Top 10 Women in Tech Groups and Resources in Omaha, NE in 2026

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Nebraska Women in Tech Summit
• Women in Technology of the Heartland
• AIM Institute's Women in Tech Programs
• AnitaB.org's Virtual and Local Resources
• You Go Girl Code Club
• Corporate Employee Resource Groups at Major Employers
• Nebraska Tech Collaborative
• FNTS Women in Tech Scholarships
• Tech Nebraska Summit
• PowerPath Collective and Niche Leadership
• Conclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions

Nebraska Women in Tech Summit

Emerging as the definitive annual gathering, the Nebraska Women in Tech Summit has rapidly evolved into a two-day powerhouse of connection and career development. Orchestrated by the Nebraska Tech Collaborative, the event directly addresses the need for local, high-caliber inspiration following the shuttering of national networks.

The 2026 summit, held March 5-6 and sponsored by Kiewit and Google, featured a pre-event mixer at the Kiewit Luminarium and a formal awards ceremony, underscoring its deep roots in Omaha's corporate and cultural institutions. Attendance offers access to practical workshops and networking with leaders from silver sponsors like Mutual of Omaha.

"The event helps elevate the leaders shaping the future of technology." - Dawn Pielstick, VP of Enterprise Data at Mutual of Omaha

For professionals in Omaha, the summit’s value extends beyond content to visibility and validation. It’s where local success stories are amplified, making it easier to find mentors and visualize a long-term career in Nebraska’s growing tech scene, which benefits from the region's lower cost of living and central location.

Women in Technology of the Heartland

When the national Women Who Code chapter network dissolved, the locally-founded Women in Technology of the Heartland (WiTH) became the essential, everyday circuit keeping the community connected. Established in 2012 and now boasting over 2,500 members, WiTH fills the gap with a mission to foster "authentic connection" and ensure no one feels like the only woman in the room.

The group hosts regular, substantive meetups at venues like Farm Credit Services of America, focusing on applied AI and career leadership. Its structured mentorship program is a standout, pairing seasoned professionals from companies like FNTS or Union Pacific with those earlier in their careers.

"Build your personal board of directors." - Sheila Byars Fields, advising women on seeking mentorship within the tech ecosystem.

Officially recognized as a partner of the Nebraska Tech Collaborative, WiTH provides the consistent, hyper-local peer support that remote groups cannot. It's where Omaha tech professionals build their professional network and find the allies necessary to navigate and advance within the region's unique corporate landscape.

AIM Institute's Women in Tech Programs

While networking is vital, the AIM Institute addresses the other critical component: concrete, skill-based advancement. As a cornerstone of Omaha's tech talent development, AIM provides specialized leadership forums and workshops, including those focused on the practical applications of AI in fields like finance and logistics.

AIM's role as a bridge between corporations and education is exemplified by Code Crush, a multi-session immersion experience for 8th and 9th-grade girls organized with the University of Nebraska at Omaha's College of IS&T. This pipeline initiative is funded in part by proceeds from the women in tech summit, directly tackling the talent challenge by providing early, hands-on exposure.

For established professionals, these programs offer a dual value. They provide cutting-edge knowledge applicable at Omaha employers like First National Bank or Union Pacific, while also creating a platform to transition from participant to mentor. Engaging with AIM allows technologists to both sharpen their skills and directly shape the future of the local ecosystem they are a part of.

AnitaB.org's Virtual and Local Resources

In an era where geographic isolation can be a career barrier, AnitaB.org provides a crucial hybrid model, blending a global platform with opportunities for local engagement. The organization maintains its drive toward a "50/50 by 2025" gender equity goal in tech, offering year-round virtual mentoring, events, and a vast knowledge library through its AnitaB.org/365 programming.

For women in Omaha working in specialized niches or at smaller companies, this access is a lifeline. It democratizes connection to a global sisterhood, allowing a machine learning engineer in Omaha's agri-tech sector or a cybersecurity analyst at a local fintech to find a mentor with her exact expertise, who might not be physically present in the Midwest.

"AnitaB.org empowers women to make history in the tech industry." - Afrotech, on the organization's mission and impact.

This resource is particularly valuable for gaining perspective on how local roles fit into the broader tech landscape and for finding inspiration beyond regional borders, such as through the massive Grace Hopper Celebration, for which AnitaB.org is the presenting organization. It ensures that professionals in Omaha's growing tech scene are never professionally isolated.

You Go Girl Code Club

Building a resilient tech ecosystem requires starting young, and the You Go Girl Code Club represents a critical, hyper-local node in that early pipeline. Hosted at MCC North Express, this club offers sustained 10-week programs specifically for girls ages 8-17, creating a fun and foundational environment to explore coding.

In the wake of broader organizational shifts, these consistent, community-based programs have become more vital than ever. They provide positive, early exposure that demystifies technology and builds confidence long before college or career decisions are made, directly addressing the talent pipeline challenge from the ground up.

For Omaha parents, it's a trusted local resource. For tech professionals, it offers a tangible way to pay it forward. Volunteering as a mentor or guest speaker allows individuals to directly shape the next generation of the local workforce, sharing real-world experiences from companies like Kiewit or Mutual of Omaha and seeing the immediate impact of their involvement in the community.

Corporate Employee Resource Groups at Major Employers

In Omaha, major employers don't just sponsor the external women-in-tech community; they actively power internal hubs of support through robust Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Companies like Union Pacific, Mutual of Omaha, Kiewit, and First National Bank of Omaha host these groups, transforming large corporate landscapes into accessible communities.

These ERGs are where corporate diversity goals become tangible. Union Pacific, named a "Best Company for Women," has a public goal to double the number of women in its workforce by 2030 and hosts the LEAD (Lead, Educate, Achieve and Develop) ERG. Similarly, Mutual of Omaha fosters internal networks that complement its external summit sponsorship.

The value for members is direct and career-accelerating. ERG participation leads to visibility with senior leaders, access to specialized projects, and a built-in support system to navigate corporate advancement. They provide safe spaces for discussing company-specific challenges and offer direct lines to executive advocacy, turning a large employer into a place where you can reliably find allies and sponsors.

Nebraska Tech Collaborative

Acting as the strategic backbone of the region's tech growth, the Nebraska Tech Collaborative (NTC) is the coalition ensuring that momentum from individual events translates into sustained, systemic progress. An initiative of the Aksarben Foundation, the NTC focuses on building an inclusive and robust tech community across the state, providing the connective tissue between corporations, educators, and professionals.

While the NTC orchestrates the flagship Nebraska Women in Tech Summit, its influence extends to year-round advocacy and partnership-building. This includes recognizing and elevating key local networks, such as officially naming Women in Technology of the Heartland as a partner dedicated to advancing women across the ecosystem. Their work ensures that inspiration gathered in March fuels action throughout the entire year.

For women building tech careers in Omaha, the NTC’s value is foundational ecosystem-building. Their efforts in research, promoting inclusive hiring practices at partner companies, and influencing educational policy create an environment where local talent can not only enter but truly thrive. This strategic, coalition-based approach is what transforms a collection of individual programs into a resilient, interconnected grid of opportunity.

FNTS Women in Tech Scholarships

Direct investment in the next generation takes many forms, and the FNTS Women in Tech Scholarships exemplify a powerful, targeted approach. Awarded in late 2025, these $500 grants are given to female students within Omaha Public Schools who are pursuing post-secondary education in a technology field.

While the monetary support is practical, the symbolic validation is equally powerful. It represents a direct signal from a successful local managed services provider that the community sees and is investing in its own future talent. This kind of hyper-local scholarship addresses a specific barrier for young women considering tech careers right here in Omaha.

For recipients, it's both encouragement and financial aid. For the broader ecosystem, each scholarship is a building block in a more sustainable, homegrown talent pipeline. Initiatives like this reduce long-term reliance on recruiting from coastal markets and strengthen the region's ability to develop and retain its own skilled workforce, contributing to the area's competitive advantage in tech.

Tech Nebraska Summit

For a comprehensive, strategic view of the landscape, the annual Tech Nebraska Summit provides essential context. Held each November in downtown Omaha, this statewide gathering illuminates the market dynamics, key players, and economic trends shaping careers across the region.

The summit’s value for women in tech is strategic intelligence. It’s where professionals gain insight into which industries are growing and what skills are in demand within Nebraska’s unique economy, which blends fintech, agri-tech, logistics, and insurance tech. This big-picture knowledge is crucial for effective career planning, entrepreneurship, and informed advocacy within one’s own organization.

Attendance helps technologists move beyond their individual roles to understand the forces propelling the entire regional industry forward. Many Omaha-area employers sponsor attendance for employees, recognizing that this macroeconomic perspective is key to retaining and developing local leadership talent who can navigate and contribute to the Heartland's distinct and growing tech ecosystem.

PowerPath Collective and Niche Leadership

The resilience of any ecosystem depends on specialized tools for specific needs, and Omaha's women-in-tech community is strengthened by focused, grassroots leadership. Award winners from the 2026 Nebraska Women in Tech Awards, like Tailla Strawn, founder of the PowerPath Collective and an instructor with Code Black Tech, exemplify this principle. These leaders create targeted resources for overlapping communities, such as women of color in tech, ensuring the support network leaves no one behind.

While not massive city-wide organizations, these niche initiatives address specific challenges with profound effectiveness. They operate as specialized components within the broader grid, offering culturally competent mentorship and sponsorship that can be the decisive factor in retention and advancement for those whose experiences may not be fully addressed by larger groups.

The value for members is a profound sense of being seen and understood. For the ecosystem, supporting these recognized leaders and their projects fortifies overall resilience and inclusivity. These efforts ensure the community’s growth is equitable and that the interconnected network of support in Omaha is capable of empowering every technologist, wherever they are in their journey.

Conclusion

The disruption of 2024 didn't leave Omaha's tech community in darkness. Instead, it revealed and accelerated the enduring power of locally-generated energy. The women-in-tech ecosystem that has crystallized is not a replica of a coastal model; it is authentically Heartland - pragmatic, interconnected, and deeply rooted in the corporate and educational institutions that define the region.

From the flagship summit powered by Kiewit to the code clubs at MCC, the light is on. This decentralized grid, born from local initiative following the closure of groups like Women Who Code, has proven more adaptable and sustainable. It's a network where a professional can find mentorship within her company's ERG, skill-build at the AIM Institute, and gain global perspective through AnitaB.org, all while being anchored in Omaha's unique economic landscape.

Your community, mentors, and path forward are here. This resilient, homegrown support system, championed by the Nebraska Tech Collaborative and thousands of committed professionals, demonstrates that the most reliable guidance often comes from the lights closest to home, powered by the distinct advantages and collaborative spirit of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro.

Frequently Asked Questions