Sona Mehring is an American businesswoman and the founder and past CEO of the nonprofit
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
organization
CaringBridge
CaringBridge Inc. is a charitable 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 1997 which allows people facing various medical conditions and their family and friends to communicate. CaringBridge is the first non-profit social network with g ...
. In 1997, she created the first CaringBridge website to create a free service for communication between friends and family informed when someone is facing any health issues. Each website includes pictures and journal updates, as well as an online guestbook allowing all parties to stay informed without placing extra demands on
hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
staff.
Work history
Currently, owner of 10ForFocus.com that provides implementer services for the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) as well as speaking engagements.
Mehring was founder/CEO of CaringBridge from 1997-2017.
Before CaringBridge, Mehring was president of Beacon Point Technologies for 14 years. Prior to that she was technology director at PlanAnalytics, Inc. and an independent consultant for GMAC ResCap. She has also served as a software engineer at Apertus Technologies Inc.,
Unisys
Unisys Corporation is an American multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. It provides digital workplace solutions, cloud, applications, and infrastructure solutions, e ...
, Diamond Computer Solutions, and
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...
. An early adopter of
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
technologies, Mehring has been actively involved in the development of several widely used
software applications
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists o ...
.
Awards and recognition
Throughout her career, Mehring has received several honors and awards. In 2015, Sona was named a 'Titan of Technology' by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. She was recognized as one of 2011’s “Most Influential Women in Technology” by Fast Company. In 2010, she was named in the ''Twin Cities Business Magazine's'' list of 200 Minnesotans You Should Know 2010 Twin Cities Business Superstars. In 2009, she was named one of 25 Women Industry Leaders in the
Twin Cities
Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...
by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. In 2008, she received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition in recognition of outstanding and invaluable service to the community. In 2006, she was recognized and highlighted by
MSN
MSN (meaning Microsoft Network) is a web portal and related collection of Internet services and apps for Windows and mobile devices, provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95.
The Microsoft Net ...
as one of the nation's leading Women Working for Change and was a participant at ''
Fortune Magazine
''Fortune'' is an American multinational business magazine headquartered in New York City. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, owned by Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon. The publication was founded by Henry Luce in 1929. The ...
s Most Powerful Women Summit. She is a recipient of the
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
Alumni Distinguished Achievement(2011) and Excellence(2006) Award. She was a finalist for the Minnesota High Tech Association's TEKNE award in 2004, an honoree at Medica’s 2004 Speaking of Women's Health Conference, and a 2004 nominee for the
Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
for Life Award.
Mehring is a member of Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, National Health Council and the National Health Marketing Leadership Roundtable.
Sona Mehring's Biography
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Media coverage
The Grindstone "Executive Suite: CaringBridge’s Sona Mehring On Being The One Woman In The Room"
Mississippi Medical News "Sona Mehring Connects Mississippians to Patients Enduring Serious Health Crises"
ThirdAge.com "Women Who Inspire: Sona Mehring, Creator of CaringBridge"
Womenetics "Collision of Technology and Health Creates CaringBridge"
Fast Company "Most Influential Women in Technology"
Twin Cities Business "CaringBridge Comes of Age in an Age of Social Media"
TECHdotMN "Meet Minnesota’s Radical Tech CEO #3: Sona Mehring"
Twin Cities Business "Health Care Heroes 2010"
Crazy Sexy Life "Harnessing the Internet for Hope and Support"
Today show
ABC news
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehring, Sona
Living people
American computer businesspeople
University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire alumni
1961 births
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American businesswomen
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American businesswomen
Businesspeople from Wisconsin
People from Appleton, Wisconsin
People from Weyauwega, Wisconsin