Lucky for us, we at Technical.ly didn’t have to choose the winners from this year’s amazing lineup of nominees: As usual, following a call for public nominations, our readers voted — and we received thousands of votes across all markets. Today, we announced the winners in our public Slack.
So, who won in Delaware? First, see all the Delaware nominees here. Then, without further ado, here are the winners:
Invention of the Year — Futures First Gaming and AI High School’s esports partnership
The Delaware esports organization fulfilled a goal in 2022 when it launched an extracurricular esports program in the public school system at AI du Pont High School. A career Pathway program in esports is expected to launch next fall.
Tech Community Leader of the Year — Dan Freeman, Horn Entrepreneurship
For the last 10 years, Horn has introduced design thinking and startup building to a generation of UD students. Companies that came out of the program included Carvertise, NERDit Now, TheraV and TRIC Robotics.
CTO of the Year — Kyle Barkins
Tapp helps hundreds of nonprofits and government agencies solve some of the world’s most urgent challenges, including Delaware’s Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education and Department of Labor. Barkins has over 20 years of experience in marketing technology and application development, having developed over 1,500 websites and apps for some of the world’s biggest brands and organizations.
Tech Company of the Year — Smart Kidz Club
This edtech startup founded by Surinder Sharma got a big boost in 2022 when it was selected by Google Play to represent Delaware in its #WeArePlay campaign.
Culture Builders of the Year — Erin Hutt and Cierra Hall-Hipkins
The founders of the nonprofit Network Connect have been serving the youth of Wilmington for more than five years with their employment program Future Culture Creators.
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