Woman of the Year: Small/Emerging Business — Driving Innovation and Equity in Tech

The 2025 Woman of the Year: Small/Emerging Business category honored leaders who are making an extraordinary impact through entrepreneurship, innovation, and creating opportunities in technology. These women demonstrate vision, resilience, and a commitment to building equitable pathways for others in tech.

Shana Sanders — Founder & CEO, We Create Tech | Winner

Shana’s journey combines creativity, education, and technology. As the Founder and CEO of We Create Tech, she leads a fast-growing nonprofit dedicated to closing the opportunity divide in STEAM through culturally relevant tech education. A former Title I educator, branding expert, and Emmy-winning media professional, Shana brings her unique expertise to national and global initiatives focused on youth empowerment, certification access, and workforce readiness.

Over the past year, Shana has led We Create Tech through transformative milestones. The organization expanded from serving 200 youth to 700+ students, providing hands-on STEAM training across all six Google Career Certificate areas. She onboarded 30+ students and professional advisors for 1:1 mentorship, aligning guidance with students’ tech interests and career goals.

Shana also launched TechRise, a digital ecosystem offering certifications, internships, and advisor connections. With support from a Microsoft data scientist, she built real-time Power BI dashboards to track program impact. Partnerships with Georgia Tech’s Institute for Leadership and Social Impact bring graduate fellows into the organization to lead projects and gain professional development experience.

Her leadership extends to financial sustainability and strategic growth. We Create Tech became an official Best Buy Teen Tech Center program in Atlanta, with plans to expand into two additional locations in New York. The organization also secured partnerships with Microsoft, CompTIA, and the U.S. Department of State through the Mandela Washington Fellowship. During ATL Tech Week, Shana exposed over 100 students to robotics, Gen AI, photography, and coding—continuing her mission of culturally responsive innovation.

“Leading We Create Tech has been about building pathways, lifting others, and creating opportunities where they didn’t exist before. Every milestone reflects a commitment to equity, innovation, and the power of tech to transform lives.”

Allison Giddens — CIO, Win-Tech, Inc. | Finalist

Allison’s career is a testament to long-term dedication, leadership, and innovation in a small business setting. Over nearly two decades, she grew from assistant to co-owner and now serves as CIO of Win-Tech, Inc., a small aerospace manufacturer. She oversees business operations while her partner leads the plant floor, blending strategic vision with hands-on execution.

Allison has also built a strong presence in the broader industry, serving as Board Treasurer for the National Defense Information Sharing and Analysis Center, Southeastern Region Trustee for the National Tooling & Machining Association, Board Chair for LiveSafe Resources, and founder of The Dave Krache Foundation. She has earned numerous recognitions, including City of Kennesaw Citizen of the Year (2023), STEP Ahead Honoree (2022), Atlanta Braves Community Hero (2019), and Woman of Excellence distinction by MetalForming Magazine (2017).

Her leadership this year demonstrates both technical expertise and forward-thinking strategy. In June 2025, Allison led Win-Tech through a successful Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 2 third-party assessment, making them one of the first small manufacturers to achieve this milestone. This certification validates their cybersecurity posture and strengthens their position to retain and grow defense contracts in a compliance-driven industry.

Allison has also spearheaded AI-driven workflow automation, digitized HR onboarding, and launched a 3D virtual shop tour, which allows customers and students to explore Win-Tech remotely. In addition, she founded the Advanced Manufacturing Virtual Internship, connecting high school students with professionals in manufacturing and engineering, reaching over 50 students worldwide over the last five years.

These accomplishments reflect Allison’s ability to lead with impact, drive innovation, and foster a culture of community, mentorship, and operational excellence.

“Leading Win-Tech is about more than business outcomes—it’s about opening doors for others, inspiring future engineers, and building systems that support growth, compliance, and opportunity for all.”

Celine Vignal — Founder, Seesaw Health | Finalist

Celine’s journey is driven by innovation, science, and a personal commitment to women’s health. As the founder of Seesaw Health, she leads a pioneering health tech company at the intersection of biosensing, behavioral therapies, and women’s wellness. With more than two decades of global experience in sensor technology, marketing, and product development, Celine also co-founded NeurodigitX, where she spearheaded innovations that shaped the company’s approach to physiological monitoring.

Her work is deeply informed by her own health journey, which inspired her to explore the connection between the nervous system, cyclical inflammation, and chronic symptoms. This personal perspective informs her leadership and product vision, guiding a cross-disciplinary team advancing patented digital biomarkers and real-time analytics to support daily parasympathetic activity and inflammation recovery.

At NeurodigitX, Celine achieved a major milestone by developing a proprietary biosensor and machine learning-driven ANS data analysis system. She coordinated hardware, data science, and manufacturing teams, ensuring iterative testing and quality control. This achievement transformed the concept into a scalable product, positioning NeurodigitX as a leader in health tech and opening new consumer market opportunities.

For Seesaw Health, Celine launched a beta platform combining a biosensor and intuitive app for real-time parasympathetic system self-assessment and personalized breathwork stimulation. Through user-centric design and scientific rigor, she cultivated a highly engaged community of thousands of women managing chronic conditions, demonstrating strong consumer and vertical market demand. To ensure ethical and medical alignment, Celine also assembled a global advisory board of leading women doctors to guide product development.

“Building Seesaw Health has been about transforming personal experience into actionable innovation. My goal is to open doors for women to understand and take control of their health through science and technology.”

Explore the rest of our 2025 WIT Awards Spotlight Series:

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