Innovation in a Reinvented World: 10 Essential Elements to Succeed in the New World of Business

Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology: Dr. Telle Whitney, President and CEO, and Jerri Barrett, VP of Marketing

Creative energy finds a way. The techie creatives at the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) know this firsthand—ideas generated in Silicon Valley don't stay in the valley—which suits this nonprofit just fine, given its mission of leading positive cultural change for female technologists and their organizations across the United States and around the world.

Reinventing itself is now matter of fact for an organization that has done so for more than 17 years, from the inception of Systers, a community that was formed in 1987 by visionary technologist Anita Borg, to the kick-off of its first Grace Hopper event in 1994 and the current Institute founded in 1997.

An organization like ABI is needed more than ever as business has become increasingly challenging for technical women. Three years ago, the ABI leadership team decided to step up its innovation game in an effort to address the growing challenges of female technologists, thus creating a sea change for their existing communities and extending the organization's global reach:

• Initiated the inaugural Grace Hopper Conference (GHC) in India in 2010, with plans to hold both a U.S. and an India GHC event going forward and adding a new country in the next three years.
• Embarked on serious advocacy work, where the organization launched its global movement of individuals focused on changing the culture ...