Georgia Tech Lecturer Takes TechBridge Helm
John Manasso
August 1, 2008

TechBridge’s successor to Executive Director Jack MacMillan will be former technology executive and entrepreneur Kathleen Kurre, who has been an executive in residence and guest lecturer at Georgia Tech’s College of Management.

She will begin on Aug. 4. TechBridge, founded in 2000, provides technology services to other nonprofits and, because its mission is somewhat sexy, it has attracted high-profile donors and benefactors, such as Microsoft Corp.

In McMillan’s five-year tenure, the organization grew the number of fellow nonprofits that it serves to 200 and had its annual fundraiser — a who’s who of area chief information officers — into a $1 million event.

Steve Linowes, a TechBridge founder whose company, Damballa Inc., began at Georgia Tech, called Kurre “a great communicator and motivator.”

“She has a great history in terms of the technology business and being a CEO of technology companies,” Linowes said. “She has shown great interest as a volunteer in the nonprofit community.”

Kurre, a 1974 graduate of Purdue University, is the owner of Louisville, Ky.-based Fusion Advisors LLC, a consulting company. She came to Atlanta as CEO of Intellego, which specializes in “e-learning and workforce competency measurement solutions.”

Linowes said she was active in the United Way of the Bluegrass. She also was chairman of the board of the Kentucky Arts Center and worked with an organization whose mission is similar to that of the YWCA in Atlanta.

Linowes said he thinks her experience as a general manager and CEO of a technology company will make her a good fit.

“Having to harness technology and provide that in a tangible form is exactly what TechBridge is all about,” he said. “... Her understanding of how nonprofits work at the board level and ground level is really important.”

Kurre said what she is most excited about is that she sees TechBridge as a way to connect with the community.

“What really appealed to me is that technology is really the highway for us to build community,” Kurre said. “Bringing technology to expand our community is right in my sweet spot.”