Introducing the Women Innovators

Do Space has selected three Women Innovators Fellows who will develop projects that will address local challenges facing women in technology and tech entrepreneurship. Each project will provide real benefit to Omaha’s innovation and creative communities, in part by raising awareness of local challenges and fostering a sense of community.

Beginning in February 2019, the Fellows will undertake a six-month long experience to develop their community projects. An all-female advisory board of local leaders in business and technology will provide the Fellows with strategic advice, connections, and mentorship throughout the program. Fellows will present their final projects at a public showcase on August 3, 2019. This Fellowship is made possible by the support of Dr. James and Karen Linder.

April Goettle is a Web Designer at B2 Interactive/Hurrdat in Omaha. She is currently a junior in the IT Innovation Program at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, with a focus on front-end development. She owns an acreage between Omaha and Sioux City and understands the need for collaboration between urban and rural communities. She will create a resource website, Remoter.Tech, that promotes remote, flexible tech work to women in Omaha and the surrounding rural areas as well as to rural Midwest employers considering their first remote hires. The site will feature a job board plus targeted content for employers and women technologists.

Bianca Zongrone Jefferson is a User Experience Designer at Farm Credit Services of America and the founder/owner of Maebean, LLC. She has a Master’s degree in Human Resource Development from Villanova University and has done research and PhD coursework through the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She will conduct a research study centered around 40 flagship interviews, exploring why local women choose to stay in or leave a tech major. In 1984, 37 percent of computer science majors were women. That percentage fell to 18 percent by 2014. Practical retention recommendations will be delivered to local universities, creating value for Omaha employers seeking diverse tech talent.

Carina Glover is an alum of Marian High School and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s College of Communication, Fine Arts, and Media. She will develop a mobile application, HerHeadquarters, exclusively for women entrepreneurs that allows them to easily find and secure collaborations with fellow women entrepreneurs across a variety of industries, including tech, fashion, and entertainment. The app will launch in the Omaha, LA, and NYC markets, connecting local women to the allies they need to build their empires faster.