Welcome to ITWomen ITWomen is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing women in IT and technology in South Florida, from Miami-Dade to Broward and Palm Beach counties.  FLORIDA'S WOMAN-LED BUSINESS SURVEY The nonprofit Commonwealth Institute, South Florida, is conducting a survey to understand woman-led businesses in the State of Florida and how they perceive the business climate. The Institute has reached out to the ITWomen community to participate. The results will help provide relevant support to nonprofits serving women. CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY. Thank you!   Help Select NCWIT Award Winners for Aspirations in Computing Save the Date March 8! Role Model Recognition & Awards  Companies Needed to Host Job Shadow Day  Deadline for ITWomen Scholarships Feb  Local Essay Contest for Scholarship Happy and Healthy New Year!  President's Annual Message Thank you for your continued support and participation. It is because of the incredible support of our members, constituents and South Florida’s technology community that ITWomen continues to grow in membership, programs and community outreach. We start the year off with great cheer. In November, we had a record breaking scholarship drive, raising over $55,000 for scholarships. Our past scholarship winners have gone on to pursue their dreams at nearly every major Florida university, as well as out-of-state institutions such as MIT, University of Rochester, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt. And we are looking forward to awarding more aspiring high school female technologists and engineers with scholarships in 2012. Through our highly praised Role Models Speakers program, we have now seen over 9,000 girls and 14,000 students. You too can make an impact and share your personal success story about IT or Engineering. What a great way to demonstrate the many opportunities that exist in IT and engineering and to create a career path for economic development. This is your year and I invite you to take advantage of all that ITWomen offers. We have an exciting calendar of events and new initiatives planned. From launching ITWomen NextGen to our very first Role Model Recognition Ceremony. Attend our professional development programs, become a Role Model speaker, and volunteer on a committee. Get involved, grow professionally, and help make a difference, one girl at a time! Happy 2012 -- Victoria Usherenko, President and Founder, ITWomen   What’s in store for 2012! • March 8 NCWIT Aspiration Awards and ITWomen Role Model Recognition Ceremony • May 17 Industry Trends -“Mobile Madness” • July 19 Career Advancement -“Share your Point about SharePoint” • Sept. 13 Management Toolkit -’Fireside Chat: CIO perspective” • Nov. 15 ITWomen 9th Anniversary Fundraiser, CIO Celebrity Poker Tournament  Record Breaking $54,000 Raised for Scholarships! Thank You to Our Amazing Scholarship Donors PHOTOS A record-breaking $54,000 was raised for college scholarships at the ITWomen CIO Celebrity Invitational Poker Tournament & Casino Night held Thursday Nov. 17 at the Sheraton Airport Hotel in Dania, Florida. ITWomen's Charitable Foundation helps girls achieve their dreams of earning degrees in technology and engineering. To date, ITWomen has raised $254,000 and awarded 48 scholarships.  Attendance also broke records for drawing the most CIOs, corporate sponsorships and scholarship donors in the fundraiser's eight-year history. More than 140 persons from the IT professional community attended, with some leaders flying in for the event from as far as California, New York and Virginia.  First place winner in the CIO Celebrity Poker Tournament was Arkady Kleyner of Intricity, who won the grand prize from NCL - a four-day cruise to the Bahamas aboard the Norwegian Sky. Mike Cappiello of Signature Consultants and Michael Garcia of Jackson Health System won second and third respectively in the intense competition at the last table standing.   The CIO Executive Council, a global community for senior IT leaders, powered by IDG, the world's largest technology, media, event and research company, sponsored the opening VIP Reception. Pamela Stenson, Senior VP and General Manager of the CIO Executive Council, and a chair of the Council's Executive Women in IT (EWIT) program, spoke of the evolving roles of the CIO. EWIT provides networking opportunities for IT leaders to share expertise, best practices and solutions to business challenges faced by female executives.    Special Recognition ITWomen President Victoria Usherenko recognized extraordinary contributions from among the CIOs, the Sponsors, and the Scholarship Donors at the VIP Reception. Debbie Wilson VP & CIO ADT Security Services, Inc., was singled out for her extraordinary support of ITWomen's Role Model Speakers program and professional development events.   TekPartners, a workforce staffing solution company, and among the fundraiser's top $5,000 Terabyte Sponsors, was recognized by ITWomen for its multi-year contributions above and beyond sponsorship contributions.   Vitaver & Associates staffing agency, and a double Scholarship Donor and Tournament contributor this year, was lauded for its multi-year support of the ITWomen scholarship program. Top 10 Winners IT Women CIO Celebrity Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament  1. Grand Prize winner, Arkady Kleyner, Intricity - NCL Bahamas Cruise  2. Mike Cappiello, Signature – Nook ereader with cover.  3. Michael Garcia, Jackson Health System – iceless wine cooler.  4. Jim Crocker, TekPartners  5. Pablo Vitaver, Vitaver & Associates  6.  Marie Lee, Interval International (CIO)  7. Tammy Sheffield, Kaplan Technology  8. Paul Martine, Citrix  9. Catherine Reid-Turk, CDT Business Solutions 10. Cass Fitzgerald, Vitaver & Associates  Feedback  "It was my pleasure to participate.  My team and I really enjoyed the event.   Congratulations on raising $54K.  That is an incredible accomplishment." -  Marie Lee, Chief Information Officer, Interval International "Congratulations and keep up the great work!" - Fernando Martinez, Jackson Health System "As always the event was a good time and I hope to get Dimension Data to participate in a bigger way next year." - Nick Monfreda, Global Client Director, Dimension Data "I am so happy to hear that the event turned out so well! It is always a pleasure for us to participate and contribute" - Mila Mokadem, Ernst & Young LLP "Just wanted to let you know that I heard nothing by dynamite things about your event last night! I know how much work goes into these events, so I can really appreciate the effort that goes into making things look effortless. Congratulations on a terrific event. We will certainly be participating next year." - Vicky Durkin, Marketing Manager, AAJ Technologies  "How awesome. It was a great event and I really enjoyed it." - Lesley McCormick, Client Solutions Executive, .Idea "Wonderful event – congratulations on the fund raising and success – everyone seems to have a great time!" - Jen Boyer, Business Unit Manager, CAI Florida "I just wanted to reach out and say thank you so much for having me at your IT Women poker event last night! It was such a positive, fun and well-organized event and I felt such a warm reception from everyone." - Jaclyn Bivins Tarlowe, MBA, President GreenLight Staffing Services, Inc. "Congratulations. Last night was a great event and the fundraising phenomenal! You make us proud!" - Pat Smith, CIO, OurKids   ABWA Names ITWomen Founder Technical Leader of the Year  Victoria Usherenko, Founder and President of ITWomen, has been named Technical Leader of the Year by the American Business Women's Association (ABWA), South Broward Chapter. The ABWA chapter recognized Ms. Usherenko as one of ten Women of Distinction for their Spirit of Excellence and making a difference in Broward County.This is the second time in two years that Ms. Usherenko has been recognized by South Florida civic groups for ITWomen's contributions. Last year the Women's History Coalition of Miami-Dade County, Inc., honored Victoria as a Woman of Impact.  Help Young Women Pursue Technology & Engineering   The ITWomen Charitable Foundation college scholarship program supports the mission of ITWomen to increase the number of females graduating with Information Technology and Engineering degrees.  The ITWomen Charitable Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization registered in the State of Florida. Help level the playing field for the next generation of women in Technology & Engineering,  Your donations directly help outstanding young women from the South Florida community.  Scholarship donations are 100% tax deductible. Each scholarship winner receives personal encouragement during their college years from ITWomen's Scholarship Ambassador. Donate to ITWomen Charitable Foundation Honey Shine Summer Camp 2011  ITWomen has been in partnership with Honey Shine for 5 years and every year we are a part of their Summer Camp Program.  This year we conducted two Role model sessions. The first session is to the Honey Bugs ages 1st – 6th grades.  Our Speaker was Sue MacDonald, Nielson Company.  Sue manages their Social Media efforts and had a strong message to the girls about Internet safety and how important it is to be careful about what information you “put out there”!  The Honey Bugs loved the funny stories of instances when people have placed videos from work on YouTube and the not- so-funny results!! Read More   Top 3 Best Career Moves to IT Management   The top three most valuable career moves according to high ranking female executives in the IT industry, are: 1. Find a sponsor in your company. 2. Seek a mentor outside of work. 3. Network consistently. These and other valuable guides were shared in an ITWomen Fireside Chat hosted by ADT. Executives from Tyco, ADT, University of Miami, Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Sprint shared candid stories about what worked and what didn't in their rise through the corporate ranks of IT. The ITWomen program, Fireside Chat: Surviving and Thriving in IT Middle Management, was hosted by ADT at its new corporate headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida.  PICTURED ABOVE: ITWomen's Fireside Chat participants, L to R: Joy Wald, ADT; Audra Nichols, PWC; Connie Barrera, UM; Michele Gehr, Sprint. Back row: Claire Marrero and Sherry Giordano, ITWomen; and Debbie Wilson, Tyco Security Solutions.  Read More     ITWomen's Sherry Giordano Awarded NAF's Prestigious "Champion" Award Congratulations to Sherry Giordano, ITWomen Executive Director,  who has been named an Advisory Board Champion by the National Academy Foundation based on her outstanding contributions to the AOIT Advisory Board in Miami. Sherry was honored at the NAF Leadership Summit in San Francisco, July 15th. Nominated by Cindy Thienard, Lead Teacher, at Miami Central High School,  Ms.  Giordano is one of only four NAF business Champions in the U.S. to receive the 2011 awards. Read More   KNOW OF A JOB OPENING? ITWOMEN MEMBERS HELP EACH OTHER BY POSTING AND SEARCHING  IN THE ITWOMEN JOB BANK!   Back to Top

2011 CIO FUNDRAISER PAGE            * IBM                         Click Here for 2011 Gift Donors   Alejandra Lorenzo IT Specialist AOMLA - NOAA     Alejandra has over 20 years of experience working at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). Her primary mission is to facilitate the study of oceanographic and atmospheric processes by providing systems support and integration in support of AOML’s research efforts. Alejandra is one of NOAA’s Miami community representatives; she visits schools and promotes science and technology to school children. She has also mentored high school and college students interested in pursuing careers in IT for more than 15 years. Currently, Alejandra is working on assessing the viability of using cloud technology in support of AOML’s research efforts     * KPMG name and logo are registered trademark of KPMG International. Their use here does not imply auditing or endorsement of KPMG International or any of its member firms.