About Tech-Moms
Tech-Moms was created by three independent and inspiring people, who wanted to open doors for Utah women to gain economic freedom through flexible careers in tech.
Trina Limpert had a 25 year career in Utah’s tech industry, and faced the frustration of always being the only woman in the room and never having enough female applicants to consider when she was building her own teams. Trina got connected with Mikel Blake who had followed the Tech-Moms pathway herself (becoming a software developer after taking a career break) and wanted to share this opportunity with others. Robbyn Scribner had spent her career researching and writing about women’s issues, but her passion had always been women’s career development, so she joined Trina and Mikel and Tech-Moms was born.
Since launching the first cohorts in September of 2020, Tech-Moms has helped hundreds of students to recognize that you can have a rewarding career and still make it to your kids’ soccer games. This program has provided hope and inspiration to many who couldn’t see a path forward. By giving our alumni confidence in their abilities through education, professional development, and a supportive network, Tech-Moms is creating the change they want to see in the world.
Technical Training
Each class is lead by an expert technical trainer. The instructors teach the coding curriculum (HTML, CSS, and intro to JavaScript) as well as helping the students build their personal websites throughout the course of the program.
Pillars of our Program
Career Exploration
Our guest speakers are professionals working in their respective fields. They provide students with an understanding of what skills are required to be successful, as well as the pathways to gaining those skills and getting the job.
Supportive Community
The key to long term career success is a feeling of belonging. Tech-Moms is building a lasting community of support with resources such as on-going coaching, supplemental classes, events, social media groups, and more.
Meet the Co-Founders
Vison. Innovation. Leadership.
Mikel Blake
Executive Director
Mikel Blake’s mission is to empower women and make tech careers accessible to all. She is a mother of three and chose to parent full-time when her first child was born. After almost a decade out of the workforce, she was interested in restarting her career, and was drawn to technology and software development.
Initially, she taught herself how to code using online courses and resources. But hungry for community and additional support, she enrolled in a full-time developer bootcamp, where she was one of three women and the only mother in the program. She spent five years as a developer at Degreed before leaving to co-found Tech-Moms.
Mikel has been honored with a “40 Under 40” Award from Utah Business Magazine and a WIN100 award from the Wasatch Innovation Network. Mikel has a long history as a personal investor in a number of Tech startups.
Trina Limpert
Director of Operations
A passionate business leader known for constructing strategic vision to achieve business goals, Trina Limpert is CEO of RizeNext, and an expert in strategic diversity experience execution. In her prior role as President of Women@eBay (overseeing 1500 members across 17 countries and 22 sites), Trina led diversity and inclusion initiatives across the company.
Her work with eBay’s Women in Technology organization earned her the Women Tech Council Impact Award in 2015. Trina was also a finalist for the Women Tech Council awards in 2017, she has been recognized by the National Women in IT, New York awards for Rise Up Leadership as “Diversity Program of the Year” in 2020, and Trina was chosen as one of Utah Business Magazine’s “30 Women to Watch” in 2020.
Robbyn Scribner
Director of Outreach
Robbyn Scribner is a women's labor force expert, consultant, and career coach. Robbyn is also a regular keynote speaker and presenter focusing on women’s professional development. As a prolific researcher and writer on women’s issues, she has published more than 50 reports, articles, or snapshots on topics including labor force participation, the gender wage gap, male allies, workplace flexibility, and women’s careers. She is also the creator of an in-depth online course designed to help women re-enter the workforce after a career break.
Robbyn holds Master’s and Bachelor degrees from Brigham Young University, and she is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach. She has a special interest in researching and writing about women’s work life integration, highlighting the challenges women face in trying to balance work and family responsibilities, while advocating for creative solutions to advance women’s professional wellbeing. A mother of six rowdy kids, Robbyn loves to play volleyball, sing, and hike in the beautiful Utah mountains.
Meet the Team
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
Sarah Baca
Professional Development Coordinator
Sarah is a big mountain snowboarder, road, gravel, and mountain biking mama, pianist, writer, Weber State University graduate, and outdoor enthusiast. Being a part of Tech-Moms has allowed her to meet incredible women, hear their stories, and help them draft a professional narrative they can be proud of. The network and community found here are unmatched. Since graduating from Tech-Moms she has completed a Junior Front-end Engineering Certification, designs/maintains the website, assists in grant writing, and leads the Resume and Interview program.
Merianne Gates
Program Manager
Merianne is often the first face someone sees when they apply to Tech-Moms. She graduated from the program in the spring of 2022 and was thrilled to the join the team to assist others in making the same investment in their future. Merianne has continued her web development education in hopes that she will eventually be ready to transition into a career in development. She is most proud of having earned her Bachelor's Degree, run a "bucket list" marathon, and survived potty training her 3 children while gaining all the negotiation skills associated with that experience.
Analeia George
Outreach Coordinator
Analeia recently graduated with her bachelor’s in strategic management, emphasizing corporate social strategy, negotiations, and advocacy. During undergrad, she found meaning as a research assistant, interviewing female founders about their stories of struggle and success. In her career exploration process, she met Trina Limpert who became an important mentor through unexpected life changes. Analeia considers it an honor and privilege to work for Tech-Moms. In her free time, she fights healthcare inequities and then finds joy in the outdoors, dogs, music, writing, painting, yoga, and sunsets.
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Brooke Slabbert
Program Manager
Brooke, originally from Southern California, has a background in psychology, program design, and project management. Passionate about technology and empowering women, she graduated from Tech-Moms in 2023. Now, she leverages her skills to expand Tech-Moms’ reach, especially in rural areas. She loves connecting with participants and hearing their unique stories. When not engaging with the community, she enjoys Utah’s mountains with her kids—snowboarding, mountain biking, or reading a great book.
Katie Kearns Swenson
Social Media Marketing Manager
After leaving her full-time job to raise her children, Katie came across a Tech-Moms ad; she applied, completed the course and graduated in April 2021. She loved the community so much that she wanted to be involved and get a front-row seat watching lives change! Katie is a Tech-Mom of four and she loves spending time with her family in the great outdoors. Fun facts about Katie: She played D1 College Softball, is a dedicated foodie, and can often be found being the “loud mom” at her kids' sporting events.
Tech-Moms Advisory Board
Wisdom. Guidance. Experience.
Tammy Alsup
Director of Operations and Technology
Commission on Accreditation for Resp. Care
Natalie Birrell
Senior Vice President of Product Engineering
AMH
Sam Gardiner
Corporate and M&A Partner
Mayer Brown LLP
Kris Jenkins
Co-founder
Mobly
Peng Se Lim
Senior HR Business Partner
Seekwell
Alison Lutjemeier
Customer Feedback Programs Director
Adobe
Crystal Matulovich
Account Executive
Frontall
Nubia Peña
Director of Strategic Partnerships
Gilead Sciences
Danette Pulley
Vice President of Strategic Partnerships
Bank of Utah
Dr. Kyle A. Reyes
V.P. of Institutional Advancement
Utah Valley University
Mindy Young
Co-Founder and CEO
Constructive Alchemy
Meet the Technical Trainers
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Kris Carter
Front-end Web Developer
Erin Hancock
Senior Software Engineer
Gwen Iarussi
Technology Executive
Sam Jeet
Full-Stack Software Engineer
Sunita Jennings
Senior Software Engineer
Luci Jones
Web Developer
Julie Kohler
Senior Software Engineer
Alyson La
Data Scientist
Kim Murphy
Weber State Univeristy Professor
Katharine Ponczoch
Advanced Certified ScrumMaster (A-CSM®)
Tech-Moms affirms and actively promotes the right of all individuals to equal opportunity without regard to any protected basis, including race, color, sex, national origin, age, religion, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.