Idaho Technology Council Celebrates “Uncharted Brilliance” at 2025 Hall of Fame Gala

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 20, 2025

Boise, ID —  On Thursday, October 16, more than 400 guests gathered at the Boise Centre for the Idaho Technology Council’s 2025 Hall of Fame Gala, an evening that celebrated visionaries shaping Idaho’s innovation landscape. Themed "Uncharted Brilliance," the Gala honored those whose leadership, invention, and service are charting bold new frontiers in technology and community impact.


A Night of Inspiration and Leadership

The program began with Carolyn Holly, who celebrated her 10th year as Emcee, and Aamir Khan, Chief Technology Officer of Idaho Central Credit Union, this year’s Presenting Sponsor. The pair welcomed guests with remarks honoring the evening’s spirit of innovation and inclusion.

Governor Brad Little was among the distinguished guests, attending to recognize Tom Kealey, Director of the Idaho Department of Commerce, who received this year’s Public Policy Champion Award.

Returning for a special appearance at the VIP Reception was Rich Raimondi, 2024 Hall of Fame Inductee and co-founder of both the Idaho Technology Council and the Hall of Fame Gala.

 

Hall of Fame Inductee – Brent J. Stacey

Brent J. Stacey, former Associate Laboratory Director at the Idaho National Laboratory, was inducted as the 29th member of the ITC Hall of Fame. His pivotal role in the creation of the Idaho Regional Optical Network (IRON) and leadership in expanding broadband access across rural Idaho were recognized as transformative to Idaho’s tech future.

The induction was presented by:

  • Mark Ruszczyk, President, Regence BlueShield of Idaho
  • Stephanie Smith, Vice President for Research and Economic Development, Idaho State University

 

TechBridge Mentorship Spotlight

The evening also celebrated the success of ITC’s TechBridge program, launched to connect students to mentors and provide scholarship support.

  • Over 200 students matched with industry mentors
  • More than $100,000 awarded in scholarships

Christopher Johnson, senior at BYU–Idaho, shared his experience in the program and his recent participation in a national public policy internship in Washington, D.C.

 

Award Recipients

Public Policy Champion Award

Tom Kealey, Director, Idaho Department of Commerce
Presented by Rachel Burkett, Director of U.S. Government Affairs, Micron Technology

 

Sawtooth STEM Educator Awards

Presented by:

  • Dee Mooney, Executive Director, Micron Foundation
  • Richard Ruiz, Vice President - Head of Growth & Market Development at Technology Credit Union
  • Angelique Rood, Vice President – Corporate Services and Communications Recipients:
  • K–6: Travis Ewert, Ramsey Magnet School of Science
  • 7–12: Brandi Milliron, West Minico Middle School
  • Higher Ed: Lynn Watson, Brigham Young University–Idaho

 

Idavation™ Awards

Presented on behalf of Scoggin Capital, the Idavation™ Awards recognize excellence in Idaho's technology ecosystem across four unique categories.

Mt. Borah Visionary Leader Award

Winner: Scott Green, President of the University of Idaho
Finalists: Prabhat Tripathy (INL), Chris Morgan (Bastian Solutions)
Presented by Paul Zurlo, President & CEO, Blue Cross of Idaho

Hells Canyon Emerging Company Award

Winner: Galena Innovations – Founder, Ashley Crafton
Finalists: IoAire, , Fonder, Thomas Jensen, and Vessel Derik Ellis, CEO and Molly Lenty, COO
Presented by Chris Mickey, Community Development Regional Manager

, Meta

Peregrine Innovative Technology Award

Winner: Lovevery, Co-Founders, Jessica Rolph and Roderick Morris (accepted by Jessica’s daughter)
Finalists: Flashpoint Building Systems, Soiltech Wireless
Presented by Andrew Barofsky, Vice President of Innovation & Research, St. Luke’s Health System

Star Garnet – Women Leading Tech Award (Inaugural)

Winner: Dr. Carolyn Bohach, (Professor at the University of Idaho, accepted by Chandra Ford
Finalists: Elizabeth Hopkins, President, Sapidyne Instruments, and Rachel Wilson, Co-Founder, BoldHue
Presented by Jim Buie, President, ValorC3

 

Chairman’s Award for Service Excellence

Recipient: Rachel Burkett, Director of U.S. Government Affairs, Micron Technology
  Presented by Reid Stephan, Vice President & CIO, St. Luke’s Health System and Chair of the ITC Board

 

A Message from the CEO

“Uncharted Brilliance is about recognizing the people and companies who are not only navigating change—but leading it,” said Diane Temple, President and CEO of the Idaho Technology Council. “We are proud to celebrate each of tonight’s honorees, and we thank every sponsor, mentor, educator, and partner who continues to strengthen Idaho’s innovation ecosystem.”

 

Thank You to Our 2025 Event Sponsors (and to the many table sponsors)

  • ICCU (Presenting Sponsor)
  • Micron Technology
  • Scoggin Capital
  • Regence BlueShield of Idaho
  • Idaho State University
  • Dorsey Whitney
  • Meta
  • St. Luke’s Health System
  • Blue Cross of Idaho
  • ValorC3
  • Technology Credit Union
  • Idaho Power
  • Idaho National Laboratory
  • IBL Events

Production support provided by Valiant Productions and Elsberg Studios. Photos by Sadie Jane Photography


A Special thanks to  our amazing volunteers from Experis and BBSI, the ITC Ambassador Committee, Eric Larson, and to the Boise Centre for hosting and their staff.


Videos for each segment can be found on the Idaho Techology Council YouTube pgae:

https://www.youtube.com/@IdahoTechCouncil


About the Idaho Technology Council
The Idaho Technology Council (ITC) is a member-based organization that champions innovation and collaboration to grow Idaho’s economy through technology. Representing a dynamic and growing community of entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and policymakers, ITC connects vision with action to position Idaho as a hub for innovation and opportunity. Learn more at www.idahotechcouncil.org.

Meet Mel Pint

by Tim Munkres • 7 October 2026
Introducing: Mel Pint, Founder & CEO, OpulX Media LLC Describe the business/organization you work for: OpulX Media LLC is an Idaho-registered live events company and a sister company of OpulenceX Inc., the marketplace where artists sell their work and keep earning royalties when it resells. OpulX Media produces art, fashion and technology showcases built around augmented reality and digital collectibles. Our first production is The Digital Loom: Intersecting Realities at Boise Centre on November 14, 2026: an AR runway, an exhibition of international artists whose every work is registered as a digital twin, and a free afternoon built around The Loom Youth Prize, a statewide art competition for Idaho kids and teens. It is planned as an annual Boise event, with a Honolulu edition in April 2027. What inspired you to start your own business, or why did you decide to work for this specific organization? I watched artists sell a piece once and never see another dollar from it, while the technology that fixes that already existed and nobody was putting it in front of the people who make things. OpulenceX Inc built the tools. OpulX Media exists because tools alone do not change anything; a room full of people watching a garment come alive through their own phone, standing next to a painting a nine-year-old made, does. Boise has a technology community, an arts community and a fashion community, and they rarely stand in the same room. I wanted to build the night where they do. What sets this business apart from others in the industry? Most media companies build audiences and rent them to advertisers. We build a creator economy and stand inside it with the creators. What challenges have you faced as a business owner or employee, and how did you overcome them? Being new. A first-year event with a technology company behind it has to earn standing in the arts community before anyone will put their name next to it. We did that the slow way: a venue contract before any letter went out, a judged youth prize with real cash and real exhibition space, terms for artists that put 70% of every sale in their hands. Joining the Idaho Technology Council was part of the same answer: be inside the community before asking anything of it. What advice would you give to someone looking to join your industry? Decide what you will not do before you decide what you will. Then find the person in your community who has done the hard part for years and ask them how, before you tell them what you are building. About the Idaho Technology Council The Idaho Technology Council (ITC) is a member-based organization that champions innovation and collaboration to grow Idaho’s economy through technology. Representing a dynamic and growing community of entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and policymakers, ITC connects vision with action to position Idaho as a hub for innovation and opportunity. Learn more at www.idahotechcouncil.org .  Connect with Mel Pint on LinkedIn HERE Learn More about OpulX Media HERE

Meet RT Williams

by Tim Munkres • 10 September 2026
Introducing: RT Williams, Founder & Energy Engineer, Pathline Foundry Describe the business/organization you work for: Pathline Foundry is an independent energy consulting and software firm in Meridian, Idaho. I run the gamut from benchmarking and energy audits to custom software for energy strategy, management, and optimization. It's a niche offering that's widely applicable across many industries. One engineer, start to finish. See where your energy is going, so you can make a smarter decision about where it goes next. What inspired you to start your own business, or why did you decide to work for this specific organization? I want to be the person who stays and partners with those who need it most. I've been doing energy engineering since 2017, and I've kept seeing the same pattern. A building gets an audit report, the report goes on a shelf, and nothing changes. Pathline Foundry grew out of that pattern, and I build software for the same reason: the findings need somewhere to live once the engagement is over, or they end up back on the shelf. Energy gets treated as a fixed cost, a line on the bill you can't do anything about. It isn't. There's real money sitting in waste and inefficiency, and most of the people who could act on it have no spare bandwidth and limited technical staff. I wanted to make that easy to see and easy to act on. What sets this business apart from others in the industry? There's no sales team and no handoff to a junior analyst. You talk to the person doing the engineering, and that same person is still there when it comes time to implement. I build the software side myself too, so the analysis, the modeling, and the tools a client ends up using all come from one place. Where it fits, I take a share of the savings instead of a flat fee, so the work is built to pay for itself. I'm a PhD engineer and a Certified Energy Manager. I write the work so a decision-maker can understand it and an engineer can act on it. What challenges have you faced as a business owner or employee, and how did you overcome them? Starting a business in a state where nobody knows you is a slow problem, and there's no clever fix for it. My family and I moved here in 2025, and I spent a lot of that first year in rooms where I knew one person, or none. What surprised me is that it made the actual work better. I used to lead with what I found in a building. Now I ask what somebody is trying to decide first, because a room full of strangers teaches you quickly that nobody cares what you know until they know why it matters to them. That turns out to be most of the job. Idaho has been more welcoming than I expected. Almost everything I've built here started with someone making an introduction, and I look forward to growing my work to support the community that made room for me. What advice would you give to someone looking to join your industry? Go into the buildings. You can learn modeling and software anywhere, but you can't learn how a facility actually runs from a spreadsheet. Spend time with the people who operate it. They'll tell you things no data set contains, and more often than not, they already know where the waste is. About the Idaho Technology Council The Idaho Technology Council (ITC) is a member-based organization that champions innovation and collaboration to grow Idaho’s economy through technology. Representing a dynamic and growing community of entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and policymakers, ITC connects vision with action to position Idaho as a hub for innovation and opportunity. Learn more at www.idahotechcouncil.org . Connect with RT Williams on LinkedIn HERE Learn More about Pathline Foundry HERE

Idaho Technology Council Announces 2026 Hall of Fame Inductees, Idavation™ Award Finalists and Keynote Speaker Gary Sorrentino, CIO, Zoom

9 September 2026
Idaho Technology Council Announces 2026 Hall of Fame Inductees, Idavation™ Award Finalists and Keynote Speaker Gary Sorrentino, CIO, Zoom