Who We Are: Deanna Kosaraju

Director of Programs

DeannaMy role at the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI) is to direct and manage the program team. Programs are at the core of how we as a nonprofit meet our mission.

For the past 2 years, I have been especially involved in the Grace Hopper Celebration. 1400 women technologists in a room is one of the most inspiring, invigorating, and thrilling moments you can have. This is a very supportive community - I love my job!

I arrived here in an unconventional way. After 12 years in the software industry, I decided to go back to school graduating from U.C. Berkeley with a degree on Gender and Women’s Studies (that is my website design). Why GWS you say? I have always been interested in women’s issues, experienced some of those issues during my career, and now feel I have the tools (both academic and technological) for creating a space for dialog about what it means to be a woman in the 21st century.

When I am not plotting ABI’s next event, I have a very full life. I have the most awesome partner I could have ever hoped for, Ravi.  We have an amazing 5 year-old daughter Maya who is already a techno-geek (she has her own laptop, MP3 player, and fake cell phone that she also cannot find in her purse). I have 2 sons, Rick and Nicholas who are all grown up and don’t need me unless its to raid my fridge or the annual laundry day. On weekends if I am not driving Maya around to all her lessons, I am eating sushi at Semo Sushi in Fremont, the best sushi on the planet.

You can find me on LinkedIn and Facebook. 

Officers

Staff

Our Founder

Board of Trustees

  • William Wulf, Ph.D., Former President, National Academy of Engineering, Board Chair
  • Bill Unger, Partner Emeritus, Mayfield Fund - Vice-Chair
  • Margaret Ashida, Director, Diversity and Workforce Programs - IBM Software Group
  • James Beck, CPA & CMA, Managing Director & CFO, Mayfield Fund - Treasurer & Vice President
  • Francine Berman, Professor, Dept of Computer Science and Engineering, UC San Diego and Fellow, ACM
  • Debi Coleman, Managing Partner, SmartForest Ventures
  • Alan Eustace, Senior Vice President, Research and Systems Engineering, Google
  • Penny Herscher, President & CEO, firstRain
  • Kathy Hill, Senior VP Ethernet and Wireless Systems Technology Group, Cisco Systems Inc.
  • Wayne Johnson, Vice President, University Relations, Hewlett-Packard
  • Maria Klawe, President, Harvey Mudd College
  • Richard Rashid, Senior VP and VP Research, Microsoft
  • Justin Rattner, Senior Fellow & CTO, Intel
  • Cheryl Shavers, Former Undersecretary of Technology, Clinton Administration, & CEO of Global Smarts, Inc.
  • Telle Whitney, President & CEO, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
  • Linda Bernardi, Emeritus (Term: 1996 -2006)
  • Greg Papadopoulos, Emeritus (Term: 1996 -2006)

Individual and Organizations

Board of Advisors