Amanda Blevins, Sr. Director and Chief Technologist, Office of the CTO at VMware, speaks across the world in customer briefings, industry events, and partner events about VMware’s vision and strategy and technology industry trends. She leads digital transformation for customers in many industries and markets while focusing on solving problems and achieving business goals. Amanda also leads programs inside VMware to develop technical talent and influence roadmap and innovation across all VMware technologies based on industry trends. She drives solutions for Multi-Cloud Automation, Machine Learning, and other Emerging Technologies. She has been in the IT field for over 20 years in roles such as infrastructure administrator, technical architect, enterprise architect, and transformation consultant. Her first position within VMware was Sr. Systems Engineer in the field organization in 2010. Amanda became VMware’s first female Principal Systems Engineer a few years later. As VMware’s first and only female Chief Technologist, she leverages her experience and network to increase awareness and action in STEM fields for girls and young women. Most importantly, Amanda believes in “Doing the Right Thing”.

Congresswoman Diana DeGette is serving her 12th term in Congress as Representative for the First District of Colorado. As a member of the powerful Committee on Energy and Commerce, an exclusive congressional committee with vast jurisdiction over health care, trade, business, technology, food safety, and consumer protection, she is one of the leading voices in the health care debate in this country. As lead whip, she played a vital role in the reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, has fought for tough food safety legislation, and was a key player in crafting a comprehensive consumer product safety bill. In 2011 she was elected the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which conducts investigations into programs within the committee’s jurisdiction.

U.S. Rep. DeGette is also the chief architect of legislation to expand stem cell research, which has been passed twice with broad, bipartisan support in Congress. The measure was vetoed twice by President George W. Bush – including his very first presidential veto. A life-long Coloradoan, U.S. Rep. DeGette is guided by traditional Western values. She’s also the author of the landmark Colorado Wilderness Act, which would protect and preserve pristine land across Colorado for generations to come. She has fought to enhance her constituents’ access to affordable quality health care, expand mass transit, improve transportation in the Denver area, clean up environmental waste sites, and improve opportunities for small business.

Mike Hess is the founder and executive director of the Blind Institute of Technology and serves on its Board of Directors. Determined to reduce the high unemployment rate among skilled blind and visually impaired IT and tech professionals in the U.S., Mike leads BIT’s mission to prepare blind and visually impaired people and the employers who hire them for success in the workplace.

Before founding BIT – a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Colorado in February 2013 – Mike spent four years as a senior software engineer for Level 3 Communications, where he led a variety of IT and other technical projects. Prior to Level 3, Mike held IT, software engineering and other technical positions with Qwest, U.S. West and other companies during the course of his 18-year career.

Mike, who has been legally blind since first grade, graduated from Community College of Denver (CCD) in 1995 with a certificate in applications programing and also received the Student of the Year award from the Computer Training for People with Disabilities (CTPD) program.

Frannie Matthews serves as the President & CEO for Colorado Technology Association, the state’s premier non-profit tech organization advancing the Colorado technology industry through advocacy, economic development, community building, and workforce development. 

Prior to her role at CTA, Frannie spent nearly 20 years at IBM, most recently as the IBM Senior Location Executive for Denver. As a public sector, healthcare, and life sciences sales leader for the western region, she was responsible for growing the IBM portfolio within the territory. She has over ten years of sales management and leadership experience with regional high-performance teams. Industry verticals have included higher education, state and local, healthcare, and telecommunications.

Technology solutions have always been her point of strength. Frannie has expertise in the areas of SaaS, cloud, analytics, high-performance computing, mobile, social, and security solutions.

She has a passion for helping the next generation and has a particular interest in S.T.E.M. education. Frannie has taught high school-level Junior Achievement courses and works with University of Colorado students through the Leeds School of Business Professional Mentoring Program and Professional Selling course. She also mentors a high school student at the IBM sponsored PTECH program at Skyline High School.

Frannie has been a member of the University of Colorado Wellness Center Board and currently serves as a board member of the Colorado Technology Association. She is also an active member of the Colorado Business Roundtable’s InnerCircle. Governor John Hickenlooper has recently appointed her to the Colorado Workforce Development Council.

Born and raised in Orlando, Florida, she holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida and earned her Master of Science in Telecommunications Management from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.

Sophie Shulman is the Chief of Innovative Mobility at the Colorado Department of Transportation. Sophie most recently led partnerships and business development at Electrify America, an electric vehicle charging company. Before joining Electrify America, Sophie served as the acting Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology at the U.S. Department of Transportation, focusing on energy, environment, and innovative transportation technologies. During her time at USDOT, Sophie worked extensively on the $40 million Smart City Challenge grant. She had several other roles across the federal government, including the White House Domestic Policy Council, the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Department of Energy. She received her B.A. and M.A. from Johns Hopkins University.