About

Mission Statement

To provide a platform for women to network, grow and learn.

Conference Goal

Close the gender gap in technology fields.

Conference Objectives

Get more women into IT fields.
Retain and advance women in IT fields.

Conference History

Shannon Fehr, owner, and CEO of the Fehr Event Group organized her first Women in Technology Louisville Conference in 2014 while working at a technology company called boice.net.

“When I was planning the first event, people said there was no way I could fill a room with just women,” Fehr said. “But they were wrong.”

The conference was the largest event that Shannon produced during her 10 years at boice.net (not including the company’s annual Derby Event, which does not count because it is “Derby”). In 2016, Shannon left boice.net and started her own company, Fehr Event Group.

“When I started my own company I wanted to do the Women in Tech event, but it took me a while to get the courage to undertake such a big project without financial support,” Fehr said. “Thanks to some amazing volunteers, I was able to find corporate sponsors and hold the second women in tech conference in 2018. I never expected over 300 people to attend, but they did. In 2019, the conference grew again to over 530 attendees. We added breakout sessions, more speakers, a tech showcase and more. This year, we are preparing to host over 700 attendees and we are pulling in global support from companies like AWS and Microsoft.”

The Women in Technology Conference is for everyone. Men not only attend, several volunteer to help plan the event, a few have been speakers, and several have participated in the technology showcase. By being involved in the conference, men show their support for women in tech and to learn new ways to help close the gender gap. As many companies have proven, when the gender gap is closed, everyone wins!