Inspired Intelligence: A Night to Remember at the 2026 Hall of Fame Gala
On October 29, Idaho’s technology community filled the Boise Centre for the 2026 Hall of Fame Gala, an evening built around this year’s theme, Inspired Intelligence. It was a night to honor the people, companies, and educators moving Idaho forward, and the energy in the room showed just how far our tech ecosystem has come.
If one idea carried through the entire evening, it was reinvention: from the keynote stage, to our Hall of Fame inductees, to the innovators and educators we honored.
A Keynote for the Way We Work Now
We were honored to welcome Gary Sorrentino, Global Chief Information Officer of Zoom, as this year’s keynote speaker. With more than 45 years in information technology, including more than a decade as chief technology officer for J.P. Morgan Asset & Wealth Management’s global technology infrastructure, Gary has spent his career at the intersection of technology and trust.
Gary opened by challenging everyone in the room to think about the job they were originally hired for, and to recognize that neither that job nor the person hired to do it exists anymore. That idea of constant reinvention became the thread of his talk.
He reminded us that 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been created yet. AI, he explained, is changing the tasks we do far more than it is replacing the people who do them. The real question for leaders is whether they are preparing their teams for the work ahead or holding on to the work that is already fading.
One of the most memorable moments came when Gary urged seasoned leaders, Boomers included, to find a Gen Z mentor. He encouraged them to seek out someone in their organization half their age and learn from them regularly. He framed experience and digital fluency as partners, not rivals. In his view, the leaders who will thrive are the ones willing to learn from anyone, regardless of title or age.
Thank you to Dorsey & Whitney, our keynote sponsor, for helping bring Gary to Idaho.
2026 Hall of Fame Inductees
The Hall of Fame is the pinnacle honor of the evening. This year’s two inductees joined a legacy of Idaho leaders stretching back to 2010, and both brought Gary’s message of reinvention to life.
Charley French — Innovator, Engineer, Athlete
For Charley French, engineering and athletics have always gone hand in hand. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy at seventeen during World War II, serving as a machinist, then studied aerospace electronics and mechanical engineering and worked across Europe before skiing brought him to Sun Valley. There he helped bring to market the first dual-lens, vented thermal ski goggle, the first lightweight single-buckle ski boot, and the first aerodynamic cycling handlebars.
His athletic record is just as remarkable: nearly 300 triathlons, including Hawaii’s Ironman, more than a dozen Masters World Cup cross-country ski races, and 45 Boulder Mountain Tour Nordic races. He kept racing into his nineties, recently celebrated his 100th birthday, and was inducted into the Sun Valley Winter Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
When Charley sat down on stage with Chip Hull, CEO of Syringa Networks, you could have heard a pin drop. The room hung on every word from a man who has reinvented himself again and again over a century, and who is still training today.
Andrew J. Scoggin — Founder and CEO, Scoggin Capital Investment
Andrew J. Scoggin began his career as an attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area before relocating to Boise in 1993 to join Albertsons Corporation. In 2006, he joined a small group of former Albertsons executives to form Albertsons LLC, a private equity-backed company focused on revitalizing struggling grocery operations. It grew into one of the nation’s largest privately held enterprises before Albertsons Companies went public in 2020.
That same year he founded Scoggin Capital Investment, which invests in real estate and business ventures across Idaho, from the historic El Korah Shrine building in downtown Boise to Brundage Mountain near McCall. He also serves as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and on corporate and nonprofit boards supporting education, health care, the arts, and efforts to address homelessness.
In his remarks, Andy echoed the evening’s theme, speaking about what it takes to reinvent in today’s landscape. Thank you to Regence BlueShield of Idaho for helping celebrate his legacy, and to Scoggin Capital Investment for once again sponsoring the Idavation™ Awards.
2026 Idavation™ Awards
Presented by ITC Board Chair Jessica Cafferty, Founder and CEO of RNG Group, and sponsored by Scoggin Capital Investment, the Idavation™ Awards celebrate the innovators shaping Idaho’s future. The voting was so close this year that every finalist was recognized on stage as an honoree before each category winner was announced.
Mt. Borah Visionary Leader Award
Winner: Bryan Magleby, Executive Director, Idaho Innovation Center
For more than a decade, Bryan Magleby has been a driving force behind entrepreneurship and small-business growth in Eastern Idaho. He has helped turn the Idaho Innovation Center into a thriving entrepreneurial hub offering education, mentoring, mastermind groups, and connections, and his vision helped create the Idaho Commercial Kitchen and Yellowstone Food Village.
Finalists:
- Alberto Gonzalez, Director, Idaho Transportation Department. Alberto led one of the state’s most successful digital transformations at the Idaho DMV, enabling roughly 100,000 online transactions a month, and has put AI to work across state government. Governor Brad Little appointed him to lead ITD in July 2026.
- Rich Stuppy, 8th Circle Consulting. During 17 years at Kount, Rich helped build and scale the Boise company through its $640 million acquisition by Equifax. He chairs ITC’s Capital Advisory Group, is a former ITC Board Chair, and helped establish Boise State’s School of Computing.
Hells Canyon Emerging Company Award
Winner: PlexTrac — Dan DeCloss, Founder
Founded in Boise by cybersecurity practitioner Dan DeCloss, PlexTrac built a platform that helps offensive security teams manage testing, reporting, and remediation. Its 2026 acquisition by Brinqa brings its capabilities to a unified exposure management platform serving more than 3,000 customers in 57 countries, with Dan joining Brinqa’s executive leadership team and board.
Finalists:
- Hempitecture — Matthew Mead and Thomas Gibbons, Co-Founders. Hempitecture brought the first hemp insulation manufacturing facility in the United States online, sourcing fiber locally and training a southern Idaho workforce.
- Shadowscape Inc. — James McCarter, CEO and Founder. Founded in Boise in 2019 by a Marine Corps veteran, Shadowscape provides intelligence-driven cybersecurity services and has grown approximately 120 percent over the past two years.
Peregrine Innovative Technology Award
Winner: Center for Intelligent Industrial Robotics, University of Idaho — Dr. John C. Shovic, Director
Dr. Shovic and his students are turning bold ideas in AI, robotics, and automation into practical solutions, from autonomous robots that eliminate weeds in forest nurseries to technologies that improve manufacturing efficiency and predict equipment failures. His hands-on approach encourages students to experiment, take risks, and learn from failure.
Finalists:
- University of Idaho’s AI Degree Framework — Yong (Steve) Wang, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Computer Science.
- Hagadone Technologies, AIO — Judd Jones, President. A technology executive with more than 30 years of experience, Judd has become a dedicated connector within North Idaho’s growing technology community.
- Regence Trend Analysis Agent — Harshit Patni and Pranav Mishra. The two lead Regence’s work applying AI and agentic intelligence to make trusted healthcare data insights accessible across the organization.
Star Garnet Women Leading Tech Award
Winner: Dr. Amy Fleischer, Dean, Boise State University College of Engineering
Inspired as a girl by Sally Ride’s launch into space, Dr. Fleischer became an internationally recognized expert in the thermal management of electronic systems, with 42 research grants and more than 100 peer-reviewed publications. Since January 2025, she has led a college of about 3,300 students, expanding research capacity and strengthening programs in AI and microelectronics.
Finalists:
- Jessica Rolph, Co-Founder and CEO, Lovevery. A mission-driven entrepreneur, Jessica previously co-founded Happy Family and the Climate Collaborative, and calls Boise home.
- Molly Zimmer, Director of Strategy & Enablement, St. Luke’s Health System. Molly helped establish St. Luke’s Emerging Technologies Lab, co-founded Health Tech Idaho, and is passionate about making AI approachable, especially for the next generation of women leaders.
2026 Sawtooth STEM Awards
Presented with the Idaho STEM Action Foundation, the Sawtooth STEM Awards honor the people shaping Idaho’s next generation of technologists. Each educator recipient receives a $2,000 personal award plus $2,000 for their institution to expand STEM programs.
K-6 Educator: Lingpei Zou, Rigby Middle School
(presented by Micron)
Now in her ninth year teaching sixth-grade Mandarin dual immersion, Lingpei brings 3D printing into her classroom so students combine language skills with creativity and technology. Her students have excelled in Idaho’s IDX 3D printing competition, and she advises the RMS Robotics Club.
7-12 Educator: Amanda Harris, Middleton Middle School
(presented by Micron)
Amanda brings STEM to life through coding, robotics, 3D modeling, and graphic design, building students’ skills and confidence long before high school. She was a 2025 Idaho state finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.
Higher Education Educator: Dr. John C. Shovic, University of Idaho
(presented by Technology Credit Union)
Dr. Shovic connects students with real-world industry challenges in AI, robotics, and automation. His annual “Crown of Destruction” award celebrates the lessons learned when things don’t go as planned.
Student of the Year: Henry Andrews, Boise High School
(presented by Idaho Power)
New this year, the student award went to Henry Andrews, a senior at Boise High School and dual-enrollment student at Boise State University. He plans a career in medicine, with a particular interest in where healthcare, technology, and entrepreneurship meet.
Thank you to the award supporters: Micron, Idaho Power, TechCU, Clearwater Analytics, INL, IBL Events, Microsoft, and Bayer.
2026 Policy Champion Award
Senator Kevin Cook, Idaho State Senate, District 32 (sponsored by Micron)
Presented by Amy Johnson, Vice Chair of ITC’s Public Policy Committee, this year’s Policy Champion Award went to Senator Kevin Cook. A computer science graduate who has worked more than 25 years at Idaho National Laboratory, Senator Cook brings deep engineering experience to the Legislature, where he serves as vice chair of the Senate Education Committee.
In 2026, he sponsored Senate Bill 1227, establishing a framework for the responsible use of generative AI in Idaho’s public K-12 schools. The work has since advanced through the State Board of Education’s approval of an AI framework and a statewide public-private partnership with Micron, Microsoft, Stukent, Idaho National Laboratory, and community partners, including the Idaho Technology Council.
2026 Chairman’s Award for Service Excellence
Erin-Todd “Jet” Hansen, Principal Solution Lead & AI Strategist, Intuit
Selected and presented by ITC Board Chair Jessica Cafferty, the Chairman’s Award closed out the evening’s honors. Jet has volunteered with ITC for more than 12 years and currently chairs the Idaho Innovation Alliance, working with Idaho’s higher education institutions on AI governance, literacy, and adoption. He also conceived and launched the National AI Education Playbook for the Technology Councils of North America, co-founded Idaho Women in Technology, and served seven years on the Executive Board of the Girl Scouts of Silver Sage.
Thank You
Nights like this don’t happen without a community behind them. Thank you to Idaho Central Credit Union, our Presenting Sponsor, and to Micron, Technology Credit Union, Idaho Power, Dorsey & Whitney, Syringa Networks, Regence BlueShield of Idaho, Scoggin Capital Investment, and all of our signature and table sponsors. Thank you to our emcees, Carolyn Holly and Laura Smith of Idaho Central Credit Union; to Valiant Productions and Elsberg Studios for the AV and video production; to our volunteers; and to our Board of Trustees.
Want to learn more about this year’s honorees? Read their full stories in the 2026 Hall of Fame Event Magazine.
Most of all, thank you to everyone who joined us.
