Sunday, May 5, 2024
WENATCHEE - The NCW Tech Alliance celebrated innovation and leadership at their 22nd Annual Innovator Awards Luncheon on Nov. 8 at the Wenatchee Convention Center. The event was marked by the presentation of six distinguished Innovator Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award, the introduction of Dr. Sue Kane as the new CEO, and a heartfelt tribute to Jenny Rojanasthien, the revered outgoing Executive Director.
The Innovator Awards celebrate the drive, passion, and spirit of innovators in North Central Washington while inspiring others just starting their journey. Leading up to the event, NCW Tech Alliance accepted nominations from the community for individuals and businesses who demonstrated exemplary innovation and accomplishments in entrepreneurship, technology, and education.
During the event, NCW Tech celebrated the winners in five award categories plus a Lifetime Achievement Award:
In addition to the awards, the winners of the STEM Champion of the Year, STEM College Innovators of the Year, and Future Technology Leader of the Year award categories received a scholarship prize to continue their education or purchase school supplies and fund special projects.
Thanks to donations from the community, NCW Tech Alliance awarded a total of $7,500 in scholarships during the event. The 2023 Innovator Award winners join the ranks of over 100 innovators who have been recognized since the awards' inception in 2001.
The Apple STEM Network presented the Newcomer In Technology Award to innov8.ag. Their primary focus is permanent crops, as labor availability & efficiency is a significant industry challenge, often representing 60% of growers' costs. In 2020, they piloted a Smart Orchard project with the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission & Washington State University, where they applied their data aggregation & data science capabilities to provide growers with insights focused on the bottom line. innov8.ag was started by CEO Steve Mantle in Walla Walla, Washington, but after winning the Flywheel Investment Conference relocation award, they opened a second location in Wenatchee, Washington in 2023.
Peoples Bank presented the Entrepreneur of the Year Award to Jonathan Baker. Jonathan started eqpd ("equipped" 2015) because he wanted to locally make products to help everybody in their daily lives and, simultaneously, lighten their impact on the
planet. He believes in American Design & Manufacturing, and that great, everyday products can still be built right here in the USA for a great value. He's mixed classic, proven manufacturing techniques with modern materials and Good Design Principles to create highly functional bags with minimal manufacturing. This keeps their designs clean, production stateside, and contributes to an honest Form Follows Function aesthetic. eqpd is based in Twisp, Washington, where all its products are manufactured onsite.
The STEM College Innovator of the Year Award went out to two students, Titus Petersen and Xitlali Cruz. Titus is a dynamic student at Grand Canyon University studying Entrepreneurship. He crafted Avais.ai from a personal observation: the gap in accessible volleyball analytics. Witnessing challenges firsthand in his sister's matches, he transformed a problem into an innovative solution—an app right at the fingertips of athletes and coaches. Titus is a Mason High School graduate and a past Innovator Award Finalist for Future Technology Leader. As an entrepreneur, Titus is dedicated to enhancing volleyball performance through cutting-edge technology. Titus welcomes collaborations and insights to further the mission of Avais.ai: empowering athletes and providing invaluable tools for coaches.
The second STEM College Innovator of the Year Award was presented to Xitlali Cruz. Xitlali was the Valedictorian of Chelan High School in 2021. Now, she is a junior at Stanford University. She recently completed a computer science summer internship at Microsoft. This fall, she attended the Hispanic Scholarship Fund's STEM Summit and was also awarded a GMIS scholarship award at their annual conference. Xitlali's long-term goal is to inspire other Latinas to learn more about STEM careers, as currently, Latinas account for only 3% of the STEM industry. Xitlali has confirmed these statistics by finding herself to be one of very few Latinas in college STEM classes or conferences. Xitlali is currently working on finding a solution to improve the statistics.
The Future Technology Leader of the Year Award went to Alexandra N. Vazquez-Rocha, Chelan High School. Alexandra's passion for STEM has been evident since 9th grade. She's tackled challenging courses like AP Physics, Geology 101, and Calculus, earning over 60 college credits while actively engaging in STEM outside the classroom. A top-performing leader, she's the current President of Chelan Med Club and the Vice- President of the National Honor Society. She spearheads monthly STEM sessions for 5th graders, partnering with Columbia Valley Community Health physicians on topics like dissections, optics, and heart studies. Beyond the classroom, she's logged over 50 hours shadowing at Columbia Valley Community Health and is a rotating intern at Heritage Heights, Lake Chelan Hospital, and Columbia Valley Community Health. Alexandra's ultimate goal? Becoming a physician and studying at UW. Alexandra delivered a show-stopping acceptance speech at the event that had the entire audience on their feet in applause.
Microsoft presented the STEM Champion of the Year Award to Mark Ross Kondo, a teacher at Quincy High School. Mark Ross is a visionary educator who introduced the first Computer Science TEALS course to the region. His unwavering commitment to enhancing educational opportunities has led to remarkable achievements, including the expansion of the student pathway to include an AP CS course, thus establishing a dedicated CS graduation pathway for high school students in Quincy. Kondo has been instrumental in building the first Career Launch program for data centers in Quincy. The Data Center Prep Program will allow students to complete their first two courses of a two-year certificate program while at Quincy High School. Students will then transfer to courses at Big Bend Community College and have the opportunity to complete a paid internship program with one of the Grant County-based data centers.
The prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Ron Brown, the Executive Director of Technology, Safety, and Security at Wenatchee School District 246, marking him as the 11th distinguished individual to receive this honor. Ron is a proud Wenatchee School District alumni who then attended Eastern Washington University. His first job in technology was 30 years ago as a new Technology Lab teacher tasked with designing and teaching in one of the new spaces at Pioneer Middle School, where he stayed for 10 years as a Technology and Math teacher. Through this work and the support of his family, he found his passion for helping teachers use technology to improve the engagement and learning of students. For the next few years, he was an Instructional Technology Coach, Instructional Technology Coordinator, and then 11 years as the Director of Instructional Technology after attending Washington State University to obtain his Principal and Superintendent Credentials. In 2019, Ron took on the combined role of all technology services with the addition of Safety and Security in 2021. He joined GWATA early on and volunteered as a board member, eventually culminating as board president for several years. Ron has been married for 30+ years to his high school sweetheart, Taunya, and has three adult children, Kayli, Brayden, and Jessica, who have supported his career and passions of camping, hiking, fishing, winemaking, skiing, and snowboarding.
The program wrapped up with a heartfelt tribute to outgoing Executive Director, Jenny Rojanasthien. During her eight-year tenure as Executive Director, Jenny transformed the organization into a regional powerhouse. Under her leadership, NCW Tech Alliance organized over 200 high-caliber events spanning technology, entrepreneurship, and STEM education, benefiting more than 15,000 individuals. Jenny is a founding member of the Apple STEM Network, which now serves 29 districts. Jenny founded the Flywheel Investment Conference, which showcases NCW as a vibrant place for startups to thrive and has resulted in millions of dollars in investment. Jenny forged a partnership with Microsoft in 2021 and through Project iLumina, launched a rural resiliency and inclusion strategy, impacting lives across our region. She also brought the Community Skills Initiative program to ten locations across the country. Jenny said, "Leading NCW Tech Alliance has been the highlight of my career. I'm grateful for the opportunity, and I can't wait to see the organization thrive under Dr. Sue Kane."
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