As the father of a smart and accomplished young woman who is also very tech-savvy, I’ve seen first-hand what it means to a young woman when technology is a strength. As an always on and always connected person who “gets it”, this strength has accelerated her learning, her career, as well as her overall engagement as she uses her skills and abilities to collaborate, adapt and create.

She most likely doesn’t yet know that Geekettes is launching a local Twin Cities chapter but I’m going to send her this post. Geekettes is a community of female founders, engineers, designers, businesspersons, entrepreneurs, investors and communications specialists supporting each other in following dreams and achieving success. This is a group that welcomes all women from different backgrounds of the tech industry to participate. Fortunately they also welcome men to join them and engage in the discussion, but they probably don’t need us hangin’ around!

The objective with the new Twin Cities Geekettes chapter? To plan and organize regular inspiring workshops, events, hackathons, mini-conferences and mentorship programs where every woman and girl leaves feeling like they connected with and felt supported by other members of their community and learned something new.

The Geekettes have gone global in a big way across Europe and America, connecting Berlin, Hamburg, New York, London, Portugal and Maastricht. The brand new Twin Cities chapter is holding their Launch Party on Friday, March 14, 2014 at the University of Minnesota Kenneth H. Keller Hall.

It’s a free event but they can only hold 130 people so register right away or let the geekette in your life know about it immediately. Best Buy’s CFO and CAO Sharon McCollam and BMC’s Katie Tierney will be the speakers. More information and to register can be found here and their press release is below.

Geekettes Launches Global Chapters To
Expand Efforts to Support Women in Tech

Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 1, 2014 – Geekettes, an organization offering a platform for aspiring and current women innovators in technology, today announced its first expansion to support, foster and create opportunities for burgeoning female entrepreneurs, engineers and designers across Europe and into the United States.

In an effort to promote women in technology and gain access to all insights and experiences of women, Geekettes will invest in programs that will foster new opportunities, innovation, job creation, startup support and inspiration for the next generation of ladies to enter the fast growing tech industry.

“Geekettes’ purpose resonates across the globe. With this in mind, additional chapters of the Geekettes movement will be created in other tech hotspots around the globe,” said Jess Erickson, Founder of Geekettes. “As your community grows, your organization should grow too. That’s why we’re thrilled to launch the next Geekettes chapter into NYC, London, Lisbon, Porto, Maastricht, and Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St.Paul) with current hubs in Berlin and Hamburg.” Denise Philipp, Co-Founder of Geekettes adds that, “Our aim is to connect women across different countries and inspire the next generation of ladies to get excited about careers in technology.”

Technology is pushing innovation in many different sectors across the globe. The Geekettes believe that there should be greater proportion of women in the creation and decision-making process on all fronts: from investing to mastering code to jumpstarting one’s own business. This global expansion will focus on empowering women by providing them with resources and tools to achieve their goals while connecting them across various global cities. In addition, it will focus on inspiring the next generation of women to join in on a rapidly expanding global technology community.

The expansion into these new cities will deepen the footprint and awareness for women and the opportunities that exist within a growing community.

About the Geekettes Twin Cities launch: We have creative, innovative minds here in Minnesota. There’s a thriving and quickly growing tech and startup scene with a vibrant community. Along with standout startups, the world’s largest electronics retailer, Best Buy, 3M and several medical technology companies call the Twin Cities home. The passionate and talented women of Minnesota are ready to build a platform for women interested and involved in the tech and startup scene. “It’s an exciting time to be a woman in this industry and inspire the next generation to learn more. Seeing my 10 year old daughter’s increasing interest in coding reminds me of the importance of what this organization does. I’m thrilled to be involved in a proven network where women support each other in following dreams and achieving success,” said Sara Heitkamp, Co-Ambassador of the Twin Cities Geekettes.

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The Twin Cities Geekettes programs will officially launch this March with a kickoff event sponsored by The University of Minnesota, Valere and Best Buy at the University of Minnesota campus. This event is open to interested women who’d like to join the community and men who want to join the discussion.

For more information on Geekettes organization: www.geekettes.io
For more information on the launch party: http://bit.ly/1jIJOfD

Geekettes is a global organization offering a platform for aspiring and current women innovators in technology to learn and connect.

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