Women Of Innovation

Connecticut Technology Council
Recognizes Women Innovators
Third Annual 2007 Women of Innovation Leadership Awards Dinner

 

Winners
Pictured from left to right:

Diane Smith, WTIC News Radio 1080
Beth Alquist, Partner, Day Pitney
Lucy Baney, President & CEO, Access Technologies Group
Jennifer Good, President & CEO, Penwest Pharmaceuticals
Kristyn Greco, Graduate Student, University of Connecticut
Patty Sue Williams, President & CEO, Telesis LLC
Rebecca Rhoads, CIO, Raytheon Company
Dr. Nita Maihle, Professor, Yale University School of Medicine
Leslie Abi-Karam, Executive Vice President and President, Document Messaging Technologies, Pitney Bowes, Inc.
Mei Wei, Assistant Professor School of Pharmacy, University of Connecticut
Quing Zhu, Associate Professor, University of Connecticut
Julie Henion, High School Student, Watertown High School
Toni Hoover, Senior Vice President, Pfizer

2007 Honorees at the Women of Innovation Awards Dinner

The Connecticut Technology Council held its third annual Women of Innovation Awards Dinner on January 25 2007. Over 500 attendees came out to hear keynoter Rebecca Rhoads, CIO of the Raytheon Company. Ms. Rhoads’ remarks included some insights into her company’s innovation process which is based on an ingrained culture of listening to its customers.

But most of the attendees came to celebrate the outstanding honorees recognized that evening. “Our 2007 list of winners represents another class of outstanding women leaders in technology, science and engineering,” according to Elizabeth Alquist of Day Pitney, chair of the event’s planning committee. The winners include educators, managers, researchers, students, CEO's, and business owners from all over Connecticut. “ These women are making a difference in their work place and in academia, but more importantly, they are role models and innovators,” added Alquist.

Matthew Nemerson, President and CEO of the Connecticut Technology Council, pointed to the crowd of over 500 attendees and proudly noted that the event has become one of the best attended technology events in the state in just three years. He also concurred with Ms Alquist that Connecticut has extraordinary talent working at technology companies in the science and technology disciplines.
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Below are the nine 2007 winners:

1. The Academic Innovation and Leadership Award
Mei Wei
Assistant Professor, School of Pharmacy, University of Connecticut

2. Collegian Innovation and Leadership Award
Krystyn Greco
Graduate Student, University of Connecticut

3. Community Innovation and Leadership Award
Lucy Baney
President & CEO, Access Technologies Group

4. Entrepreneurial Innovation and Leadership Award
Patty Sue Williams
President & CEO, Telesis LLC

5. Research Innovation and Leadership Award
Leslie Abi-Karam
Executive Vice President and President, Document Messaging Technologies, Pitney Bowes,Inc.

6. Research Innovation and Leadership Award
Dr. Nita Maihle
Professor, Yale University School of Medicine

7. Research Innovation and Leadership Award
Quing Zhu
Professor,Yale University School of Medicine

8. Small Business Innovation and Leadership Award
Jennifer Good
President & CEO, Penwest Pharmaceuticals
9. Youth Innovation and Leadership Award

Julie Henion
High School Student, Watertown High School

We also honor the full class of 2007 finalists. Each and every one is an outstanding woman working in science or technology or management.

 

Below are the 2007 finalists:

Leslie Abi-Karam, Executive Vice President and President, Document Messaging Technologies, Pitney Bowes
Leslie Abi-Karam has been one of the driving forces for innovation during her career at Pitney Bowes Inc. She assumed leadership of the Document Messaging Technologies (DMT) division in December 2002, a global business unit that provides software and hardware solutions to enterprise customers. In her four-year tenure the operating unit has evolved from providing high volume mail insertion and sorting systems, to a business that includes software solutions and high volume print capabilities that enable customers to improve their end-to-end customer communication processes – from data quality through pre-sort and distribution. This transformation enables high volume mailing customers to meet their worldwide enterprise mail and document management needs in print and digital form. Leslie is also accountable for the Global Supply Chain and Global Enterprise Procurement for Pitney Bowes. Leslie holds an MBA degree from the University of Bridgeport and an Engineering degree from Northeastern University, where she is a trustee.

Amy Arnsten, Professor Neurobiology and Psychology, Yale University
Dr. Amy F.T. Arnsten is Professor of Neurobiology and Psychology, and Director of Graduates Studies in Neurobiology at Yale University. Dr. Arnsten’s lab researches powerful neurochemical influences on the cognitive operations of the prefrontal cortex, a higher brain region that dysfunctions in mental illness and with advancing age. This research reveals how genetic alterations and stress exposure can lead to symptoms of forgetfulness, and disordered regulation of behavior, attention and thought. Based on this research, Dr. Arnsten’s lab has discovered new pharmacological treatments for prefrontal cortical disorders, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and a potential treatment for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Laurie Aylsworth, Project Director, Northeast Utilities
Laurie E. Aylsworth is Project Director for Northeast Utilities. She has been responsible for leading the Bethel-Norwalk Project, one of the largest linear transmission projects recently completed in the country. This highly complex $350 Million project leads the industry in its application of high-voltage underground transmission technology with the longest length of 345-kilovolt solid underground cable in the United States. The Bethel-Norwalk project came in $15Million under budget and ahead of schedule by two months. Aylsworth joined the NU system in 2004. Prior to joining NU, she was managing transmission projects for Vermont Electric Power Company (VELCO).

Lucy Baney, President & CEO, Access Technologies Group, Inc.
Lucy Baney’s technology career includes systems and application programming, sales, product marketing, and product development. Lucy’s career with IBM included management and executive positions 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 latest venture includes learning tools that prepare the cognitively disabled to get and retain jobs. Her board activities include Norwalk Community College’s Foundation Board, The Business Council of Fairfield County, Academy of Information Technology and engineering, National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies (Seattle) and the Icelandic-American Chamber of Commerce.

Laurine Bow, Vice President for Research, Hartford Hospital
Laurine M. Bow, PhD, received her doctorate in Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of Connecticut. She is currently the Vice President for Research at Hartford Hospital, and is responsible for administrative oversight of its Research Program. She is also Director of Transplant Immunology at Hartford Hospital and Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, as well as Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Connecticut. She has authored many publications in the fields of transplant immunology and vascular biology. She is currently on the Board of Directors of Life Choice Donor Services and the New York Organ Donor Network

Cynthia Brandt, MD, Associate Director for VACHS Informatics Training, Yale Center for Medical Informatics
Professor Brandt completed a National Library of Medicine sponsored post-doctoral fellowship at the Yale Center for Medical Informatics (YCMI) in 1998. Dr. Brandt previously served as a Preventive Medicine Officer in the United States Army Medical Corps during the first Gulf War, achieving the rank of Major. She currently is the Co-Director of a newly established post-doctoral program in Medical Informatics at the West-Haven VA as well as a Yale School of Medicine YCMI faculty member. In addition to working with Fellows and clinical researchers, her research interests include clinical database development and design, clinical vocabularies for patient oriented research and metadata-driven biomedical applications. Dr. Brandt has been extensively involved with the development of TrialDB, an open-source, web-based clinical research data management system that is used by multiple healthcare institutions and universities in the U.S. and internationally

Antoinette Bruciati, Assistant Professor - Education, Sacred Heart University
Antoinette Bruciati, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at Sacred Heart University. As the Coordinator of Educational Technology, she is responsible for the instructional design, delivery, and management of online and blended-learning courses in the Educational Technology Certificate Program. Dr. Bruciati has been involved in e-learning since 1998 and has developed online courses for both educational and health care organizations. In addition to serving on the program committees of two international conferences, she is also a reviewer for the Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics. Dr. Bruciati has received international recognition and grants related to her research in the field of educational robotics. Her current research efforts involve the integration of robotics technologies into the mathematics curricula of local middle schools.

Maricate Conlon, Student, Newtown High School
Maricate Conlon is a senior at Newtown High School and a member of Mr. Frank LaBanca’s Honors Applied Science Research course. Maricate’s 2006 research focused on the bioremediation of wastewater and contaminated soil through the use of chitin. Her project was named the CT finalist to the Stockholm Junior Water Prize national competition held in Atlanta. Her current research focuses on the bacterial degradation of PCB’s in the Housatonic River. Maricate is a member of the National Honor Society and is the student chairperson of “Lead Out Loud! Leadership Conference” for girls. A nationally ranked swimmer with the Wilton Wahoos Swim Team, she has been named a CT Swimming scholar athlete. Maricate will attend Lafayette College where she intends to study environmental geosciences and engineering.

Erin Duffy, Senior Director - Structure Based Drug Design, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals
Dr. Erin Maureen Duffy is the Senior Director of Structure-Based Drug Discovery at Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in New Haven. She and her colleagues use macromolecular crystallography and sophisticated computational chemistry tools to design next-generation antibiotics effective against drug-resistant bacteria. She has been with the company five years. Prior to joining Rib-X, Erin was the Associate Director of Innovative Discovery Technologies at Achillion Pharmaceuticals, also in New Haven. She learned to be a drug hunter at Pfizer Central Research in Groton. Her formal training was at Yale University in the areas of molecular recognition and theoretical structural biology. Erin is a native of Wheeling, WV.

Kate Emery, President, Walker Systems Support
Kate Emery created the Stakeholder Business Model for Walker Systems Support, the IT support company she began over 20 years ago, to ensure that Walker remains socially responsible and that profits are divided between the three primary stakeholders: investors, employees, and the community. Kate believes the current corporate approach (mandating shareholder profits above all else) is failing us, and sees the Stakeholder Business Model as a way to progress to a more sustainable free market economy. Kate has also launched CareCircle.net where people who care about the same problems can meet and form small local groups to take positive action toward making a better world.

Mary Kay Fenton, Vice President, Finance, Achillion Pharmaceuticals
Mary Kay Fenton is the Chief Financial Officer of Achillion Pharmaceuticals, an anti-infective biotechnology company. In October 2006, Achillion completed one of the most successful biotech initial public offerings of the year. Prior to Achillion, Ms. Fenton was Senior Manager in the Technology Industry Group at PricewaterhouseCoopers where she advised fast-growing bioscience and technology companies on initial public offerings and other SEC matters, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic alliances. Ms. Fenton began her career as an economic development associate in an inner-city, providing technical assistance to minority and community owned businesses. She earned an A.B. in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Connecticut where she graduated summa cum laude, and is a certified public accountant. She lives in West Hartford with her husband, Thomas Menner, and their two daughters.

Patricia Fisher, President and CEO, Founder, JANUS Associates, Inc
Patricia Fisher has a background of over twenty-five years of cyber-security involvement. In 1988 she founded JANUS Associates, Inc., the nation’s oldest independent Information Security consultancy. In addition to being its founder, Ms. Fisher serves as the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Fisher holds a B.A., an M.B.A. and has completed extensive post-Masters work at Penn State in Computer Science. Formerly with IBM, she was selected as a member of The President’s Class, a significant recognition of “in-house” talent. She currently sits on the U.S. Secret Service’s Electronic Crimes Task Force and two Disaster Recovery Institute subcommittees. She is a considered a subject matter expert, has been published, and interviewed extensively by local and national media outlets.

Heidi Gold-Dworkin PhD, President, Little Scientists
Heidi Gold-Dworkin received her undergraduate degree from Cornell and subsequently earned a PhD in Molecular Biology from Yale University. Her work at Yale included a research project for which the 1989 Nobel prize was awarded to her thesis advisor. Dr. Gold-Dworkin has authored numerous scientific articles in journals including Science, PNAS, and Cell. Dr. Gold-Dworkin founded Little Scientists® in 1995 to combine her passion for science and the education of young children. Little Scientists® has become a leader in innovating hands-on/minds-on inquiry based science education for children in pre-k through 6th grades. Little Scientists’ curriculum products are currently being implemented successfully in elementary schools throughout this country and in Japan. Dr. Gold-Dworkin is the author of 400 manuals for teaching elementary students basic science and technology concepts.

Nancy Golden, CEO and Founder, Golden Consulting Group, LLC
Nancy Golden, Founder and CEO of Golden Consulting Group, LLC, has worked in the Information Technology sector for many years, primarily as an independent consultant providing training and consulting to large corporations. In 1996 she and her son, Erik Golden, founded Golden Consulting Group. Nancy has overseen growth from a “mom and son” operation to a $2M company with 17 employees and a technology training center in Bloomfield. Golden’s position as a leading provider of Business Intelligence solutions for small and medium-sized companies is bringing growth and challenges to Golden as it begins its second decade. Nancy holds a BA in Economics from Wellesley College.

Jane Goldsmith, Manager of Proposals, Sonalysts
Jane Goldsmith is Manager of Proposals for Sonalysts, Inc., an employee-owned, multidisciplinary company. She has coordinated and co-authored approximately 250 government and commercial proposals annually for all 13 Sonalysts offices since 1987. Her efforts with Department of Defense Small Business Innovative Research proposals have resulted in 39 Phase I, 18 Phase II, and one Phase III awards for Sonalysts. A recognized expert, she conducts proposal-writing workshops, most recently at the Connecticut SBIR, DoD Proposal Writing Workshop, where she presented strategies for successful SBIRs. Jane is also the Sonalysts corporate spokesperson and an active community leader for several charitable organizations.

Monica Goldstein, EVP, CAPS Business Recovery Services
Monica Goldstein is co-founder and Executive Vice President of CAPS Business Recovery Services (“CAPS”) and RecoveryPlanner.com, successful disaster recovery and business continuity companies. Since 1995, Monica has been critical to the growth of these companies. CAPS alternate sites were recently ranked as a “strong performer” in the Forrester Group’s “Disaster Recovery Service Providers, Q1 2006 Wave™ report.” Born out of necessity in CAPS’ business continuity planning practice, Monica co-founded RecoveryPlanner.com, a web-based business continuity software company in 1999 . Today RecoveryPlanner services thousands of users in companies all over the U.S. and internationally. Monica is also a licensed attorney in Connecticut and
South Carolina.

Jennifer Good, President and CEO, Penwest Pharmaceuticals
Jennifer L. Good was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Penwest in June, 2006. Ms. Good had been President and Chief Operating Officer of Penwest since November of 2005. Prior to that Jennifer served as Penwest’s Chief Financial Officer since March, 1997. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Good served as Corporate Controller and Corporate Director of Finance of Penford Corporation, Penwest’s former parent company, from 1993 to 1997. From 1987 to 1993, Ms. Good was employed by Ernst & Young LLP in a number of positions, the most recent being audit manager where she focused primarily on high-tech and biotech clients. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Pacific Lutheran University.

Kristyn Greco, Graduate Student, UConn School of Pharmacy
Kristyn Greco is a graduate student in the Pharmaceutics program at the University of Connecticut. After earning a BS in Chemical Engineering magna cum laude from Northeastern University in 2001, Kristyn worked as a research engineer at Alkermes. She and a coworker filed a patent on salt forms for controlled release drugs products. In 2004 Kristyn joined University of Connecticut. Kristyn’s early dissertation work has already led to a patent application for a novel device used to evaluate the solid-state properties of pharmaceuticals early in development. Kristyn also serves as vice-chair of the student chapter of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists

Tracy Hall, Project Leader & Business Continuity Planner, CAPS Business Recovery Services
Tracy Hall is a Certified Business Continuity Professional. She is also certified on RecoveryPlanner software, an interactive, integrated continuity planning platform. Aside from writing and maintaining Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plans for customers spanning a variety of industries, she is active with organizations like the New England Disaster Recovery Exchange (NEDRIX) and the CT chapter of the Association of Contingency Planners (ACP). She represents CAPS at national tradeshows and conferences annually. Hall has also participated in the testing and recovery from disasters of several CAPS clients at its Business Recovery Sites. Tracy Hall participates in several community investment/charitable programs year round. They range from Junior Achievement to back to school kid adoptions to goods collections for “My Sister’s Place” (a shelter for battered women).

Julie Henion, Student, Watertown High School
Julie Henion, 17, is a senior at Watertown High School. She is an active part of her high school’s FIRST
robotics team, Team 237. She has been the team leader for the past two years and has been involved in the Electrical and Mechanical sub-teams as well as being the head of the CAD and Animation sub-teams. Outside of school, Julie is also interested in reading, medieval history, programming with Java, playing her viola and archery. In the future, she intends to go to college to major in Computer Engineering or Computer Science.

Abby Ilumoka-Nwabuzor, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Hartford
Dr. Abby Ilumoka-Nwabuzor is currently professor of electrical engineering and director of engineering graduate programs at the University of Hartford where she has taught since 1992. Her research interests are microelectronic circuit optimization, spiral inductor modeling and crosstalk minimization using neural networks. She received the Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from Universities of Aston, Southampton and London, England, respectively. She has authored several articles in reputable journals and received significant research/teaching grants from government and corporate sources. She resides in Windsor with daughter Ifeoma and son Emeka and enjoys jazz music and West African gourmet cooking.

Melody E. Johnson, Undergraduate Student, University of New Haven
Melody Johnson is a sophomore at the University of New Haven where she is majoring in Chemical Engineering with a concentration in hazardous materials. As the daughter of a fire chief, she has always had a passion for the field of fire science and therefore hopes to develop a career in chemical and fire protection by improving safety in the workplace. As a student, she has brought a spirit on innovation to academic pursuits. Since the summer, Melody has been researching chemical analogues of mathematical paradoxes. She has developed a stochastic model to Parrondo’s Paradox and currently continues work on applications for her model. On campus, Melody is the student coordinator of the Living and Learning Community for engineering freshman, the secretary of the AICHE and ASME student chapters, and an active member within both the student and local communities. Furthermore, Melody worked to build a prototype device to save beached whales, is developing a “Chem-E” car for the upcoming regional conference, and is leading a group that plans to present to local high schools about the engineering industry.

Beth Joseph, Associate Director, Clinical Operations, Pulmonary, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals
Beth Joseph received a B.S. in Nutrition Science and a Master’s in Public Health from Indiana University. Beth began her career at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.. in 2000. In her current position, Beth is an Associate Director in the Respiratory area of Clinical Operations. Beth is currently the lead trial manager of an international team evaluating the appropriate dose and further clinical development of a novel therapy for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Beth previously authored the safety section of the Atrovent HFA new drug application submission to the FDA which was approved in November 2004. Beth is currently representing the medical department on two international working groups, one to streamline data collection for more efficient drug development and the other to assure the accurate and ethical collection of long-term safety data.

Pratistha Koirala, Student, University of Connecticut
Pratistha Koirala is a freshman honors Biological Sciences major at the University of Connecticut, where she has received early acceptance into medical school through the Combined Program in Medicine. She has been a volunteer at Windham Hospital and participated in Relay for Life since the ninth grade. Her plant biotechnology research, conducted during her junior and senior years in high school, won first place in the 2006 Life Sciences division of the Connecticut Science Fair and a Second Award in Botany at the International Science and Engineering Fair. In Spring 2007, she will begin a new research project on the pacemaker function of the heart, through the Physiology and Neurobiology Department at University of Connecticut.

Ann Kraft, Executive Director, Licensing and Business Development, Purdue Pharma L.P.
Ann Kraft is an Executive Director of Licensing and Business Development for Purdue Pharma L.P. where she is responsible for in-licensing and out-licensing pharmaceutical products including strategic alliances, co-promotions, and co-development agreements. Prior to joining Purdue in February 2004, Ann spent six years at Bayer Pharmaceuticals in positions including Director of Business Development, Associate Director of Strategic Planning, and Manager of Finance. Before she entered the pharmaceutical industry, Ann spent ten years as an aerospace engineer at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. Ann is a past president of the Harvard Business School alumni club of Connecticut and an active participant in the Licensing Executive Society (LES), the Healthcare Women’s Business Association, and the HBS Health Industry Alumni Association. She has an MBA from Harvard University, an MS degree from Rensselaer Polytech, and a BS degree from Boston University.

Darcy MacClaren, Vice President Sales, Process Division, Infor
Darcy MacClaren is a twenty year veteran of the technology industry working with global CPG companies to manage products from concept to launch, and to do it quicker, better and in compliance with ever-growing global regulations, driving innovation through industry-leading technology like Infor PLM Optiva. She is responsible for all sales and presales functions for Infor’s North America Process Group. MacClaren joined Infor via the Formation Systems acquisition in August 2005. Prior to joining Infor, MacClaren served as Vice President of Global Sales at Formation Systems. Before that she was on the executive teams at Frictionless Commerce, G-Log, Rockport Trade Systems, Manugistics, and Numetrix. As part of the 2006 Infor Circle of Excellence, MacClaren was recognized for her top sales performance.

Dr. Nita Maihle, Professor, Departments of OB/Gyn and Reproductive Sciences, Pathology, and Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine
Dr. Nita Maihle is an experienced cancer biologist who has devoted her career to developing a better understanding of what causes cancer, and to applying this information to improved methods for the care and treatment of cancer patients. Over the past two decades, Dr. Maihle and her colleagues have discovered that the signals which cause cancer cells to grow are different from the signals that cause normal cells to grow. These “short circuits” in cancer cells can be targeted to specifically stop cancer cells from growing. New drugs targeting these cancer cell short circuits, drugs such as Herceptin and Gleevac, are some of the most cutting-edge, effective, and specific agents used in the treatment of cancer patients today. Dr. Maihle is strongly committed to the clinical translation of basic research discoveries, and also to the training and mentorship of scientists and physicians.

Susan Masino, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Trinity College
Dr. Susan Masino is a Professor at Trinity College, appointed jointly to the Psychology Department and Neuroscience Program. She received her B.S. from Tufts University, PhD from the University of California, Irvine and postdoctoral research training at the University of Colorado Medical School. Dr. Masino has an active research laboratory and publishes regularly. One topic of particular interest is the neuromodulator adenosine, a molecule with therapeutic potential in stroke, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. She combines techniques such as imaging, electrophysiology and behavior to reveal the cellular mechanisms which regulate adenosine. She has lectured extensively in the United States and throughout the world on her neuroscience research.

Kathleen Maurer, Associate Medical Director, The Hartford Insurance Group
Kathleen Maurer’s life began on her family’s farm in northern Montana. After the first seven grades in a one-room country schoolhouse, she went on to study and train at the University of Hawaii (BA), the University of Toronto (MA), Yale University (MD/MPH/occupational and environmental medicine), the University of Texas Southwestern (internal medicine) and the University of Connecticut (MBA). Besides taking care of her patients, the high points of Kathleen’s career include work as a legislative aide in Washington, DC; Director of CRISP (Connecticut Road Industry Surveillance Project), a program that virtually eliminated lead poisoning in Connecticut construction workers; Medical Director at Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation where she applied factory- based productivity and quality metrics to the practice of medicine; and Associate Medical Director at The Hartford. Outside of her work, Kathleen’s passions are her life partner, Nann, golf, gardening and photography.

Ivana Milanovic, Associate Professor and Chair, University of Hartford
Professor Ivana M. Milanovic received her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Polytechnic University, NY, and M.S. and B.S. degrees from the University of Belgrade in Yugoslavia. She is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture and Co-Director of the Connecticut Space Grant College Consortium. Professor Milanovic is active in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and on the ASME Fluid Mechanics Technical Committee. Her areas of research include vortex dynamics and laser material processing. Her honors include Outstanding Teacher Award, NASA Faculty Fellowships, and the Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship Award. Professor Milanovic is recognized for a number of innovative curriculum changes that has increased retention and enrollment in the Mechanical Engineering Technology program. She recently returned from Afghanistan where she worked on curriculum development for the University of Herat under the auspices of the World Bank.

Chris Morello, Extended Learning Coordinator, Norwich Public Schools
Chris Morello is a Norwich native and has been a resident of Norwich with her husband, Carl, and three children for the last 23 years. She has worked for the Norwich Public schools for the last 10 years and currently is the Extended Learning Coordinator for the Norwich Public School district. In this position Chris coordinates community resources and youth development activities for K-8 students in service learning, mentoring and after-school and summer hours programs. One of the programs Chris has coordinated is a truancy prevention initiative called ASPIRE, which involves after-school activities such as ballroom dancing, fencing, chess, etc., providing students interaction with adult role models. Working together with scientists and other professionals from Pfizer Pharmaceutical, a Role Model Lunch Group was designed for 40 students in Grade 6.

Ann Moriarty, Senior Manager, Aetna
In twenty-five years at Aetna, Amy Moriarty’s career has spanned the technology field. From the early years supporting mainframe systems, to providing help desk support during the advent of the earliest networked PCs, to the design of standardized voice/data communication rooms, she made the transition to voice technologies in 1995. Focusing on the cost and operational efficiencies of standardization, Amy was instrumental in the design of Aetna’s Contact Center platform. She now manages a team of engineering consultants who play the lead role in implementing a centralized voice platform on the leading edge of convergence, making Aetna’s Contact Centers among the most efficient and cost effective in the insurance industry, according to a recent 2006 Gartner Study.

Deborah Moss, Chair, Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Avālence
Deborah Moss, Founder of Avālence, LLC, led the corporate spin-off of Avālence in 2002, a company which makes Hydrofiller hydrogen gas generators. The company’s advanced technology produces ultra-high-pressure hydrogen gas by electrolysis of water without a compressor and was awarded “Best Early Stage Company of 2005” at CVG’s Crossroads Venture Fair. Avālence has been recognized for its strong track record, generating Research & Development revenues to develop and build prototype units, and Ms. Moss serves on the advisory board of the Connecticut Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Ms. Moss is focused on the strategic direction of Avālence as well as marketing and communication outreach efforts and has led the recruitment of management and technical staff that has advanced the Avālence technology to near commercial status.

Kristin Muschett, President and CEO, HABCO,Inc.
Kristin Muschett has been President and CEO of HABCO since 1998. Her company manufactures and supplies aerospace, industrial testing and ground support equipment for military and commercial aircraft around the world. Under Kristin’s leadership, HABCO has grown 100% in the last five years, pushing innovative engineering to its limit and beyond to provide equipment that can save lives and make every flight safer. Kristin is a member of the Aerospace Components Manufacturers group, serves on the CBIA board of directors and is a board member for the Glastonbury Education Foundation. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Hartford.

Dr. Jean Nocito-Gobel, Assistant Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Faculty Advisor to the Freshman Program, University of New Haven
Jean Nocito-Gobel is an Assistant Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of New Haven. She received her B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1981 from Manhattan College, a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering/Water Resources from the Ohio State University in 1984 and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1997. She is currently serving as the Coordinator for the First Year Program. Her professional interests include modeling the transport and fate of contaminants in groundwater and surface water systems, as well as engineering education reform. Jean resides in Wilbraham, Massachusetts with her husband Steven and three children.

Sylvia Õunpuu, Director/Kinesiologist of the Center for Motion Analysis (CMA), Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
Sylvia Õunpuu is the current Director/Kinesiologist of the Center for Motion Analysis (CMA) at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford. She has been with the CMA since 1987 and took on the role of Director in 1998. Her major focus has been developing, using and promoting comprehensive computerized 3D gait analysis techniques for treatment decision-making and evaluation for gait pathologies in children and adults. Sylvia has published extensively, including long-term surgical outcomes research for orthopaedic intervention, motion analysis methodology, data interpretation strategies and normal/pathological gait references. She has also taught extensively on gait analysis methodology and data interpretation. Sylvia graduated from the University of Waterloo, in Ontario, Canada with a B.Sc. in Kinesiology in 1982 and a M.Sc. in Biomechanics in 1986.

Jennifer Panosky, Principal Engineer, Electric Boat Corporation
Jennifer Panosky is the manager of Electric Boat’s Underwater Express project, an R&D program that is demonstrating technologies for a vehicle that can travel underwater at 115 miles per hour. She also leads EB’s Hydrodynamics Technology Area Team, which investigates hydrodynamic concepts that can increase submarine capabilities and reduce cost. During her 22 years as a naval architect, Jennifer has designed and tested propellers for ships and underwater vehicles and even studied if submarines could one day swim like fish. Jennifer has a BS in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from Webb Institute and a MS in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Sister Mary Jane Paolella, Assistant Principal, Sacred Heart Academy
Sacred Heart Academy’s Science Department offers programs that stimulate an interest in science, resulting in more scholarships received by its all-female graduates. For three years, science classes have studied osteoporosis. In an effort to reach 1000 students, classes presented their research and data to the 500 girls at SHA and then offered hands-on workshops to area students. Biotechnology students have amplified and sequenced genes using their automated sequencer and presented posters at scientific meetings (TIGR, Venter Institute, ASHG). Students have six osteoporosis sequences published in GenBank with others pending. Robots, rockets, physics olympics, chemistry shows and college engineering challenges attract girls interested in the physical sciences. Future programs include collaboration with UNH and Yale, continued student research and formal presentations.

Susan Portwood, VP Marketing and Sales CT-West Region, Comcast Cable Communications, Inc
Susan Portwood serves as Regional Vice President of Marketing & Sales for the Connecticut West Region of Comcast. In this role she ensures that all marketing and sales goals and initiatives are communicated and supported for all channels and stake holders. She also develops all acquisition and upgrade campaigns, including creative development, media purchase recommendations, and establishes sales campaigns and incentives to achieve financial and subscriber objectives within defined budgets. Her other responsibilities include managing commercial, door-to-door and retail sales, initiating local events and sponsorships to support sales and marketing tactics and increase brand recognition, and monitor and counteract all competitive activities. As a seasoned marketing professional, Susan has a proven track record of exceeding performance goals, and brings more than twenty years of experience in communications marketing and product development/management, operations, and sales in retail and wholesale markets.

Elaine Price, Founder & Managing Director, Phoenix/Platform Dynamics
In 1998, Elaine founded CYA Technologies (Capture Your Assets!), an enterprise business-continuity and information-security software company whose initial products derived from Phoenix solutions. Under Elaine’s leadership, CYA’s revenues grew 2,929 percent from 1998 to 2002, and the company’s product line increased from one to 10 products. In 2003, the company was ranked number one in the Deloitte Connecticut Technology Fast 50, and was 125th in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list for North America. In 2004, Elaine identified a market for another new software company based on Phoenix solutions, and left CYA to pursue the opportunity. In 2005, Elaine founded Platform Dynamics, whose products integrate applications and platform technologies. In addition to founding and managing companies, Elaine is also active in industry organizations, communications, and in mentoring female entrepreneurs.

Mary Pugh, President, The SoNoGroup, Inc.
Mary Pugh, President of The SoNo Group, Inc., is a leading marketing consultant for global clients. In 2006 she created a new division to service local businesses – White Dog Agency. With 25 years in consumer marketing, she utilizes technology to solve marketing problems. In the 90’s Mary employed 13 teachers to help children learn computer skills at preschools. Helping women, Hispanics, the elderly and children learn the value of technology has been a major interest of hers. She has set up computers for them and tutors underserved populations – showing them how to get connected. In politics, she uncovers constituent needs which not only win elections, but helps fix the problems voters have identified as important. Her political clients have been thrilled with her marketing acumen. Mary has held senior positions for Nestle, American Home Foods, MasterCard, Ally & Gargano Advertising and Guinness, She has a Columbia MBA.

Heather Sherman-Bond, President, Hydrofera LLC
Heather Sherman-Bond is the President and one of the founding partners of Hydrofera, LLC, a Willimantic company dedicated to the advancements of PVA polymer technology. Under her tutelage, Hydrofera developed a new, bacteriostatic foam called Hydrofera Blue. The product has been a significant advancement in wound healing and infection control. Introduced in March 2003, it has shown dramatic results as a wound dressing and has been endorsed by the Wound Care Institute and the Curative Health Services. It was also awarded the Medical Device Excellence Award. The award, sponsored by Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry Magazine, recognizes product innovation, design and engineering excellence, end-user benefit and cost effectiveness in manufacturing and healthcare delivery. Heather is also active in local government, serving on the Groton Town Council currently and also chairing its Economic Development Committee. Heather is a 1988 graduate of the University of Connecticut and previously worked as a Business Development Director for Merocel and Xomed.

Harmeet Singh, Student, Seymour High School
Harmeet Singh is a junior at Seymour High School. She has been repeatedly recognized for her scientific abilities throughout her high school career, receiving honors in physical science, biology, and chemistry. She participates in numerous clubs and activities, including Yearbook, National Honor Society, FBLA, Spanish Club, and H.O.P.E Club (Helping Our People and Environment) and currently holds officer positions in both H.O.P.E Club and Yearbook. She is aiming to run for president of the National Honor Society this coming spring. Along with that, Harmeet is a varsity runner of Cross Country and Track. Outside of school, Harmeet is involved in Valley United Way Youth Leadership, a program designed specifically for upcoming leaders of the Naugatuck Valley area. She also spends time volunteering at both Griffin Hospital and her church in Southington, where she has started a youth newsletter and coordinated three food drives.

Jannah Stanley, Principal Engineer, UTC Otis Elevator Company
Jannah Stanley is a Principal Software Engineer at Otis Elevator. Jannah has 21 years experience designing and developing product software for Otis. Jannah has participated in inventing and implementing elevator dispatching algorithms for the company’s most demanding markets since 1991. She addressed a need in the Japanese market to announce which elevator will serve a passenger within one second of their request. In her current capacity, Jannah is the Controller Software Technical Lead on the Compass product. Compass utilizes the passenger destination information acquired up to one minute before the passenger enters the elevator to select which elevator the passenger is assigned. She manages the software development and collaborates with engineers worldwide to ensure the product’s global success. In March 2006, Jannah and her team were awarded a rare Otis Special Award for Outstanding Contribution. Jannah is named on 13 Otis patents.

Jahala Swan, Professor, Owner and Chief Operating Officer, Shoreline Technologies
Jahala Swan is the COO of Advanced Computing Solutions at Shoreline Technologies based in Waterford. She has over 15 years of technical, sales and management experience in the technology field and is responsible for the overall performance of the company which specializes in systems integration and hardware maintenance in the SMB and Enterprise markets. Clients include Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods Casino, and Noble Environmental Power, a J.P. Morgan Chase company. She was the founder and owner of Shoreline Technologies. In addition to her degree in Computer Information Systems and Business Administration, she holds many industry-recognized certifications, among them Cisco, Microsoft and CompTia.

Jordan Taylor, Student, Berlin High School
Jordan Taylor, 17, is a senior at Berlin High School and Valedictorian of her class. Starting her freshman year, she was the only female student in her engineering classes, a Project Lead the Way program that promotes engineering interests in high school students. Last summer she was selected to be a Teaching Assistant for these classes, held at Manchester Community College. She has been honored with a Commendation from the Society of Women Engineers and was awarded the Rensselaer Medal. From her sophomore year through senior year she has served as Class Treasurer. Outside of school her interests include Martial Arts, in which she holds a second degree Black Belt. She hopes to attend the California Institute of Technology or Rensselaer and eventually become a forensic pathologist.

Debora Volansky, CEO, CX2 Global
Debora Volansky is the founder and CEO of CX2 Global, LLC, a web and audio conferencing company focused on working with women in business both as clients and strategic partners/vendors. Convinced that business is not only about making profits but also about helping others and making a positive difference in the world, Deb created Conference for CuresSM—her program where CX2 donates $1 for each conference held with them to designated charities, currently the March of Dimes. Having worked her way up from an entry level conference operator to President of an affiliate company, Deb’s almost 19 years of experience, business acumen and foresight have made her a leading expert in conferencing best practices, a knowledge she readily shares with her clients. Deb also continues to volunteer for and serve on the March of Dimes Candlewood Region WalkAmerica Committee.

Mei Wei, Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut
Dr. Mei Wei received her PhD in materials science from the University of New South Wales, Australia in 1998. After working as a postdoc at Kyoto University Japan and Queensland University of Technology, she joined the University of Connecticut in year 2002. Dr. Wei runs a multidisciplinary group with research efforts focusing on bioceramic coatings, bioceramic/polymer composites and drug delivery systems. She has numerous publications and research grants in the related areas.

Patty Sue Williams, CEO and Founder, Telesis, LLC
Patty Sue Williams has been involved in software development for over 25 years. After graduating with a degree in Accounting, Patty worked at Combustion Engineering, Hartford Insurance and Aetna. Patty spent those years maturing her QA talents with testing tools and cost effective test labs. In 1997 Patty launched Telesis LLC, a consulting firm focused solely on Quality Assurance methodologies and Automated Testing. In response to the test outsourcing trend, Patty designed a new program – AmeriSource - providing test lab services using Connecticut resources at prices competitive with offshore labs. Telesis is now working with the Department of Labor to leverage AmeriSource to retain the brightest technology talent in our state. Patty has two other children besides Telesis; Lisa, a second grade teacher and Missy, a University of Connecticut senior.

Quing Zhu, Associate Professor, University of Connecticut
Dr. Quing Zhu graduated from the Bioengineering Department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. She was a post doctorial fellow in the electrical engineering department of the University of Pennsylvania from 1993 to 1995, and a research professor in Radiology of University of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 1998. She joined the University of Connecticut in 1998. Her research interests are optical and ultrasound imaging for cancer detection and diagnosis. Prof. Zhu holds three U.S. patents and has published 45 journal papers. Her innovative work on combining near infrared light and ultrasound for breast cancer detection has been well received in both the research community and the public.

To view more pictures of the Women of Innovation 2007 event, click here.

2007 PLANNING COMMITTEE

Chair
Elizabeth Alquist Partner, Day Pitney LLP

Committee Members

Judth Auslander Senior Fellow, Pitney Bowes
Carol Bernard Principal,The Impact Company
Lucy Brakoniecki Gender Equity Specialist, Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund
Grace Figureredo Vice President, United Technologies Corporation
Laura Gariepy AVP Business Solutions Delivery, Hartford Life
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
Karen Houseknecht Associate Research Fellow, Pfizer
Mary Norris Partner, Wiggin and Dana LLP
Colleen Palma Managing Director - Consulting Services, One Communications
Paige Rasid Marketing & Operations Manager, Connecticut Technology Council
Deb Santy SBIR Director, Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology
Sondra Schneider President, Security University
Michael Scricca Membership Director, Connecticut Technology Council
Sush Tripathi President, IT Source
Karen Vogel President, New Generation Performance Technologies
Yuling Wu Director, Systems Labs, Pitney Bowes

If you need additional information about the finalists and winners, or sponsoring the 2008 program, please email Mike Scricca at the CTC, mscricca@ct.org

PROGRAM SPONSORS

• Day Pitney LLP
• United Technologies
• Pfizer
• Connecticut Innovations
• Travelers

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