January 19 , 2006

Fountainhead staff members Todd Hill, Director of Administration, and Tammy Alexander, IACT Program Coordinator presented a lecture on "Women and Technology" Wednesday to members of the Florence Crittenton Agency community.

During the first part of the presentation, Ms. Alexander presented a history of famous female inventors, demonstrating the valuable contributions that women have made to technology. "It is vital that women become a part of the technological community" said Alexander, "without it, our voice will be lost in the development of the future of technology."

Recent studies show a decline in the amount of women pursuing degrees in technology. According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), women make up 46 percent of the labor force, but hold only 22 percent of the science jobs, including social sciences and teaching.

Director of Administration Todd Hill spoke about the future of technology during his part of the presentation. He also spoke about the College and the IT and Electronics degrees Fountainhead offers.

About Fountainhead College of Technology's (FCT) Center for Information Assurance & Cybersecurity Training (IACT)

Fountainhead College of Technology, formerly Tennessee Institute of Electronics, was founded in 1947 and is committed to using it resources to significantly contribute to efforts to secure the nation's critical infrastructure. In 1999 the college began offering an associate's degree in Information Technology with curriculum developed to include information security training. In 2002 the college began development of a baccalaureate degree in Network Security and Forensics; and in 2003 Fountainhead College of Technology became the first college in the southeast to offer a computer security focused baccalaureate degree. The mission of the IACT center is to develop and maintain a strong information assurance curriculum that adheres to national standards, and to also address the cybersecurity needs of the community by offering training and support for Fountainhead College of Technology students, staff, and faculty; local law enforcement; government agencies; and information technology professionals.

For more information, please visit the official IACT website at: http://www.iawire.org, or contact Tammy Alexander, Program Coordinator at tam@iawire.org.

About the Florence Crittenton Agency (FCA)

From the Agency website: "At the Florence Crittenton Agency (FCA), young women in crisis are provided with a special community that gives them a sense of belonging.

These young women come to FCA and through support, guidance, and education rebuild their lives.

Our positive reinforcement programs and our staff of professionals combine to become the building blocks for young lives.

We help them discover a sense of identity in their lives and direction to reshape their future and allow them to leave with a renewed sense of hope.

FCA provides specialized programs to meet the various needs of young women in any kind of crisis. Some clients are pregnant, trying to deal with new feelings and emotions; others may be abused, products of a broken family, or are in crisis with family or community.

Whether chemically dependent or just feeling lost, these women come from all areas of society, and they find a wide array of services and support at FCA."

For more information, visit the center website at: http://www.discoveret.org/fca/