As part of Microsoft's Developer Network, there is a team of people called "Developer Evangelists" or D.E.s. There are different types of D.E.s. One section is the regional d.e.s who work with the developer community through user groups, etc. As a user group leader and INETA volunteer, these are the D.E.'s I am very close with, as opposed to the D.E.s who work specifically with corporations.
Among all of the D.E's (corporate, community and otherwise) I believe that there was only one female D.E., Asli Bilgin (who prior to being an MS employee, was on the original INETA Speaker Bureau). In the group of regional D.Es around the U.S., I don't think there have been any women ... until now!
Microsoft has hired Ani Babaian, from the Denver area, to be the .NET D.E. for the Rocky Mountain region. What this means is that the most important and personal contact-- on the level of mentor, advisor and technical expert -- that the general developer community will have at Microsoft will be a chick. And that's really cool! Why do I think it is cool? Because most developers are not used to seeing women developers in these types of roles. For the most part, the public, technical face of Microsoft is male, although MS defintely has a great wealth of technical women.I also think it will be a great inspiration for other women developers and for young women coming up in the field (or considering it) to see that "this is the norm". There was recently a blog post by Somasegar called “Women in Computer Science“, relaying a transcript he read of the recent Microsoft Research Faculty Summit. In there, Soma says “Bill [Gates] recommended that one of the ways to alleviate this problem [declining #s of women in the computer science field] is to have more women currently in computer science be more visible.“ Although there were additional ideas put out there, Gates is saying what I have been saying for years. I am in total agreement. It is not the only way, but an important one to focus on.
In late 2004, I was totally thrilled that Microsoft hired (on a 6 month contract) Susan Wisowaty to present in the Mid-West as a DCC (Developer Community Champions - MSDN's professional presenters). So developers were going to MSDN events and getting their technical content fed to them by a presenter who was a chick. Susan is from Burlington, I know her, so you can believe me when I say that she is a chick. We love it when this cute blonde shows up to VTdotNet meetings in her leathers (when she arrives on her motorcycle) and then blows us away with the knowledgeable questions and comments she makes.
So now the Rocky Mountain Region has Ani, a software architect and business analyst with an MBA who speaks five languages. That of course, doesn't include programming languages. Here is Microsoft's press release introducing Ani.
Ani Babaian joins us from Statera - a Microsoft Partner focusing on software development and systems engineering. She worked as a Consultant for Statera and specialized in .NET development, SQL Server and other Microsoft technologies.
Ani's professional career at Statera has spanned working as a consultant or software architect for numerous companies large and small. She has been involved in software and system architecture, code and development reviews and analysis of several companies for scalability, security, performance, standards and practices. She has also been integral with leading teams and with business analysts duties, proving her worth as a well rounded solution provider.
Ani is an experienced presenter and presented both regionally in the Denver area as well as abroad in Local events in Tehran, Iran. She has participated in numerous local user groups in both the Denver, CO area and Jacksonville, Florida and performs numerous supportive functions in the local developer community.
Ani has achieved her MBA focused on International Business and Management along with completing her MS in Information Systems emphasizing in software development, both degrees obtained from the University of Colorado.
Along with Ani's many professional accomplishments, she is also very involved in her community by volunteering and coaching athletes in the Special Olympics as well as being an avid contributor to the Armenians of Colorado organization. Ani is also an executive with the Colorado chapter of Homenetmen, which engages youth to participate in cultural events.
Ani is also fluent in German, Armenian, and Farsi as well as able to converse French.
I should note that I use the term “chick” because I am one. “Female” always sounds too scientific and “woman” is a ltitle daunting. So at 43, when I still feel 15 in many ways, I find comfort in “chick” when it is used in the proper context.