Women in Technology and the March of Dimes announced the 2009 Heroines in Technology finalists who are recognized for their commitment to community service.  From all walks of life women were recognized from large public companies to nonprofit social services organizations. 
The 2009 Heroines in Technology finalists include:
•    Shannon Abell, senior intelligence analyst/SI Systems, Lockheed Martin
•    Zalenda Cyrille, systems engineer associate manager, Lockheed Martin
•    Demonia Dean, associate, Booz Allen Hamilton
•    Patrice D’Eramo, senior director public sector marketing, Cisco
•    Colleen Gallo, regional merchandising consultant, Verizon Wireless
•    Annette Gildea, president and CEO, Ollie Interactive
•    Lydia Gizdavcic, principal information systems engineer, The MITRE Corporation
•    Sue Hoffman, association, Booz Allen Hamilton
•    Marie Johns, Leftwich and Ludaway
•    Kathy Kleiman, executive producer/historian, First Byte Productions
•    Shameka McCaskill, systems engineer, Lockheed Martin
•    Vonda Rhodes, engineering manager, Lockheed Martin
•    Michelle Tortolani, engineering program manager, Northrop Grumman
•    Kathleen (Katy) Warren, associate department head, The MITRE Corporation
•    Elizabeth Wilmot, president and CEO, Turtle Wings Electronics Recycling
•    Kerrie Wilson, CEO, Reston Interfaith, Inc.

We want to highlight all of the finalists in the next few weeks and begin with two outstanding women:
Annette Gildea
President and CEO
Ollie Interactive

Annette Gildea is President and CEO of her own boutique Internet and marketing media company, Ollie Interactive.  Annette serves on the Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia; the planning committee of Women Who Build; and on the Advisory Committee for the National Academy of Engineering “EngineerGirl.com” initiative.  She developed the new website for Habitat ReStore providing revenue generation and message delivery enhancements for the organization.   Through her leadership Annette leads her team at Ollie Interactive to provide pro bono services to Habitat for Humanity.  Annette also serves on the Board of Directors of the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington.  She is active throughout the community in Women in Technology, DC Web Women, Equality Fairfax, and American Institute of Graphic Arts. 

Colleen Galo
Regional Merchandising Consultant
Verizon Wireless
Colleen Galo demonstrates her dedication to the community in a variety of ways.  For years she has served Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless in Baltimore’s Patterson Park as part of the Bea Gaddy Family Center.  She is also committed to her local chapter of Christmas in April and the Verizon Wireless Invest in Yourself program to help disadvantaged women gain job skills.  Colleen’s selfless acts extend to her work with Suited for Change, a Washington DC nonprofit that provides professional clothing and ongoing career and life skills to low-income women.  She regularly involves her own daughters in her volunteer activities, teaching them the importance of community service.  In her most inspiring act, Colleen donated her kidney to a co-worker.  Colleen is living proof that each one of us can make a difference through our actions – truly a heroine.