2026 Women in Tech Awards
Celebrating Women Who Are Building What’s Next
“If you see someone trying to be heard, amplify them. If someone did good work, say so publicly. If you got somewhere difficult, reach back."
Leanne Taylor, CEO of SYSPRO
The deadline to nominate someone IS NOW CLOSED. The submission deadline was Oct 27.
The 2026 Award Recipients will be introduced at the RockIT Women’s annual Women in Tech Awards on December 8th, 2026.
RockIT Leader of Impact Award
Purpose
Recognizes a woman whose leadership and contributions to technology have created significant and measurable impact within her organization, industry, or community.
Ideal Recipient Demonstrates
Significant accomplishments through technology
Measurable impact
Leadership and influence
Initiative beyond normal role expectations
A record of moving an organization, industry, or community forward
RockIT Women’s premier WIT award.
RockIT Elevate Award
Lift as You Climb
Purpose
Recognizes a woman who uses her experience, influence, time, or position to create opportunities for other women in technology.
Ideal Recipient Demonstrates
Active mentorship or sponsorship
Advocacy that creates tangible opportunities
Development of emerging women leaders
Efforts to remove barriers to advancement
Commitment to strengthening the technology community
RockIT Rising Star Award
Purpose
Recognizes an emerging woman in technology who is already making a meaningful contribution and demonstrates exceptional potential for continued leadership and impact.
Trajectory, not title. The recipient does not need to manage people or hold a senior position.
Ideal Recipient Demonstrates
10 years or fewer in a technology-related career
Initiative beyond current role expectations
Meaningful contributions to projects, teams, customers, or organization
Professional growth and willingness to take on new challenges
Emerging leadership and influence
Commitment to learning and helping others grow
How Nominations Work
Review Eligibility:
Make sure the nominee meets the 2026 eligibility requirements before beginning.
Complete the Nominee Application
Provide the nominee’s contact and professional information.
Tell Us Why She Should Be Recognized
Share the accomplishments, leadership, impact, and contributions that make her deserving of recognition.
Select the Award Category
Near the end of the application, choose the award that best reflects the nominee’s achievements.
Submit the Nomination
Complete the remaining information and submit the nomination for review.
Eligibility Requirements
Before submitting a nomination, please make sure the nominee meets the basic eligibility requirements:
Works in technology or demonstrates that technology is a substantial component of her professional or community impact.
Lives, works, studies, or makes a significant professional or community contribution within the Kentuckiana area.
Meets the specific requirements of the award category for which she is nominated.
RockIT Women membership is not required.
Self-nominations and nominations of others are welcome.
How Winners Are Selected
Eligible nominations are evaluated by WIT Awards judges using a standardized 100-point scoring system. Each award has its own weighted criteria, ensuring nominees are evaluated based on the qualities, accomplishments, and impact most relevant to that award.
Leader of Impact
Demonstrated Impact
Achievement
Leadership & Influence
Innovation & Initiative
Evidence & Specificity
Rising Star
Achievement Relative to Career Stage
Initiative
Emerging Leadership
Growth & Potential
Evidence & Specificity
Elevate
Advancement of Other Women
Mentorship & Sponsorship
Leadership & Advocacy
Reach & Sustained Commitment
Evidence & Specificity
Fair and Impartial Review
Judges evaluate nominations based on the evidence submitted—not the prestige of a nominee's employer, job title, or professional visibility. Judges are required to disclose conflicts of interest and recuse themselves when appropriate.
Meet Our Judges
Ashwini Pisal
Senior Software Engineer at Microsoft, deployment Safety and Intelligence TeamAshwini builds systems that help Azure services deploy safely and reliably, with recent work focused on using AI to improve cloud operations. She holds an M.S. in Computer Science from Georgia State University and is proud to serve as a judge for the RockIT Women annual conference while supporting women in tech.
Maria Cardow
Former Global CIO, LevelBlueMaria most recently served as Global CIO of LevelBlue, leading technology for a $2 billion managed services company. Previously, she was CIO and CISO of Aon Cyber Solutions, where she launched the firm’s first AI Security Consulting practice. Over a 25-year career, she has led critical technology programs across financial services, cybersecurity, digital forensics, and quantitative trading.
Maria is a 2025 Global CIO 100 honoree and a 2024 Women of Influence Award recipient. She is passionate about supporting women in technology through mentoring, speaking, and industry leadership, and is excited to serve as a judge for the RockIT Women in Technology Conference Awards.
Andrea Chang
Founder of Valora LeadershipAndrea coaches professionals and organizations through transition, growth, and transformation. Before moving into coaching, she spent 28 years in technology, including senior leadership roles in solutions delivery, PMO, and engineering.
She holds degrees from Miami University and Northwestern University and is a Co-Active Professional Certified Coach with executive coaching training from Harvard University. A passionate advocate for women in technology, Andrea has been recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as a Notable Woman in STEM and by Women Impact Tech as a Woman of Impact.
RockIT Women Presents the 8th Annual
Women in Tech Conference
December 8, 2026 • Clarksville, Indiana