WiTECH Summit Launches with Impact:

Tech Powered. Women Led.

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WiTECH Summit Launches with Impact: Tech Powered. Women Led.


Boise, Idaho  — Over two days of programming, more than 200 leaders, technologists, educators, and community partners gathered at JUMP Boise for the inaugural WiTECH Summit and its pre-summit VIP Fireside Chat, creating a powerful moment for women in technology across Idaho.


VIP Fireside Chat Sets the Stage

The summit experience began December 9th with an intimate, invitation-only VIP Fireside Chat that brought together the Idaho Technology Council Board of Trustees, summit speakers and panelists, sponsors, and special guests for an evening of meaningful connection ahead of the main event.

Hosted by Amy Gile, Founder and CEO of Silverdraft Computing, the fireside conversation featured candid dialogue about the opportunities and challenges facing women in technology. Gile, whose company provides high-performance computing solutions to the entertainment and engineering industries, guided the evening with warmth and insight, interviewing a notable technology leader whose insights on navigating high-stakes environments, breaking barriers in male-dominated industries, and building influential careers resonated deeply with attendees.

The intimate, off-the-record format created space for honest conversation about leadership, mentorship, and building sustainable careers in tech—the kind of vulnerability and wisdom that's only possible when the spotlight is dimmed and the cameras are off.

The VIP event offered attendees a chance to connect personally with the next day's speakers, build relationships with fellow leaders, and set intentions for the summit ahead. The intimate setting fostered the kind of authentic conversation that would carry through to the main event—creating community, not just content.


A Full Day of Leadership, Innovation, and Connection

On December 10th, the summit opened its doors to over 200 attendees for a full day of programming under the theme "Tech Powered. Women Led." Co-emceed by Diane Temple, President and CEO of the Idaho Technology Council, and Sheli Gartman, Founder of Whole Human Consulting, the event balanced inspiration with action, delivering practical insights alongside powerful storytelling.

"This summit was about more than technology," said Temple. "It was about visibility, confidence, and equipping women at every stage of their career to lead with clarity and courage in a rapidly changing world."


Leading Through Change: Navigating Transformation with Courage

The summit opened with Leading Through Change: Women Shaping the Future of Work, moderated by ITC Board Vice Chair Jessica Cafferty of RNG Group. The panel tackled the unprecedented pace of technological and organizational change reshaping leadership today.

Panelists included:

Brenda Jaimes, Senior Vice President and Head of Value Management Office at TechCU, who shared insights on guiding leadership teams through competing priorities in high-stakes environments

Cindy Blendu, Chief Transformation Officer at Clearwater Analytics, who has led transformational change across Deloitte, BCG, and major M&A integrations, offering a masterclass in driving meaningful change while maintaining stability

Ridhi Tatineni,  CEO of Chelo Software Lab, a women-led consultancy, who spoke about the unique challenges and freedoms of founder-led leadership and helping teams adapt quickly while staying aligned with long-term vision

Matisse Weigel,  ERP Applications Senior Manager at Idaho Power, who brought perspective from mission-critical infrastructure, discussing how to implement digital transformation where stability, safety, and continuity matter every single day.


Featured Voices: Stories of Courage and Reinvention

Throughout the day, three featured speakers shared deeply personal and actionable insights:

Nikita Rubocki, who described herself as an "unintentional technologist," shared her winding journey into technology leadership. Her story resonated with attendees who may not have followed traditional tech pathways, proving that diverse backgrounds and unexpected pivots can lead to profound impact.

Elizabeth Hopkins, President of Sapidyne Instruments, delivered a powerful keynote titled "From Small Town to CEO: The Power of Trying What Scares You." Hopkins's story of building a scientific instruments company from rural Idaho demonstrated that geography is not destiny—and that courage, not pedigree, often determines success.

Debbie Trujillo, retired Corporate Responsibility Officer and philanthropist, brought decades of leadership wisdom to her talk on managing mental load in high-performance environments. Her practical frameworks for protecting energy and well-being resonated deeply with women navigating the invisible labor of leadership. An emotional and powerful moment as shared the power to "pause".


It's Never Too Late: Embracing Digital Fluency at Any Stage

One of the day's most inspiring panels, It's Never Too Late to Learn: Women Who Have Embraced the Digital Shift, shattered the limiting belief that there's an age limit for entering or advancing in tech careers.

Moderated by Brittany Giudici, Director of Communications at Microsoft and founder of Treasure Valley Women in Tech, the panel featured four women whose career journeys proved that continuous learning and bold reinvention are possible at any stage:

Lisa Guess,  Senior Vice President of Customer Experience at Ericsson, who holds both an MBA and a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering and has spent 30+ years navigating technology evolution from mainframes to 5G and AI—a living example of the power of continuous learning across decades

Amy Brumfield, Executive Director of Institutional Research and Government Affairs at College of Eastern Idaho, who bridges data, research, and policy in higher education

Betsy Davies, Vice President of Operations at Idaho Technology Council, who has supported Idaho's entire tech ecosystem and embraced digital tools to scale impact

Lori Meyer,  Linux Engineer at apiphani, whose story of pivoting from Intel engineering to full-time motherhood and back to technology as a Linux engineer embodied the panel's message that it's never too late to return, reinvent, or restart


AI 2.0: Cutting Through the Hype

The afternoon session AI 2.0: 10X Your Tech and Business with Smart Tools moved beyond AI hype to practical, real-world application. Moderated by Marlene Myers, Senior Vice President at U.S. Bank and Co-Founder of ConnectHER Idaho, the discussion focused on how women across technical and non-technical roles can position themselves to lead in the AI era.

Panelists included:

Darrel Cherry, Distinguished Engineer at Clearwater Analytics, who shared insights on integrating AI across investment management platforms at enterprise scale

Paige Giese, Data Strategist at buildAIdaho, who emphasized that AI is only as good as the data strategy behind it and warned against common mistakes businesses make rushing into AI adoption

Erin-Todd Hansen, Principal Solution Architect at Intuit, who discussed AI-powered financial solutions and the architectural practices that enable AI at scale

 Director of Solutions Engineering at HP and Co-Founder of Women Innovators (W.IN), who championed diversity in AI leadership and discussed what "AI fluency" really means for women leaders


Backcountry to the Boardroom: Uniquely Idaho Leadership

A standout lunchtime panel, Backcountry to the Boardroom: Leadership Lessons from Idaho's Outdoors, offered a distinctly Idaho perspective on leadership, resilience, and renewal.

Moderated by Jennifer Dempsey  of Dempsey Foster PLLC, the conversation explored how lessons from navigating Idaho's rugged wilderness—assessing risk, building resilience, leading authentically under pressure—translate directly to boardroom leadership.

Panelists included:

Jeanne McFall, PE, MS, President of RIVHAB Engineering & Earthworks, a Professional Engineer whose work on complex environmental and engineering projects requires precision and calculated risk assessment both in the field and in business

Shannon Madsen, District Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration's Boise Office, who guides small businesses through uncertain economic landscapes and shared parallels between navigating backcountry terrain and business challenges

The panel resonated deeply with Idaho's culture and identity, grounding leadership lessons in the landscapes that define the state.


Redefining Balance: Sustainable Careers in High-Pressure Environments

The day's final panel, Redefining Balance: Building Sustainable Tech Careers, tackled one of the most critical challenges facing women in technology: how to build careers that sustain over decades, not just peak and burn out.

Moderated by Paula Kluksdal, Partner at Hawley Troxell, the panel addressed burnout, boundaries, energy management, and the particular challenges women face balancing caregiving responsibilities with demanding careers.

Panelists included:

Sarah Marshall from Microsoft, who shared strategies for maintaining sustainability in one of the world's most demanding tech environments

Amy Johnson, Director of Government Affairs, Sales and Marketing at Syringa Networks, who discussed balancing wide-ranging responsibilities across multiple domains

Jinju Beineke, Senior Director of Engineering Technology at Photronics, who spoke about building psychological safety in high-precision, high-performance engineering teams

Eren Barker,  Program Manager of Employee Well-Being at St. Luke's Health System, who brought professional expertise on burnout prevention and workplace wellness directly to the conversation

The panel offered both personal vulnerability and practical frameworks, giving attendees permission to prioritize their well-being alongside their ambition.


The Female Stack: A New Framework for the Machine Economy

The summit concluded with a powerful closing session from co-emcee Sheli Gartman,  Founder of Whole Human Consulting. Gartman introduced attendees to The Female Stack—a framework for understanding and leveraging women's unique wiring, strengths, and tools as an advantage in the machine economy.

Rather than asking women to adapt to systems built for different brains and bodies, Gartman challenged the audience to recognize their inherent strengths—relational intelligence, systems thinking, adaptive capacity—as exactly what's needed to lead in an AI-powered world. The closing left attendees energized, equipped, and ready to lead from their authentic strengths.


Community Support and Partnership

WiTECH Summit 2025 was made possible through the generous support of sponsors and ecosystem partners whose investment in women, innovation, and Idaho's technology workforce was evident throughout the event.

Sponsors included: Regence BlueShield of Idaho, ICCU, Perkins Coie, Technology Credit Union, Hawley Troxell, Western Governors University, Meta, Microsoft, and St. Luke's Health System.

Their support enabled inclusive access, student and educator participation, and a summit experience that reflected the depth and diversity of Idaho's tech community.

Additionally, ITC partnered with fellow nonprofits focused on women and girls in tech: Treasure Valley Women in Tech, ConnectHER Idaho, Women Innovators (W.IN), and Health Tech Idaho—many of whom participated on panels and brought their communities to the summit.


Large events take time, resources, and people. We offer a sincere thank you to our ITC Ambassadors -  Nate Hebbert, Selfware Consulting, Jeremy Calvin, Experis, Oliver MacDonald,  QTexAI, and Kurt Temple, Technologent.



Looking Ahead: WiTECH is Here to Stay

The success of the inaugural WiTECH Summit signals a strong appetite for programming that centers women, technology, and leadership in meaningful and actionable ways. The Idaho Technology Council plans to build on this momentum with year-round engagement through the WiTECH Community, which will launch soon with in-person and virtual "Coffee Chats" to sustain connection, mentorship, and professional growth.


Photo credit: Our amazing volunteer, Eric Larson.


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.

From 'I Can't Code' to 'I Just Built That': My AI-Powered Learning Journey

by Diane Temple • 14 January 2026
From 'I Can't Code' to 'I Just Built That': My AI-Powered Learning Journey Three months ago, if you had told me I'd be writing HTML code, reading through stylesheets, and launching custom landing pages for the Idaho Technology Council, I would have laughed. Not because I didn't want to learn—but because "coding" felt like someone else's domain. I had my lane. They had theirs. Then I got curious. The Shift: From Consumer to Creator Like many leaders, I'd been using AI tools to write faster, research better, and think more clearly. But I hadn't considered that these tools could help me build things I'd previously built using drag and drop features which worked but also very time consuming. The breakthrough came when I stopped asking "Can AI do this for me?" and started asking "Can AI teach me to do this myself?" Working with Claude, I didn't just get a landing page delivered to me. I got to make one. Together. And then another. And another. What Actually Happened Here's the thing nobody tells you about "vibe coding" with AI: it's not about becoming a developer. It's about becoming conversational with technology. I'd describe what I needed: "This section needs to feel more welcoming. Can we add testimonials here? The Idaho map should be more prominent." Claude would generate the code. I'd look at it—really look at it. Ask questions. "What does this section do? Why is this formatted this way?" Then I'd start making my own edits. Small ones at first. Changing colors. Adjusting text. Then bigger ones. Restructuring sections. Adding new components. The Leveling of the Playing Field This matters beyond my personal learning curve. As CEO of a technology trade association, I'm constantly advocating for Idaho's tech ecosystem, talking about innovation, championing digital transformation. But there was still this gap between my advocacy and my personal technical fluency. Now? I can have different conversations. I understand what's possible. I can prototype ideas quickly. I can evaluate vendor proposals with fresh eyes. I can teach my team to do the same. For the Curious, Not the Credentialed Here's what I want other nonprofit leaders, association executives, and "non-technical" professionals to know: You don't need a computer science degree. You need curiosity and willingness to try. You don't need to become an expert. You need to become conversant enough to ask better questions and make informed decisions. You don't need expensive developers for everything. You need to know when to DIY and when to bring in specialists—and AI helps you understand that distinction. The barrier to entry for digital creation has fundamentally changed. The question is no longer "Can I afford to build this?" but "Am I willing to learn how?" The Broader Implications This shift has implications for: Workforce development : We're preparing people for jobs that require "traditional" coding when AI-assisted development might be the actual future Organizational agility : Teams that embrace AI collaboration can iterate faster and reduce dependency on external resources Leadership literacy : Executives who understand how to work with AI tools are better positioned to guide their organizations through digital transformation Economic access : Smaller organizations and rural communities (like many ITC members) can compete with better-resourced peers The Idaho Advantage Idaho has always punched above its weight in technology because we're scrappy, curious, and willing to figure things out. We don't have the luxury of waiting for someone else to solve our problems. This AI-collaborative approach to building? It's very Idaho. Very, "let me see if I can do this myself first." And it's working. An Invitation If you've been curious about AI but haven't found your entry point, consider this: What's something you've always outsourced because you "didn't know how"? What if you asked AI to teach you instead of just doing it for you? The landing pages I built aren't perfect. They don't need to be. They're mine. I understand every section. I can modify them when priorities shift. I can teach others to do the same. That's power. That's capability. That's the future of work. And it's available to anyone willing to ask: "What if I could?" Then do. - Diane Temple, ITC President and CEO 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 Scott Manning

by Tim Munkres • 12 January 2026
Introducing: Scott Manning, CEO & Founder, CalmLogic Describe the business/organization you work for: For too long, IT and other high-pressure professionals have grappled with stereotypes of poor communication and lacking emotional regulation, often leading to burnout, health challenges, and unhealthy coping mechanisms. At CalmLogic, I teach you to engineer your internal emotional network with the same logic you apply in your craft. Just using a different tool set. Our corporate workshops, event services, breathwork sessions, and retreats provide the education and experiences necessary to cultivate emotional intelligence, empowering professionals to navigate stress effectively and become their best, most resilient selves. What inspired you to start your own business, or why did you decide to work for this specific organization? After years in the industry accumulating lots of certs and climbing the ladder in many different roles, I noticed some unhealthy trends in myself and my colleagues. High levels of burnout, stress, poor work/life balance, and poor communication skills. This led to unhealthy coping mechanisms, most commonly just numbing ourselves. The method of numbing is different for many, but common ones were alcohol, cannabis, video games, doom scrolling, binge watching TV/movies, hiding in our home labs, hyper-focusing on work, etc. I eventually couldn't sustain the cycle and hit the bottom - job on the line due to lack of motivation, marriage on the fence from constant numbing, dark thoughts, health issues creeping in, and depression. Climbing out of that hole, with the help of my therapist and coach, I found a better way to face life's challenges than numbing. It was to actually face and feel everything that was coming up. Scary, right! Being logically minded, I needed to understand how those emotions worked and why they snuck up on me when they did. This led me to the world of Emotional Intelligence and mindfulness. I realized I could work through my emotional and mental health struggles using some of the same methods I used in my day job. I could troubleshoot my internal network, find the root causes of the issues, escalate when necessary, and make the necessary changes to fix it. I just needed to learn how to use this different set of tools. Now I spend my days teaching other professionals how to use those evidence-based tools along with science-backed education to reframe how you view your internal world. I want to share what I've learned with other IT, and non IT, professionals in hopes that maybe they can change course before hitting the bottom like I did . What sets this business apart from others in the industry? The difference between CalmLogic and other emotional intelligence or mindfulness companies is in experience. I come from 20 years of experience in the IT space. Specifically in the networking and Wi-Fi world. I have seen and lived first hand many of the stresses, pressures, and unhealthy patterns that are accepted as normal in the industry. I can speak your language and relate to your experience, because there is a really good chance I've been there too. What challenges have you faced as a business owner or employee, and how did you overcome them? The biggest challenge is convincing other companies that this is a problem that is worth addressing. Many recognize and see the issues and patterns, but for some reason refuse to work on them and instead accept the "this is just how it is" mentality. Watching your employees, coworkers, or even yourself struggle with mental health issues, burnout, and overwhelm is not normal and can be addressed directly. You just have to be willing to say yes. What advice would you give to someone looking to join your industry? The IT industry is a fascinating place. It is equally the fastest growing industry while also one of the industries with jobs most under threat from AI. My advice would be to jump into the space knowing you will likely need to pivot and learn new skills or technology quickly to stay relevant. Don't assume you'll be doing the same thing even a few years down the road. Be an observer of the industry and watch the waves form that you can jump on to propel yourself further. 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 i nnovation and opportunity. Learn more at www.idahotechcouncil.org . Connect with Scott on LinkedIn HERE Check out CalmLogic HERE

Meet Zach Adams

by Tim Munkres • 11 December 2025
Introducing: Zach Adams, CEO & Co-Founder, Pitch Aeronautics Describe the business/organization you work for: I'm the co-founder of Pitch Aeronautics. Pitch Aeronautics provides weather-based data insights to electric utilities enabling them to push more power through existing lines, increase reliability, and decrease wildfire risk. We use a vertical stack of technologies including AI/ML weather software, IoT power-line mounted weather stations, and a ultraprecise drone which can install these sensors and other components on energized power lines. What inspired you to start your own business, or why did you decide to work for this specific organization? When I was finishing up my dissertation I felt like the technology I developed would just be stranded in academia. I brought this up to Ian Gibson, a friend and classmate of mine from the Air Force Academy, and he suggested we see if we could start a business to commercialize it. We certainly would have never guessed we would end up helping utilities increase electric transmission capacity! What sets this business apart from others in the industry? We've made the only drone in the world capable of installation different components on energized power-lines. This platform enables us to install IoT sensors and other components at far lower costs and ultimately aggregate better data for utilities. We use this data to provide better forecasts for transmission capacity, wildfire risk, and more. What challenges have you faced as a business owner or employee, and how did you overcome them? Every stage of business has had it's challenges and I am thankful we've gotten to learn and grow from each one of them. When we were first starting out it was learning how to communicate and pinpoint the value of the technology. Now it's figuring out how to deliver for all the customer orders, juggling HR, and working with strategic partners. It's the challenges that make it fun! What advice would you give to someone looking to join your industry? Talk to as many customers as you can 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 i nnovation and opportunity. Learn more at www.idahotechcouncil.org . Connect with Zach on LinkedIn HERE Check out Pitch Aeronautics HERE