IT Woman of the Year Nominee:

Sharon Martinez

Director, Web Services
University of Rochester Medical Center

Sharon is described as bold and brave with her approach to application development.  She leads with consensus building and impeccable business focus that enables her to provide steady leadership while inspiring others to think big and innovate.  While Sharon is not formally trained in IT, she spends a great deal of her time learning about technology so that she can appreciate technology challenges faced by her staff and contribute to their technology design and thinking.

Upon joining Strong Health in 2000 Sharon directed the development of a comprehensive, multi-year strategy to develop StrongHealth.com, an online system allowing high-quality patient information to be maintained while still allowing clinicians the flexibility they needed.  The site went live in 2002. In 2004 Sharon was awarded the e-Business Executive of the Year by the eBusiness Association for her work.

Sharon’s attention then shifted to physicians, clinical trials and patient data access.  She spearheaded the development of systems that allow patients to find clinical trials, a dynamic physician and medical researcher database, and a referring physician and patient call center.  Today physicians are empowered to update their own profiles, the Call Center goes outbound to update its information, and patients reap the benefits of access to the medical care and information they need.

In 2007, Sharon’s role expanded to include merging StrongHealth.com with URMC.edu, two distinct environments into a single cohesive department. Sharon is a member of the IMAA, Rochester Women’s Network and the National Association of Business Owners as well as volunteering at her church.