On Tuesday evening, November 29, over 200 women gathered at the latest Brave New Workshop location in downtown Minneapolis to launch a new association: Women Leading in Technology (WLiT). Run by a volunteer steering committee and with the support of MHTA, its board, and community sponsors, the group aims to be an open and supportive community for the advancement of women in technology leadership positions in Minnesota.
In the weeks before the launch event, buzz about the event reached beyond the high-tech community to healthcare, consulting and marketing professionals. Over 240 registered for the launch party, which included a presentation on innovation and culture by Dr. Jacqueline Byrd of Creatrix, Inc.
Via News Release
“The Minnesota Science & Technology Authority (MnSTA) has awarded a $129,000 grant to the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) to administer internships for 40 college students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines under a new program called SciTechsperience.
“The Minnesota High Tech Association’s experience in working with science and technology initiatives makes it a wonderful partner to implement SciTechsperience,” said Betsy Lulfs, executive director of the Minnesota Science and Technology Authority. “We are excited to be working with them on this new opportunity to retain Minnesota’s young talent.”
Today (8/17) the Minneapolis-St.Paul Business Journal posted an update to yesterdays news (below the fold) with a statement from Google:
“Minnesota is home to countless Google users and customers — big and small — who are helping drive innovation and economic growth for the state. In 2010, Google provided more than $1 billion in economic activity for Minnesota businesses. Our users, partners, developers and customers are located all over the country including Minnesota. With innovation occurring at the University of Minnesota as well as the tech sector across the state, we’re excited to be joining the Association and being a part of the working group.”
Via Minnov8
“The Gang is joined by Rick Mahn founder of the Social Media Breakfast Minneapolis/St. Paul, for an end-of-the-day podcast at the Minnesota High Tech Association Spring Conference. We talk about the missing “high tech” (e.g., Wifi) at the event and its impact on our ability to publish to this liveblog and other general impressions about the day that is mostly favorable.”
Kate Rubin has been President and CEO of the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA) for over 8 years. Her background includes organizational and human resources studies, sales, marketing, executive coaching and leadership development. Ms. Rubin originally moved to Minnesota in 1990 with IBM as part of a 100 million dollar initiative focused on health care and transportation within the public sector.
The MHTA has a rich history dating back 28 years; currently, it’s a non-profit with the mission to drive the growth, sustainability and global competitiveness of Minnesota’s tech based economy through their ACE strategy: Advocacy, Collaboration and Education. Membership is made of companies that range from small consultancies to Minnesota’s largest and best known tech firms. Membership dues run on a graduated level and are revenue based ($300-$12,000). Benefits include: supporting policy and legislative initiatives, continuing education, leadership tracks and member only networking/ collaboration events.
This years MHTA Spring Conference, themed “A new way forward”, will be on April 22nd at the Minneapolis Convention Center . The organization is also known for it’s annual TEKNE Awards which “Celebrate companies, innovations and individuals that have positively impacted Minnesota’s technology-based economy.” Additionally, the MHTA is nationally recognized for its “Get STEM” portal, a unique means of connecting underserved classroom environments with the greater Minnesota business community.
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