Cloud Girls is honored to have amazingly accomplished, professional women in tech as our members. We take every opportunity to showcase their expertise and accomplishments – promotions, speaking engagements, publications and more. Now, we are excited to shine a spotlight on one of our members each month.
September’s Cloud Expert of the Month is Donna Kruse
Donna Kruse is an tech industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience. In 2018, she founded Savvy Technologies with the goal working closely with a select group of enterprise accounts to help them navigate the cloud journey. With her expertise in emerging technologies such as SD-WAN, cloud UC and contact center, and security, Kruse helps her customers simplify the evaluation, acquisition and implementation of this complex and often confusing technology.
Previously, she worked at AT&T, Lucent Technologies and most recently Qwest Communications, where she earned numerous sales achievement awards as well as customer accolades.
Kruse is also a passionate advocate for women in technology. She currently serves as the chair of the Tech Trek Committee, which sends promising 13-year-old girls to STEM camp for one week on full scholarship. The organization works with math and science teachers in middle school who nominate the students, and also works all year to raise the scholarship funds.
When did you join Cloud Girls and why?
I joined the moment the group was formed thanks to my colleague Jo Peterson, who is the founder. I joined to become more versed in all things cloud, and to connect with motivated and accomplished women in the tech industry.
What do you value about being a Cloud Girl?
The education and the connections!
How did you find a career in tech? Did you choose it or did you end up here and how?
I was working for a startup franchise of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). One of my responsibilities was acquiring our office technology including the phone system. I looked at AT&T among other choices, purchased from them and became great friends with the local rep, Beth Rauhaus. When I told her that I was ready for my next challenge, she told me that I needed to come work for AT&T. The rest is history.
How do you define success?
To me, success is making a difference and having fun. I love what I do. Give me a high-maintenance customer and a difficult problem to solve, and you’ve just made my day because that’s my specialty.
What will be the biggest challenge for the generation of women behind you?
The biggest challenge for the next generation of women is to not take for granted the rights that those who went before them fought so hard to secure.
What one piece of advice would you share with young women to encourage them to take a seat at the table?
Get over the popularity contest and take you seat. Period.