Three well-known members of the Oregon Technology sector are being honored this year with the Sam Blackman, the Tech Champion and the Lifetime Achievement awards from the Technology Association of Oregon.
The Sam Blackman Award is going to Nathan Christensen, co-founder and CEO of Mineral; the Tech Champion Award is going to Juan Barraza, incoming executive director of Latino Founders; and the Lifetime Achievement Award is going to Diane Fraiman, managing director at Voyager Captial.
The winners of these individual awards will be celebrated at a Portland event in September.
“This year’s recipients did not achieve success overnight, and they consistently and humbly delivered for their colleagues, customers/portfolio companies and the broader community, going above and beyond what was expected of them,” said TAO president and CEO Skip Newberry in a written statement.
In the announcement of Christensen’s award, TAO highlighted his work not only growing the company to more than 1 million customers but also his work with Lewis & Clark Law School, Oregon Venture Fund and the Tony Patiño Fellowship.
The Sam Blackman Award is named for the co-founder and CEO of Elemental Technologies. The award celebrates a local CEO for “excellence in industry leadership as well as an individual’s positive impact in the greater community.”
Mineral is a human resources and compliance software company that serves small and midsized businesses. The company, which is based in downtown, was acquired by Texas-based Mitratech earlier this year. Mineral has 250 employees with 85 in Portland.
The Tech Champion Award is for people who are outside the tech industry but whose work “actively supported/impacted the technology industry’s growth.”
Barraza has been a part of the local tech community first as a founder of digital health care startup VDO Interpreters and later as organizer of events like Startup Weekend Latino and Pitch Latino. He is past director of Portland State University Center for Entrepreneurship and past director of innovation and entrepreneurship at VertueLab.
In July he is stepping into the role of executive director of Latino Founders, an organization that supports entrepreneurs that he co-founded.
The Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates someone who is a mentor, role model and advocate for the tech community, according to TAO. The recipient is also someone who has fostered collaboration and shaped the tech industry landscape.
Fraiman has been in the Oregon tech industry for more than 35 years. She started in sales and marketing at Digital Equipment Corp. She then worked at Sequent Computer, Tektronix Video and Networking, Informix Software and Sanctum.
She has been the Portland-based partner for Seattle-based venture capital fund Voyager Capital since 2007. She has sourced 17 Oregon deals for the firm including Elemental, Act-On Software, Skyward, Lytics and SheerID.
“I am beyond honored to be receiving this award from TAO,” said Fraiman, in a written statement. “My technology career started in Portland — a city (in a) state I love and am committed to continue to work hard to help innovate and grow.”
