The NCWIT Symons Innovator Award promotes women’s participation in information technology and entrepreneurship by honoring an outstanding woman who has successfully built and funded an IT business. By recognizing women IT entrepreneurs, the NCWIT Symons Innovator Award hopes to inspire others to pursue IT entrepreneurship, and increase awareness about the importance of women’s participation in IT innovation and business. The award is named for Jeanette Symons, founder of Industrious Kid, Zhone Technologies, and Ascend Communications, and an NCWIT Entrepreneurial Hero whose pioneering work made her an inspiration to many. The NCWIT Symons Innovator Award was created by the NCWIT Entrepreneurial Alliance.

Our 2010 NCWIT Symons Innovator Award Winner is Kim Polese, CEO of SpikeSource, Co-founder of Marimba, and the original product manager of Java at Sun Microsystems. Save the Date for the 2010 NCWIT Innovator Award celebration, 6:30-8:30PM, Thursday, May 20, at the OHSU South Waterfront Atrium in Portland, Oregon.  Many thanks to our local host, the Software Association of Oregon. 

The 2009 winner of the NCWIT Symons Innovator Award was Anousheh Ansari.

For more on women and IT entrepreneurship, check out our research and listen to our Entrepreneurial Heroes interviews.