Meet Cathy Farmer, a woman who helped blaze trails by integrating computers into American businesses. The term “IT” was relatively new when she began her career journey. She forged the way for women in the field wherever she was employed as she was usually the first and only woman operating a computer in the office. Her acumen with both computers and business made her unique during the 1980s when few women were encouraged to explore career opportunities in the field. Here’s a bit about the roots that produced this remarkable, independent woman.

Cathy was one of six children, and knew if she wanted to go to college, she would have to pay her own way. Her father was a big influence in her life and he always encouraged her to pursue whatever she wanted to learn, and for Cathy, this meant math and science. She began her college studies at DePauw University. After 2 years, she decided to take time off and enter the workforce. She dabbled in lots of jobs from bartending to handling insurance claims. After a year and a half at the insurance company, she returned to school at UMass/Boston where she majored in math and computer science, earning a BA in 1986.

At this point, she moved with her new husband to San Francisco. There she was hired by a beauty supply company to do coding and was their first female programmer. She was able to absorb a lot about business practices, and paid attention to how the entire company was run. Little did she know then how that knowledge would serve her well in the future. After a couple of years, she wanted more of a challenge and moved on to become a software programmer at Jandel Scientific.

She learned DOS and used Windows 1 and gained maximum proficiency in a 6 1/2-year stint. Her next stop was a small computer consulting firm, and time teaching at a Berkeley extension. This was followed by yet more consulting work, and after consulting at Kaiser Permanente, she became an employee there in 1998. She stayed for 15 years, proving invaluable to the company because of her abilities in both business and computers. When she left, it was to consult on her own.

A fascinating opportunity came along from Caesars’ Entertainment. It was a departure from all she’d done before, and she gained valuable marketing experience while she was there. It was at this juncture that Cathy turned her attention to startups. She tells us she has always had an entrepreneurial spirit, so she jumped in by becoming a co-founder of a startup (which has now been put on the back burner).

With two siblings on the autism spectrum, she gave some thought to how she could involve herself and support the efforts of those working for that cause. She became a member of the board of directors for the Organization for Autism Research in 2016, and in 2018, the National Science Foundation named her an Industry Mentor. She holds that seat still today. In 2019, she became the representative Consumer Reviewer of Grants for the DCMRP Autism Program. (Her list of titles in the autism support area is significant and you can access it on her LinkedIn profile.) In 2020, she co-founded “Autism Angels Group” to provide seed money for “private markets and for-profit enterprises that seek to include and empower those on the autism spectrum and “to aggressively drive economic opportunities and technology-driven solutions that create a positive social impact for the autism community.” Cathy describes this endeavor as the best thing she has ever done. She tells us she’s found that the work immerses her and makes her happy. What a wonderful way to begin to begin a second chapter in one’s career life!

Links:

www.autismangelsgroup.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathysf/

 

Topics in this episode:

• Don’t let others determine your path
• Think about all of the strengths and skills you bring to the table when applying for a new job (or starting a business)
• Growth involves risk-taking
• How rewarding it can be to do something you’re passionate about
• What is angel investing and how does it help startups