a malicious link--a human does. We need to make sure people are educated and aware of attacks so they can combat them at the point of attack,” said Harper. 

Mosley-Romero commented, “We, the protectors, have to be creative and emulative to understand the different forms of communication and training. We also have to be creative about understanding the bad actors and how they are getting into complex systems. Cyber security is not all ones and zeros. It’s a critical thinking skill, a creative skill, and a psychological skill.”

With everything there is a risk, but much like driving, we have to consider the rules of the road and protect ourselves. With good cyber hygiene, we can arm ourselves against the malware and bad actors that are attacking our corporate entities and personal homes. 

“Something we always say, as consultants and auditors is, I believe you, I trust you, but I just need to verify. We need to use this methodology in our daily life and in our companies. We all need to double check things,” said Sigler. “It's just like any other organization where you have checks and balances. In cyber security, you need to double check your security measures so nothing happens to cause havoc.”

Listen and learn about cyber hygiene

Women & Hi Tech encourages all who missed the live virtual event to view the recorded session of our Executive Women's Forum: Let’s Talk About Your Cyber Hygiene and visit owomenandhitech.org/events to attend our next events!

Women & Hi Tech is pleased to announce the Board of Directors for the term that commenced on July 1, 2021.

Elected Officers of the Women & Hi Tech Board of Directors:

• President: Linda Hicks, Vice President of Midwest Operations for ECC Horizon

• President-Elect: Maria Alvim-Gaston Ph. D., Advisor – MIH Talent Development Academy Medicines Innovation Hub, Eli Lilly and Company

• Treasurer: Ben Phillips, Director, Katz, Sapper & Miller

• Secretary: Allison Lipps, Partners Program & Project Coordinator, Indiana Hemophilia & Thrombosis Center, Inc.

Elected Directors of the Women & Hi Tech Board of Directors:

• Collegiate Outreach Director: Stephanie Jeffers, Director of Outreach and Student Career Support for the College of Technology at Indiana State University.

• Communications Director: Amber Peckham, Senior Content Manager, Metonymy Media

• Community Outreach Director: Rebecca Leon, Senior Research Scientist, Eli Lilly and Company.

• Corporate Engagement Director: Hannah Stork, Client Executive with Rural Sourcing, Inc. (RSI).

• Engagement, Diversity, and Inclusion Director: Joy Neely, Central Area, Regional Business Manager, Roche Diagnostic Information Solutions

• Executive Women's Forum Director: Linda Calvin, Vice President, School of IT at Ivy Tech Community College

• K-12 Outreach Director: Crystal Morton, Associate Professor of Mathematics Education, Indiana University School of Education – Indianapolis

• Leading Light Awards Director: Lauryn Andrews, Consultant, netlogx

• Membership Administrator:Carol Ganz, Vice President of Sales, Six Feet Up, Inc.

• Networking Events Director: Sahara Williams, Intellectual Property Attorney, Barnes & Thornburg.

• Past President: Rebecca Bormann, Managing Director of Sales and Services, Bell Techlogix, Inc.

Elected Active Emeritus of the Women & Hi Tech Board of Directors:

• Lori Boyer, Software Engineer, Barnes & Thornburg LLP

• Darcy Lee, Chief Operations Officer, AIS

• Susan Vaughn, CEO, The Project Authority

• Tiffany White, Head of Engineering Operations, Defense Sector, Rolls-Royce

Elected Emeritus of the Women & Hi Tech Board of Directors:

• Jo Basey, Retired, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University· 

• Angie Engel, Sales Executive, Perficient

• Gail Farnsley, VP, Executive Partner, Gartner

• Angela B. Freeman, Intellectual Property/Patent Attorney, Barnes & Thornburg LLP

• Deb Hallberg, CEO, Pass the Torch for Women Foundation

• Tonya Hanshew, Proposal Management Team Lead - OLS, Veeva Systems

• Rajinder Heir, Consultant, Electronic Strategies Inc.

• Karen Harris, Vice President & Information Officer Manufacturing and Quality, Eli Lilly and Company

• Ali Hromis, Release Manager, Salesforce

• Bobbie LaFollette, Senior Business Analyst, Baker Hill

• Merri Beth Lavagnino, Executive Director, Compliance & Privacy, Indiana University Health Plan

• Melissa Lavella, Senior Quality Supervisor, Roche Diagnostics

• Patsy Lentz, Retired Business Development Professional

• Wendy Maple, Outreach Consultant, netlogx

• Jane Richardson, Executive Director, IT Strategy and Corporate Strategic Alignment, Cummins Inc.

• Audrey Taylor, Founder, and CEO, netlogx

• Tiffany Trusty, President, Trusty Applications and Manager, Mobile Medical Apps, Eli Lilly and Company

“Women & Hi Tech is pleased to welcome five new members of our board, and to celebrate a new board position,” said Linda Hicks, President of Women & Hi Tech. “I know we’ll continue our legacy of having a highly-inclusive environment with Joy Neeley leading our Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategies. I’m also excited about the fresh perspectives and ideas our new board members will bring to the table, including getting a pulse of female STEM professionals’ needs outside of central Indiana. We have two new board members joining us from the western and northern parts of the state.” 

Hicks mentioned several upcoming October events she is excited to celebrate with the membership. “We’re having our biennial member retreat in October at French Lick. That’s going to be a great time for networking and professional development. We have also been selected to present our OperationAll™ programming at the Society of Women Engineers National Conference that will be held in downtown Indianapolis in late October. We have assembled a panel of accomplished and sincere male allies who will convey to attendees what it means for men to be an ally to their female staff, peers, colleagues and friends.”

Hicks elaborated on the year ahead, “We have six core strategic objectives: drive our EDI initiatives, including improving diversity of membership; expand our programming across the state; develop a revenue generation plan that supports the growth we’re planning for; get to know our members better to drive better programming decision making; improve our communications and marketing; and grow partnership relationships.”

Hicks is confident this team will achieve all those objectives. “We’re a high-achieving group of professionals who individually have a strong passion for driving inclusivity in STEM professions. Collectively, our re-elected and emeritus members already have fantastic teamwork, collaboration and respect for each other and our members.  We are confident the organization will only be elevated by the addition of our new peers. We will set goals and then put the plans in place to get it done. That’s what we do well together.”

Dear Members, Sponsors, Volunteers, Supporters, and Friends,

June has been an exciting month for Women & Hi Tech!  We hosted our inaugural Multicultural Celebration, which was also our first in-person event since the onset of the pandemic. We also virtually hosted our second quarter Women & Hi Tech's Executive Women's Forum: Let’s Talk About Your Cyber Hygiene. If you missed the Executive Women's Forum, be sure to watch the recording. And, we hosted our Q2 virtual Book Club discussion about the book Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi!

We have also been celebrating throughout the month that June is Pride month. Women & Hi Tech affirms its commitment to an inclusive, equitable and welcoming environment for everyone. We stand with our LGBTQIA+ community in celebrating historic triumphs and advocating for continued equality for all.  Happy Pride month, everyone!

I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge that Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, is now a Federal holiday.  Juneteenth commemorates the day June 19, 1865, which is the effective end of slavery in America – this is such a significant day in our country’s history. May we all use this opportunity to learn about the importance of June 19th and celebrate the resilience and contributions of African Americans – past and present – to our country as we strive for continued equality for all.

June also marks the end of the 2021-2022 board term and the welcoming in of the new 2021-2022 board, being led by Linda Hicks, Women & Hi Tech’s new President effective July 1, 2021.

I would like to thank you all for this incredible opportunity to serve as the 2021-2022 President of such an impactful and empowering organization. For over 20 years Women & Hi Tech had been serving the Indiana STEM community and has blazed trails, used our voices, and taken action to make a difference and change the landscape of women represented in STEM to be equally inclusive to all.  I am honored and humbled to be a part of such an important, worthy, needed, and wanted change! Thank you! 

The 2020 – 2021 board term was an extremely memorable year for Women & Hi Tech in so many ways.  And I am honored to share with you we saw record numbers in program variety and participation, sponsorship, mentorship, membership giving, scholarships and grants awarded and overall community engagement.

• In July of 2020, the current Board of Directors was unanimously elected, which is the most diverse Board in Women & Hi Tech's history – by age, gender, ethnicity or race, STEM expertise, professional experience, and so much more.
• We introduced new programs including Women & Hi Tech’s Virtual Quarterly Book Club, led by our current Secretary, Kelly Sandstrom.
• We hosted our second round of W&HT’s ClickSide Chat series which was created at the onset of stay at home orders. This series serves as a mid-week touch-point for Women & Hi Tech members to connect, engage, and encourage each other via a moderated discussion format hosted by Women & Hi Tech Board Members.
• We virtually visited colleges and universities around Indiana and spoke to hundreds of girls about working in tech and STEM careers.
• Women & Hi Tech hosted our first-ever Virtual Leading Light Awards and Scholarship gala in October of 2020. We brought together over 500 registered attendees in our STEM community and awarded over $58,000 of scholarships and grants to 17 women and girls in Indiana who plan to remain in Indiana for their careers.

Beyond this being our first virtual gala, the 2020 LLAs had a lot of other firsts.

• Notably, we awarded the largest amount of scholarships and grants Women & Hi Tech has provided at one time in our history.
• We also had the most diverse group of award and scholarship and grants recipients well as the most diverse panel of judges ever.
• Also new, we honored our Indiana #STEM community with an #INthistogether video tribute for all of the amazing work our STEM community has been doing to overcome challenges created by the pandemic.  And we created the Women & Hi Tech  #INthistogether Scholarship.  This was our first ever member funded scholarship which raised over $3300 for our recipient LaJoi Shelton Robinson. 
• We also introduced a second new scholarship. 2020 marked the inaugural awarding of the Rare Nickel Scholarship. This $5000 scholarship celebrates the first five women who received Spotlight Awards in 2000. Each year it is awarded, this scholarship will continue their legacy of paving the way for future generations of female STEM leaders in Indiana. The first recipient of this new Rare Nickel Scholarship was Marielle Berin, BS Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University.
• Last but certainly not least, Women & Hi Tech also introduced and 2 new Leading Light Awards in 2020: the Women & Hi Tech Equity and Inclusion Champion Leading Light Award and the Women & Hi Tech OperationALL Male Allies Award.

Our Inaugural Multicultural Celebration earlier this month was hosted at the beautiful Indiana State Museum Great Hall! It was an amazing evening filled with cultural education, art, music from the live band Chamber Music, festivity, cultural food, dancing and networking. 

Over the past board term, we have also made progress on our 2-year strategy including:

• New governance policies, including revising and ratifying our bylaws to include our DE&I statement, whichyou can check out on our website. We also created policies including partnership guidelines, code of conduct and conflict of interest.
• We also went live with our Salesforce.com implementation – to help enable easy tracking, documenting and organized data.
• We’ve increased the financial acumen, maturity, and security of our organization.
• I am also honored and delighted to share that we have retired our Volunteer Director role in order to introduce our new role, DE&I Director which is an additional step Women & Hi Tech has taken to ensure the organization continues to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion for all women, in STEM and beyond.

Advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion for all is at the core of Women & Hi Tech. And we are pleased with the positive change to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion that is evident not only within our organization but for so many more Indiana women and girls in STEM because of the impact of our 2020-2021 programming, events, scholarships, grants and awards. We also understand the work for true equity and inclusion for all women and girls in Indiana is far from done. Despite our society’s current challenges, Women & Hi Tech remains committed, strategic, and actionable to further our mission - to make STEM equally inclusive to all – and to serve our members, sponsors, partners, and friends in the Indiana STEM community.

It’s really been an incredible Board term!  And none of this would be possible without our dedicated and passionate, Board of Directors, Sponsors and Members.

I sincerely thank all of our corporate and collegiate sponsors for their continued support and engagement – we appreciate your generosity in helping us continue to advance our mission.

To our members---- Thank you for believing in Women & Hi Tech’s mission and for supporting, encouraging, and cheering one another on!  Thank you for volunteering, mentoring, and being engaged and active members of Women & Hi Tech’s programs. Every day, you support professional women in STEM, collegiate women, and inspire the next generation of K -12 girls to pursue an interest in STEM. 

To the 2020 -2021 Board of Directors and Emeritus members -----Thank you to each of you for your passion, dedication, and fervor to so generously share your time, talents and treasures serving on this Board.  I thank you for all your support, for your creativity, for your ideas, and for being courageous and taking a stand for something so much bigger than ourselves.  Each of you have left your fingerprints all over this organization and Women & Hi Tech is even better because of your contributions.  It has truly been my honor and pleasure to serve with you amazing humans.  I am humbled and proud to call each of you my friend and part of my crew – thank you so very much.  And thank you for making our world a better place, by changing the landscape of women represented in STEM to be equally inclusive to all!  Virtual round of applause!!!

2021-2022 Board of Directors and Emeritus members----  I can’t wait to see what you are going to do and how you will continue to advance Women & Hi Tech and serve our members, sponsors, partners, friends and the Indiana STEM community! I look forward to continuing to serve alongside each of you in the Past President role.

In our 29th edition of "Grown from STEM" we are excited to be featuring Women & Hi Tech’s Executive Women’s Forum (EWF) Director, Linda Calvin and our dedicated member, Tosin Ajayi. Both Calvin and Ajayi are highly accomplished in their respective tech disciplines and share how their unique journeys led to their success and passion for tech. Calvin and Ajayi are champions for diversity, equity, and inclusion for all, particularly for women in STEM, in their careers, volunteerism, and personal lives. Please read more about Calvin and Ajayi and how their backgrounds, STEM expertise, and passion for equity and inclusion for girls and female STEM professionals helps fuel their support and involvement in Women & Hi Tech.

As we began in the October 2020 edition of "Grown from STEM," we are delighted to continue to feature one of our 2020 Virtual Leading Light Awards (LLAs) recipients in this newsletter. This month we continue to celebrate and recognize Women & Hi Tech's You Inspire US! Leading Light Award recipient Rupal Thanawala. Rupal’s professional excellence stems from the value and enhancements that she cultivates within the companies and organizations that she serves. Building world-class innovative solutions for customers, positioning digital transformation as a value creator, fostering diverse & inclusive team culture and building a pipeline of future workforce for the tech industry is just a day in the life of Rupal.

Please watch this segment of the 2020 Virtual LLAs to learn more about what fuels Rupal's passion and drive for equality for all in the STEM fields and beyond. Again, Congratulations Rupal!

Sincerely, 

Rebecca Bormann
Women & Hi Tech President