Dr. Telle Whitney

Telle Whitney is a senior executive leader, an entrepreneur, and a recognized advocate and expert on women and technology. She has over 30 years of leadership experience and was named one of Fast Company’s Most Influential Women in Technology. She is a frequent speaker on the topic of Women and Technology. She is an accomplished technologist who spent twenty years in the semiconductor industry in Silicon Valley. Telle has been called “a pioneer for the promotion of women technologists” and “one of the most inspirational leaders I have ever known.”

Telle co-founded the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing  Conference in 1994 and was CEO of the non-profit Anita Borg Institute from 2002 to September 2017. She transformed the Institute into a recognized world leader for women and technology. 

Prior to that she served in leadership positions at several semiconductor startups. 

She has won numerous awards, including the ACM Distinguished Service Award, an honorary degree from CMU, and an honorary member of IEEE. In 2024, the REC Foundation recognized her as a STEM Hero. She co-founded the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT). In 2022, she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and serves on the National Medal of Technology nomination committee. 

Telle serves on the board of AI4ALL, CMD-IT, and Power and Systems and consults for numerous technology organizations. She has a book on Rebooting Tech culture coming out in the spring of 2025. 

Telle holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Computer Science from the California Institute of Technology and a BS in Computer Science from the University of Utah.