Celebrating Women in the Tech World
International Women’s Day takes place every year on March 8th as a reminder to celebrate the beauty and strength of being a woman, as well as the achievements included. In honor of the day, we wanted to highlight some of our users from churches all over and celebrate the impact that they have on their organization each and every weekend.
Marjo Stevens from Sunnybrook Community Church in Sioux City, Iowa
Stevens has been at Sunnybrook Community Church for six years, where she is currently the IT Manager. She started building her own super computers in the 1990s and her love for technology only grew from there.
The moment she realized she could earn a living in tech, she left her job in the banking industry and jumped into the tech world. For her, technology is a world of problem solving and endless possibilities.
When asked what her favorite part of her role at Sunnybrook is, she says, “My favorite part is being able to stream our content to people across the world and interact with them. I love seeing the many ways people can experience Christ in a new way with this technology.”
Sandy Aitchison from Living Word Church in White Plains, New York
Aitchison was hired on as full-time staff at Living Word Church back in 2014, but she’s been serving in media ministry since 2002. While her daughter was in high school, she was working for a local cable studio and called her mom and asked for help on running cameras for a breaking news live show. Now, that’s a way to break into the industry!
For Sandy, she says that, “It’s an absolute blast working with teens and young adults as they grow in the tech field directing, running cameras, doing photography, — using their God-give talents to do what Christ has to ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’”
Jan Touchberry from Christ Fellowship in McKinney, Texas
Touchberry serves as the Online Campus Pastor and the Service Producer at Christ Fellowship. For over nine years, she’s had the opportunity to lead as an Online Campus Pastor, and for over 13 years, she’s been a Service Producer.
Since Touchberry has two jobs at her church, she has developed a great connection with the congregation.
Touchberry says, “As an online campus pastor, I love knowing that we are using technology to bring the Gospel to people who might never step foot inside a church. As a live service producer, I love using technology to enhance service and help people focus on the message of the Gospel and connect with the Lord while making sure needless distractions don’t detract from being able to do that.”
As for other apps she uses during service? Touchberry says, “ProPresenter — (with) the way we do our services every week, we depend on ProPresenter to make it happen well to various audiences.”
Adrienne Smith from Living the Word Church in Collinsville, Illinois
Smith has been at Living The Word Church for almost seven years. When she was in high school, she had the opportunity to take part in The Community Film Workshop of Chicago where she was exposed to the world of video production and editing.
Smith says, “The use of media can empower and give voice to ANYTHING. I’m just glad that I have an opportunity everyday to use the power of media to encourage, inspire, and share the greatest story of all time — the story of Christ.”
Favorite apps include Planning Center and the YouVersion Bible App, as it allows her team to collectively follow a study plan together.
Fernanda Salviano from Northland Church in Longwood, Florida
Salviano has been working at Northland Church for over six years. For Salviano, her career in technology started when she was an intern at a computer software company called iLumina. Before starting this internship, she thought she was headed for law school. Once she took the dive into tech, she realized she couldn’t have been more wrong about the world she wanted to be in!
When asked about using her talents for video and some of her favorite parts of what she does, she says, “My favorite thing about working with video, is that I can be a bridge between people and God. I love the fact that I can use technology and all the tools in my reach to provide a distraction-free worship environment for people to forget about their troubles, and be immersed in an experience that really matters and it’s life-changing.”
As for favorite apps, Salviano loves Slack. But the most important app in her life? “The app I can’t really live without….is definitely the Chick-fil-a app.”
Stream Monkey is an online video company focused on simplifying the way users share, connect, and engage with their audience.
