Technology Woman of the Year Nominee
A Rochester native, Kaeri spent her 20s working a series of jobs (30 or so!), waiting tables, bartending, filing tax returns, selling vacuums door-to-door, and doing a bit of travel around the US. She returned permanently to Rochester in the early aughts, accepting a position at Novem Group (then SRL Financial) as an administrator in the employee group benefits department. Novem Group’s culture values independence and invests heavily in technology to enhance client experience – and turned out to be the perfect incubator for Kaeri’s natural tech inclinations. She enrolled in the University of Massachusetts part time and completed a B.S. in Information Technology.
While Kaeri was developing her IT skills, Novem Group was growing too. By the time Kaeri had completed her degree, the company had expanded to three unique companies (wealth management, employee benefits and payroll) with offices in New York, Florida and Georgia. Kaeri became responsible for all IT systems at all three companies, managing procurement, deployment and maintenance of all equipment, networks and users.
Kaeri has continued to grow in this role ever since, helping to translate the often frustrating and fraught world of technology into results for the Advisors, Consultants, Staff and clients of Novem Group. Kaeri’s reputation as a problem solver brought individuals looking for help with their own IT needs calling, and in 2014 Kaeri launched LadyTechs, an IT support business catering to individuals, and specializing in house calls, a growing market as everything in the world becomes interdependent and connected to the Internet.
Content that her technical skills and business relationships were well managed, in 2016 Kaeri turned her attention back towards contributing to her community. Kaeri’s youth was punctuated by many family challenges, including a brief stint of homelessness, and these experiences led to a deep interest in affordable housing, land use and development in general. Volunteering for the City of Rochester’s Planning Commission seemed like a good way contribute, and Kaeri was confirmed as a full commissioner in 2018. She was also selected to serve as the City’s representative to the Genesee / Fingerlakes Regional Planning Council. Finally, in 2019 she joined the newly minted 501c(3), Novem Foundation, as Secretary, hoping to deploy her tech and media skills to help drive the Foundation’s goal of breaking the cycle of childhood poverty one family at a time.
