Who We Are: Caroline Simard

Vice President of Research and Executive Programs

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Dr. Caroline Simard leads the Anita Borg Institute’s (ABI) research and executive program initiatives. Her research on the barriers facing women in technology has received national attention.  She led the design, data collection and analysis, writing, and dissemination of the Institute’s first major research initiative: “Climbing the Technical Ladder:  Obstacles and Solutions for Mid-Level Women in Technology”.  In addition she has published major reports on underrepresented minorities in technology, employee retention strategies, attributes of senior technical women and issues facing K-12 Computer Science Education. 

 She is also spearheading knowledge diffusion efforts and executive engagement programs directed at supporting organizational change for greater retention and advancement of technical women. She is a frequent speaker and blogger on organizational and individual strategies for talent management .

Simard is passionate about social science research and its role in creating practical solutions to social problems. Prior to ABI, Simard was a Researcher at the Center for Social Innovation of the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Caroline holds a PhD in communication studies from Stanford University, with a focus on organizational theory, high-technology industries, and social networks. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Université de Montréal and a Masters degree in Communication and Information Studies from Rutgers University.

Simard’s publications have focused on technical human and social capital, the diffusion of best practices, managing open innovation, regional clusters of innovation, and social networks. Simard serves on the Leadership Team of the National Center for Women and Information Technology and is a former member of the editorial committee at the Stanford Social Innovation Review.  

Find me on Linked In, Facebook, Twitter (@csimard) and on Del.ici.ous

Officers

  • Telle Whitney, – President and CEO
  • James Beck, CPA & CMA, Managing Director & COO, Mayfield Fund – Treasurer, Vice President & Corporate Secretary

Corporate Counsel

  • Allison Spinner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Staff

Our Founder

Board of Trustees

  • Leah Jamieson, John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering and Ramsburg Distinguished Professor, Purdue University, Board Chair
  • Francine Berman, Vice President of Research and Professor of Computer Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – Vice Chair
  • Robin Abrams, Investor
  • Anushka Anand, Ph.D Candidate, University of Illinois at Chicago
  • James Beck, CPA & CMA, Managing Director and COO, Mayfield Fund – Treasurer, Vice President and Corporate Secretary
  • Mark Bregman, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Neustar
  • Debi Coleman, Managing Partner, SmartForest Ventures
  • Nancy E. Cooper, Retired, EVP and Chief Financial Officer, CA Technologies
  • Kelli Crane, Senior Vice President of Global Enterprise Information Solutions, LexisNexis
  • Nora Denzel, Senior Vice President, Big Data, Social Design and Marketing, Intuit
  • Alan Eustace, Senior Vice President of Knowledge, Google
  • Penny Herscher, President and CEO, firstRain
  • Kathy Hill, Senior Vice President, Development Strategy and Operations, Cisco Systems Inc.
  • Tracy S. Keogh, Executive Vice President, Human Resources, HP
  • Sarah Loos, Ph.D Candidate, Carnegie Mellon University
  • Brian Pawlowski, CTO and Senior Vice President, NetApp
  • Richard Rashid, Chief Research Officer, Microsoft
  • Justin Rattner, Senior Fellow and CTO, Intel
  • Mike Schroepfer, VP of Engineering, Facebook
  • Bill Unger, Partner Emeritus, Mayfield Fund
  • William Wulf, Former President, National Academy of Engineering
  • Telle Whitney, President and CEO, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology
  • Margaret Ashida, Emerita (Term: 2003- 2009)
  • Linda Bernardi, Emerita (Term: 1996 -2006)
  • Wayne Johnson, Emeritus (Term: 2002-2008)
  • Maria Klawe, Emerita (Term: 1996-2011)
  • Greg Papadopoulos, Emeritus (Term: 1996 -2006)

Individual and Organizations

Board of Advisors