NEW YORK, July 13, 2021  – The Open-IX Association (“Open-IX”), a 501(c)(6) non-profit industry association and Accredited Standards Developer (ASD) of American National Standards, announces the inclusion of four of its members into Women in Standards (WiS). Open-IX certifies data centers and internet exchanges across Europe, Asia and North America, seeking to improve the overall quality and reliability of internet services while maintaining its core values of openness, fair access, and non-discriminatory commercial practices.

Women in Standards is a nonprofit membership society incorporated in Maryland, United States, whose stated mission is “To develop and promote a diverse ecosystem of standards development participants.” The organization was founded by women, for everyone to create an inclusive community working to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the standards industry. Visit the WomeninStandards.org website for educational resources on topics such as standards development and standardization, conformity assessment, and professional development.Women in Standards provides a community for standards developers and contributors to come together to grow and strengthen the field and promote issues of inclusion and diversity.  

"On behalf of Women in Standards, let me be the first to extend a warm welcome to our Open IX members. Women in Standards looks forward to working with you and all standards organizations to build an inclusive and welcoming standards community." Says Karin Athanas, Executive Officer of WiS.

Like many industries, information technology, and specifically the infrastructure that supports it, has traditionally been a male dominated industry. With increased awareness, more and more talented women are bringing their skills to impact this rapidly expanding community. Open-IX appreciates the opportunity, along with WiS, to highlight some of the amazing women within our organization who are driving our industry forward.

Mona Weisberg is an experienced telecommunications business development professional having worked on fiber, data center and interconnection projects throughout her career. She has been a Member of Open-IX since 2014.  Mona started with the organization as a volunteer on the Marketing Committee and later became the Marketing Committee Chair. In the fall of 2019 Mona was voted on as the first woman Board member and continues to be an active participant in the Organizations’ efforts to be the Standards community for all facets of the Mission Critical industry and to expand the certification offerings and active memberships from both Profit and Non-profit organizations across the globe. 

Lily Yusupova has been a volunteer on the Data Center Committee and the Edge Committee from late 2018. She has been an integral part of the creation of the upcoming Edge Standard. Lily Yusupova is a technology industry professional, having spent the last 16 years assisting her customers in the full range of the data center life cycle.  Currently, she is a Strategic Account Executive at Schneider Electric and is responsible for bringing together the full suite of Schneider Electric solutions to provide right sized, cost effective, risk based, innovative data center solutions for Cloud, Colo, Edge and Telecommunication customers. 

Ilissa Miller initially helped launch Open-IX in 2013, helping the organization define its purpose and message as a Public Relations professional. Serving as a consultant to the organization through its formative years, Miller’s commitment to the association’s mission inspired her to become a volunteer on the Marketing Committee and is the Data Center Committee liaison for Open-IX. Miller is one of the foremost experts on telecommunications infrastructure marketing as principal of her eponymous marketing firm and a member of the Forbes Council.

Shawna Bong got her start with Open-IX in late 2018 as a volunteer on the Marketing Committee. She later became Chair of the committee when Mona Weisberg moved to the board of directors. In June of 2020 Shawna became the Administrative Director and has been a driving force in raising awareness and meeting the goals of the organization.  Shawna is co-owner and CEO of the software company 20C, a highly specialized network automation and orchestration software business.

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About Open-IX

The Open-IX Association (OIX) (www.open-ix.org) is a community effort to improve the landscape of internet peering and interconnection. OIX encourages the development of neutral and distributed internet exchanges, while promoting uniform standards of performance for interconnections backed by the internet community. In 2018, Open-IX became an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Developer, joining nearly 250 ANSI-Accredited Standards Developers engaged in the creation and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards.