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UT iSchool hosts ATX Women in Tech panel Feb. 27

Five women, all University of Texas School of Information graduates, working in various information-related fields will discuss what technology skills have helped further their careers at the second annual ATX Women in Tech Panel Friday, February 27. The panel begins at 3:30 p.m. in Room 1.208 of UT School of Information, 1616 Guadalupe St., Austin. A reception will follow at 4:30 p.m. in the iSchool's Tocker Foundation Student Lounge.

The ATX Women in Tech Panel, underwritten by AT&T and The GM Foundation, is a project of the Advocating for Women in Technology organization (AWIT).

The five panelists are:

  • Caris Hurd - User Experience Strategist, Four Kitchens
  • Cary-Anne Olsen - User Experience Researcher, IBM
  • Jennifer Hecker - Digital Archives Access Specialist, Technology Integration Services, UT Libraries
  • Mary Anne Huckman - Operational Risk Consultant, Wells Fargo
  • Melanie Cofield - Metadata Coordinator, Cataloging & Metadata Services, UT Libraries

"The ATX Women in Tech Panel & Networking Reception is an event we put together to inspire our students to explore the wide variety of tech career opportunities available with an MSIS degree," said UT iSchool AWIT co-director and MSIS candidate Grace Atkins. "The panel is an opportunity for these women to share their insight with iSchoolers about what kind of tech skills they should currently be pursuing. We hope to have one big conversation about the types of tech careers in the Austin area and how women, and all iSchoolers, can best prepare to pursue those opportunities."

Recruiters from the following companies will attend the panel event:

  • AT&T
  • Adonit
  • Capgemini Consulting
  • Chaotic Moon Studios
  • Cisco Systems, Inc.
  • IBM
  • Jobs2Careers
  • projekt202
  • T-3
  • Whole Foods Market

After the success of the She ++ Panel and Film Screening previous AWIT director Marcia McIntosh coordinated last year, Atkins and Ko wanted to continue that streak. To fulfill the unanimous student request of allowing more time to interact with panelists afterward, Atkins and AWIT co-director Pearl Ko chose to add the reception aspect to the event.

AWIT is an iSchool student organization with a goal to inform, educate and mentor students, especially women, in developing the technical skills necessary to succeed academically and professionally. AWIT is a subcommittee of the UT iSchool's Association for Information Science and Technology student chapter.

"The iSchool's student body is over 75 percent female, so it made sense to form a group committed to providing more opportunities for women to develop the technical skills necessary to succeed academically and professionally," Ko said. "AWIT encourages all genders to attend our events-we're all advocates for women!"

For more information and to register for this free event open to the public, go to http://atxwomenintechpanel.eventbrite.com.