Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta) is proud to announce Girls Who Print has named Dawn Nye, manager of Solutions and Services Marketing, as this year’s recipient of the Girlie Award. This coveted award is presented annually to a member of the print community who exemplifies a commitment to the print community and industry thought leadership.
“Thank you to Girls Who Print. This award is so unexpected and such an honor. My bright spot during this difficult year has been continuing to work with students, guiding them through the challenges of learning a very hands-on trade and craft through new and changing platforms,” said Dawn Nye. “Students and faculty need us now more than ever; even devoting an hour a week to reach out or support them in some way can make a huge difference to keep them going.”
Through education services offered by Konica Minolta, the company helps cultivate the next generation of printing and graphic communication workers through education and hands-on training, making sure they are prepared to succeed. Nye works with schools and their design programs across the country including RIT, Clemson, California Polytechnic State University, Ball State University and University of Wisconsin-Stout. She is also engaged with Scottsdale Community College, which offers a two-year program that replaces the traditional trade school and gives students a valuable skill.
Nye is seeing some schools with declining registration in graphic design programs combining them with art, which has strengthened interest among designers in learning color management and print production. “Konica Minolta is extremely supportive about our ‘adopting schools’ to keep education going,” she said. “It’s important to realize you cannot just hand off equipment and software, you need to work with faculty and mentor the students to let them know they are going in the right path. We need to keep routing for them and cheering them on so they can be successful in this community.”
“We are so pleased to present this award to Dawn, one of the amazing women in print who has given so much back to the industry. Her storied career has taken her from customer experience centers to classrooms, from pre–press to production print and from software to specialty finishing, and we are proud to have her among our ranks,” said Deborah Corn, Intergalactic Ambassador to the Printerverse, Print Media Centr, and Girl #1 at Girls Who Print. “Wherever students or student programs are in need, Dawn has answered the call and stepped up with incredible ways to support them.”
Previous Girlie Award winners include:
- 2014: Pat McGrew, McGrew Group
- 2015: Cary Sherburne, WhatTheyThink
- 2016: Deborah Corn, Print Media Centr
- 2017: Trish Witkowski, Foldfactory
- 2018: Jules Van Sant, Bubble & Hatch
- 2019: Sabine Gelderman, drupe
Visit Girls Who Print online for more information and to see the 2020 Girlie Award presentation video.
