The Women of the Year Awards gathers top Georgia companies at the forefront of science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) industries to recognize and announce the Woman of the Year – women who demonstrate leadership and vision in business, and are remarkable women who make a difference in our community. Additionally, one special WIT Girl will be recognized as the Girl of the Year for her exemplary achievement and dedication to STEAM education.

This year, 123 women were honored by being nominated as a Woman of the Year and 13 young girls were nominated as Girl of the Year. Each honoree holds a business or STEAM leadership role within an organization in Georgia or have shown excellence in STEAM education studies.

One winner from each category will be announced at the Thursday, November 14, 2019 at the WIT Awards Gala event at the Georgia Aquarium. Here are this year's finalists in the five categories including Girl of the Year:

Large/Enterprise Business, representing companies with more than 2,500 employees

Edwina Payne, SVP and Chief Enterprise Architect - McKesson

Maigh Houlihan, Technology & Community Catalyst - WarnerMedia

Noni Gonzalez, VP, Commercial Applications - InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)

Medium/Mid-Size Business, representing Mid-Size/Medium Organizations (251-2,500 employees) and Educational Institutions (private)

Andrea Kando, Head of Product Commercialization – Paya

Dorren Schmitt, Director, Information Technology - Weather Group, The Weather Channel television network

Lauren Roberts, VP, Sales - Samsara

Small/Emerging Business, representing companies with 250 employees or less

Karen Houghton, VP of Atlanta Tech Village, Venture Partner at Atlanta Ventures - Atlanta Tech Village

Mary Pat Donnellon, Chief Revenue Officer - CallRail

Noelle London, Director - Innovation Entrepreneurship and Startup Ecosystem - Invest Atlanta

Non-Profit Educational Institutions, representing public Educational Institutions

Candice Alger, Professor of Practice, AR, VR, Virtual Production at CMII, GSU - GSU / Creative Media Industries Institute

Lynn Fountain, Division Chief - Georgia Tech Research Institute

Sonal Dekhane, Chair of Faculty, IT & Professor IT - Georgia Gwinnett College

Non-Profit Organization, representing public/private non-profits with 50 employees or more

Bernie Dixon, Chairman and President - Launchpad2X

Connie Haynes, Chief Executive Officer - GeorgiaFIRST Robotics

Shalima (Shally) Pannikode, SVP and Chief Information and Digital Officer - WellStar Health System

Girl of the Year:
Praises special participants from the WIT Girls program for their exemplary achievement and dedication to STEM studies

Sri Vaishnavi Ghantasala, Chattahoochee High School - Senior

Bavisha Rajesh, Denmark High School, Dual enrollment student at Georgia State University - Junior

Shreya Puvvula, Denmark High School - Senior

The 2019 Women of the Year Awards will be held on Thursday, November 14 at the Georgia Aquarium. Sponsorship opportunities and individual tickets are available for purchase.

Tickets to attend the event are available for purchase online, visit: http://bit.ly/2019WITAwards.

To purchase a Sponsorship online, visit: http://bit.ly/2019WITAwardsSponsorship
Available sponsorship opportunities include:
Gold Sponsor: $10,000
Silver Sponsor: $5,000

Table sponsorships, with seating for 10, also available at $2,500, visit: http://bit.ly/2019WITAwards.