Career Communications Group has been presenting Women of Color magazine's science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) conference since 1995.

The magazine is committed to sharing the contribution of women of color in the STEM community through their career stories.

This annual multicultural event has been the premier forum for recognizing the significant contributions of women in the STEM fields.

Throughout Women's History Month, Women of Color Online will share the stories of award-winning women who were first featured in Women of Color magazine.

The mission of Women of Color Online is to share the stories of award-winning women of color in STEM every day.

The STEM award winners reflect the diversity of the largest race and ethnicity groups in the United States such as Whites, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders.

One of the award-winning women in STEM is IBM Master Inventor Irene Hernandez Roberts, who received the Women of Color Technologist of the Year award in 2008.

During her trailblazing career, she earned over fifty IBM software patents before retiring as a Software Group for Independent Software Vendors and Developer Relations program director.

In that position, she led a global team of 150 information technology (IT) architects and specialists working across different Innovation Centers.

Hernandez Roberts traveled to Turkey, India, China, Ireland, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico to influence the local community on innovative market planning, programs, processes, and tooling.

She was also responsible for IBM's Virtual Innovation Center, which is the entry point for technical resources that help partners develop and enable apps.

Hernandez Roberts provided mentoring within IBM and mentored high school students through the company's Cascade Mentoring program.

She also integrated the IBM Academic Initiative program through the Computing Alliance for Hispanic Serving Institutions and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU).

Hernandez Roberts is a member of the advisory committee for Latinas in Computing and a lifetime member of the Society of Professional Engineers (SHPE). She received her Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981.