Digital Rochester Announces
the 2015 Technology Woman of the Year

Rochester, NY - Digital Rochester announced the winner for Technology Woman of the Year at a breakfast at Casa Larga Vineyards earlier this morning. The winner was selected from 12 nominees.

The award winner is: Sandra U. Roberts, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.

After graduating from St. Lawrence University and starting her career in 1984, Roberts has held various positions within the Information Technology Department at Canandaigua National Bank & Trust (CNB). During this time, CNB has grown from a $250 million financial institution to a $2 billion financial institution. Currently, Roberts manages a department with 24 employees and a capital budget of $2.3 million.

Roberts holds the top position at CNB in Information Technology (IT), as the Chief Information Officer and is a role model for female employees, balancing both her professional career and her family. CNB currently has 5 women in the IT department besides Sandy, representing 25% of the department. Three of these women came from positions in other areas of the bank. In each case, Sandy was instrumental in bringing them into the department.

Within the financial industry, Roberts is considered an expert innovator of paperless processes to support financial transactions. Since 2004, when CNB became the first New York Bank to process electronic checks, Sandy has given many presentations at industry conferences about how CNB has innovatively converted paper-based processes to electronic processes.

Roberts supports the community as a volunteer and board member for many organizations, including The Granger Homestead, Literacy Volunteers of Ontario and Yates, Canandaigua Academy Sports Boosters, Canandaigua Knights Hockey, Laura Barber Foundation for Spine Research and Countryside Day Care.

For over 30 years, Roberts has superbly led the technology team at CNB, ensuring customers are served by the latest technology by top-notch employees armed with state-of-the-art tools. Her leadership has helped CNB achieve some of the strongest financial results in the nation. All of this has been accomplished through her assembly and development of a gender- and racially-diverse staff.

Technology Woman of the Year is designed to recognize, celebrate, and make visible the achievements of women in high technology fields. Through this award, women who work in these professions are encouraged to stay in the Greater Rochester area, mentor young women, and contribute to the economic growth of the region. Technology Woman of the Year is awarded based on three evaluation criteria: sustained contributions to the technology profession, contributions advancing the status and opportunities for women in technology and contributions to the community.

Photo: Sandra Roberts, 2014 Technology Woman of the Year

Photo Credit: Ken Pamatat, Creative Images Photography