Tomorrow night, the Tampa Bay chapter of WITI (Women In Technology International) is hosting a showcase of technology businesses owned by women. It takes place online tomorrow, Wednesday January 27th, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. EST.
Here’s the key info for the event:
- The event: WITI Tampa Bay Women Owned Businesses Showcase
- When: Wednesday, January 27, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. EST
- Where to register: Here’s the registration page. Men are welcome to attend. WITI members can attend for free; there’s a $10 admission for non-members.
The showcase
Event schedule
5:30 pm to 6:00 pm – Gather and Welcome
6:00 pm to 6:15 pm – Woman Owned Tech Business 1
6:15 pm to 6:30 pm – Woman Owned Tech Business 2
6:30 pm to 6:45 pm – Mix and Mingle
6:45 pm to 7:00 pm – Woman Owned Tech Business 3
7:00 pm to 7:15 pm – Woman Owned Tech Business 4
7:15 pm to 7:25 pm – Mix and Mingle
7:25 pm to 7:30 pm – Thank you and Goodbye
Moderator: Suzanne Ricci
The showcase will feature a panel moderated by Suzanne Ricci, Chief Success Officer at Computer Coach Training Center and WITI Network Director.
Since 2000, Suzanne has helped thousands of IT and business professionals, in Tampa Bay, achieve their career goals through customized training strategies. Starting off her career as a Web Designer, she possesses over 25 technical certifications and 20 years of IT and training experience.
Panelists
Chelsea Pierre is the Founder and CEO of Blerds Leading Technology, also known as BLT. She incorporated Blerds Leading Technology in June 2020. As Founder and CEO, Chelsea is focusedon accelerating the movement of diversity and inclusion one datacenter at a time by providing resources, scholarships, and other avenues for minorities in the IT field to excel in their career.
Prior to opening BLT, Chelsea Pierre was a Cyber Network Engineer for the Department of Defense. Alongside her career, she has motivated multiple IT professionals by holding instructor positions for both Pluralsight and Cybrary e-learning platforms, mentoring individuals on social media platforms, inspiring others from behind the podium of multiple tech conferences, such as Black Tech Alabama, and have affiliated herself with multiple local tech organizations, to include once holding the position of Chapter President for Blacks in Technology Central Florida.
Chelsea Pierre is prior Air Force and holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Computer Science with a concentration in Leadership Studies from Troy University and is currently working on her Executive MBA at Auburn University.
Tonya Elmore is founder, President & CEO of STAR-TEC Enterprises, Inc. a not-for-profit corporation that specializes in working with innovators and entrepreneurs. Under Tonya’s leadership the Tampa Bay Innovation Center was established to house and provide programming for startups. The Innovation Center, an incubator for early-stage technology firms, is a regional, national and international known success story that has been in operation for 17 years that continues to build momentum in Pinellas County, Florida. Twice the Innovation Center has been awarded winner of the Tampa Bay Technology Forum’s Professional Services Company of the Year. It has also been recognized by Entrepreneur.com among the top 10 roundup of international business incubators.
Tonya holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and an executive MBA from the University of South Florida. In 2007, Tonya was among the first graduating class to receive a professional designation as a “certified incubator manager” from the National Business Incubator Association. She is a certified coach/facilitator for the Wendy Kennedy “so what, who cares, why you?”, Kauffman Fast Trac Tech Venture and CO.STARTERS programs.
Ms. Elmore has served as a vice-chair for the Florida Business Incubator Association. She has been named as among the top twenty technology leaders in the Tampa Bay region. Tonya has participated in numerous media appearances and interviews, including Fox 13 Good Day Tampa Bay as an expert on entrepreneurship and early growth strategies.
Tonya serves on the Operating Council of the St. Petersburg Innovation District, the Advisory Board for the Suncoast Developers Guild and as a board member for Synapse. She was most recently recognized by Florida Trend as “One of the People to Know in St. Petersburg” and by the Tampa Bay Business Journal as “One of 25 People to Watch in 2020”. Elmore previously held a Top Secret Security clearance while working on Defense Contracts.
Veronica Lane, Founder and CEO, PMP, PMI-ACP, Founder and CEO of Veronica Lane Consulting, LLC, graduate of Florida A&M University, has over 25 years of active project management and corporate training expertise. Her project management training excellence has afforded her the opportunity to train both the private and public sectors of business and government.
Christina Dills, CEO, Smart Edge Technologies, is a leading professional and entrepreneur in emerging technologies with excellent technology solution ideation and execution to grow and develop business. She brings over 15 years executive experience in leading market strategy and business intelligence for multinational companies. She is actively leading Smart Edge Technologies a retail analytics company and Immunity Ledger a non-profit educational and blockchain data repository for health verification. She also consults several international companies for overall digital transformation strategies