As the Northwest region’s Executive Director of the American Electronics Association (AeA), Terry Byington has been helping to guide Washington state’s (and the nation’s) oldest and largest technology trade organization for nearly two decades.
The career path she’s followed could be compared to a kind of electronic circuit — one that sends pulses along the resistors and capacitors between people and technology. After serving five years as the Assistant Director of the State Human Rights Commission in Olympia, Terry came face-to-face with the future, the opportunity to merge her experience in public policy with the state’s technological citizenry of high-tech businesses. It’s a job she’s come to fill so prodigiously, she’s actually done it twice. First, for a “term” of 15 years, followed by a two year break to manage AeA policy in Olympia. She just reassumed her directorial position one year ago.
“At my first interview, I asked these six very serious engineers seated around the table why they would want to hire me?” summoned Terry who had previously spent eight years as the deputy director of the Illinois Dept. of Commerce and Community Affairs. “They told me, ‘We’re not hiring you to be an engineer. You can learn what you need to learn about this industry. What we need is someone who is well-organized, can manage and do public policy.’ I felt extremely grateful that this group of people could be that wide open in their thinking,” relates Terry.
The forward-thinking organization which was founded in 1943 by David Packard of HP renown is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. At its formation, the focus was to go back to Washington, DC and tell the story of the exciting technology that was in the West in order to win government contracts. The AeA is doing the very same things today.
“In the last year or so, AeA has been very focused on trying to make connections for the high-tech industry with the federal government, as well as with with state and local governments. We’ve started initiatives for getting small to mid-size companies access to potential contracts. With emerging Homeland Security and Defense issues, federal agencies are trying to outsource a lot of technologies that they have never outsourced before, including technologies they may not even knew existed. We’ve revamped our membership database to allow government agencies to search for those capabilities. Our staff in DC also began to meet with procurement executives of all the federal agencies. When the Homeland Security Bill was being negotiated, they were able to add an amendment that required agencies to look at readily available sources of information and AeA is listed as a preferred source. Federal, state and local governments will spend nearly $150 billion dollar on IT products and services this year. Government contracting is a huge market potential, particularly in a down economy,” explained Byington.
Seattle24x7: What do you consider to be the hottest high tech growth areas for the region?
Byington: “There are two that I think are very exciting. One is nanotechnology. That’s a field that will cross over and have a huge impact on biotech, semiconductors, and telecom, among others, over time. There are some companies here, such as Microvision and Lumera, that have a foothold in the arena. The Washington Technology Center is going after a federal grant to create a Nano initiative here. There is a Nano lab at the Washington Technology Center (WTC) at the University of Washington.
The other area I think is really important is in the energy area, specifically the new smart energy technology. A report coming out in the fall will show that smart energy technology is actually larger than biotech in Washington state already. Biotech has been very visible because it is concentrated in downtown Seattle and a bit on the eastside. But the smart energy people, whether they’re wind or solar or working on alternate ways to better utilize the energy grid, are spread out all over the state. They will have a better economic impact in the state overall.”
AEA’s mission is focused squarely on making Washington a more productive and prosperous high technology center. The organization supports targeted tax incentives that encourage new company formation, private research and development, and continued reinvestment in Washington. It also wants to ensure such infrastructure initiatives as transportation funding to address congestion, and increased and more uniform broadband deployment.
That means the company is behind the B&O Tax Credit for R&D, R&D Sales Tax Exemption/Deferral, B&O Tax Credit for Software in Rural Areas and B&O Tax Credit for Help-Desk Services in Rural Areas. AeA also promotes maintaining funding for the WTC to ensure that research gets out of the labs and into companies where it creates new jobs.
In the Internet arena, the AeA is behind deployment of broadband services- particularly to rural and underserved areas – to ensure that all communities have access to the digital economy. The organization espouses a comprehensive framework that fosters electronic commerce, creates a level playing field between traditional merchants and e-commerce, and results in tax simplification for consumers and business. This includes expansion of high-quality electronic state government that removes obstacles for e-government transactions while protecting consumer privacy and security and continued investment in the K-20 Network.
Ultimately, Terry advises, the future of technology in our state rests with the education of our people.
“It’s so critically important to have a well-educated electorate,” emphasizes Terry. “As an industry, if we don’t have students that come out of the K-12 system prepared with enough math and science, then we won’t have the engineers we need. We will continue to work to make sure the state stays the course on K-12 education reform. Our future depends on it!” [24×7]
AeA Executive Director Terry Byington supports statewide broadband, improved education and connecting member businesses with government contracts.
