PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Aug 9, 2016) - The Anita Borg Institute (ABI), a nonprofit organization focused on the advancement of women in computing, announces the winners of the 2016 Grace Hopper Celebration ABIE Awards. Each year, the GHC ABIE Awards recognize female leaders in the categories of technical leadership, social impact, innovative teaching practices, emerging leadership and international change agent.
ABI will celebrate the ABIE Award Winners at the 2016 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing on October 19-21 held in Houston, Texas.
"The ABIE awards recognize women in technology who inspire us year round, and ABI is proud to honor the winners at the 2016 Grace Hopper Celebration," said Telle Whitney, CEO and President of the Anita Borg Institute. "This year's winners have dedicated their lives to changing the world of technology, demonstrating that each of us has the power to change our world for the better."
The winners are nominated by their peers and chosen by a panel of fellow technologists and past ABIE Award winners based on their extraordinary achievements and commitment to excellence. The GHC 2016 ABIE Award Winners in their respective categories are listed below. Their full bios are available to read on the GHC website.
Anna Patterson -- Technical Leadership ABIE Award -- Underwritten by Qualcomm The Technical Leadership ABIE Award recognizes women technologists who demonstrate leadership through their contributions to technology and achievements in increasing the impact of women on technology. This year's winner, Anna Patterson, is Vice President of Engineering, Artificial Intelligence at Google, where she works on teaching computers to read and write. Anna is the Global Co-Chair of Women@Google and the Chair for Technical Women at Google. Read more about Anna .
Kathryn Finney -- Social Impact ABIE Award - - Underwritten by Bloomberg The Social Impact ABIE Award recognizes those who have made a positive impact on women, technology, and society. This year's winner is Kathryn Finney, Managing Director of digitalundivided (DID), whose mission is to foster economic growth and empowerment in communities through training and supporting Black and Latina women entrepreneurs using technology as a tool. Read more about Kathryn.
Dr. Colleen Lewis -- Denise Denton Emerging Leader ABIE Award -- Underwritten by Microsoft The Denice Denton Emerging Leader ABIE Award recognizes a junior faculty member for high-quality research and significant positive impact on diversity. This year's winner is Dr. Colleen Lewis, assistant professor of computer science at Harvey Mudd College. Colleen is passionate about broadening participation in computer science as one strategy she can use to fight inequity and injustice, and this goal drives her teaching, research, and service at Harvey Mudd College. Read more about Colleen.
Bih Janet Shufor Fofang -- A. Richard Newton Educator ABIE Award -- Underwritten by Juniper Networks The A. Richard Newton Educator ABIE Award recognizes educators who develop innovative teaching practices and approaches that attract girls and women to computing, engineering, and math. This year's winner, Bih Janet Shufor Fofang, has been teaching electrical engineering for 15 years in Cameroon and is developing hands on programs to develop students' interest in STEM fields. Read more about Bih Janet.
Amanda Gicharu -- Change Agent ABIE Award - - Underwritten by Google The Change Agent ABIE Awards recognize international women who have created opportunities for girls and women in technology abroad. This year's winner is Amanda Gicharu, co-founder of Tech Republic Africa, a Kenya-based startup that creates premier technology education experiences for African youth to increase capacity, engagement and innovation within the Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) fields. Read more about Amanda.
About the Grace Hopper Celebration The 2016 Grace Hopper celebration, the largest gathering of women in computing in the world, expects over 15,000 attendees this year. The conference, held in Houston, Texas, takes place October 19-21, 2016. This year's conference features leading technical speakers, career development sessions, awards, a poster session, a hackathon and the industry's largest career fair for women in computing.
About the Anita Borg Institute (ABI) ABI connects, inspires and guides women in computing and organizations that view technology innovation as a strategic imperative. Founded in 1997 by computer scientist Anita Borg, our reach extends to more than 65 countries. We believe technology innovation powers the global economy, and that women are crucial to building technology the world needs. ABI is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization.
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