Power Women in Tech III

Our next group of Power Women in Tech play major roles within their firms, from getting products launched to bringing in new clients from around the world. If you want to hear even more, sign up for Bisnow's Power Women in Tech event on Friday at the Willard. 

Shana Glenzer, SocialRadar, social marketing VP

Shana is leading social marketing for DC-based SocialRadar, a new mobile app that lets people know who from their social networks is nearby. She’s been with the startup since its launch over a year ago. Shana, who grew up in York, Penn., was always interested in tech and started her career at Blackboard, where she was one of the pioneers of social marketing. While at the edtech company, she also brought in the entire community college system of Virginia as a client, the single largest deal in the company’s software mobile history. Best lesson: You can’t do this yourself. Get involved with the business community where you can help others and they will help you when the time comes. 

Cheryl Dickison, R2integrated, east region sales VP

Cheryl was R2integrated’s first DC employee and is tasked with bringing in new clients interested in reaching millions of people with online marketing. She joined the Baltimore firm over a decade ago when she was working in traditional media and saw a major shift toward digital. R2integrated now has clients like Microsoft, Under Armour, and Hershey's Chocolate World. She recently worked with a DC-area client whose CEO wasn’t a strong believer in the power of marketing and she turned him into one. Best lesson: Success in business is really about understanding people. (Cheryl is involved with planning NFTE's global gala on April 24 and has worked closely with former advisory board member Brien Biondi and advisory board member Michael Lustbader.)

Nancy Hersh, Opower, analytics and consumer marketing VP

Nancy’s job at Arlington, Va.-based Opower, a cloud-based software provider for utility companies, is to let consumers know how much energy they’re using and what they can do to reduce it. And then she tracks the impact the communication actually has on energy usage. The job is perfect for Nancy since she describes herself as a “major data and math geek.” She studied engineering and did some management consulting and private equity investing before veering toward pure tech in the late '90s. To witness the meaningful change that makes her proud, just check out Opower’s “kilowatt hours saved” counter on its site. Best lesson: Don’t regress to what is normal. Figure out where you get energy and what you’re really good at.

Judy Verses, Rosetta Stone, global enterprise and education president

Judy joined Arlington, Va.-based Rosetta Stone in 2011 to set up and run its B2B division, which sells the company’s language learning software to corporations, educational institutions, and governments worldwide. It was a natural fit after her experience at Blackboard. But she says she really just fell into tech, taking a job at Xerox after college in its learning systems division. She saw an opportunity in the office systems side and ended up selling workstations and ethernet (precursor to email) in Manhattan. Her experience also includes working for Verizon, where she helped launch FIOS. Best lesson: The magic in business happens when you surround yourself with passionate and engaged people. 

Lisa Throckmorton and Elizabeth Shea, SpeakerBox, EVP and president/CEO

Elizabeth and Lisa have represented startups to large tech companies all over the country for over a decade. But the DC tech community has a special place in their heart, with Lisa helping startups with everything from messaging to launches and Elizabeth focusing on later-stage companies, including those looking for funding. What's more: They also advise early stage companies housed at DC startup campus, 1776; work with WDCEP to build more awareness of DC tech on the national scene; and work with entrepreneurial groups like FounderCorps, TandemNSI, and Fosterly. Best lesson: Make your team your first priority and they will make your clients first priority. Focus on what you as a leader do best, then surround yourself with smart people for the rest.