
Member Spotlight on Glacier Computer, LLC
Glacier Computer designs, manufactures and supports rugged industrial computers for a variety of industries including warehousing, freight, manufacturing, construction, and public safety. Glacier units are designed to withstand the rigors of harsh environments... -->Read on
July 2008
SCIP CT Meeting: Text Analytics for Competitive Intelligence and Market Research
7/9/2008, 5:30 PM
UConn-Stamford Campus
CT Growth Network - Soundview Innovation Cell 7/08
7/15/2008, 12:00 PM
The Marriott Hotel, Stamford, 16th floor
New Haven Growth Network - Sail into Summer Technology Networking Event
7/22/2008, 5:00 PM
Leon's Restaurant, New Haven
August 2008
CT Growth Network - Soundview Innovation Cell 8/08
8/19/2008, 12:00 PM
The Marriott Hotel, Stamford, 16th floor
September 2008
MEDi 2008
9/9/2008, 9:00 AM
Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford
Connecticut Technology Council Recognizes Women Innovators
Second Annual 2006 Women of Innovation Leadership Awards Dinner

2006 Honorees at the Women in Innovation Award Dinner
The Connecticut Technology Council held its second annual Women of Innovation Awards Dinner on January 19 2006. Nearly 450 attendees came out to hear keynoter Elaine Pullen, Chief Technology Officer for Gerber Scientific Products give an inspiring speech that took us from her early days in Cambridge, England to her current post at Gerber. Along the way she recounted her struggle to be allowed to take physics at an all-boys school and how she became one of the early experts in ink-jet technology which propelled her career. But her message and charge to the audience was clear from the beginning: “ We can all help encourage others to pursue a love of technology. We need more women in science - we need them in the class rooms, and we need them in the board rooms”.
But the most exciting portion of the evening came when emcee and radio personality Diane Smith opened the seven envelopes to announce the winners. Honored again this year were women who are innovators, role models, and leaders, and included researchers and educators and a key administrator at a large Connecticut pharmaceutical. The high school winner gave a moving acceptance speech that showed poise and determination.
The winners were selected by the Women of Innovation Planning Committee, a group of 15 volunteers headed by Beth Alquist, a trial attorney at Day, Berry & Howard and by Denise Savage a managing director who leads St. Paul Travelers’ global technology unit in New England and upstate New York.
We also honor the full class of 2006 finalists, each and every one is an outstanding woman working in Science and technology.
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Judith Auslander, Senior Fellow, Pitney Bowes Judith Auslander is a Senior Fellow and the only female member of the technical ladder (a distinguished parallel professional carrier path) at Pitney Bowes. She is responsible for developing postal inks for the company’s postage meter product line and other unique inks for security and bar codes. Judith is the inventor of more than 25 patents with 27 more pending and author of 23 scientific publications. Judith is considered the Company’s chief chemist. Her expertise in postal inks is widely recognized by her peers in the scientific community. She functions also as a strategist and when required, she takes on a project management role accomplishing the R&D projects related to postal inks. In 1997 she was awarded the highest individual award for technical excellence within the company, the Walter Wheeler Award for Outstanding Performance. She co-chaired international working groups on postal ink standards and is a member of the Mail Strategy Council which advises the USPS on future technologies. She has chaired and organized sessions on ink jet and given papers at international conferences on digital printing. She holds a Masters of Science in Organic Chemistry and Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. |
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Lucy Baney, President & CEO, Access Technologies Group, Inc. Lucy Baney’s technology career includes systems and application programming, sales, product mar keting, and product development. Lucy’s career with IBM included management and executive posi tions in marketing of PC operating systems, Open Client/Server Distributed Computing, and Open Distributed Objects. Ms. Baney acquired ATG in 1996, transforming it from sales consulting into an Internet application development company for e-learning courseware, simulations development tools, e-learning authoring and e-learning infrastructure tools. Her board activities include Norwalk Community College’s Foundation Board, The Business Council of Fairfield County, Academy of Information Technology, National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies (Seattle) and the Icelandic-American Chamber of Commerce. |
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Jeannine Bartlett, Vice President, Product Strategy and Development, Protegrity Corp. Jeannine Bartlett is a dynamic executive leader with an extensive background in software develop ment, marketing and strategy. Ms. Bartlett’s experience spans security software, web technologies, distributed applications, DBMS technologies and other enterprise software and services. She has held executive roles in startup and public companies, guided four acquisitions, and negotiated more than 20 partner relationships. Her track record for success reflects a keen understanding of market dynamics, customer and sales needs, emerging technologies and financial viability. From small teams to international business units with 100+ direct reports, Ms. Bartlett has consistently built world-class organizations which exceed internal and external expectations. |
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Christine Broadbridge, Professor, Southern Connecticut State University Dr. Broadbridge obtained a Ph.D. degree from Brown University where she conducted research in materials science and semiconductor electronics. At Trinity College she established a microscopy facility while creating a successful recruitment and retention initiative. In 1998, she was appointed Visiting Fellow at Yale University. In 2000 she joined the Physics faculty at SCSU where she created a facility for nanocharacterization. Dr. Broadbridge has numerous publications and grants and recently obtained a $7.5M National Science Foundation grant to create a joint science center with Yale/ SCSU/Brookhaven. She is both the Education Director and a Senior Researcher for this Center. |
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Diane Burgess, Professor of Pharmaceutics, University of Connecticut Dr. Burgess was the 2002 President of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. She was recipient of the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award (2005 and 1992). She runs a multi discipli nary laboratory with research efforts focusing on drug delivery systems and biosensors. Dr. Burgess is editor of the Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology and serves on the editorial boards of five international pharmaceutical journals: She is a United States Pharmacopeia expert committee member and consults for the Food and Drug Administration as well as for pharmaceutical, food, cosmetic and other industries. |
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Virginia Cargill, CEO, SignStorey, Inc. Virginia Cargill has over 25 years of experience in the consumer packaged goods and in-store marketing industries. She began her career at General Mills (1976-1980). In 1980, she joined International Playtex, Inc. where she became a Marketing Director. Shortly thereafter she was recruited to Proctor & Gamble where she was a Marketing Manager on the cough products (Vicks and Formula 44) 1980-1985. In 1985, Ms. Cargill moved to ActMedia Inc. where she helped to develop and manage the in-store promotional products. Over 12 years Ms. Cargill became a key member of the executive team and at the time of sale to News Corporation had been the Senior Vice President of Marketing & Operations and was the Senior Vice President of New Ventures. Ms. Cargill then moved on to become President of Lamaze Publishing Company in 1997. Lamaze Publishing was sold to iVillage, Inc. in 1999 for $100 million. Ms. Cargill remained as President of Lamaze Publishing until July 2001. Ms. Cargill became a founder-principal of New! Communications and in October. In May, 2002 SignStorey acquired New! Communications and Ms. Cargill joined the company as President and CEO., SignStorey is now installed in over 2,000 stores. Over 50 consumer packaged goods brands have participated in the program to date. Ms. Cargill is a graduate of Wellesley College and North-western Kellogg School of Management. She is also involved in several educational and community boards including Pomfret School, Fairfield Country Day School, and the Pequot Library in Southport. Ms. Cargill is also the Founding Editor of a new bi-monthly magazine, Caring Today, launched in November, 2004. |
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Christine Casey, Director of Educational Initiatives, By Kids For Kids Dr. Casey’s thirty year career in education has focused on creating educational opportunities for underserved populations through leveraging partnerships with private industry. As the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction for the Stamford Public Schools, she lead the team that created the nationally award winning Academy of Information Technology. As Director of Educational Initiatives for By Kids For Kids Co. (www.bkfk.com ), she led the development of the BKFK/XEROX Inventive Thinking Toolkit. This unique toolkit offers resources to teachers and promotes project based learning and development of student real world inventions. Dr. Casey holds a Doctorate and two Masters Degrees from Columbia University, Teachers College and a Masters Degree from Hunter College in New York City. |
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Danielle D’Ermo, Assistant Director, ISD, The Hartford Insurance Company Danielle D’Ermo joined The Hartford on August 27, 2001. Her group focuses on The Hartford’s Convergence Strategy, Enterprise Voice Applications for the Call Centers such as Computer Telephony Integration, Multi- Site Call Routing, Workforce Management, E911, Voice over IP and Mobility solutions. Prior to joining The Hartford, Danielle managed the Software Provisioning group at Avaya. Danielle has worked in the telecommunications industry since 1978 when she joined Mountain Bell in Boulder Colorado. She has had a well rounded career in the field of telecommunications. Michele has a degree from The University of Hartford in Communications and Psychology. |
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Jane Donn, Director of Operations, Center for 21st Century Skills Jane Donn works for the EDUCATION CONNECTION, one of Connecticut’s six Regional Service Centers whose mission as the regional educational service center in western Connecticut is to promote the success of school districts and their communities. Jane manages its Center for 21st Century Skills which is designed to engage Connecticut high school students and teachers in a comprehensive Information Technology Research and Design project and challenge them to use technology to think creatively and work collaboratively. She has worked in the field of education for over 20 years. She has relentless passion for education and high school reform. She has created both student and teacher training programs that have both challenged and rewarded participants. She has developed a dynamic regional student internship program that introduces students to a variety of health care careers. The program has grown from a few students to close to a hundred. In addition to the internship program, Jane manages several projects, including a state wide initiative called Connecticut Career Choices. This state wide effort works to build student competency in technology through innovation in teaching and learning. It challenges both teachers and students to build skills critical for survival in the 21st Century economy. |
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Judith Donnelly, Professor, Three Rivers Community College Judy Donnelly has been a professor of physics at Three Rivers Community College since 1978. With the assistance of an industry advisory committee, she developed TRCC’s Photonics Engineering Technology AS program, the College’s Continuing Education Fiber Optics Institute, and the online Certificate in Photonics Technology. She currently teaches the optics, laser technology and fiber optics courses in the associate degree program. She has completed two educator externships inthe photonics industry, and has provided optics training to employees of several photonics companies in Connecticut. She was selected Educator of the Year by SPIE (the International Society for Optical Engineering) in 2003 and is profiled in the SPIE Women in Optics calendar for 2006. She has served as Principal Investigator on several NSF grants for laboratory improvement and teacher professional development in optics. She holds a B.S. degree in Chemical-Physics from Tufts University and an M.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Connecticut. |
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Heidi Douglas, Founder & CEO, MysticMD, Inc. Heidi Douglas is the President and CEO of MysticMD Inc., an early stage nanotechnology company headquartered in Groton. Prior to starting MysticMD, she was a partner in the High Tech Industry practice of Deloitte Consulting, managing some of the firm’s largest engagements at Fortune 100 companies. Ms. Douglas began her career in the pharmaceutical industry more than twenty-five years ago holding various management positions at Pfizer Inc. and Syntex Inc. She received a B.S. in Biological Science (microbiology) from the University of Connecticut, an M.S. in Computer and Information Science from the University of New Haven and an M.B.A. in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. |
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Susan Farricielli, CEO, A.K.A. Prototype Susan Farricielli has been developing a kinetic seating system for the wheelchair which she hopes to put into production in 2006. She currently teaches a course on Materials at the Yale School of Architecture as well Design Innovation to the business students at Quinnipiac University. She holds a BFA in Sculpture from Northern Kentucky University and a Masters Degree in Industrial Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Design Arts award (1995) for a wheelchair design for the elderly. She owns A.K.A. Prototype in Branford. |
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Susan Froshauer, President & CEO, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Susan Froshauer, Ph.D. is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, a structure-based drug design company focused on the design and development of next generation antibiotics effective against serious, drug-resistant bacteria. Dr. Froshauer began to build Rib-X in June, 2001 in collaboration with scientists from Yale University. Since the inception of the Company, Susan Froshauer has raised over $73 MM in private equity. Rib-X took shape subsequent to Dr. Froshauer’s departure from Pfizer, where she spent over 11 years. Dr. Froshauer spent five years at Pfizer in research, managing an antibacterial and immune enhancer drug discovery laboratory whose projects largely focused on identifying agents to treat respiratory tract infections. Later, as part of the business group at Pfizer, Dr. Froshauer’s accomplishments include “The Big Four”, a suite of integrated technology collaborations and an expansion of The Drug Pfinder Program. In 2000, she received the Pfizer Central Research Award in recognition of The Big Four investments. In addition to serving on the Rib-X Board, Dr. Froshauer also serves on the boards of the Connecticut based organizations, CURE and CBIA. Most recently, she has served on Connecticut’s Technology Transfer and Commercialization Advisory Board of the Governor’s Competitiveness Council. Dr. Froshauer obtained her Ph.D. from Harvard University in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics in 1985 and then performed three years of post-doctoral research in the Cell Biology Department at Yale. She has also pursued her research interests at Massachusett’s Institute of Technology and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories. |
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Laura Daversa Gariepy, Vice President-Strategic Planning, St. Paul Travelers Laura Daversa Gariepy provides thought leadership, best practices and oversight to 1,000 IT leaders and staff, helping deliver strategically-aligned solutions while ensuring quality, compliance and business value is measured and maximized. Her 17-year employment history includes: Andersen Consulting where she built the first healthcare consulting practice in the northeast region for Andersen, running her own consulting business, and growing several start-up software companies, including developing one of the first distributed, objected oriented electronic medical record (EMR) solutions with a Silicon Valley software company. Other accomplishments include defining and launching one of the first “Pay for Quality” provider incentive programs with a large health insurer and pioneering a “Women in Engineering” dual-degree program between Mount Holyoke and Dartmouth Colleges. |
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Jennifer Hall, Senior Engineer, Pratt & Whitney In her current capacity at Pratt & Whitney, Jennifer Hall is the Structures Integration Lead on the fan module of the company’s latest commercial engine program which will power the new Airbus A380. Last year, Jennifer and her team were awarded the ASME Engineer of the Year Award. In her career at Pratt, Jennifer has worked on a variety of commercial and military programs, as well as several technology demonstrators. Jennifer joined Pratt & Whitney in 1996. Outside of working at Pratt, Jennifer dedicates her time to mentoring students from the Hartford Public School’s US FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics team. 2006 will be Jennifer’s 7th year as a mentor and her 3rd as the team’s co-lead. Jennifer holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Boston University and a MS in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. |
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Pamela Hansen, Customer First Leader, Westinghouse Electric Company Pam Hansen has 27 years of experience providing engineering leadership for multiple Westinghouse projects. Ms. Hansen’s strengths include formulating solutions to technical problems, design development, communication skills, and successful collaboration on teams with domestic and international customers. In her latest endeavor, Pam’s knowledge and experience in Lean Enterprise and Six Sigma theory and the tools of Human Performance and Precision Leadership will aid her greatly in her primary responsibility, ensuring the continued and consistent deployment of improvement initiatives in the Windsor Components Manufacturing facility as well as at organizations at all Westinghouse nuclear fuel sites in the U.S. |
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Carol Homon, Director, Biomolecular Screening, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Carol Homon joined Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in 1982 as a Biochemist III after eleven years with Wyeth Laboratories. Over the last 24 years, she has advanced through many scientific levels to her present position where she directs operations related to lead identification for drug discovery. Carol’s broad scientific background and interest in new technologies was a perfect match for the new field of high throughput screening. Her innovations include new robotics and several new products that solved process problems. Carol has been an invited speaker at many international meetings. |
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Karen Houseknecht, Associate Research Fellow, Pfizer Karen joined Pfizer in 1998 and is currently Associate Research Fellow in the Department of Cardiovascular, Metabolic and Endocrine Diseases. Karen received her Ph.D. from Cornell University, and post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School. Prior to Pfizer, Karen was Assistant Professor of Endocrinology & Metabolism at Purdue University and Visiting Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Karen is the author of more than 40 scientific publications and she currently directs a lab focusing on discovering new therapies to treat Type 2 diabetes. Throughout her career, Karen has been an advocate for women in science, serving as a mentor bothin academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Karen is Past-President of the Pfizer Women’s Leadership Network and is the recipient of the 2005 Power of Women Award. Karen holds adjunct faculty positions at Purdue University and Salve Regina University. |
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Nancy Hutson, |
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Mary Inguanti, |
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Rosemary Johnson-Hurzeler, President and CEO, Connecticut Hospice For over thirty years, Rosemary Johnson-Hurzeler has been the inspirational leader integrating the most advanced medical technology for symptom and pain management with nursing’s loving human touch of compassionate care for the dying and their families. As a nurse and CEO, Rosemary continues to lead Connecticut Hospice, America’s first hospice, building the first freestanding American hospital-hospice in Branford, to conceiving and completing its current waterfront adaptive reuse of the former Echlin headquarters campus as the current flagship hospital-hospice. She has pioneered home care and dedicated beds in hospitals and skill nursing facilities across the state, and mentored other hospices into being across the nation as well as internationally. She has inspired the hospice movement broadly that in just three decades has come to be considered a matter of course in our society in large part because of her leadership. |
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Carla Juhas, Manager of Product Engineering, FuelCell Energy, Inc. Carla Juhas was recently named Manager of Development Engineering at FuelCell Energy Inc. In this role, she directs product development of cutting edge alternative power technology, with the goal of providing an energy solution that is reliable, cost-efficient and environmentally responsible. This follows five years of FuelCell Energy management assignments in Product Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Project Management. She piloted programs that successfully reduced costs, improved reliability, and implemented methods to accelerate the design and development of both prototype and commercial systems. Prior to FuelCell, Carla had a key role in the women’s health segment of the medical imaging field, holding a variety of leadership positions for Lorad Corporation, a world leader in mammography technology. She successfully led the efforts to transfer new technology in breast cancer detection to commercial products that brought practical and significant benefits to patient care and treatment. Carla also held engineering positions at IBM Fishkill, where she honed her technical and process skills. Carla holds an MBA from New York University, an MS in Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology. |
| Liisa Kuhn, Assistant Professor, UConn Health Center Dr. Liisa Kuhn received her Ph.D. in materials science from the University of California-Santa Barbara in 1992. After several years as a post-doc at Case Western Reserve University and Harvard Medical School, she started her own biomaterials company in Boston. Since 2002 Dr. Kuhn has held an Assistant Professor position in the dental school of the University of Connecticut Health Center. She maintains her entrepreneurial spirit by focusing her research on technologies that can be quickly translated into the clinical setting. She is currently developing drug delivery systems for anti-cancer therapies and bone-enhancing dental implants. |
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Sherry Manetta, |
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Martha Matteo, Director, Knowledge Management & R&D Planning, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Martha Matteo is Director of Knowledge Management (KM) and R&D Planning at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BIPI). In this capacity, she has overseen the development of internal capabilities in e-collaboration, competitive technical intelligence and R&D portfolio management. Currently, she is focusing on the development of strategic external collaborations. Dr. Matteo joined BIPI in 1980, as a Senior Principal Biochemist specializing in immunology and inflammation. In 1988, she founded the first competitive technical intelligence (CTI) function and has collaboratedwith R&D and corporate colleagues to develop it into a global capability. Dr. Matteo has been an active member and leader in several cross-industry organizations. In 2005, she represented BIPI on Governor Rell’s Technology Transfer Advisory Council and is currently Co-Chair of the Biosciences Cluster for the State of Connecticut. Dr. Matteo received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Brandeis University, following a BA in Biology from the University of Rochester. |
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Patrice Milos, |
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Mina Mina, Professor, School of Dental Medicine, University of Connecticut Mina Mina is a professor and Chair of the Division of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Connecticut Health Center School of Dental Medicine. In 2004 she was a fellow in American Dental Education Association leadership Institute. She is a member of the Editorial board of the Journal of Dental Research and was the 2004 president of the Mineralized tissue group of the International Association of Dental Research. She runs an active research program focused on craniofacial biology that has been supported by NIH/NIDCR. She is a member of NIDCR study section and the 2006 recipient of the International Association for Dental Research distinguished science award for Craniofacial Biology Research |
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Jana Moak, President & CEO, Control Module, Inc. Jana Moak is President and CEO of Control Module Incorporated, where she is responsible for the strategic planning and execution of the company’s long-range plan for growth, while continuing the quality, innovation and reliability of CMI’s offerings, and ensuring the satisfaction of the global customer base that characterizes this 35-year-old company. An investment banker previous to joining CMI, Jana brings to the company her relationships in the technology industry and her considerable business contacts. These, combined with CMI’s existing customer-base and product leadership, are expected to enhance existing sales channels with new dimensions, geographies, concepts and strategic partnerships. |
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Kristin Muschett, Chief Executive Officer, HABCO, Inc. Kristin Muschett is President of HABCO, Inc., a company founded in 1970 that designs and builds equipment for testing of components and assemblies for aerospace, power generation, and the automotive industries. Under Kristin’s leadership, HABCO has generated $6M a year in annual sales revenues and has grown 50% in the past three years alone. Kristin implemented a “lean” manufacturing approach in 2002 that resulted in increased shop floor usage, improved product flow, reduction in inventories, and creation of a standard products work cell area. Kristin also has set up a more effective customer service plan that responds more quickly to customer inquiries. HABCO has been certified to ISO 9001 standards since 1998, and is currently AS9100: ISO9001:2000 certified. Kristin has a B.A. in Communications/Journalism from the University of Hartford. She is a member of ACM (Aerospace Component Manufacturers) Business Group and the Connecticut High Tech Manufacturing Council Board. |
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Bhaktapriya Nagalla, Student, Farmington High School Bhaktapriya Nagalla is a senior at Farmington High School and the Greater Hartford Academy of Math and Science. Since winning the International Brain Bee her sophomore year, she has been an advocate for public awareness in neuroscience, presenting at the 2005 Society for Neuroscience Conference. Now, in addition to research in neuroelectrophysiology and Parkinson’s Disease, she coordinates two regional Brain Bees, one in Connecticut and another for the non-profit North South Foundation. Also in her sophomore year, she co-founded the Dream FIRST program to inspire interest in science and technology at the elementary school level. FIRST Robotics awarded a test market year, guidance and use of their logo to Dream FIRST, which includes a teacher’s curriculum and the first of a series of children’s books to be published in the Spring. |
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Glennis Orloff, |
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Shelley Phelan, Associate Professor of Biology, Fairfield University Dr. Shelley A. Phelan is an Associate Professor of Biology at Fairfield University. She received her BA from Wellesley College in 1991, and Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology from Harvard University in 1997. After post-doctoral work at Jackson Laboratories, she joined the Fairfield faculty in 1999. She is the lead instructor, designer, and coordinator of the General Biology curriculum where she teaches inquiry-based laboratory and seminar courses in molecular cell biology. She is involved in several initiatives supporting female students in science, and she runs an active research lab where she and her undergraduates investigate antioxidant proteins in age-related diseases. |
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Aileen Phelps, |
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Elaine Price, Founder & Managing Director, |
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Elaine Pullen, Chief Technology Officer, Gerber Scientific, Inc. Elaine Pullen has career credentials that include new product development, leading technology based manufacturing companies and a successful IPO. She also serves the state in several volunteer board roles. Prior to becoming Gerber’s CTO, she was the President of Gerber Scientific Products, a Gerber business unit involved in the design and manufacture of systems, materials and software for sign making and commercial graphics and she was the President of Trident, an ITW Company based in Brookfield, CT, designing and manufacturing industrial ink jet printheads and inks. Elaine grew up in Cambridge, England. She has held a variety of technical, professional and management positions and has been an active proponent of encouraging women to pursue careers in science and engineering. In March 2005, Governor Rell appointed Elaine Chair of Connecticut Innovations Inc., the state’s quasi-private agency for economic development and risk capital investing in start-up and early stage companies. She is the immediate past-Chair of the CT Technology Council, a Vice Chair on the Governor’s Council for Economic Competitiveness and Technology and is a member of the CT Academy of Science and Engineering. She also serves on the board of Fargo Electronics, Inc. a NASDAQ company who develops and manufacturers secure card based identity systems. Elaine holds a bachelor’s degree in applied physics from the British Institute of Physics, London, England. |
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Ainissa Ramirez, |
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Ingrid Russell, Professor of Computer Science, University of Hartford Ingrid Russell is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Hartford. Her research interests are in artificial intelligence and computer science education. Her work has been funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Connecticut Space Grant Consortium. She has served on the board of directors of several computing organizations. She is a past president of the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges and is a founding member and first president of its Northeast region (CCSCNE). She has won several awards for her work, including a CCSCNE service award, a NASA Faculty Fellow award, and a Yale Prize Teaching Fellowship. |
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Kathy Saint, President & CEO, Schwerdtle Stamp Company Kathy Saint is President and CEO of The Schwerdtle Stamp Company, a 125 year old manufacturer of marking devices. Kathy is on the Board of Directors of the METAL Manufacturing Cluster (Manufacturing Education and Training Alliance) and chairs its Business Development Committee. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce and is a past President of the Chamber. Kathy is also a member of the Regional Advisory Council for Housatonic Community College and has also participated in a “Girls in Technology” day there for the past three years. This event highlights opportunities for women in careers involving manufacturing and technology. Kathy also worked with the Technology Committee of the METAL Cluster and Housatonic Community College to create a distance based learning program. This program was developed in partnership with CCAT (Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology) to deliver many of the courses for the two year degree in Manufacturing Technology via the internet. This two year degree in manufacturing combines teaching and training in order to deliver customized education directly to the shop floor and graduate students with an education that has effectively prepared them for a career in manufacturing. |
| Amy Steinmetz, Student, Amity Regional Senior High School Amy Steinmetz has been involved in several significant projects, including co-founding and operating an international and legislatively active cigarette butt litter prevention campaign. She mentored younger students and guided them in assessing the water quality of a local stream by analyzing multiple factors, including insect presence, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen levels. This fall, Amy raised funds for the American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina victim relief, which were matched by Nestle Corporation for a total donation of over $50,000. Amy plans to continue studying the sciences next year at Brown University and to become a medical doctor through the university’s eight-year program. |
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Linda Strausbaugh, Professor, University of Connecticut Dr. Linda Strausbaugh is a professor of molecular and cell biology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Connecticut who has made significant contributions to UConn and the community through teaching, scientific research, and sharing her expertise with the state’s biotechnology community. The University dedicated in 2005 the Center for Applied Genetics and Technologies that Dr. Strausbaugh founded and directs. Through Lindas vision and the backing of a $2 million grant from the National Institute of Justice, the College has brought together collaborators in academe, industry, and government to offer basic genomics research capabilities with expertise in forensics applications. Dr. Strausbaugh’s work on new DNA typing techniques has led to partnerships with the Connecticut State Police Forensic Laboratory and biotechnology companies and has provided her students with a pipeline to careers in science. As an educational leader and entrepreneur, Linda was instrumental in attracting an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant to help establish three professional masters degrees at UConn to prepare students for high-tech careers. Linda has developed a summer institute in forensic science and biotechnology to give high school teachers hands-on instruction and help them bring biotechnology into their classrooms, teaching the next generation of scientists. Linda joined the faculty in 1980 and was honored in 1997 as a University Teaching Fellow for her dedication to teaching. Her research interests include the structure, regulation, and evolution of multi-gene families and have resulted in numerous publications and presentations. |
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Susan Strausberg, CEO, EDGAR Online, Inc. Susan Strausberg co-founded EDGAR Online in 1995. She serves as a member of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer, President and Secretary. She holds a B.A. degree from Sarah Lawrence College. Ms. Strausberg is a true entrepreneur. Early in her career she founded two publishing companies, specializing in providing textbooks to the college market. Each was acquired by well known publishers. She then switched sides and wrote “The Women’s Guide to Books”, a two volume catalog of works written by notable women. She went on to establish a book fulfillment company in partnership with McCall’s Magazine. From publishing she moved to film, starting her own film development company which co-produced a documentary about Kansas City Jazz entitled “The Last of the Blue Devils.” Following that, she produced “It Came from Hollywood,” a Paramount Pictures film. Prior to founding EDGAR Online, Ms. Strausberg co-founded Internet Financial Network (IFN), an EDGAR-based financial information vendor. IFN was acquired by America Online, a division of Time Warner, Inc. Ms. Strausberg has received numerous awards recognizing her success as a businesswoman. She has been featured in many articles as the CEO/spokesperson for EDGAR Online and was the subject of a chapter in DotCom Divas, a compilation of biographies of important women in the emerging Internet business world. She appears regularly on industry panels to discuss financial and business issues as well as emerging trends in the information industry. |
| Linda Thomas, Managing Principal, Dynamic Metals International, LLC Linda Thomas is founder and President of Dynamic Metals International, LLC. Linda graduated cum laude from Hood College, Frederick, MD in 1979 with a B.A. in International Management with a Spanish minor. She began her career in the field of metals in 1980 as a research analyst for the Bethlehem Steel Corp. She eventually migrated to Field Sales and has held various Sales and Management positions with metal-related companies. The majority of her career was with Allvac, an Allegheny Co. where she served as Northeast Regional Sales Manager. In 1999, Linda resigned from Allvac and founded Dynamic Metals, a stocking distributor of various grades of specialty metals. The company started with three employees and less than $1Million in sales their first year. In four years the company has grown to seven employees and is approaching $4 Million in sales. Linda serves as a mentor at the local elementary school and is a member of the Education & Business Partnership Council. Linda is a Board member of the Young People’s Theater. She is a long-time member and Past Chairperson of the CT Chapter of the American Society for Metals. Linda is a NAWBO member currently serving in the capacity as Director of Corporate Development for the CT Chapter. Linda was voted the 2003 Outstanding NAWBO CT Woman Business Owner of the Year. Dynamic Metals has been recognized for the past three years as one of the Top 50 Diversity Owned Businesses in Connecticut. |
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Dr. Xiuchun (Cindy) Tian, |
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Olga Toro, Assistant Professor, Pediatric Cardiac Association Dr. Olga Toro is Assistant professor of pediatrics at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford. As a pediatric cardiologist, she has great expertise in the field of non-invasive pediatric cardiology and as such is involved with the care of highly critically ill children with very complex congenital heart disease. Dr. Toro has recently developed a comprehensive congenital heart disease cardiac magnetic resonance imaging program at the Children’s Hospital in collaboration with Hartford Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital. This new technique allows providers to examine the most complicated heart abnormalities in children and little babies without the need of painful invasive procedures. Dr. Toro is also a great humanitarian. She was instrumental in bringing state of the art cardiac specialty care to poor children afflicted with serious congenital heart disease in Paraguay. She organized a team of surgeons, an anesthesiologist and an intensive care specialist and brought them to Paraguay. Under her leadership they were able to save the lives of eight children with life threatening heart disease. |
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Karen Coale Tracey, Professor and Department Chair, Central Connecticut State University Dr. Karen Coale Tracey is professor and chair of the Computer Electronics and Graphics Technology (CEGT) Department at Central Connecticut State University. Karen has been teaching at CCSU since 1989 and has been chair of the CEGT department since its inception in 2002. The CEGT department is home to Bachelor of Science Degrees in Electronics, Computer Engineering Technology, and Industrial Technology with specializations in Graphics Technology and Networking Technology and an interdisciplinary MS in Computer Information Technology. |
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The Weaver Beavers, Jericha Hatten, Joanne Edwards and Simone Sweeney, Hartford Public Schools Jericha Hatten, Joanne Edwards and Simone Sweeney are three students who designed a magnetic levitation car that won the AASHTO National Design-Build contest in 2004. Out of a possible 10,000 points, the Weaver Beaver team received almost 9,000 points and had a 200 point margin over the second place team. The Weaver Team members are now high-ranking juniors. Each student has a continuing interest in engineering and technology careers. This interest has been nurtured by their work in the Connecticut Pre-Engineering Program (CPEP). |
Committee Members
Barbara Bélon President Bélon Support Services
Lucy Brakoniecki Gender Equity Specialist Connecticut Women’s Education & Legal Fund
Grace Figueredo Director, Work Force Diversity United Technologies Corporation
Steve Gaynes Vice President Cashman + Katz Integrated Communications
Maria Gigliotti Sr. Clinical Scientist Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Diane Goldsmith Dean of Planning, Research, and Assessment CT Distance Learning Consortium
Eileen Hasson President The Computer Company
Jeanie Houghton Vice President AT&T Connecticut
Mary Norris Partner Wiggin and Dana LLP
Paige Rasid Marketing & Operations Manager Connecticut Technology Council
Michael Scricca Membership Director Connecticut Technology Council
Sondra Schneider CEO Security University
Sush Tripathi President IT Source
Karen Vogel President New Generation Event Consulting
Yuling Wu Director, Systems Labs Pitney Bowes Inc.