ABI-ONE ghc program v14.indd - Grace Hopper Celebration of ...

2010 ChANGE AGENT
AWARD WINNERS
ThuRSDAY, 7:00 – 9:00 PM –
CENTENNIAL BALLROOM I-IV
FRIDAY, 11:15 AM – 12:15 PM –
CAIRO/hONG KONG
uNDERWRITTEN BY GOOGLE
The Anita Borg Change Agent
Awards honor technical
women that live and work
outside the United States. Change
Agents work in their community to
attract and support women in technology.
Recipients are recognized
for their technical leadership and
advocacy work.
Ana Regina Cavalcanti
da Rocha, Brazil
Ana Regina Cavalcanti da Rocha, is an Associate Professor at
the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Graduate School of
Engineering, Computer Science Department and Technical
Coordinator of the Brazilian Reference Model for Software
Process Improvement. For decades, Ana has been a change agent
for Brazilian women in software engineering. Since the 1980s,
she has given software engineering unprecedented visibility in
Brazil and beyond, created a software quality culture, initiated a
vast series of workshops and programs
to assess and enhance software quality,
and tailored successful software
engineering practices for adoption by
Brazilian businesses small and large. In
doing so, she has also addressed two
essential problems: lack of educational
and professional opportunities
for women, and daunting levels of
Brazilian poverty. Her scores of women
students have subsequently achieved
industrial and academic success. And by offering opportunities
to those who would not otherwise have them, she has inspired
dozens of start-up companies and programs throughout Brazil.
Ana has devoted her career to providing opportunities to
students, especially women, and particularly from the rural areas
of Brazil who have little access to education and technology. She
has empowered these women to return home after their studies,
to provide similar opportunities to their own students and
colleagues.
Through her efforts Brazil’s software and software engineering
have credibility throughout the world and her software engineering
innovations are applied in places that most need them.
For instance, a cardiology institute for the poor in Salvador has
worked with her students to design and develop Expert System
in Cardiology enabling physicians in rural areas to diagnose
myocardial infarctions. Her network of women computer
scientists is growing at an accelerated pace, now that her former
students are themselves in senior positions, encouraging the
next generation of women to carry on her tradition of education
and excellence.
Ana has a Bachelor of Mathematics from the Federal University
of Rio de Janeiro and a Masters and PhD in Computer Science
from Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. She coordinated
projects for the Brazilian Navy, Brazilian Air Force, the Electoral
88 Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology | Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing