Stoel Rives-Sponsored TechStart Opens Nominations for Technology Educator/Student of the Year Awards

PORTLAND, Ore.—TechStart, an Oregon-based non-profit, has announced it is now accepting nominations for its 2023 Technology Educator of the Year Awards and Technology Student of the Year Award. The annual educator of the year awards honors three outstanding K-12 Oregon and Southwest Washington technology educators, awarding a cash stipend to the honorees to purchase tech education materials for their classrooms or provide other resources. TechStart selects one Student of the Year and two-runners up among Oregon and Southwest Washington Juniors and Seniors, awarding the student winner with an educational scholarship.

Nominations are open until March 17 and can be submitted via the TechStart website:

Technology Educator of the Year nominations

Technology Student of the Year nominations

TechStart was created by local technology leaders with the goal of supporting and expanding access to computer science education for K-12 students in Oregon and is allied with the Technology Association of Oregon. Stoel Rives is a proud sponsor of TechStart, and Portland Partner Steven Boender serves on TechStart’s Board of Directors.

“TechStart is doing great things to encourage education in the technical fields, which I believe is a critical element to the success of the next generation,” Boender said. “A proud tech nerd myself, and a dad to two elementary aged kids who inherited my nerd gene, I am passionate about TechStart’s mission, helping to ensure every Oregon student has access to high-quality computer science education.”

Boender has been a member of TechStart’s Board of Directors since 2018. A partner in Stoel Rives’ Corporate group, his work includes representing companies in mergers and acquisitions, financings, and other corporate and securities issues. He also assists startup and emerging growth companies with formation, fundraising and structuring issues, as well as several joint development arrangements in the area of technology.

TechStart receives financial support from Benevity, the Peter and Julie Stott Foundation, Pure Energy and Stoel Rives. Its supporting partners include, among others, ChickTech, CodeHS, Code.Org, Health Technology Collaborative, National Center for Women & Information Technology, Oregon Computer Science Teachers Association, Oregon Game Project Challenge, ORTOP, Saturday Academy and Technology Association of Oregon. More information about the organization, its mission, and its programs, is available at techstart.org.