ANN ARBOR ? Western Wayne, Washtenaw and Livingston counties now have a GLIMA chapter of their own. GLIMAWALA, based at Cleary University in Ann Arbor, hosted its first lunch, learn and mingle networking session on Jan. 20 and drew an audience of 35 potential new members.
GLIMAWALA Secretary, Treasurer Carol Himelhoch said GLIMA?s latest chapter hopes to provide more networking opportunities for IT professionals and students in the three counties, including those affiliated with the University of Michigan.
?WALA comes from wanting to represent Western Wayne, Washtenaw, Livingston and Ann Arbor,?? Himelhoch said. ?I had been attending some GLIMA events in the Southeast chapter and started to talk with a few people and thought it would be neat to get something going around here.?
Himelhoch said the goal is to bring entrepreneurs, people in education and technology professionals together to get more people involved in creating tomorrow?s technology companies.
?We?re bringing in entrepreneurs and people in education and bringing lots of folks together,?? Himelhoch said. ?We?ve talked about how technology has become pervasive and everyone goes about their work. We?re hoping to make that interaction with technology interesting for folks to spread more to people interfacing with it.?
GLIMAWALA will attempt to recruit professionals from software, life sciences, marketing, finance and government for its chapter. Since many students at Cleary University are working adults, Himelhoch said she?s hoping to get Cleary students heavily involved in GLIMAWALA.
?Our students rarely leave the state,?? she said. ?I see this as an opportunity to get them involved and to keep them involved.?
For more information, click on GLIMAWALA.Org
