Technology First takes its trusted community statewide
The Dayton-founded technology association has spent nearly three decades building a community where technology leaders trade hard-won answers. Now it is widening its reach, starting with a renamed AI conference next August and a sold-out one behind it.
A technology leader mentions a project the organization is about to start. Someone across the table has just finished it. That single exchange can save months of work, significant expense and a lot of headaches. Conversations like that are what Technology First has been building since 1997, and the organization is now working to make more of them happen across Ohio.
Executive director Melissa Cutcher described the organization's premise as a simple one: technology leaders should not have to solve every challenge alone.
"Chances are, someone else has been there, done that and learned a lesson they're willing to share," Cutcher said.
A community, not a subscription
Technology First counts more than 1,800 individual members and over 170 member companies, and membership is open to both organizations and individuals. The organization describes its work through three pillars: connect, strengthen and champion Ohio's technology community.
That work runs well beyond any single program. Technology First hosts signature conferences, professional development workshops, networking and community events, workforce and career-focused programming and year-round industry education. It also partners with businesses, educators and community organizations across the state.
Eight peer groups meet regularly across subjects including AI, cybersecurity, data analytics, infrastructure and workforce development.
Why the peer groups work
Cutcher said trust is what makes those groups valuable. They are built as confidential spaces where people can raise a problem or admit what they have not figured out yet, and the groups keep sales conversations out of the room so members can speak freely.
"When people feel safe being candid, the conversations become much more valuable," Cutcher said.
Solution providers are part of those conversations, too. Seth Marsh, president of The McCracken Group, deepened his firm's commitment this year, becoming Technology First's Champion Partner. He measures the decision in relationships rather than pipeline. The company is now "viewed as part of the solution," he said, rather than a sales agent pushing something.
By the numbers
- 1997: year Technology First was founded in Dayton
- 1,800+: individual members
- 170+: member companies
- 8: peer groups currently meeting
- Nov. 18: Taste of IT conference
- Aug. 25, 2027: first Ohio AI Conference
Nobody owns the table
The same principle shapes the board, which mixes chief information officers, solution providers and universities. Cutcher called that range one of the organization's greatest strengths.
"Technology doesn't exist in a vacuum. It touches employers, solution providers, educators, the workforce and the broader community," she said.
That structure is what drew Lisa Heckler, senior vice president of cybersecurity, privacy and technology services and chief information security officer at CareSource. She joined, she noted, because the organization serves the technology community rather than any single company, industry segment or individual interest.
"I joined the Technology First Board because I believe strong technology communities create stronger businesses, stronger talent pipelines, and ultimately a stronger Ohio economy," Heckler said.
She drew the same line between Technology First and the wider field. "Many organizations provide networking opportunities or educational content," Heckler said. "Technology First combines those things with something much more valuable: a trusted community built on relationships."
Built in Dayton, growing in Ohio
Dayton AI Day sold out this year. Next August it becomes the Ohio AI Conference, and the organization's positioning for the change is that the event was built in Dayton and is growing in Ohio.
Cutcher read the sellout as a sign that demand for practical AI guidance has not slowed. The questions have moved past what AI is, she explained, toward where it makes sense, how to implement it responsibly and how to prepare an organization and its workforce for what comes next.
The Dayton foundation stays in place while the audience widens to business leaders, technologists, educators and innovators from across the state.
"The biggest change is the reach," Cutcher said.
Heckler described the board as pursuing the same goal through growing peer groups, strengthening professional development and elevating technology success stories statewide. "We're focused on expanding opportunities for professionals and organizations across Ohio to connect, learn, and collaborate," Heckler said.
For anyone new, Cutcher's advice is to show up and introduce yourself, whether at a conference, a peer group or a smaller event. Knowing someone already is not a prerequisite.
"Technology may be what connects us," Cutcher said, "but the value has always been the people."
Marsh has belonged to similar organizations in other parts of the country, and he noted that most of them are more social in nature. "Tech First is putting its members first, rather than its own gain," Marsh said. "We are in this for the long haul with Tech First."
For another Ohio company considering the same step, his answer starts with the goal. A firm chasing sales will find that hard to achieve in a one-year term.
"But if you want to be part of a solution, to offer true engagement and support, then by all means please meet with Tech First," Marsh said.
Taste of IT is Nov. 18. The Ohio AI Conference follows on Aug. 25, 2027. Registration, membership, and additional information is available at technologyfirst.org.
