Telle Whitney was a student at the University of Utah as she attempted to carve our her career path. There was just one catch, though: she had no idea what she wanted to do with the rest of her life! Close to admitting defeat, Telle took an interest test that gave her high compatibility scores with computer science. Then, during her senior year, a faculty member took notice and introduced Telle to well-known computer scientist Ivan Sutherland. At the time, Ivan was starting a department at Caltech and inspired, Telle followed to attend graduate school and obtain her Ph.D. in the program.
During Telle’s college career, chip design was becoming a bigger focus, so after she graduated, she moved to Silicon Valley and worked in the semiconductor industry, creating chips and the software that helped people design them for 20 years. While Telle held senior technical management positions at Actel and Malleable Technologies, it was another woman who truly changed her career path.
In the mid-eighties, after moving to the Bay Area, Telle met Anita Borg. The two became close friends and together created the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing. A few years later, Anita founded the Institute for Women in Technology, which the Grace Hopper Celebration became a part of. At the time, Telle was working at a startup and was there for Anita with moral support, but wasn’t particularly involved in the day-to-day business. However, two years after launching the Institute, Anita was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. And along with Anita’s health, the Institute was in trouble, so Telle stepped in. “I got involved initially to help Anita out for a few months after she sold the company,” Telle says. “I promised the Board I would help them find a new president. That was 12 years ago!” (Telle now serves as president and CEO of the Institute.)
http://www.gracehopper.org