Suzanne Zellner is the Executive Director of MassWIT. With 19 years of high tech experience, Suzanne first entered the technology field after completing her graduate degree in Mass Communication Marketing and Research. She began her career in sales, and worked in numerous sales management, marketing, and product development roles. She worked for many years at Ziff Davis and CMP Media, leaving CMP in 1999 to co- found Bank-X. She joined iMakeNews as CEO, and Suzanne is currently looking for an opportunity to play a senior role (in sales, or marketing) with a company that wants to grow their business and is looking for a seasoned executive to complete their management team.

Suzanne would probably not describe herself as a "joiner," but coming on board of MassWIT was different, according to Suzanne. After leaving CMP Media to start her own company, she realized that the majority of her professional contacts were in NY where she had spent the last 4 1/2 years working. Suzanne realized the need to build a professional network in the Boston area, and becoming the Founding Executive Director of the Massachusetts chapter of WorldWIT seemed an excellent way to start.

What Suzanne likes most about leading MassWIT is the opportunity to bring talented people together, meet new people through the list serv and at events, and find out about local technology companies. Suzanne says that the women she meets through MassWIT are intelligent, engaging, and professional; she appreciates the fact that the members are willing to reach out to other members to freely offer their help and support.

Her aspirations for the future of MassWIT are to continue to grow the membership, host and co-sponsor more events, and encourage more philanthropy in the greater community.

Heather heard about MassWIT last summer and responded to an email announcing a meeting inviting members to get more involved in the Massachusetts chapter of WorldWIT. Upon attending the initial meeting, she experienced a high level of synergy and a significant level of comfort among the women there. She felt that this was the right time to grow the local chapter, and decided to get involved.

Heather says that being a member of MassWIT has helped her by providing networking opportunities, idea sharing and positive role models. She finds Executive Director Suzanne Zellner to be particularly inspiring, as she is strongly ethical, professionally successful, and continues to successfully balance her family life and career. She would like to see MassWIT continue to grow, continue to provide tools and resources for work and life, and to help women grow personally and professionally.

Gwyn Thakur, former Events Chair for MassWIT, is President of Effective Marketing, a consulting business she founded. Prior to that, she was senior vice president of marketing and founder of the Face to Face Media business at Carat Freeman. Prior to that, Gwyn was a director of tradeshows and events for Digital Equipment Corporation.

Her friend and business associate, Suzanne Zellner, invited Gwyn to the initial organizing meeting of MassWIT in the summer of 2001. She liked the group and decided to join, putting her events-planning expertise to work as Events Committee Chair. She has personally enjoyed taking the lead in organizing events to help others.

When asked why she joined a women’s technology group as opposed to a non-gender-based one, Gwyn said that after 25 years of being the minority woman in a male-dominated workplace, she found it refreshing to meet with a technology-based group of mainly women.

Some of the many things that Gwyn likes best about MassWIT are that the group's culture is inclusive and welcoming to all – passing judgement and clique behaviors found in some organizations are absent here. She believes that MassWIT can facilitate networking, education, and information for women who have been affected by the recession, and points out that MassWIT programs have covered a wide variety of useful topics such as health and wellness, financial planning, running your own consulting business, and career fairs. She thinks that many women are more capable than they realize, and that they can try and risk more with the kind of support that MassWIT provides.

Gwyn’s goals for MassWIT include planning MassWIT events consistently to attract 150 attendees, programming with greater impact, attracting sponsors for MassWIT events, and encouraging more volunteers.

Sonny finds being a member of MassWIT to be very rewarding, as it offers her the opportunity to network with and learn from many senior-level marketing and technology professionals she wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to meet. She finds real value in the support offered through the listserv, and appreciates the inclusive and accepting environment of the group. Her aspirations for MassWIT include attracting more sponsors, and providing more educational resources, seminars, and programs for members.