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Amid all the headlines these days about corrupt corporate executives and swindled investors, Victoria White's answer to the I.D. question "What trend would you like to see return?" seems particularly timely: White wants to see improved business ethics and corporate
social responsibility.
That's something she has tried to make a staple of her own business, eclecTechs, a Northampton Internet service provider that also offers Web site and database development, among other computer services. She founded the company in the mid-1990s on the basic premise that
computer technology is a great tool -- if used properly. "One of the 10 commandments of computer ethics," she says, "is that people be as good as the technology we're creating."
White, who previously managed information technology systems for the University of Massachusetts' polymer science division, has also made community participation a hallmark of her life. She serves on numerous local boards, such as the Northampton Chamber of Commerce's Education Committee, and she's led many workshops for businesses and schools on using the Internet productively.
Full name: Victoria Alger White
Date and place of birth: March 6, 1956, San Jose. Calif.
Address: Northampton (I'm just moving in from Sunderland)
Job: Own and operate eclecTechs
Educational background: Springfield Technical Community College, A.A. in liberal arts, 1980; University of Massachusetts, B.S. in chemistry, 1985, M.B.A. with a concentration in computer ethics, 1994
Pets: Betty, 11, and Barkley, 10 -- my two dogs that I provide opposable thumb and other services to
What words come to mind when you look in the mirror? Ho -- I look like my mom. Or eek! It's a blue-eyed nerd
Favorite book: "I Heard the Owl Call My Name," by Margaret Craven
Favorite movie: "The Jerk," with Steve Martin
Favorite songs: Anything by Joan Armatrading; some Ferron; Wynonna Judd's "Only Love"
Hobbies: Dog photography
Formative experiences: Age 3, getting my first dog; age 39, helping my mother close her life
Funniest memory from school: Finding out in the third grade (when I got glasses) that you were supposed to be able to read the blackboard
What's the strangest job you ever held? Teaching chemistry to honors students at Cornell University
Favorite comfort food: Cheese and crackers
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When you want to get away from it all, where do you go? I go boating or go to the ocean. I'll also write poetry, reflect on spiritual connections, and try to visualize various goals
Favorite ways to splurge: Buy treats for the eclecTechs staff; plan and execute (surprise) eclecTechs events and occasions for staff and their partners
Favorite item of clothing you own: A number of cotton T-shirts with canine motifs
Best present you've ever received: My eyesight
One little-known fact about you: As a young teen-ager, I used to skip school and hitchhike (from Bernardston to Springfield) to the library
What was your most irrational act? Some thought it was leaving a salaried position at UMass in pursuit of unpaid self-employment
Secret ambition: I'd like to continue pursuing my nautical skills
Achievement of which you are most proud: Building eclecTechs to provide quality compassionate Internet services while creating good jobs and empowering people
Pet peeve: Lack of commitment and participation in community
Favorite way to blow off steam: Walk or boat with my two dogs
Most valuable lesson you've learned so far: It's not what we experience, but how we perceive it
Person you'd give the most to meet: Snoopy
One thing you do better than anyone else: Provide and communicate around Internet-based services
What gives you the creeps? Closed minds
Best advice your mother ever gave you: That you can't "change a person"
Most embarrassing moment: Impossible to choose just one, since my body runs at about 9 percent of the speed my brain does!
One thing you would change about yourself: I'm working on not being so demanding of myself
People who knew you in high school thought you were: Absent!
Personal strengths: Good listener, compassionate, smart, sensitive, good memory, fussy with detail work, excellent speller
Personal weaknesses: Fussy, sensitive
Whom do you most admire? Authentic individuals who face accelerated mortality (like cancer) with zen
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