Women have been working and innovating in the information technology field for over 300 years, and UAB IT is honored to have over 50 women working in the department to help bring the university its technology needs.  

Everyone's path starts somewhere, whether it be inside or outside the field of IT. Some of the women in UAB IT found their passion within their academic journey, while others slowly entered the technology world through different means.  

Director of IT Client Services Jamie Witter started her journey while studying for her bachelor's degree in computer science. She has a passion for trouble shooting and coding, which secured a spot at her university's help desk.  

In the early days of her career, Witter worked from home — something that was unheard of in the 90s and early 2000s. She managed to juggle the expectations of motherhood, being a wife, and managing a full-time job. Whenever she could, Witter would look for those "low-hanging fruit" opportunities to add value to her career. These tangible results have led to promotions and opportunities of today.   

"I was amazed that someone would want to pay me to what I love to do," Witter said. “When I moved into a management role, I knew it was a perfect fit. I love leading and serving my team. I aim to help them excel personally and professionally, which will help them serve our clients and the university.”

Like Witter, Prema Soundararajan, a scientist with UAB IT's Research Computing team, started her journey with a degree in Computer Science.  

"In December 2019, I started my professional journey in the United States as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Computer Science in UAB. Before that, I was enrolled in a PhD program working in the field of parallel computing,” Soundararajan said. “I have a passion for this field, and everything I've done has built up on the solid foundation in core concepts and practical experience I received during my bachelor's degree.”

Soundararajan has worked with high-performance computing for over a decade now. Early in her career, she conducted extensive research and successfully implemented a novel auto-parallelization methodology, helped develop and implement a Message Passing Interface Partitioned point-to-point Communication Library using a hybrid parallel mode, and now works with esteemed researchers, stockholders, and students from across UAB to help with their computational needs. Soundararajan is also an active member of Women in High Performance Computing, a professional association.  

"I love being a part of WHPC, which is an organization that actively encourages women to participate in outreach activities, education and provides invaluable support,” Soundararajan said. “Before I knew of it, I had concerns about my own potential for success because of the lack of women in this field. Now as an active member, I consistently make significant contributions to the WHPC Mentoring Program, leveraging my expertise to uplift the career growth of women in this field." 

Executive Director of Information Security Cindy Jones did not find her way to the Information Security field right away. In the early days, Jones worked in a law firm as a paralegal. She had a fascination with computers and the networking systems, which sparked an idea of how to make it easier for the secretaries at the firm to use their devices.  

“Early in my career I had to prove myself as a technologist and on my technical skills. I invested much in the training and certifications I felt I needed to gain the knowledge and prove my skills,” Jones said.

Since joining UAB, Jones has led her team to help bring extra security to the universities networking systems. Under her watchful eye the Information Security team has implemented two-factor authorization, improved phish reporting infrastructure, spoke to multiple groups on campus, and more.

Finding footing in a male-dominated job can be tough, but Rachel Moorehead, executive director of infrastructure and operations, found a way.

“Two of the best things I've done to conquer those is to find champions, find people who will speak your name in the meetings you aren't in, for the opportunities you don't know exist yet; and to find allies, people going through the same experiences you are and can be your cheerleader, your sounding board, or your shoulder to cry tears of frustration.  Women in IT groups are great to make these types of friendships and connections,” Moorehead said.

Moorehead has worked on big projects across web, email, and is now one of the UAB IT staff members working as an adjunct professor in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences department of Computer Science. As a professional in this field, she finds that giving herself mental health check-ins helps keep her enriched in the material she’s working on.

“Everyone has imposter syndrome; jump in anyway. Do self-checks for your mental health. Are you enjoying the challenge or drowning? Find a happy middle ground to continually push yourself while maintaining your inner peace,” Moorehead said.

Across the board, these women in UAB IT said they want the next generation of innovating women to know that opportunity is out there. Whether it be in personal trainings, academic classes, or in the day-to day job, you can find your place in the field.

“The best advice I have ever received workwise was from one of my previous bosses. He said that a great way to get noticed is to do the things that most people put in the ‘too hard pile,’” Witter said. “Understand that there is no substitute for experience, and that you must put in the time to grow and be ready for new challenges.”