Meet the team!

DiviQ was born following Denise’s success with Women in Quantum, which boasts thousands of members around the globe. We realized that while women are underrepresented in the quantum community, so too are countless other groups and communities. As such, we‘ve made it our goal to create support, mentorships, events, and safe spaces for everyone seeking to start or advance their career in the quantum ecosystem.

If you are part of an underrepresented community that is not represented in our leadership and/or by our affinity groups then please get in touch. We want to make sure everyone has a place in DiviQ, but we also believe that we should not speak for communities that we are not part of.

  • Denise Ruffner (she/her)

    Founder, DiviQ

    President, Women in Quantum

    Denise served as the President of Women In Quantum, a community for women in the quantum field. She wanted to have a non-profit dedicated to diversity, thus she co-founded DiviQ with Mike, Cindy and Tzula. She was previously Chief Business Officer at Atom Computing. Prior to Atom Computing, Denise led business development at IonQ having moved there from the Chief Business Officer role at Cambridge Quantum. Recognized for innovation, sales leadership and strategic planning, Denise held a variety of leadership roles at IBM and was part of the early quantum team.

  • Michael Dascal (he/him)

    Founder, DiviQ

    President, Queers in Quantum

    Michael is Director of Quantum Product Management at Fidelity Center for Applied Technology (Fidelity investments), and a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community. He holds a PhD in Foundations of Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Information from UMD, a BPhil (masters) from Oxford, and a BSc in physics and BA in philosophy and linguistics from McGill university.

  • Cindy Wood Bacon (she/her)

    Co-founder, DiviQ

    Cindy Wood Bacon’s career portfolio has included roles as a management consulting practitioner in Deloitte's Technology, Media & Entertainment Strategy practice, Accenture’s Products - Retail practice, and wore various hats at Amazon in the Devices Org. Self-described as Quantum Curious and a life-long learner, Cindy holds an MBA from Northwestern University, a MA from Tufts University, and is currently completing an MS at Columbia University.

  • Tzula Propp (they/them)

    Co-Founder, DiviQ

    “No Gods No Masters” at the Queer and Trans Resiliency in Physics (mycelial) Network [QTRiP-Net]

    Tzula (they/them) is a postdoc at TUDelft as part of the Quantum Internet Alliance. They previously were a postdoc at the University of New Mexico, a Physics PhD student at the University of Oregon, and a Physics and Philosophy undergraduate at the College of Wooster. Tzula is a voice for "DEI" in the quantum workforce, advocating for our field to become explicitly anti-racist/misogynist/fascist instead of (at best) tolerant of marginalized groups. They’ve also worked as a speaker and consultant on issues ranging from belonging in science to designing the perfect gender neutral restroom.

  • Kortny Rolston-Duce (she/her)

    Head of Steering Committee

    Kortny Rolston-Duce is the Director of Marketing Communications at Atom Computing, a neutral atom quantum computing startup with offices in Colorado and California. Before joining Atom, she worked as the Director of Global Communications at Quantinuum; and led marketing, communications, and engagement efforts for national energy initiatives at Idaho National Laboratory and on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. She has extensive experience working in scientific and technical organizations, marketing and communicating about early-stage technologies, and developing collaborative partnerships. Earlier in her career, she worked as a journalist and editor.