Liz Ryan, WorldWIT CEO, Honored with 2005 Trailblazer Award by Association of Women in Communications

April 27, 2005 -- Liz Ryan, CEO and founder of WorldWIT™, the world’s largest on- and offline networking organization for women in business, was honored last evening with the 2005 Trailblazer Award at the Association of Women in Communications 2005 Women of Achievement awards banquet.

The Denver Professional Chapter of the Association for Women in Communications hosted the Woman of Achievement awards on Tuesday, April 26, 2005 at the Rialto Café in Denver. The Woman of Achievement celebration recognized women in the communications profession who have maintained a high level of excellence, and who have served as mentors by encouraging other women to achieve excellence.

The Trailblazer Award specifically recognizes pioneering women business owners. Thus, the AWC selected Liz Ryan, the founder of WorldWIT, as their 2005 Trailblazer recipient because of her vision to create the world’s largest online networking organization for professional women in business, formed for women to share advice and ideas with other women eager to “connect.”

WorldWIT now connects nearly 40,000 women in business, education, philanthropy, government, the arts, sports, media, medicine, public service, science and technology from around the world via its free discussion groups (including RockyWIT in Colorado boasting 1,500 members) and, through Liz Ryan’s leadership, and has brought face-to-face networking and educational events to businesswomen in 26 countries—since Liz took the personal, financial and career risk and launched the initial chapter, ChicWIT, in 1999.

The launch of individual WorldWIT chapters since ’99 has brought a new form of integrated networking and knowledge-sharing to women-in-business communities in Colorado and around the planet. There was a tremendous opportunity in these regions to create a strong community based on the combination of online, quick information-sharing and face-to-face events. Liz Ryan met the need and delivered much more by creating a more equitable and business-friendly society for the businesswomen of today and tomorrow.

In fact, this award comes on the heels of three other recent accomplishments. Liz was also honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from Colorado Women In Technology (February ’05), as well as the 2005 Advocacy Award (February ’05) from Enterprising Women magazine. In addition, WorldWIT was hailed Woman’s Business Association of the Year at The 2004 Stevie™ Awards for Women Entrepreneurs.

Boulder resident, former Fortune 500 VP and mother of five, Liz Ryan has become a staple in the Colorado business community, her home state, as well as an esteemed ‘business expert’ locally and nationally. Her columns appear regularly on Business Week Online as well as in various other publications. She is also the on-air expert for the local NBC affiliate, Denver's 9 News.

“WorldWIT has an exciting role in today’s economy—to support and connect women business owners and women in business of all industries,” says Ryan. “Being honored with the 2005 Trailblazer Award only advances our vision of helping women entrepreneurs build their business and advance their careers.”

To learn more about WorldWIT or to speak with Liz Ryan contact Kristi Hughes at 215-816-2954 or email e-mail protected from spam bots.

About WorldWIT
Founded in Chicago in 1999, WorldWIT™ (www.worldwit.org), hailed Woman’s Business Association of the Year at The 2004 Stevie™ Awards for Women Entrepreneurs, is the world’s largest online networking organization for professional women in business, formed for women to share advice and ideas with other women eager to “connect.” It reaches nearly 40,000 women globally via moderated, local email discussion groups like ChicWIT (Chicago), HoustonWIT and BritWIT (Great Britain), and through local events and activities in 26 countries and 75 cities around the world.

The membership is free and is comprised of women who range from corporate CEOs, government officials, legal professionals, marketing and media experts to home-based consultants and entrepreneurs. Its founder, Liz Ryan, was the first female vice president at U.S. Robotics, and is a popular columnist, speaker and “at work issues” expert. She has been featured by such media as TIME magazine, Fortune magazine, The New York Times, CNN, CNBC and Comcast. Liz is also a regular contributor to Business Week Online and is the on-air workplace expert for Denver’s NBC affiliate, 9 News. WorldWIT is headquartered in Boulder, CO.