SAN JOSE, Calif., March 5, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CloudNOW, a nonprofit executive consortium of the leading women in cloud computing, today announced the recipients of their inaugural Legacy Awards for Lifetime Achievement. The awards are being presented to two outstanding women, Lauren States and Jill T. Singer, for their lifetime accomplishments in IT, and thought leadership in the field of cloud computing.
"CloudNOW is proud to pay tribute to these extraordinary women whose contributions to the information technology and cloud community are second to none," said Jocelyn DeGance Graham, founder of CloudNOW. "Lauren and Jill serve as an inspiration to others in the field, and there's no better time to honor them than during National Women's History Month."
In 1987, the month of March was designated by Congress as National Women's History Month. This year's theme is Women Inspiring Innovation through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Thousands of programs and events throughout the month will highlight the organizations and programs working to promote women's and girls' interest and participation in STEM. The two CloudNOW awardees serve as prime examples of women technology innovators.
About the Legacy Recipients:
Lauren States is Vice President and CTO for the IBM Corporate Strategy team. She leads the technical strategy for IBM's growth initiatives with a focus on cloud computing, software and systems technologies. As a role model to women and minorities globally, States is dedicated to developing talent in the STEM disciplines though both her corporate and external board activities. In 2013, Lauren was recognized at the Black Engineer of the Year Conference by Career Communications with the Pioneer Award. She also serves as a trustee on the International House, New York board.
Upon receiving the CloudNOW Legacy Award recognition, Lauren stated, "Supporting STEM participation, and inspiring women to pursue technology as a career path has been an important goal throughout my career at IBM. Cloud computing is transforming business across virtually every industry, and initiatives such as CloudNOW encourage women to be prepared with the right skills for this strategic shift."
Jill T. Singer is Chief Information Officer for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), which is part of the 16-member Intelligence Community and plays a primary role in achieving information superiority for the U.S. Government and Armed Forces. A Department of Defense (DoD) agency, the NRO is staffed by DoD and CIA personnel. Singer has served in several senior leadership positions within the Federal Government.
"Jill served as an integral member of our leadership team and championed our effort to transform our Information Technology enterprise," said Director of the National Reconnaissance Office Betty Sapp. "Jill's passion and dedication to improving our IT enterprise allowed us to make significant advances over the past three years. Her mission understanding and breadth of IT experience helped the NRO see and achieve improvements that others didn't think possible."
To learn more about women in tech pioneers, visit cloud-now.org
About CloudNOW
CloudNOW (cloud-now.org) is a non-profit consortium of the leading women in cloud computing, focused on using technology for the overall professional development of women from around the world by providing a forum for networking, knowledge sharing, mentoring, and economic growth. CloudNOW offers members the opportunity to creatively approach the technological challenges of cloud today, working in partnership with the tech industry, and cloud thought leaders. CloudNOW is sponsored by IBM, PwC, and member support. To join CloudNOW go to: http://cloud-now.org/cloudnow/register.php
For more information on National Women's History Month, go to http://www.nwhp.org/.