Stephen Downes

Ada Lovelace (according to Wikipedia) "is today appreciated as the 'first programmer' since she was writing programs-that is, manipulating symbols according to rules-for a machine that Babbage had not yet built. She also foresaw the capability of computers to go beyond mere calculating or number-crunching while others, including Babbage himself, focused only on these capabilities." Ada Lovelace Day was created by Suw Charman-Anderson to "to draw attention to women excelling in technology" by publishing a post on Mach 24 - today - about a woman in technology they admire. The purpose is to highlight role models for young women in the field.

I won't pick someone specific, but rather, will highlight those in my own network who are celebrating today:
- TED Blog highlights Brenda Laurel, Mena Trott, and Aimee Mullins
- David Weinberger picks Wendy Seltzer
- Jim Groom picks Ms. Pacman
- George Roberts names a whole list
- Leisa Reicht highlights Rachel Dixon
- Alja Sulcic picks several people and her mom
- Paul Walk nominates Pattie Maes
- Karyn Romeis names Randice-Lisa Altschul
- Juliette Culver picks Angela Byron
- Kerryj names Joanna McKay
- Emma Duke-Williams talks about Mary Lou Jepsen
- Alfred Thompson names Thelma Thompson, his wife
- Sheila MacNeill picks Lorna Campbell
- Luis Suarez identifies Gina Poole
- Lexa highlights Sally Buberman
- Lucie deLaBruere does a Friday Five on "the leading women in tech"