Women in Technology Announces Finalists for 21st Annual Leadership Awards

Professional women in the DMV recognized for unmatched talent, vision and mentorship

FALLS CHURCH, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Women in Technology (WIT), the premier professional association dedicated to the advancement of women in the Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia technology community, today announced the finalists for the 21st Annual Leadership Awards. This annual awards program identifies, recognizes and celebrates female professionals who are leaders in the technology field and bring a unique vision and talent to the industry.

The finalists for the 21st Annual Women in Technology Leadership Awards are as follows:

Corporate Large-Market Sector

• Julie Coleman - General Dynamics Information Technology
• Lisa Finneran - General Dynamics Mission Systems
• Carol Hayes - Navy Federal Credit Union
• Dorothy (Dee Dee) Helfenstein - Booz Allen Hamilton
• Helen Jaffe - Perspecta

Corporate Mid-Market Sector

• Mary Colville - Affigent, an Akima Company
• Tina Kuhn - CyberCore Technologies
• Tracey Moon - Verodin
• Beth Taylor - Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO)
• Elizabeth Voeller - eGlobalTech

Corporate Small-Market Sector

• Lara Coffee - CSCI
• Kaitlin Moran - CloudBolt Software, Inc.
• Carolyn Parent - LiveSafe
• Gigi Schumm - ThreatQuotient
• Barbara Volkman - Artlin Consulting

Government and Defense

• Christie Canaria - National Cancer Institute
• Judy Conley - Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division
• Susan Lawrence - Accenture Federal Services
• Jessica McElman - Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD)
• Shannon Pitts - Coast Guard Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Information Technology Service Center

Rising Star

• Rachel Balestrieri - General Dynamics Information Technology
• Rachel Cohen - The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
• Sunila Saqib - Fannie Mae
• Rebecca Schneider - Dewberry
• Jessica Smith - Leidos

Small Business/Entrepreneur

• Jay Ahn - Cloud Lake, an Akima Company
• Jennifer Bonner - Solutions By Design II, LLC
• Sherry Hwang - Pyramid Systems
• Collette Magnant - Sullivan Breast Center and Founder, Johns Hopkins Women's Health Center at Sibley Memorial Hospital
• Sophia Tong - T and T Consulting Services, Inc.

STEM Leadership

• Brigitte Custer - General Dynamics Information Technology
• Katherine Eustice - T-Rex Solutions, LLC
• Cristine Gollayan - Sony Corporation of America
• Alexis Lundeen - Booz Allen Hamilton
• Kamaljeet Sanghera - George Mason University

Unsung Hero

• Kristin Aguiar-Burns - Fannie Mae
• Gillian Eiserman - SWIFT
• Robyn Moses - General Dynamics Information Technology
• Aparna Kadari - Fannie Mae
• Reshma Kotti - MAXIMUS Federal

Judges for this year’s event include the following:

• John Klebonis - AT&T
• Daphne Wotherspoon - Addison Group
• Lara Lopez - General Dynamics Information Technology
• Jill Klein - American University
• Sheila Blackwell
• Hector Velez - Vector Talent Resources
• Andy Tomaszewski - VT iDirect
• Tami Levin - Association of American Medical Colleges
• Cherie Smith - Enterprise Information Systems
• Nanci Schimizzi - Fair Oaks Strategies, LLC

“Our annual leadership awards provide us with the opportunity to celebrate the extraordinary talent of female tech leaders in the DMV, ” said Carrie Drake, WIT President. “This year’s finalists represent a truly inspiring group of women who are making a real difference and taking tremendous initiative to advance women in STEM.”

WIT will announce the winners at the Leadership Awards Gala on Thursday, May 21, 2020 at the Sheraton Tysons Hotel in Tysons Corner, Virginia. For information about sponsorship packages and to purchase tables or individual tickets, please visit https://www.womenintechnology.org/leadership-awards and follow us on Twitter: @WITWomen, #WITLA20.

About Women in Technology

Women in Technology (WIT) is a not-for-profit organization with the mission of advancing women in technology—from the classroom to the boardroom—by providing leadership development, networking, mentoring and technology education. With more than 1,000 members in the Washington, D.C. area, WIT strives to meet its vision of being the premier organization empowering women to be architects of change in the technology industry. For more information, please visit http://www.womenintechnology.org/ or connect with us via: Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter (@WITWomen).