Sandra J. Evers-Manly is vice president, Corporate Responsibility for Northrop Grumman and president of the Northrop Grumman Foundation.

Evers-Manly has a varied range of responsibilities for corporate-wide equal employment opportunity, ethics, charitable giving, community relations and employee recognition programs.  Before her current appointment, she was vice president, Ethics and Diversity.  She began her career at Northrop Grumman as a summer intern while in college.

With 25 years of HR experience, Evers-Manly oversees an ever-expanding function of the corporate office.  Her direct reports in community relations coordinate myriad programs with the eight sectors as well as industry counterparts.  She helped to found and subsequently build the Northrop Grumman Foundation, which is committed to supporting diverse and sustainable programs that create innovative education opportunities.

She has greatly enhanced the company's corporate profile and citizenship by supporting the differing needs in the many communities where the company's employees live and work.  Each year, she hosts the Corporate Community Service Grant eventwhere nonprofit organizations, serving virtually every segment of the Southern California community, are recognized.  During this annual event, more than 300 local organizations and the United Way are presented with monetary grants as part of the company's commitment to the region. 

Evers-Manly is a noted speaker at national as well as local organization events.  A graduate of the University of Southern California with a bachelors of Science degree in public administration, she also attended an executive management program at The University of Pennsylvania's The Wharton School.   She is a member of the Defense Industry Initiative Working Group, and a fellow at the Ethics Resource Center based in Washington, D.C.

The recipient of numerous honors, Evers-Manly received the 2007 Outstanding Citizen Award from the March of Dimes, A Place Called Home’s 2007 Woman of Achievement, and the 2006 Outstanding Diversity Leader Award from the City of Torrance Chamber of Commerce.  She was also selected as a 2006 Century City Chamber of Commerce Woman of Achievement.  She is the executive producer of five short films on the impact of gang violence and the Academy Award-nominated short film, Last Breeze of Summer.

In keynotes and workshops she gives professionals in corporate, government, association, university, and non-profit audiences, practical strategies for getting things done through networking, negotiating, and alliance building. Her strategies, in print and in person, are recognized nationwide as state-of-the-art.  Contacts Count has 12 certified presenters in the U.S. and Canada who deliver their networking keynotes and workshops.  The company also licenses corporations to use its materials in their leadership and career development programs.
 
Recent clients include Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, U.S. Cellular, Kraft Foods, PricewaterhouseCoopers,  Booz-Allen Hamilton, Corning, DuPont, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, First Horizon Bank, HSBC Bank, the Smithsonian, and the National Geographic Society, Marquette University, Georgetown University, City College of New York, National Business Incubation Association, the Consumer Electronics Association, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Society of Women Engineers, the National Business Incubation Association, the National Association of International Educators, the American Institute of Architects, the Treasury Executive Institute, and U.S. Departments of State, Agriculture, Commerce, & Navy, the NIH, the FDA, NASA, the Presidential Fellows Program.   www.ContactsCount.com

For more information, please visit the Contacts Count website.

Part of T. Rowe Price's IT organization for 10 years, Michelle Benvenga leads a development group which supports the Investment Trading, Investment Operations, and Corporate business functions. The development initiatives include process re-engineering and operational cost efficiencies. Prior to her current assignment, Benvenga led an application development team responsible for the definition and implementation of business-driven projects for the Retail, Retirement Planning Services, Investments, Operations, and Corporate business areas. Developing technical strategy and direction to align with the business strategy; managing scope, budget, schedule; and continually improving metrics were primary responsibilities.

Before working at T. Rowe Price, Benvenga led account management, internal development, and consulting organizations in the insurance and aerospace industries. She worked at USF&G Insurance and General Electric. She started her career as a computer operator and then programmer.

Benvenga currently serves on the external board for UMBC's Center for Women and Information Technology (CWIT) and MDWIT. She also is the Treasurer for the tri-state, local Doberman Rescue organization.

She earned a B.A. in Political Science and a B.S. in Public Relations at Utica College of Syracuse University and a M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is currently pursuing a Master's in Education at UMBC.

Benvenga was born and raised in the Baltimore area and has lived in New York, Pennsylvania, and Northern Virginia as she re-located for professional opportunities. She is married, has two children, and an 86 pound Doberman named Zeus.

Clarence T. Bishop comes to the Agency with more than 25 years of leadership experience in federal and local government. Before joining DBED, Clarence served as Chief of Staff to Mayor Martin O'Malley. Clarence played a key role in the Mayor's highly successful economic development program, resulting in Baltimore City boasting a record $11 billion in projects. He also helped guide several large-scale redevelopment projects, including the City's successful effort to build a convention center hotel, as well as two massive biotech facilities in East and West Baltimore.

Clarence has served on more than a dozen business and economic development oriented boards and commissions including the Baltimore City Planning Commission, Baltimore Hotel Corporation, Baltimore Development Corporation, and the National Aquarium in Baltimore. He is also the former Chairman of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors.

Previously Deputy Secretary Bishop served as Confidential Assistant to the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce, Chief of Staff to Georgia Congressman and civil rights legend John Lewis, and Chief of Staff to former Maryland Congressman Parren J. Mitchell. He holds a Masters degree in Urban Planning and Public Policy Analysis, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics, both from Morgan State University.

Margaret Burke is a Project Director in the Talent Acquisition Group of Human Capital Advisors. She has over twenty years experience in human capital management.

Margaret is also the founding partner of TalentShip Search, Inc. Margaret has worked with clients in a wide range of industries including Venture Capital, e-commerce, Communications, Healthcare, Financial Services, Software Development, Non-Profit, and professional associations. Practice areas in talent acquisition include IT, finance, information security, project management, organizational development, training, human resources, recruiting, enterprise resource management, call center, sales, and fundraising.

In addition to her work in Talent Acquisition, Margaret has provided professional human capital management services to diverse corporate and individual clients. She has provided individual and group coaching and career counseling to professionals in the Baltimore-Washington area, as well as training in behavioral interviewing for hiring managers and advanced recruiting research techniques. Margaret is a member of the Advisory Board for the Academy of Information Technology (AOIT), and serves as a community internship liaison with AOIT for two high schools in Montgomery County. Margaret also works with a team at HCA to deliver training in Leadership for High Potentials and Management 101 for New Supervisors.

Margaret has an undergraduate degree in psychology with an emphasis in business, and is currently pursuing MBA and SPHR certification. She has facilitated volunteer efforts for Heifer International, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, and Mount Airy Net. Margaret is an active member of Women in Technology, a member of Golden Key National Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi, Howard County SHRM, and National SHRM.

Shirley Collier, is C.E.O., of Optemax, LLC, a wireless optical networking company, and is a nationally known speaker, author and technology entrepreneur. For over 25 years, she has worked in the technology, university, government, and financial services industries in a variety of technical and managerial positions. She was co-founder and CEO for 15 years of Paragon Computer Services, Inc and all of its subsidiaries, a systems integration and telecommunications services company which were acquired in 2004. Paragon was a pioneer in developing products and services to help businesses understand and leverage the power of the Internet for strategic advantage. Shirley has an undergraduate degree in Marketing with a Master's degree in Management. She has published over 50 articles and spoken extensively on aligning business and Information Technology, IT security/governance, strategic planning and e commerce. She serves on an advisory board of BB&T Bank, is the past chair the Board of the Howard County Economic Development Authority, and is a founding member and past President of the International Alliance of Technology Integrators. She formerly served on the Boards of the Howard County Chamber of Commerce (chairing the Education and Nominating Committees), and the Domestic Violence Center of Howard County (and recipient of their Spirit Award). Shirley serves on the Howard County Superintendent's Advisory Council for Educational Partnerships and on the Board of the Center for Women in Information Technology at UMBC, chairing the International Committee. She also sits on the Board of Trustees of the Horizon Foundation, which focuses on community health.

Shirley has served on numerous commissions and committees including the County Executive and County Council's Compensation Committee, the Columbia Town Center Rotary annual fundraisers (for 7 years), The Heart Ball (chair for two years), the EDA's Incubator Committee (chair for 2 years) and Technology Leadership Consortium, and the Howard Community College's Commission on the Future. She is a graduate of Leadership Howard County and was named Alumnus of the Year in 1997 and received the Children's Advocate Award in 2004.

Shirley received the 1999 Woman of the Year award from the Business Women's Network of Howard County. She was awarded the EBO Outstanding Woman in Business award in 1997. Shirley was named one of Maryland's Top 100 Women in 1996, 2000 and 2005 and inducted into the "Circle of Excellence" by The Daily Record. She was named as one of the Arthritis Foundation's Women of Distinction, and in 1995 founded "Computer Mania," a free computer symposium for girls in the public school system to foster confidence in technology, mathematics and science. Computer Mania is now being funded by major corporations in conjunction with UMBC to reach middle-school girls throughout the region. In 2003, Shirley was inducted into the Women's Hall of Fame by the Howard County Women's Commission. In 2004 Shirley received a Distinguished Leader Award from the YWCA at their first annual Women's Leadership Luncheon. In 2005 she was named economic development Volunteer of the Year by the Northeast Economic Developer's Association. Shirley and her company also were awarded the Torch Award for ethical business practices by the Better Business Bureau of Greater Baltimore.

Julie is Chief Executive Officer of the Tech Council of Maryland/MdBio. As CEO, she is responsible for developing and implementing the strategic direction of the Tech Council's programming and business operations. Working closely with the Tech Council's volunteer leadership Julie is responsible for the Council's governance, its advocacy program, membership development, member benefits and program delivery. In addition she is responsible for overall management of the Council's charitable organizations including the TCM Foundation, MdBio Foundation and Maryland Health Care Products Development Corporation.

Julie brings nearly twenty-five years of proven success in business strategy, project implementation and industry advocacy at for-profits and non-profits to her role as CEO. She has been instrumental in bringing new business solutions to organizations in crisis and building and managing successful teams. She is a well-regarded advocate for businesses with international and US regulators and legislators. Most recently she managed the merger of an operating foundation in to the Tech Council of Maryland resulting in a $16 million organization.

She has held key international roles at telecommunications firms Iridium and Teligent and is comfortable in both start -up environments and large organizations. Prior to her experience in the telecommunications industry, Coons spent a number of years in advocacy in the financial service industry as well as developing and implementing US-Japan trade policy for the US government.

Julie began her career nearly 25 years ago in Japan and has lived and worked in Asia for nearly her entire career. She speaks, reads and writes highly competent Japanese. Julie has two undergraduate degrees from the University of Pacific in Stockton, California in economics and Japanese language and literature.

She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Council of Regional IT Associations (CRITA), a Steering Committee member of the Women's Wireless Leadership Forum (www.wwlf.org), a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), a member of Women in Technology (WIT) and serves on the board of directors of the MdBio Foundation, Maryland Healthcare Products Development Corporation and the TCM Foundation.

Christine Copple is President & CEO of Starise Ventures, Inc. Starise provides entrepreneurs, investors and non-profits with fractional access to top-tier skills. Starise can assemble custom management teams balanced to complement existing strengths while optimizing resource allocation and overall execution. Starise also provides technology evaluation and extraction from academic institutions into new or existing entities.

Previously Chris was President & CEO of ASM Resources Inc., the venture arm of the American Society for Microbiology. The ASM Resources fund is fully invested. Before joining ASMR, Chris was Chief Operating Officer at Neuralstem, Inc. a stem cell company focused on developing treatments and cures for neurodegenerative diseases. Prior that, she was Director of the Office of Industry Liaison for the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute where she was responsible for providing entrepreneurial guidance and services for faculty and start-up companies. For the previous 10 years, Chris was Vice President of the public company Microfluidics International. She came to the U.S. to join the Cell Biology Laboratory at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

With more than 25 years of experience in senior management positions at biotechnology growth companies, Dr. Copple is seasoned in public offerings, private/venture investments, joint ventures, licensing and partnering, public corporate reporting, public relations, investor relations, international marketing, product development, regulatory affairs, legislative affairs, and facilities design/buildout. Dr. Copple is a member of the Advisory Board for the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) Program and she serves, or has served, as a Board member on a variety of companies and organizations including the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO). She received a B.Sc. in Biological Sciences from the University of East Anglia (U.K.) and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology of Cancer from the University of Birmingham Medical School (U.K.).

Patricia Elizondo is the Senior Vice President of Eastern Sales Operations for Xerox Corporation. She is responsible for leading Xerox's pursuit in achieving Customer Satisfaction, Employee Satisfaction, Revenue and Profit objectives for the largest commercial accounts in Xerox. Pat leads a fully integrated sales force within each Xerox Customer Business Unit, complemented by a strong industry and global/national major account organization. Pat is also responsible for the design and operational compliance of the Strategic Account Management Process utilized in Xerox.

Pat joined Xerox in 1981 as an internal auditor. She progressed through a number of operational and financial field management positions. In addition, Pat achieved numerous accomplishments and recognition in other key management assignments, including Indianapolis District Controller, Northeast Ohio District Sales Manager, Vice President/General Manager of Maryland/Virginia Customer Business Unit and Senior Vice President of the Financial/Professional and Healthcare Industry Operations.

Pat has been recognized for her dynamic leadership by a number of national publications. She was named one of the "50 Most Important Hispanics in Technology and Business" in 2006 for the third consecutive year by Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology Magazine. Pat was also cited as one of the "Top 80 Hispanic women in Business" by Hispanic Business Magazine in 2005.

Pat holds an undergraduate degree in Finance from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame. She currently serves as Chairperson of the Board of The Center for Women & Information Technology (CWIT) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Pat was recently named Xerox Corporation's representative to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, effective 2008.

Pat resides in Columbia, Maryland with her husband John Kitowski and son, Kyle Kitowski.

Sheila Heinze is President of SM Consulting, Inc. (SMC) a privately held, Baltimore-based Professional Services firm that recently marked its eleventh year in business. Ms. Heinze's rise from a receptionist at an IT consulting firm to the founder of one of the fastest growing companies in America, is a remarkable success story. Initially she targeted establishing relationships with and providing information technology services to the Fortune 1000 companies in the Baltimore area.

The expansion of the firm led to a Northern Virginia office and the foray into government contracts which proved to the extremely successful. SMC has now emerged as a solid partner with the federal government in the war on terror, providing translators and intelligence specialists at home and in seven foreign countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition to Baltimore and Northern Virginia, the firm also has offices in Salt Lake City, Utah, Boston, Mass and Tampa, Florida. The firm employs over 500 technologists and translators.

SMC has been awarded four INC. 500 awards as one of the nation's fastest growing privately held companies, and was recognized as the largest women-owned business in the Baltimore area by the Baltimore Business Journal.

Ms. Heinze is a 1985 graduate of the Pennsylvania State University and has served on the Board of Directors of the Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) and the Board of the Kathleen Mary House, a transitional home for victims of domestic violence. She resides in Catonsville with her husband and 2 young daughters.

Greg Hodges is the Corporate Director of Staffing for Northrop Grumman. In this position he has overall responsibility for leading the Staffing operations for Northrop Grumman's corporate and sector offices. This includes the definition and implementation of systems, processes and strategies for the company's staffing requirements. Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $32 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide.

Greg joined the company in 1977 as a software engineer and has held a number of positions in engineering, project management, program management and human resources. He currently serves as a member of the following boards and advisory councils:

• Center for Women and Information Technology (CWIT) at UMBC
• The Governor's Taskforce on the Status of Women and Information Technology
• UMBC's President's Advisory Council for Business Outreach

Greg received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a master's degree in digital systems from Loyola College. He and his wife, Vicki, live in Maryland and they have three children.

Ms. Hollingsworth is founder and president of two national firms specializing in services in disaster response and recovery services for restoration of high tech equipment and property claims investigation. Ms. Hollingsworth holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, and is a Certified Disaster Recovery Planner,(CDRP). She is the author of a number of articles on disaster recovery planning and management and has spoken at various national and international Disaster Recovery Conferences. Her national restoration firm, Asset Recovery Technologies, Inc. specializes in the recovery of all types of technology assets such as computers and phone systems and networks, data centers and telephone switch centers, hospital and medical equipment a. A 9/11 responder, Ms. Hollingsworth and her firm were also mobilized to the Gulf Coast area for Hurricane Katrina recovery assignments as well of hundreds of projects nationwide over the years. As an entrepreneur, Ms. Hollingsworth has founded other firms over the years including a manufacturing firm, and worked as Senior Vice President for Mergers and Acquisitions in the investment banking field.

Ms. Hollingsworth is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (I.E.E.E.), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (N.A.C.E). She holds a Confidential level Security Clearance from the federal government and is a licensed Amateur Radio Operator, (HAM), call sign N9RYW. She also serves as an adjunct faculty member for Triton College and DeVry Institute of Technology, and as a trainer for a variety of insurance carriers.

Renee Lewis has over 20 years of experience helping emerging companies succeed and grow. Ms. Lewis is the President and CEO of the Pensare Group dedicated to helping entrepreneurs outperform their expectations getting the right results at the right time. She has hands-on expertise in the technology, pharmaceutical technology, telecommunications, banking, eLearning, pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. She has held the position of CEO, COO, CTO, CIO and Director for several technology-based start-ups developing skills in all areas of the business. She has also held senior positions directing large systems integration projects in organizations such as Cerner, Bell Atlantic, Citi-Street (previously Wellspring Resources), and Booz, Allen and Hamilton. She has experience raising money, selling companies and implementing successful mergers and acquisitions.

Ms. Lewis is a requested speaker at industry conferences including FOSE, Extreme Markup Languages, and E-Gov authoring papers and presentations on a wide range of topics from delivering on budget/on time to exploring the implications of semantic web technology adoption. Ms. Lewis holds a BS from the Pennsylvania State University and an MS from George Washington University. She sits on the Advisory Board for the Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSEHD) at George Washington University focusing on the infusion of technology into education, supports several organizations as an advisor to the board, and is very active in the local community through her civic and PTA endeavors. She is certified by Achievement Seminars International (ASI) as a Facilitator and the Total Quality Institute (TQI) as a Quality Process Advisor.

M. Monica McManus is Vice President of Engineering within Lockheed Martin Information Systems and Global Services (IS&GS). In this role, she is responsible for the engineering and technical leadership of over 4300 engineers who are part of the $2.2B Global Security Solutions (GSS) company.

Ms. McManus has over 20 years of experience in engineering program performance and business development. She joined TRW in 1983 where she spent 14 years in a variety of software/systems engineering roles with both technical and management responsibilities. Monica joined Lockheed Martin in 1997, to manage the Washington Area Software Engineering Skill Center, a 200+person organization, where she was responsible for individual career development/mentoring and staffing across the region. In 1999, Monica was named Director, Management Systems and Services where she was responsible for over 740 individuals who delivered software/systems engineering products and services. In 2002, Monica was named the Deputy Vice President for the Imagery and Geospatial line of business. In 2003, Monica took on the role of Vice President of Geospatial-Intelligence Systems and Services where she was responsible for geospatial-intelligence programs and advanced research for federal, commercial and international markets. Following that assignment, Monica was named Vice President, Capability Centers where she was responsible for the development and integration activities for a broad range of customers.

Monica is a graduate of the College of William and Mary with a Bachelors of Science with Honors in Computer Science. She received a Masters of Science degree in Computer Science from Virginia Tech in 1987. Monica is a Development Dimensions International (DDI) Certified Instructor for the Lockheed Martin Management Fundamentals Team. Monica currently serves on the Board of Directors for Volunteer Fairfax and University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Center for Women and Information Technology (CWIT). She has been involved in many other community activities, including Fairfax County Library and Fairfax County Schools. She has also served as Chairperson of the Communications Committee of the Lockheed Martin Network of Volunteer Associates (NOVA). Monica and her husband live in Oakton, Virginia. They enjoy spending time with family and vacationing at the ocean.

Lara Morrell graduated from Loyola College in MD in 2005 with a degree in Computer Science and Mathematics. Since then, she has been working for defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corporation. Currently, Lara is a Project Manager in F-22 Radar Modernization at Northrop Grumman Corporation, in Baltimore. She is currently managing two small programs and various projects, all focused on helping to further enhance the radar system onboard the U.S. Air Force's F-22 fighter jet. These new features will provide the upgrades necessary to meet the demands of today's combat. Her experiences as a Project Manager have exposed her to a variety of technical fields, including hardware production, qualification, repair and upgrades, software design, implementation, testing, and maintenance, and logistics and lab infrastructure.

In addition to her full-time job, Lara has a very active calendar. At work she volunteers her time provide to career coaching and mentoring for 8 members of Northrop Grumman Corporation's Leadership Training program. Outside of work, Lara is enrolled in a MS program for System Engineering at Johns Hopkins University and attends classes one or two evenings a week. Lara volunteers as the Regional Director for Baltimore County, City, and Howard County for Destination Imagination, Inc., a creative problem solving organization for kids. As a past participant herself, she is also the head of their National Alumni Association, the DIAA. She also sings in her church choir and is planning her wedding for November of this year.

Ms. Pearl formed Ceres in December, 2005 with two partners to make early stage investments in Midwestern companies. Ceres specializes in the areas of information technology, healthcare and business services. She currently serves on the board of Zorch International, Inc. and Brill Street and Company; both firms are Ceres portfolio companies.

Prior to forming Ceres, Ms. Pearl spent more than 20 years with Frontenac Company, a leading Chicago-based private equity firm, where she served as a managing director, overseeing investments in a variety of areas including healthcare services, business services, retail and manufacturing. Ms. Pearl served on nine boards in connection with Frontenac portfolio investments including Levy Restaurants, Platinum Entertainment, Whitehall Jewellers, Homex Healthcare Corporation, Genderm Corporation, O.N.E., Inc. and Apex Specialty Materials.

Prior to Frontenac, Ms. Pearl spent four years at the National and Chicago offices of Ernst & Young.

Ms. Pearl evaluates business plans and coaches entrepreneurs in a variety of programs, including serving as a selection judge at the 2005 Midwest Venture Summit and the 2005 and 2003 Springboard Forums. She has served on the judging panel for Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Program for the Chicago/NW Indiana Region for 10 years and has been chairperson for the last six years. She also served as a judge for the National EOY Program for two years as well. She has served on the Entrepreneurial Advisory Board of the University of Chicago, the Campaign Committee of the University of Illinois and is on the Board of the Illinois Venture Capital Association. She is also a member of the President's Council of the YWCA.

Ms. Pearl regularly lectures on private equity, venture capital and entrepreneurial finance at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management. She has also judged business plan competitions at those schools as well as at the University of Illinois and the University of Notre Dame. She has been a keynote speaker for an MBA function at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Ms. Pearl graduated summa cum laude from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a B.S. degree in Accountancy ('81). She received an MBA degree from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business in 1988. She was the Bronze Medalist on the Uniform C.P.A. Examination in the State of Illinois as well as a recipient of the Elijah Watt Sells award.

Since 2001, Ellen has been an active member of Women in Technology (WIT). During her tenure she has served as a leader on several committees such as Lunch Bunch (acting chair), Sponsorship, Web Presence Committee (chair), Women in Technology Educational Foundation (Girls in Technology) Golf Tournament Committee (co-chair), Technology Special Interest Group, Women in Government Committee, Executive Women's SIG, Leadership Awards Committee (3 years) Heroines in Technology Awards (as VIP Ambassador, 5 years), and this year arranged for the WIT Mentor Protégé program to be held at her company's local headquarters building. She is also the chair of the Tech Alliance Committee, Technology Council of Maryland. In addition, Ellen has been elected to a three-year term to the board of advisors for the Universities at Shady Grove.

Through all her related activities she demonstrates both leadership and interest in increasing the number of women into traditionally male-dominated roles by providing opportunities through mentorship or as a trusted advisor, creating pathways or avenues for individual connections with senior management at Northrop Grumman Information Technology (IT) and outside with her extensive network. In February 2008, an internal Employee Resource Group was established at her company called IT Sector WiNGs (Women in Northrop Grumman), Ellen was selected as WiNGs Board Vice President.

She made it her personal mission to have her company host the first two years of the Team Business event for the Girls in Technology (GIT) - part of WIT - which she arranged to have space donated and funds to cover the refreshments for the event. This is one of the key fundraiser events for GIT. She also has served on the WIT Charity Golf Tournament Committee for the past four years, this year as chair. This is the other fundraising event for GIT. She attends at least one of the GIT "Sharing Our Success" events, which pairs high school students with women in technology fields, to share experiences and encourage young girls and women to join the technology field. This includes work with the Universities and Montgomery College with science, technology, engineering and math initiatives.

One of Ellen's current areas of focus includes working with Universities at Shady Grove (USG) on Career Fair and Computer Mania. Previous to her work with WIT, Ellen served as a diversity leader, leading an internal committee to set up a variety of events to promote and celebrate diversity and developing communication between groups. She was instrumental in planning and executing several successful events through her three-year term as chair.

In 2007, she again volunteered her personal time on the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, Public Safety Awards Committee (second year in a row). She negotiated to have her company sponsor the event, and this year invited two police academy members or recruits to sit at her company's table. Ellen is also an active member in the March of Dimes, serving as team captain locally for her company and as a member of the Revenue committee. Last year her team raised over $5,000 in the Washington, DC area, and over $300,000 corporate-wide. This was a grass roots effort, as she received no resources and all donations were through contacts and getting the word out in her personal time.

Donna S. Stevenson Robinson, is President and Chief Executive Officer for Early Morning Software, Inc. With 20 years of experience in providing Information Technology services in Public Sector markets, Mrs. Stevenson understands the complexities of government procurement and navigating the sales cycles for product acquisition and delivery. Under her leadership, the PRISMCompliance.com product suite has become nationally recognized as a flagship product for M/W/DBE contract and compliance management in the multiple market segments, and exceeded the milestones to validate the sales and business model for PRISMCompliance.com.

Ms. Stevenson has presented research and provided consultation on the subject of Technology Innovations in Contract Compliance Management. In addition, she has served on the Governor Taskforce for MBE Program Reform and DBE Advisory Committee. In these forums, she has contributed great insight into the issues that inhibit the success of supplier diversity and M/W/DBE programs.

Ms. Stevenson has received numerous honors over the years, most notably the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded her Women-Owned Business Enterprise of the Year (1999) recognizing her innovations and creation of MBE Certification Management system; and most recently, her Alma Mata, the University of Maryland Baltimore County (2006), is recognizing Ms. Stevenson as Alumni of the Year in Science and Technology, for her technological contributions. Ms. Stevenson also holds a masters degree in business administration form Loyola College. Her unselfish character keeps her busy as a civic leader and chair and member of several Boards for educational institutions.

Regina Tillery is the Director and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED). She is responsible for directing information technology operations for the agency. Regina works with senior management to develop a strategic plan based on the business needs of the department, consistent with statewide IT initiatives and to ensure the department has a solid IT infrastructure. With support from her staff of 20 subject matter experts, Regina successfully provides DBED with secure and highly-available services, applications, and the best possible technical capability. Under Regina's leadership, her team has earned consistent acknowledgement for outstanding customer service.

Before joining DBED, Regina was a manager in the Department of Laboratory Services at Mercy Medical Center for six years. She was responsible for managing both the phlebotomy and specimen processing departments, both of which provide professional services directly to patients. While at Mercy, her department received national recognition for being one of the top patient service centers in Maryland.

Regina has accomplished over 17 years of professional management experience. She holds a bachelor's degree from the College of Notre Dame and a master's degree in information technology from the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). She is also a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE). She works with associations whose common theme is to enhance the awareness of information technology, serves as a volunteer on the Media team with her church, and is a member of the Board for the McDonough Oaks Homeowner's Association.

Christina Twomey holds a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, and is a recent graduate of the ACTiVATE program at University of Maryland Baltimore County. She is the president and co-founder of ChickSpeak.com, a national web resource for college women. With a team of over 30 writers and interns, ChickSpeak creates daily articles on a wide range of topics relevant to young women which strives to "Inspire Big Dreams, Strong Values and Success" as women move forward into the world, and provides a safe online community for female students and recent graduates.

Ms. Twomey also represents the company as she travels to colleges and universities as a public speaker and mentor.

Through her participation within the ACTiVATE program, Ms. Twomey now holds a provisional patent and is in collaboration with a local scientific development team on a new technology which aims to ultimately create products to benefit young women. She plans to launch a second business around this work in the near future.

She currently serves as the Secretary of the Baltimore Chapter of the Washington and Lee University Alumni Association, sits on the Editorial Advisory Board of Smart Woman Magazine, is the Vice President of The Notre Dame Preparatory School for Girls' Alumnae Board and is actively involved in the school's Blair Leadership Scholarship and Educational Program. Ms. Twomey is also a distance runner and enjoys deep & wreck scuba diving, kayaking and tennis.

Joanne Vatz is President and Chief Operating Officer of Cirdan Group, Inc., a woman owned information technology consulting firm in Timonium, Maryland. Cirdan Group specializes in IT program performance assessments and IT planning and analysis consulting for commercial and government clients.

Ms. Vatz is a former consulting partner at Computer Sciences Corporation and formerly Vice President of Solutions Development at Commerce One. Cirdan Group, under Ms. Vatz leadership was selected as a Top 100 Minority Business Enterprise for Outstanding Achievement in Business Development, Client Satisfaction, Professional Affiliation and Community Involvement in 2007. She is a member of the Greater Baltimore Committee Leadership Class of 2001 and the former Board President and Treasurer of the Maryland State Boychoir.

Ms. Vatz is a native of Pittsburgh, a Towson University graduate and is married with two children.

Nicole M. Waddell is the President and CEO of Virtual Link, LLC in Baltimore, Maryland. Her company is instrumental in providing IT project and program management consulting services through proven and effective methodologies. Ms. Waddell is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), with over 17 years of Information Technology experience in both private-sector and government contracting. In addition, she is an Adjunct Professor with Strayer University and the University of Maryland University College.

Ms. Waddell is an experienced speaker and workshop presenter. She has presented at the Project Management Institutes' (PMI^TM) annual College of Performance Management EVM Conference; the MDWIT conference; and the Women in Business Conference & Tradeshow, to name a few. Ms. Waddell has also appeared on "It's A Woman's World;" Comcast's "News Makers;" and the radio show, "So You Want to Be An Entrepreneur."

Ms. Waddell holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Morgan State University, and a MS in Computer Systems Management from University of Maryland University College.

Renée Winsky is an accomplished executive with over 22 years of professional experience in the management of nonprofit, quasi-government and government entities. In 2007, she was appointed the Executive Director of the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), after an extensive executive search and after serving as Interim Executive Director from January 2006.

Initially joining TEDCO in 2000, Ms. Winsky has been integral in assisting the Corporation reach its goal to be Maryland’s leading source of funding for seed capital and entrepreneurial business assistance for technology transfer, development and commercialization programs. The TEDCO Team was ranked #1 in the nation by Entrepreneur Magazine for early-seed stage investments in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. In support of its programs, TEDCO has attracted $12.0 million in grants from numerous federal and national organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Economic Development Administration, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Army, and the U.S. Navy.

In July 2006, the State of Maryland established the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund. TEDCO was designated the administrator of the Fund by the Maryland General Assembly and the Administration. TEDCO works directly with the Maryland Stem Cell Research Commission and provides management and fiduciary accountability to the Fund.

Ms. Winsky serves on the Mid-Atlantic Institute for Space and Technology Board of Directors, an annual discussant in the State Dialogue conducted by the State Science & Technology Institute (SSTI), and is a member of the Leadership Maryland Class of 2005. She also serves on the Leadership Maryland Program Committee.

Previously she was Vice President of the Information Technology Services Division of the Information Technology Association of America. Prior to that, she worked with the National League of Cities and its affiliate, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. She has also worked with the Maryland Municipal League and the City of Greenbelt. She currently serves on the City of Bowie Ethics Commission, the Tech Council of Maryland and has served on the Technology Council of the American Society of Association Executives. Ms. Winsky is a graduate of the University of Maryland.