WomenTech Virtual Training Portal

"Completely made me re-evaluate the approach that we have been taking. I realized the many mistakes and plan to make changes that I learned from the training. Great information!"

~ Hector Yanez, Department Chair/CADD Manager of Computer Drafting and Design Technology, Texas State Technical College - Harlingen, TX. Increased female enrollment from 11% to 37% in Computer Drafting after participating in a WomenTech Training.

"Thank you so much for the information you presented. The manner in which you did so was easy to understand and comprehend. The fact that we were able to create plans to implement at our institution were helpful; especially since we were able to receive input immediately from our peers. This certainly allowed my partner and I to adjust our plans given others input and perspectives. Again, thank you!!."

~ Edda Urrea, Director of Support Services/Title IX Coordinator, Texas State Technical College - Harlingen, TX

"Attending the WomenTech Educators Training was the best decision I have made in a long time! During the training, I developed a recruitment and retention plan for one of the CIS programs. This is not a training where you consider doing ‘something’ when you get back to your office, you are actually developing and obtaining feedback from other colleagues on what they have done and how you can improve your plan before implementation! Plus, I will be able to take my experience and work on other programs of study using the same framework."

~ Edna Quintana Claus, Ph.D., M.B.A., CIS Division Director, Texas State Technical College Harlingen - TX

"Participating in the IWITTS training refined my skills as an instructor and administrator to be an agent of change in this realm. Because Computer Networking and Information Technology was not on the radar of many women, the tools that were given to us by IWITTS for reaching out to students for our entry level class were very effective. And those changes have been institutionalized in my department. Thanks to our work with IWITTS, female enrollment in my department has risen from 19% to 33%."

~ Pierre Thiry, Principal Investigator, Mid-Pacific ICT Regional Center, San Francisco, CA (ATE Center)

“I've been an educator for a very long time: 40 years in education and 30 years at a community college. I thought I knew everything related to education. Well, I quickly found out with the WomenTech Educator’s program that you were guiding us through there were a lot of strategies that I had never realized we should try, things I never would have thought about doing myself to interest females in STEM fields. I also found out that there were many people at the college that were interested in the project. Getting people to buy in as early adopters in several areas in the college was very important. It might be slow go to start with, but if you could get a handful of champions early on, that that will be enough to keep the program sustained down the road.

I’m happy to say it worked! Our Engineering Technology program went from 2 female students to 12 in only one semester and retention went from 50% to 100%.”

~ Steve Branch, Former Dean of STEM, Patrick Henry Community College, Martinsville City, VA

"One thing that was especially valuable about the WomenTech Educators Training was having a variety of people come to the table to talk about all the issues. It was interesting for faculty to learn how they can engage students who might be on the fringes of the class, not necessarily just female students either. Also, in our publications and brochures, we're now as likely to use images of women as of men. As a result of working with IWITTS, over two years the percentage of women in targeted classes at CCRI went from 10.8% to 14.3%."

~ Peter Woodberry, PhD, Dean of Business, Science and Technology, Community College of Rhode Island, Newport, RI

“Originally, we participated in the WomenTech Educators Bootcamp because we were working towards obtaining a National Science Foundation grant and this had been recommended to our college. The Bootcamp gave us a solid foundation to start with, we increased female enrollment by 150% from 4 to 10 female students in our targeted Engineering Technologies course after only one semester. We’re happy to say we did receive the NSF grant ‘Increasing Women in Engineering and Industrial Technologies Programs’ and this will enable us to expand our success in increasing female participation through Industry Partnerships.”

~ Tony Bean, Director, Program Chair of Engineering Technologies, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Salisbury, NC

“When we started fully applying the WomenTech Training’s female-specific recruitment strategies our numbers doubled from 3 female students to 6 in BioTech Medical Equipment Technology. Our program now has 25% female students. The most important thing we learned was that we couldn’t do this half-way, our first attempts to recruit more women were gender-neutral and didn’t work! We appreciated the proven, specific strategies from other schools that were an important part of the WomenTech curriculum.”

~ Randy Libros, NSF PI, Associate Professor of Physics, Director of Applied Science and Engineering Technology Program, Community College of Philadelphia, PA

"If you are ready to learn how to recruit and retain females in your program, then I strongly suggest taking the training with IWITTS. The training was well worth my time. It opened up my eyes as to why the invisible barrier remains for females. I am a female and had never thought of some of the ways we are impacted culturally."

~ Paula Shelton, Executive Director of Maryland Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MD MESA), Laurel, MD

"We have the first three women in our Auto Technology Program and really want to make sure they succeed. After participating in the WomenTech Educator's online training, we created additional open lab time for them, realizing they may need extra time to develop hands-on skills in a nonthreatening atmosphere. Two months into the course they are still with us. I learned so much about retention from the online training, I decided our entire Engineering and Technology Department could benefit and we are bringing the online training to our school and rolling it out to all of the technical faculty over the next two years."

~ Van Madray, Dean of Construction and Industrial Technology Division, Pitt Community College, Winterville, NC

"The training was time well spent. It was such a minimal amount of time to get so many concrete implementable strategies. The WomenTech Educators Online Training gives you the most for your money—you can implement the tools immediately with minimal resources and see true quantitative results!"

~ Phyllis Baca, Director of STEM Initiatives, Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, NM

"The WomenTech Educators Online Training has the potential to change the way you view your program. Important data is presented with passion and humor. I want you to know I have gained a great deal from the course. By the time you have a graduate degree and have worked in education for decades, most "professional development" is repetitive. I can honestly say that you have given me much to think about and that it will result in changes to my approach to course development."

~ Lauran Sattler, Department Chair, Computer Information Systems, Ivy Tech Community College, President's Award for Instructional Excellence 2007, Warsaw, IN

"The most valuable things I received from working with IWITTS were strategies that have been researched and have data to support them. There are also many inexpensive strategies; "inexpensive" is a key term in these difficult economic times. I anticipate additional increased retention in my programs. I have already implemented retention strategies from IWITTS with much success. The workshop has empowered me!"

~ Jessica J. du Maine, Assistant Professor/Program Coordinator, Electrical/Electronic Engineering & Technology, St. Louis Community College, St. Louis, MO

"At the WomenTech Educators Workshop, it was eye-opening to learn that there is a long list of simple things we could be doing that would make women feel more welcome and included, for example the pictures we use to market the program, and some curricular approaches in the lab environment.

The first big benefit that we've seen is finding out the cross-campus interest in this topic. We've put together a team of 30 people covering a variety of academic departments, student services, admissions, and counseling. The workshop gives everyone a common language to continue discussions.

I don't see how we couldn't be successful. In the upcoming fall, we're looking forward to having more women in our Engineering and Computer Information Systems departments. [...]

The [Coaching] sessions really keep you on task. It’s too easy for this to be just one project among dozens, and the calls give you just-in-time reminders. It’s very helpful when you’re in the middle of implementing your plan to be reminded of something from the training you might want to go back and look at, or to receive new information from Donna [Trainer] that you need just at that moment."

~ Patrick J. Enright, Dean for Business, Mathematics, Engineering and Technologies, County College of Morris, Randolph, NJ

"The training conducted by Donna Milgram was the best training I have ever received because I can implement the recruitment and retention plans I created specifically for my program Computer Information Management (CIM) to help increase females in technology at Irvine Valley College!"

~ Roopa Mathur, Professor, Computer Information Management, Irvine Valley College, Irvine, CA

This was an engaging and practical learning experience that will help us to increase recruitment and retention."

~ Myron Curtis, Deputy Sector Navigator, ICT & Digital Media, Butte College, Oroville, CA

"The WomenTech Educators Training Workshop was one of the best things I've done. I feel very confident that I have the strategies and tools to help me increase the number of women in my STEM programs. Thank you so much."

~ Hank Miller, Division Head of Science and Math, Nebraska Indian Community College, Macy, NE

"A lot of people, including me, before I met Donna, do a lot of things that aren't necessarily recruitment, they're career awareness tools. People think if you put up a flyer that will solve the problem. Donna really taught us proven techniques to grow the program."

~ Edie Schmidt, Professor, Technology Leadership and Innovation/Supply Chain Management Technology, College of Technology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, Purdue’s College of Technology Grew Female Enrollment from 539 to 676 (137+) after an Onsite WomenTech Training

"Last year, the Computer Science department held an Open House event for prospective students. Although a few female high school students came, none of our female faculty members could attend and there weren't any women there representing the department.

After attending the workshop with IWITTS, I was committed to making sure that didn't happen again. At this year's Open House, the College of Sciences held a special Women in Technology event in partnership with the College of Engineering. The girls who came had a great experience, they learned a lot, and I'm confident that it strengthened their resolve to pursue careers in science and engineering. Our goal is to have enough female students in science and engineering majors so that the process can become self-reinforcing."

~ Fred Martin, Associate Dean of College of Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell

"Even though I've managed a women in science and engineering program for many years, I found the WomenTech Educators Workshop to be very valuable. It was comprehensive and focused, and was packed full of well-organized, specific, evidence-based, and actionable strategies.

I walked away with a detailed recruitment and retention plan that can be implemented immediately. I wish I had attended this workshop when I first started in my role. I highly recommend this workshop to anyone interested in increasing the number of women in their STEM programs, and especially anyone starting out in a women in STEM program."

~ Elena Nasim, Manager of Women's Advancement Office, University of Calgary, Canada

"This workshop really answered my questions on how to interest women in IT careers, and also how to retain them. I feel I have a bag of tricks to take back home."

~ Toni Black, Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico, Alburquerque, NM

"We know that the campuses involved in our partnership in Massachusetts have low numbers of women in their computer and IT programs. Getting people together in a workshop gives them time and space that they don't have in their busy faculty lives to strategize about recruitment and retention. They get a lot of new ideas and an opportunity to talk with people from other schools and stimulate their thinking. Since the workshop, someone has already taken an idea that they had and created a specialized recruitment event for female students.

~ Renee Fall, Project Manager, Commonwealth Alliance for Information Technology Education (CAITE), University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA

"The proactive approach to recruitment and retention of women in technology programs not only helped me with solutions, it helped me better understand the problem."

~ Beth Jeffrey, Advisor/Recruiter, University of Washington, Tacoma, Institute of Technology, Tacoma, WA

"It is really fabulous to have collected statistics and quotes available to prove to others what I have experienced to be true. Engineers like numbers, so these are useful!"

~ Rebecca Bates, Integrated Engineering Professor, Minnesota State University

"This is an empowering workshop that gives you the tools to put ideas into practice to better the institution you work for."

~ Angela Fulkerson, Academic Advisor, Montana State University-Billings, Billings, MT

"The information provided was applicable and easy to incorporate to improve my program. I'm confident I can increase the number of females enrolled in the nontraditional majors. I'm excited about the new changes to come!"

~ Shakisha Davis M.Ed., Transitions Program Director, Greenville Technical College, Greenville, SC

"In my division, we had about 200 students and only five of them were female. I have three daughters myself, and I really wanted to get more women interested in these technically oriented careers. I didn't realize initially that our programs may not have been welcoming for female students. Now, an important benefit that we've gotten from working with IWITTS is to have increased the number of female educators in the division. We're working together to recruit more female students, and to give them better support. We want to achieve a critical mass of female students in the classroom, so these numbers can become self-perpetuating."

~ Virgil Cox, Dean of Engineering & Industrial Technology, Gaston College, Dallas, NC

"I felt there was a tremendous opportunity to increase the proportion of female students in my computer programming and web design classes if I could only get help. During the WomenTech Educators Training, I loved learning about personal encouragement strategies. As an instructor, I now know how to retain women in my classes while providing them with the tools to be successful. When I walked in the door to the training, I did not know what to expect. When I walked out, I had additional tools and ways of teaching to women that I did not know about before."

~ Jim Luckas, Digital Media Instructor, North Orange County Community College District, Anaheim, CA

"I left the training feeling equipped and empowered with the necessary tools to improve female performance and success in STEM programs."

~ Timothy Brown, Department Chair of Mathematics, Georgia Perimeter College, Dunwoody, GA

"What stands out about what I learned from working with IWITTS is real strategies that can be applied as soon as you return to your institution. During the training, I had the opportunity to collaborate with other educators who are facing the same challenges. I'm excited to implement new ideas to increase female enrollment as well as build additional relationships within our school to support our initiative."

~ Nicole Carter, School to Career Partnership Coordinator, Colorado Springs, CO

"I learned a lot of new methods and perspectives on retention I did not have before and I've already started making changes on how I do things here at my school! The WomenTech Educators Online Training was a content-filled and highly informative training program."

~ Antigone Sharris, Full-time Faculty & Program Coordinator, Engineering Technology Program, Triton College, River Grove, IL

"The biggest benefit for me from the training was being in a room with people who all share the same desire to address the disproportionate numbers of female to male students in our IT programs. It helped to share stories and experiences, and to know that you weren’t alone in fighting this battle. This was a chance to meet other people, like administrators and staff in other campuses, who are having the same issues. The training was fantastic!"

~ Kent Spillers, Academic Advisor, Des Moines Area Community College, Ankeny Campus, IA

“When I learned about this workshop, I knew that there was no way I was not going to attend. Recruitment and retention of non-traditional student populations is the most important thing that we can do for STEM education, and from my view as a STEM educator, for society. Every student population should have a STEM champion to mobilize faculty, administration, and resources across the educational spectrum from kindergarten through graduate school. Make sure your STEM champion does not miss this important workshop.”

~ Monica Mallini, Associate Professor, Northern Virginia Community College, Manassas, VA

"The online training was very manageable because it was asynchronous. I'm always teaching an overload, but you watch the training videos at your leisure, and participate as you're able. Because of that I was able to integrate the training into my very busy schedule."

~ Dr. Cynthia V. Marcello, Associate Professor, Computer Information Systems, SUNY Sullivan, Loch Sheldrake, NY

"If you want lights and action, this workshop provided great features, advantages and ways in which to recruit and retain our STEM women! This workshop covers the major points to develop your programs. Truly appreciate the statistics and websites."

~ Trinidad Stassi, Professor, Computer Information Science, Cosumnes River College, Sacramento, CA

"I have an awareness now of what we need to do to attract more women to our programs. I don't think if I tell most women to come in and learn how to make fighter jets and bombers it will be attractive to them. I learned from the WomenTech Educators Training to talk to female students about how the engineering program will be helpful to them, and to humanity in general.

Also, in all of our promotional materials, we now have 50/50 images of women and men, whether that's in print materials, brochures, event flyers or in our videos. Before, we always had at least one lady in our pictures, but you need to have 50/50 to show that you don't have just one woman as an outlier, or one person out of many."

~ Chrysanthos Panayiotou, Professor and Department Head of Electronics and Electrical Engineering Technology, Director of OP-TEC Program, Indian River State College, Fort Pierce, FL

"It was great attending this workshop and now I'll be able to be successful in our retention plan at our college."

~ Sergio Lujan, Computer-Aided Design Instructor, Laredo Community College, Laredo, TX

“Three years later, I still remember the WomenTech Educators Workshop held at Moorpark College during a California Engineering Liaison Council meeting and the positive reception it received. Many participants went on to integrate the high impact practices Donna shared into their teaching and program development efforts.”

~ Dr. Julius O. Sokenu, Interim President, Moorpark College, CA

"The best evidence-based training on recruiting and retaining women in technology I have attended."

~ Linda Meccouri, Professor/Professional Development Coordinator, Springfield Technical Community College, Springfield, MA

"The WomenTech Educators Workshop uniquely brought us together with an eye toward making class more friendly and informative. Whether teaching in the curricular area of Technology education, teaching Information Technology or teaching vocational education – National IWITTS Training is a must."

~ Tom Frawley, President, New York State Technology Education Association, NY

"This seminar was most helpful in that we had concrete examples to work from. We had good time for practice and actual use of the information."

~ Kathleen McNamee, Division Chair of Community & Technical Education, University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville, Batesville, AR

"I have been waiting for almost a year to attend this workshop and it was well worth the wait. The training has exceeded my expectations."

~ Christa Jones, Senior Training Development Specialist, Mountain View College, Dallas, TX

"This workshop was positive, relevant and provided participants with good tools to recruit and retain female students into technology programs."

~ Caroline McDowell, Director, Creative Career IDEAS, Dallas, TX

"Thank you so much for this training. It was all that I had hoped for and more. I have acquired new set of tools to help my students succeed."

~ M.J. Papa, Instructor, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, CA

"The National IWITTS workshop provides participants with a plethora of useful strategies for recruiting and retaining girls and women in technical programs. An exceptional educational experience."

~ Christa Jones, Senior Training Development Specialist, Weatherford College, Weatherford, TX

"These two days provided tremendous information, strategies and the motivation to return to school and 'kick it up a notch!' Lots of exciting ideas!"

~ Sue Haughey, Counselor, Calhoun Area Technology Center, Marshall, MI

"We were looking for a way to write a plan for both retention and recruiting that could be utilized in our very large county. This training provided direction, guidance, reassurance and a template for use to go on and complete a plan for all of our Career Technical Education pathways. Thank You Donna!"

~ Susan Rainey, Non-Traditional Coordinator, Oakland Schools, Waterford, MI

"We received the information we needed to put our desire to attract females for PLTW into action. The ideas were realistic, workable and encouraging. Thanks!"

~ Joel Noble, Teacher, East High School, Denver, CO

"This workshop gave me ideas and great resources to use in my classroom to attract and retain female students in my technical education classes."

~ Tanya Flikka, Instructor, Discovery Junior High, Fargo, ND

"This workshop is about empowering people and providing opportunities. Don't miss it!"

~ Owen Takamori, Cisco Networking Academy Program Instructor, Mililani High School, Mililani, HI

"This was a great hands on and tangible workshop to help increase female recruitment in PLTW courses.

~ Collen McElvogue, Counselor, Coronado High School, Colorado Springs, CO

"Continue providing untapped information that not only builds confidence but is proven to help women, as well as minority women, excel in STEM related career fields. I appreciate having the opportunity to learn about this detailed information which was provided by IWITTS by way of Donna Milgram. Thank you."

~ Tara R. Nesbitt, Teacher, Roosevelt High School, St. Louis, MO

"This workshop increased my knowledge and comfort level for helping to recruit middle school girls to Gateway and PLTW."

~ Karen Roberts, Counselor, Irving Middle School, District II

"A great workshop to help educators remember how different subject areas can all be related to help students engage and learn, if we all work together."

~ Collen McElvogue, Counselor, Coronado High School, Colorado Springs, CO

"A great workshop to help educators remember how different subject areas can all be related to help students engage and learn, if we all work together."

~ John Singer, Technology Education Teacher, Hanby Middle School

"The data, methodology, and personal deportment of the presenter created a positive learning climate for participants in South Central Louisiana."

~ Doug Chance, Supervisor, Acadia Parish Schools, Crowley, LA

"Valuable information for anyone working with students/adults in career centers."

~ Miff Rosar, Vocational Director, Fort Smith Public Schools, Fort Smith, AR