IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 16, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Association for Women in Technology Southern California (AWT), a local non-profit organization dedicated to serving the advancement of women and girls in all fields of technology, today announced the appointment of Melissa Joseph as Vice President of Membership, Audrey Lichtner as Mentorship Committee Chair, Karin Conroy as Marketing Communications Manager and Donna Holt as Board Secretary.
"We are pleased to have Melissa, Audrey, Karin and Donna join our team," said AWT President, Cynthia Cotteta. "These four women were appointed to these positions as a result of their experience within their professions and dedication to the AWT's mission. Their extensive knowledge and skills will be instrumental in growing our organization and achieving our goals."
The AWT has an impressive list of female professionals from the Orange County businesses community representing its board. The new members will be rounding out the existing board that consists of:
-- President - Cynthia Cotteta, West Area Manager of Data Solutions for Verizon Wireless
-- Vice President, Sponsorship/Fundraising - Annette Smith, Senior Services Account Manager of Compuware Corporation
-- Vice President of Technology - Lori Shapiro, Internet Consultant of WSI Internet Consulting & Education
-- Vice President of Programs - Joanne Smith, Director of Sales-Information Systems Consulting at Ballantyne Inc.
-- Vice President of Public Relations - Christine Bock, Managing Director of Bock Communications, Inc.
-- Treasurer - Sylvie Lawrence, Chief Executive Officer of Sylvie Lawrence Business Integrated Solutions
The AWT's leadership also includes an Advisory Board, Education Initiative, Mentorship and Entrepreneurs Committees.
As membership vice president, Joseph will plan and lead activities to promote recruitment and retention of AWT members. She will maintain the membership database and records and provide the board of directors with demographic and trend information. She is currently working as an associate consultant at Urban Science in Long Beach, Calif.
As mentorship committee chair, Lichtner will oversee the Mentorship Program, a six-month commitment between AWT members and seasoned professionals who wish to share their expertise as mentors. In this position, Lichtner will lead the mentorship committee meetings, plan the mentorship group meetings and coordinate the communications between mentors and proteges. Lichtner is the professional services manager for Corio, a leading enterprise application service provider.
Conroy, marketing communications manager, will oversee AWT communications including the logo redesign projects and the development of association literature and promotional items. Conroy will also contribute to the AWT Web site redesign and development initiative. Conroy is a senior graphic designer at Century 21 Superstars, the sixth largest Century 21 in the world and an instructor at Learning Tree University, where she teaches such coursework as Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Flash, and Theories and Principals of Graphic Design.
As board secretary, Holt will take meeting minutes and perform duties as the record keeper of the organization. Holt, founder and chief executive officer of HelpDesk Xlence and comes from a strong background of customer service, sales administration and management in diverse industries such as international trading, telecommunications, credit analysis and mortgage banking.
About the Association for Women in Technology
The Association for Women in Technology is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the advancement of women and girls in all fields of technology. As a dynamic organization for learning, entrepreneurship and mentorship opportunities, AWT bridges the gap between industry, education and community institutions and continues to strengthen the fabric of the Southern California technology region. AWT hosts a variety of activities and events including its Quarterly Women's Technology Leadership Forum, Mentorship Program, Entrepreneurs E101 Series, Girl Scouts Program and Education Initiative. To learn more about AWT, please visit the group's website at www.awtsocal.org.