I started working for the Coalition for Academic Scientific Computation (CASC) in 2001. It was definitely not my original career path, but when I graduated with my MBA in e-commerce in 2001, all of the dot-coms had just gone bust, and CASC was growing and needed support staff. So I learned about HPC from the academic and federal perspectives. www.casc.org

Then I went to work for the Council on Competitiveness with their HPC Advisory Group, and learned about HPC from the industry perspective—both manufacturers, like IBM and Dell, and users, like auto and aerospace companies. When I was hired to start the industry affiliates program at TACC in 2006, I already had a good handle on the challenges that all three groups were facing (as it turns out, they’re very similar), and how to create industry-academic partnerships to address the issues.

To current students I would say, you never know where you will end up! I majored in Spanish for my undergrad degree, and spent a year living in Spain. It was an amazing opportunity, and I have been able to use my Spanish in my work life as well, including business trips to Panama, Chile, and Costa Rica. Do I sometimes wonder if I should have studied computer science? Yes, but you can always learn new things! I’ve taken some classes and taught myself a lot in the last few years, just to have more knowledge of what goes on at TACC.

Before business school, I worked as a temp, a receptionist, and then membership coordinator or research staff for various associations and technology groups. I really had no idea what I wanted to do. I found that I was good at planning events, and did a lot of that with CASC, but over time I realized that I wanted to work on the content side of things, rather than the event logistics. My favorite part of any event was always interacting with the attendees and speakers. 

Mentors:

Sue Fratkin (my mother) was the Washington Liaison for CASC for 25 years. She made sure people in Congress and the federal agencies knew what HPC was and how important it is to our national economy and competitiveness. She’s still involved, but now she’s helping young people find out how great computing can be, and how to find their own voices in advocating for things they care about. I have carved a slightly different path, but I wouldn’t be here without her.

I was lucky enough to serve as Communications Chair for SC20 (which ended up being a virtual conference) last November. Planning these events, which usually host over 13,000 people, is a 2-year commitment. The SC20 General Chair, Christine Cuicchi, is a great leader and role model. We didn’t know each other before the event, but she brought me on based on recommendations from people who have worked with me before. And even though we were all freaking out at the thought of not having in-person SC, and the workload was different than any SC conference before, she made sure we were all working well together, and that we made good choices. Our in-person (pre-2020) and online meetings were fun, but we got a lot of work done too.

Advice: Attend the Women in HPC workshop on the Sunday before SC. It has become my favorite event, and it’s an amazing way to start the week. It’s so empowering to meet so many brilliant, accomplished women, and know that we are all there to support each other. When you need help, ask for it. This community is growing every day, and we all want to help each other succeed.

I’ve spent a lot of time in meetings where I was the only woman, or one of only 2 or 3, but I have never had the reputation for being shy. (In fact, in one meeting, they made noise at me for *not* talking! I was tired!) Also, we have all experienced impostor syndrome. Remember that you worked hard to get there, and you deserve to be heard. Find an ally, whether male or female, and support each other.