Women's High-Tech Coalition and California Women's Caucus Join Forces to Bring Together Powerful California Women.

ATHERTON, Calif. -- The Women's High-Tech Coalition (WHTC) and the California Women's Caucus are partnering to sponsor a Silicon Valley-based reception aimed at bringing together powerful high-tech executives and state-wide elected officials to participate in a bi-partisan open dialogue covering issues vital to the high-tech industry and the state of California.

The event, planned for Thursday, May 11, at the Atherton home of publisher and well-known philanthropist Jillian-Manus Salzman and her husband's firm Vantage Point Venture Partners, will kick off at 4:30pm with a VIP roundtable discussion and end with a 5:30 to 7:30pm reception.

Throughout the evening, legislators will have the opportunity to speak briefly. They are expected to discuss issues that are important to the Silicon Valley tech community. Environmental regulations, RFID policy, the infrastructure, tax policy, healthcare and childcare issues are among some of the anticipated topics.

"Uniting these bi-partisan groups is a major step forward," said Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego), chair of the California Women's Caucus. "We are joining powerful forces that go beyond political parties and typical Northern/Southern California boundaries to address topics that are vital to our future."

"Bringing together this group of leaders ensures that the interests of women stay in the forefront of our discussions," added Senator Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose). "The technology community and the State of California are thereby working together in the best way possible through this collaborative effort."

Confirmed to attend include Senators Elaine Alquist, Christine Kehoe, Carole Migden and Assemblymembers Rebecca Cohn, Bonnie Garcia, Sally Lieber and Gloria Negrete-McLeod. Female executives representing Cisco Systems, Apple Computer, Johnson and Johnson, Solectron, IBM, Vantage Point Venture Partners, Lockheed Martin and Palm are also confirmed.

WHTC is a bi-partisan, non-profit group Chaired by Congresswomen Lofgren (D-SJ) and Congresswoman Emerson (R-MO). Its mission is to provide a forum for education, analysis and dialogue with leaders in business and government. Its first event in Silicon Valley was held at the home of Autodesk's CEO Carol Bartz and included 200 other women CEOs, entrepreneurs, executives and industry leaders, including Carly Fiorina (then CEO of HP), Sue Bostrom (VP, Cisco) and Ellen Hancock (Former CEO, Exodus). Today, the group has grown to nearly 400 executive members. Policy makers including Senator Barbara Boxer, Congresswomen Anna Eshoo, Congresswomen Mary Bono, Treasury Secretary Snow and Senator Hillary Clinton, among others, have spoken at and attended WHTC events. Events are held each year in a variety of locations across the U.S. including Washington D.C., New York and the Silicon Valley.

"This marks the first WHTC event solely focused on California State Legislators," said Leslee Guardino, Co-Chair of the WHTC. "It's evident that Silicon Valley leaders recognize the importance of California policy on business. WHTC provides a forum that helps nurture successful public/private partnerships and builds important relationships."

For more information on WHTC, go to www.womenshightech.org.

About the Women's High-Tech Coalition

The Women's High-Tech Coalition is a Washington-based organization and was founded in 2000 and is a national nonprofit organization and bipartisan forum for the exchange of ideas among women leaders in the public and private sectors whose focus is high technology. Its mission is to provide resources and opportunities for professional women in the technology industry to interact with policy makers on issues of mutual interest and to empower them to thrive, achieve and make a difference in this evolving and dynamic industry. By providing an atmosphere that generates sincere discussions and access to industry leaders, the WHTC presents women leaders the opportunity to foster political change. The environment for the formation of the Women's High Tech Coalition has been tested for the past two years, in order to insure the value that would accrue to members, companies and legislators.