I was very honored to be recognized in this article with four other professional women who are recognized for their contribution to the DC tech community.

Thanks to Kim Hart for including me!

Around town, I often hear people referring to a tech start-up as just “two guys in a garage.” But that phrase excludes a gender that, some say, is too often overlooked in the technology industry. In Washington, a number of women are leaving their mark as entrepreneurs, social media enthusiasts and policy experts. And they’re trying to make room for more girl geeks. Here are five women who have established themselves as influential figures in the region’s tech circles and are worth keeping an eye on.

Larissa Fair, 26, has been president of the Washington chapter of the Social Media Club for two years, since shortly after it formed. Under her charge, the group now has more than 900 members (by Facebook’s count, anyway) and meets every month to network and discuss trends ranging from cloud computing to mobile media campaigns. She’s done public relations work for local firms such as Platinum Solutions and Livingston Communications, and now manages Web communications for a nonprofit.

Fair’s main passion is expanding the reach of social networks among associations, educational institutions and government groups.

“The idea of it has gone much more mainstream,” she said. “People are going to be online anyway, so you need to find the way to reach them.”

Larissa Fair profiled in The Washington Post