lynda.com Founder, Lynda Weinman, Announced as 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year

CARPINTERIA, Calif.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Lynda Weinman, co-founder and Executive Chair of lynda.com, has been named the 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year by the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, an organization that promotes higher education.

“I have the distinct privilege to do work that I love with the most talented people in the business. We strive to develop as many ways as possible to help people conquer the digital divide in their careers and lives.”

It is a fitting award for a woman whose career and business makes continued education accessible and comprehensible to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. lynda.com was initially launched in 1995 as Weinman's personal and business web site to supplement her teaching and widely popular web design books. When the demand for her expertise took her away from home far too often, Weinman cofounded the Ojai Digital Arts Center with husband Bruce Heaven in 1998, and in 2002, they launched the subscription-based Online Training Library® on lynda.com that continues to teach computer and design skills through easy-to-follow videos to hundreds of thousands of members worldwide. Her venture has become the leading online video training resource for instruction in web design, digital photography, digital video, audio, 3D, animation, and much more. In 2010, lynda.com launched a free iPhone app that allows members and non-members to view its videos on-the-go. For more information on the history of lynda.com, watch The lynda.com Story.

"I am extremely honored to be selected as Entrepreneur of the Year by the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara," says Lynda Weinman. "I have the distinct privilege to do work that I love with the most talented people in the business. We strive to develop as many ways as possible to help people conquer the digital divide in their careers and lives."

Through a gamut of economic climates, lynda.com has created incentives and inspirations to help members grow their skill sets and marketability, from keeping its prices the same since the launch of the Online Training Library®, and expanding beyond software training to produce documentaries featuring successful photographers, animators, and more.

Despite a depressed economy, Weinman and her executive team have successfully and exponentially expanded lynda.com's number of employees, its membership base, and the training content in the company's Online Training Library®. In 2010, lynda.com hired 24 new positions, thereby increasing the number of employees by over 10 percent, and is currently hiring for 13 additional positions.

About the Award

The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara is an organization providing scholarships to local students studying business or technology. An awards ceremony honoring Lynda Weinman for Entrepreneur of the Year and other award recipients will be held on June 3, 2010 at the Fess Parker Resort in Santa Barbara.

About lynda.com

lynda.com is the most popular computer-skill educational site online, offering tens of thousands of straightforward, comprehensive instructional videos. The website offers a subscription-based service called the Online Training Library®, as well as CD- and DVD-based video training spanning hundreds of courses and thousands of topics that provide computer and technology skills. The lynda.com Online Training Library® is also available via the free lynda.com iPhone App.

From professional software tools including Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, Logic, Illustrator and Office, to consumer-friendly education about digital photography, Web design, digital video, and many others, lynda.com’s all-star team of trainers and teachers provides comprehensive and unbiased video-based training to a global membership of tens of thousands of subscribers. Members have access to all 49,929 movies in the Online Training Library®, and non-members can sample thousands of training tutorials for free. Learn more at www.lynda.com.

About South Coast Business & Technology Awards

The South Coast Business and Technology Awards are made by a Steering Committee of local business leaders who nominate and honor industry leaders in the fields of business and technology with awards for excellence in leadership, service, entrepreneurship and innovation. Proceeds from the dinner benefit the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, and will be used to provide scholarships for financially-needy students studying in the fields of business and technology at UC Santa Barbara, Westmont College and Santa Barbara City College. The 16th Annual South Coast Business & Technology Awards will take place Thursday, June 3 at Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort & Hotel in Santa Barbara. For information or to sponsor the event please contact the Scholarship Foundation 687-6065 or email [e-mail]