ENTERPRISING WOMEN

Leveraging leadership to get women to the top of Baltimore's tech community

Aug 7, 2015, 6:00am EDT

JACLYN BOROWSKI

When Zuly Gonzalez, a former program manager for the National Security Agency, answers the phone at the cyber security firm she helped found, the caller often asks to speak with her business partner, assuming she is his secretary.

It’s demeaning and wrong, but at this point, it’s also such a stereotypical story of women in a male-dominated field that Gonzalez can’t help but laugh as she tells it.

“I try not to let that kind of thing affect me,” said Gonzalez, who is CEO of Light Point Security in Catonsville.

“We as women do a disservice by focusing so much on the gender issue,” she said. “If our goal is to be treated equally, we should just be out there with the men.”

Gonzalez and every other woman in technology knows that’s the attitude they have to have if they want to succeed. But chin up, buck up can be a tough attitude to maintain for an entire career.

The dearth of women in technology and women in leadership positions is a well-documented, national problem. Women comprise about a quarter of the computer and math workforce and lead about 7 percent of venture-backed startup companies.

Read more at http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/print-edition/2015/08/07/leveraging-leadership-to-get-women-to-the-top-of.html

Mario Angulo Alvarado ‘15, political science, wants to bring positive change to his community. Studying at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) campus, he made a start on his life’s ambition by serving as USG Student Council president, with guidance from Dr. Andrew Nolan and Chelsea Moyer, program coordinator and Peer Advisory Team manager. He has received numerous scholarships and honors while at UMBC, and this spring the political science department recognized his contributions through the Outstanding Scholar-Leader Award. After graduation, he will continue in a position he started as a student at the nonprofit organization Identity, which serves Latino youth and their families.

Amelia Meman ‘15, gender and women’s studies, understands that even among high-achieving students, not many create a major university program that regularly rallies students around a shared passion for community impact. But Amelia did just that with Critical Social Justice, a campus-wide initiative promoting civic engagement and critical thinking around social justice and the related challenges today’s communities face. During her UMBC career Amelia combined campus leadership, participation in national conferences, and a research assistantship in gender and women’s studies with stellar academic work. She earned a 4.0 GPA and election to Phi Beta Kappa. Inspired by mentor Dr. Kate Drabinski, she plans to earn a Ph.D. in women’s studies following her AmeriCorps service.

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UMBC was named a 2015-2016 College of Distinction this month, one of only four Maryland universities to receive the honor. Colleges of Distinction is a college guide for guidance counselors, parents, and students focusing on graduate success, teaching quality, campus atmosphere, innovate learning, and engaged students.

Colleges of Distinction describes UMBC as a “dynamic public university integrating teaching, research and service,” and notes that the university is “consistently cited as one of the best universities for undergraduate teaching and a leading innovator in higher education.” UMBC is also a member of the 2015-2016 Public Colleges of Distinction cohort, joining universities such as the College of William and Mary, University of North Carolina- Wilmington, and University of Texas- Dallas.

Universities are nominated for the distinction by high school counselors, college administrative members, and the Colleges of Distinction selection team. Once nominated, colleges are chosen through a mix of qualitative and quantitative information, including interviews with administration, faculty, alumni, and current students, as well as a college visit by the selection team.

Learn more about Colleges of Distinction.

A recent report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) found that African-American males had the lowest application rate for medical school. Ramon Goings, program coordinator for the Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars Program, responded to this report by issuing a call to action to increase the representation of African-American males in the medical profession.

In a column for The Edvocate, Goings points to barriers in the education pipeline and advocates for improving STEM education and supporting historically Black colleges and universities as they train African-American doctors. “We must work collaboratively to increase the amount of African American males not only attending medical school, but graduating from these institutions,” he wrote. “Solving this issue will require educational institutions (K-12 and higher education) generally, and medical schools specifically to examine how the school climate and culture negatively impact the socialization of African American males.”

Read “Increasing the representation of African American male medical doctors: A call to action” on The Edvocate.