Visionary Women Leaders in Tech Recognized by The Anita Borg Institute

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Feb 25, 2015) - We are reminded daily that women in technology face an uphill battle for success, but that message leaves out the countless women who are currently making invaluable contributions to the high tech industry. Today The Anita Borg Institute, a non-profit organization focused on the advancement of women in computing, announced the winners of the 2015 Women of Vision ABIE Awards, which highlights two women in the computing industry for their achievements in Technology Entrepreneurship and Leadership. The Anita Borg Institute also announced the finalists for the Student of Vision Award, which honors a student with a unique vision to use technology to make a difference. While the technology industry is often portrayed as unwelcoming for women, The Women of Vision ABIE Awards recognize trailblazing women in technical roles who are making waves in the field through technological innovation and impactful leadership.

The 2015 Women of Vision ABIE Award winners are Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan, Founder and CEO, Drawbridge for Technology Entrepreneurship; and Julie Larson-Green, Chief Experience Officer, Applications and Services Group, Microsoft for Leadership. In addition to honoring these dynamic leaders, Julia Edwards and Camila Achutti, the Student of Vision Award finalists, will present their videos at the Anita Borg Institute's Women of Vision Awards Banquet, where the winner will be chosen by live audience voting. The Women of Vision Awards Banquet will be held on May 14, 2015 in Santa Clara, CA.

"We are excited to honor both amazing technology leaders and up and coming students in the computing industry with this year's Women of Vision ABIE Awards," said Telle Whitney, president and CEO of the Anita Borg Institute. "The Women of Vision ABIE Awards are an opportunity to highlight the achievements of women in technical fields, from data science to user interface design, and the future of technology. Our 2015 winners exemplify the contributions women make to the computing field every day."

2015 ABIE Award Winners

ABIE Award for Technology Entrepreneurship: Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan
Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan is the founder and CEO of Drawbridge, the leading technology company that is fundamentally changing the way in which brands and enterprises connect with people. Under Kamakshi's leadership, the Drawbridge team has built the first technology-aided solution that addresses a problem central to all digital media: consumer-trusted cross-device identity. Previously, she was Lead Scientist at AdMob (acquired by Google in 2009), where she was responsible for building much of AdMob's machine-learning stack. Kamakshi also has the unique distinction of her work being on board New Horizons, NASA's farthest space mission, to Pluto and the outer planetary system.

She received her PhD in Information Theory and Algorithms from Stanford University. She has been named one of Business Insider's "Most Powerful Women in Mobile Advertising" three years in a row. In 2014, she was named one of Ad Age's "40 Under 40," as well as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist.

This year's ABIE Award for Technology Entrepreneurship is sponsored by Hack Reactor.

ABIE Award for Leadership: Julie Larson-Green
Julie Larson-Green is a renowned leader in user interface design and a pioneer in product development and engineering. As Chief Experience Officer for the Applications and Services group, Julie is one of the highest-ranking women leaders in software and hardware engineering at Microsoft. Julie previously served as Vice President for program management, design, and planning in Windows, where she directed the transformation of the 6,000+ employee organization to focus on building the product for the end-to-end customer experience. Julie's remarkable ability to unify leaders and teams to a single mission and create a shared vision of how technology can be built in a cohesive cross-system approach has led to significant product improvements. Her principles of open communication, transparency across teams, and willingness to explore ideas from anyone has created a paradigm shift in product team collaboration and innovation.

Julie's talent and passion for building products has made a dramatic impact to Microsoft for more than 20 years. In recognition for her work, Julie received the Microsoft Technical Community Network Outstanding Technical Leadership award in 2008. 

This year's ABIE Award for Leadership is sponsored by Lam Research.

Student of Vision Award Finalist: Camila Fernandez Achutti
Camila Fernandez Achutti is pursuing her Masters in Scientific and Technological Education at the University of Sa�o Paulo, where she also received her undergraduate degree in Computer Science. She is a visionary entrepreneur and technology evangelist with a passion for advancing the role of women in tech, working to build a community of girls and women that can change the world through innovation with technology. Camila is the Founder and CEO of Women in Computing, the biggest site in Portuguese to support and encourage female participation in the technology world. Camila also works as a software engineer at Iridescent Learning, a non-profit that creates and delivers powerful science, engineering and technology education to help underprivileged children develop curiosity, creativity and persistence.

Student of Vision Award Finalist: Julia Edwards
Julia Edwards is a senior Computer Science major and Economics minor at Smith College. She has a particular interest in engineering program management and tech entrepreneurship. She is the founder and president of Smithies in Computer Science, Smith College's first club devoted to recruiting and retaining women Computer Science majors. The inspiration for founding the club came in 2013 when Julia discovered her passion for promoting gender equality in the tech industry. She decided to start making her own contribution to closing the gender gap by strengthening the Computer Science program at Smith. After graduation, Julia will be working at Box as a Software Engineer. In the years to come, she hopes to become an Engineering Program Manager before she ultimately builds her own tech startup.

This year the Student of Vision ABIE Award is sponsored by Capital One.

The May 14 awards banquet will also feature a keynote address from Tiffany Shlain, renowned filmmaker and founder of the Webby Awards, and will be emceed by Caroline Fairchild, Editorial Director at LinkedIn and former reporter for Fortune.

More information about online registration can be found at www.women-of-vision.org/attend/. College and university faculty and students are invited to apply for a sponsored Share the Vision seat at the banquet. This is an opportunity to meet with the industry's leaders and brightest women technologists.

Sponsorship opportunities for the Women of Vision Awards Banquet are available.

Follow more about the Women of Vision Awards Banquet on Twitter with #WOV15.

Current event sponsors include: Dinner Host - Lockheed Martin; Gold Sponsors - Cisco, NetApp; Silver Sponsors - Hewlett-Packard, Juniper Networks, Thomson Reuters; ABIE Award for Technology Entrepreneurship Sponsor - Hack Reactor; ABIE Award for Leadership Sponsor - Lam Research; Student of Vision Award Sponsor - Capital One.

About the Anita Borg Institute (ABI)

The Anita Borg Institute (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. As a social enterprise, we recognize women making positive contributions, and advise organizations on how to improve performance by building more inclusive teams. ABI partners include: Cisco, Google, HP, Microsoft, Thomson Reuters, Amazon, CA Technologies, Dell, eBay, Facebook, First Republic Bank, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Lockheed Martin, National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, NetApp, SAP, Symantec, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Broadcom, EMC, Neustar, Raytheon, Salesforce.com, VentureLoop, Xerox and Yahoo! The Anita Borg Institute is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 charitable organization. For more information, visit www.anitaborg.org

Follow the Anita Borg Institute on Twitter at @anitaborg_org and become a fan at www.facebook.com/anitaborginstitute.