Olivebridge, NY – County Executive Mike Hein and the Ulster County Economic Development Alliance (UCEDA) will be sponsoring the 1st Annual Catskill Conf this weekend (October 23 – 25) at the Ashokan Center. Catskill Conf is a conference for “technologists” from the New York City area and beyond which will include presentations by experts in various technology-related fields as well as the opportunity for attendees to practice blacksmithing and other traditional arts.
“Catskill Conf will be a great opportunity for people working in the technology fields to visit Ulster County, enjoy the spectacular scenery and experience our exceptional quality of life,” stated County Executive Hein. “Catskill Conf is helping Ulster County spread the word that Ulster County is a first rate tech community with top notch tech work being done here every day. We hope that those attending the conference appreciate the beauty and the proximity to New York City and consider returning for vacation or relocating their businesses and their families here.”
County Executive Hein continued, “An exciting outcome of this conference is that Kingston-based Evolving Media Network and AT&T redesigned the Ashokan Center’s data and wireless networks so that buildings and areas of the campus previously without internet access will now be online. This information infrastructure will remain in place after Catskill Conf and continue to benefit the Ashokan Center and all future guests, many of whom are students.”
Marissa Shorenstein, President of AT&T New York stated, “AT&T is proud to be a charter sponsor of the first-ever Catskills Conf at The Ashokan Center. The breadth and variety of speakers and activities speak directly to the burgeoning Tech Valley in this important part of New York State.”
Dan Stone, Co-Founder of Evolving Media Network, which donated $2,500 in labor toward this project stated, “Together with AT&T we re-designed the Ashokan’s data network and installed new advanced routers and switches. Additionally we designed and installed a brand new Point-to-MultiPoint (PtMP) wireless network so that buildings and areas of campus that were previously without internet access will now be online. At Catskills Conf this means that we will have the internet access that we need to run a successful tech focused event and we are providing tomorrow’s students with the essential tools that they need for discovery and learning.”
According to Gina Gould, Executive Director of the Ashokan Center, “We could not be more proud that Ashokan was chosen to host such a prestigious conference. At Ashokan we build communities by exposing people to the powers of nature and the arts. We are confident that we are helping to grow a vibrant community of ‘techsperts’ that will value the Catskills as we do.”
To learn more about Catskill Conf, please visit: http://www.catskillsconf.com/speakers/ and to learn more about the Ashokan Center, please visit: http://ashokancenter.org/.
