Livschitz grew up in Lithuania, where she was the women's chess champion and a National Chess Master in 1988 -- the same year in which she won the prestigious Russian national junior mathematical competition. She studied applied mathematics at Kharkov University in the Ukraine before coming to the US, where she subsequently received a degree in Computer Science from Case Western Reserve University. After a four-year stint at the Ford Motor company, she came to Sun in 1997, where she has served as principal architect on several high-profile eCommerce and EAI projects, while managing all aspects of Sun's technical presence at General Motors. In 2001, she was named System Engineer of the Year for the company's Central Area, and won the Trusted Advisor Award at Sun. In addition, she is a founding member of the World Wide Institute of Software Architects.
An interview: http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/Interviews/livschitz_qa.html