Sara Simon
First, we collected nominations for the 2016 Vermont Tech Jam awards — 78 of them, to be exact. Then our judges winnowed the field to five finalists in each of four categories. A public voting round that drew nearly 900 votes determined the winners. On Friday, October 21, we presented the awards at the Vermont Tech Jam.
On behalf of Seven Days, the Vermont Technology Alliance and BTV Ignite, here are the winners of the 2016 Tech Jam awards:
Newcomer Award Winner: Sara Simon
An English major who learned to write code, Simon is currently the lone web developer at Vermont Public Radio, where she has earned national recognition. She has participated in meetups for Burlington Python and Vermont Code Camp, and is committed to boosting diversity in the tech community.
Finalists:
- ShareYourself
- Erik Cooper
- Pitch Vermont LLC
- BeaconVT
David Bradbury, Sam Roach-Gerber, Hunter Hedenberg of VCET
Ambassador Award Winner: Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies
VCET brings together entrepreneurs, job talent, Vermont college systems and capital to enable the state’s transition to the digital economy. VCET has an unwavering commitment to growing Vermont’s technology-driven economy.
Finalists:
- Kyle Clark
- Kerry Swift
- Dan Roswell
- Doug Webster
Dr. Barry Finette, founder, ThinkMD
Startup Award Winner: Think MD
Developed at the University of Vermont Medical Center by longtime Burlington health professionals, this company saves the lives of children around the world using software to allow minimally trained health care workers to rapidly and correctly diagnose 16 different life-threatening health conditions.
Finalists:
- Emir Heco Engineering / Excelerate Essex
- Beacon (Max Robbins and Peter Silverman)
- Matt & Erik Design
- Protean
Innovation Award Winner: Think MD
Finalists:
- Protean
- GreenScale Technologies
- Lionheart FX Automated Live Cell Imager
- SoundToys
Many thanks to our distinguished judges: John Cohn, IBM Fellow, Internet of Things; Jane Swift, CEO of Middlebury Interactive Languages; Peggy Farabaugh, founder of Vermont Woods Studios; Rob Hale, principal software engineer at Renewable Energy Systems, cofounder of Vermont Code Camp, co-organizer of HackVT; Beth Anderson, chief innovation officer of Burlington.
Photos by Matthew Thorsen.