Meet the GHC10 Communities Committee!

For months the Grace Hopper 2010 Communities Committee worked behind the scenes. They created Twitter hashtags for GHC tracks, designed GHC speaker badges, determined community volunteer needs, and planned topics.

In the last few weeks they've become more visible as GHC community evangelists. Across our GHC online communities on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Flickr, and the GHC Blog they're starting conversations, sharing introductions and favorite GHC memories, and inviting participation by community members.

Many of our hard-working Grace Hopper committees complete their tasks well before the conference: selecting program submissions and scholarship recipients, recommending speakers, and deciding on award winners. Not so for this committee, which is a new addition this year. They'll Keep working right through Grace Hopper to help you connect online before, during and (if I know them) even after the conference. So here's a quick introduction to the committee members:

	Co-Chair Ashley Myers just completed her undergraduate CS degree at DePauw University and will start at Microsoft later this month. She helps with the @ghc Twitter account and will co-moderate the Grace Hopper Celebrat­ion 2010 group on YouTube. Learn more about Ashley on the GHC blog in her post Introducing a Recent Undergrad Graduate.
	Co-Chair Erin ‘Ed’ Donahue also started coming to GHC as a DePauw student and now works at Lockheed Martin, a career connection she made at the 2008 conference. Learn more about Ed in her blog post Hi! My name is Ed! With Ashley, Ed helps with the @ghc account and will co-moderate the YouTube group. They also host Ed & Ashley's 5 Minute Show, featuring interviews with technical women interviewed at GHC and other events.
	Gail Carmichael is a doctoral candidate at Carleton University. Gail is the lead for our GHC bloggers and note-takers again this year, and also taking a leadership role on the GHC10 group on Flickr. Learn more about Gail on the GHC blog and check out her blog The Female Perspective of Computer Science.
	Kate Tsoukalas is a graduate of Simon Fraser University and now works at Microsoft. Kate helps moderate the Grace Hopper Celebration page on Facebook. Join Kate in Discussions on the Grace Hopper Celebration page on Facebook (requires login).
	Valerie Bubb Fenwick is a Principal Software Engineer at Oracle, arriving through the Sun acquisition. Valerie helps manage the Anita Borg Institute and Grace Hopper Celebration groups on LinkedIn. Learn more about Valerie in the Introduce Yourself! discussion on LinkedIn or Facebook.

And watch for upcoming blog posts from committee members on how to make the best use of each GHC online community. Meanwhile:

• If you're coming to the conference, introduce yourself to the community.
• If you've attended Grace Hopper before, share your favorite memory.
• Follow @ghc/communities-committee to connect with these evangelists on Twitter.
• Sign up for the ghc10-attendees Twitter list when you register for GHC10.
  

Come join the discussion here or on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter!

Volunteers make Grace Hopper happen

Have you ever wondered how to become involved in planning a major conference like the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing?

You start by attending your first Grace Hopper. You get blown away by the program, the networking opportunities, and the sheer number of women that understand what you do for a living. A chance conversation sparks an idea and you are on your way to organizing a program proposal for the next Grace Hopper in an area that really excites you.

At the next conference, you tell conference organizers that you are interested in helping wherever you are needed for future conferences. You may review scholarship applications or serve on a sub-committee to evaluate program proposals. The next year, you share ideas about how some aspect of the conference could be even better and find yourself on a task force to implement the improvement for the next conference.

As you show that you can deliver what you promise, you may get asked to take on more responsible roles. In a conference run by volunteers who have other demanding life and work responsibilities, someone who meets all their commitments is extremely valuable.


P.S. The good news is that the staff from the Anita Borg Institute do all the heavy lifting for the conference. They handle the mountain of logistics and coordinate the army of volunteers that make the conference possible each year. No matter how demanding a volunteer role you may accept, they’ll be there when support is needed. As General Chair this year, I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to work with them.