2016 Women of Color | FALL - VOL. 15, NO. 2

STEM Is A Girl Thing

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Advice from the 2016 Technologist of the Year

Secrets

to Success

Dr. Aleksandra Boskovic Research Director, Optics, Surfaces, and Integration Technologies Corning Incorporated

STEM Goes

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Reasons Why You’ll Want to Stay in Your STEM Job

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FOR TODAY’S CAREER WOMEN IN BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY

CONTENTS VOLUME 15 NUMBER 2 FALL 2016

FEATURES

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COVER STORY

The Party’s Not Over for Rio De Janeiro: Corning’s Dr. Aleksandra Boskovic Leads 2016’s Class of Women of Color STEM Winners 2016 Technologist of the Year Dr. Aleksandra Boskovic

Senior Research Director Corning Incorporated

24| DON’T QUIT! Ten years after Women of Color magazine looked at why women are leaving STEM, what’s changed? Six women tell us what they’ve learned and why it’s a great time to be in STEM.

37| W OMEN OF COLOR STEM AWARD WINNERS They’re superb, talented, enigmatic, and making a difference. Meet 30 women to marvel at.

54| S PECIAL RECOGNITION HONOREES It’s more than 15 minutes of fame for these STEM women in the spotlight.

64| THE STARZ REPORT 2016 Technology All-Stars and Rising Stars Light Up Detroit

DEPARTMENTS 06| People and Events

Women of Color STEM Professionals on the Move

10| One on One | Passing the Torch

Conversation with the 2015 Technologist of the Year

14| C areer Voices

Engineering Healthcare: Technology for Healthier Lives

18| E ducation

What It Takes to Win a WOC Community Service Award

22| Corporate Life

I Want to be Successful

77| C areer Outlook | Careers of the Future

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 Job Horizon – Recruiting Trends – Professional Life www.womenofcolor.net

EDITORIAL PAGE

STEM Jobs in the Digital Era ccording to “STEM 101: Intro to tomorrow’s jobs,” workers use their knowledge of science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) to solve problems.

Take Corning’s Aleksandra Boskovic. She works to improve telecommunications systems and increase the bandwidth, which is how much information you and I put in them.

Janeen Uzzell works for a company that is leading the charge with Predix, GE’s software platform for the collection of data from machines. Just about every device you can think of — your car, smartphone, refrigerator, washing machine, and even your box of cereal — are all part of the brave new world of Big Data.

Many 2016 Women of Color STEM Award winners are powering digital industrial businesses around the globe. Some are data scientists, computer scientists, mathematicians, semiconductor/sensor developers and in wireless communications.

Others are in gaming. As a digital modeler, Lisette Titre has been a CG Artist for eleven years. She takes data from images, concept art, and photographs and creates 3-D digital sculptures. Lisette has contributed to high profile games, including The Simpsons and Dante’s Inferno.

Without a doubt, women of color are at the heart of the digital era and the exciting new careers that come with it.

That’s why Women of Color’s STEM Is a Girl Thing Initiative is helping girls K through 12 visualize STEM careers by connecting them with professionals at the Women of Color Conference. Be sure to check out the Career Outlook section for information on where the jobs are, who’s hiring, and what you need to land those plum jobs.

Tyrone D. Taborn Publisher and Editorial Director

omen In Technology & Business

Career Communications Group’s

For Today’s Career Women in Business and Technology EXECUTIVE OFFICE

SALES AND MARKETING

Tyrone D. Taborn, Publisher and Editorial Director Jean Hamilton, President and CFO

Alex Venetta, Associate Publisher, Manager of Partner Services Gwendolyn Bethea, Vice President, Corporate Development Kerry Buffington, Detroit Business Development Devin Oten, Senior Account Manager Sheri Hewson, Account Executive

EDITORIAL Rayondon Kennedy, Assistant Editor Lango Deen, Technology Editor Michael Fletcher, Contributing Editor Gale Horton Gay, Contributing Editor M.V. Greene, Contributing Editor Frank McCoy, Contributing Editor Garland L. Thompson, Contributing Editor Roger Witherspoon, Contributing Editor

GRAPHIC DESIGN Sherley Taliaferro, Art Director Bryan Davis, Marketing and Content Manager Joe Weaver, Global Design Interactive

CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT Eric Price, Vice President, Recruitment and Training Rod Carter, Recruitment Specialist, College Relations Matt Bowman, Veterans Affairs Angela Wheeler, Manager, Foundation for Educational Development Courtney Taborn, Recruitment Specialist Ty Taborn, Corporate Development Imani Carter, Corporate Communications Specialist

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ADMINISTRATION Hawi Sorsu, Admin Support

CONFERENCE AND EVENTS Ana Bertrand, Conference Coordinator Monica Emerson, Women of Color STEM Conference National Chair Sheila Richburg, College Coordinator Toni Robinson, 360 MMG Rutherford & Associate 17304 Preston Road, Suite 1020 Dallas, Texas 75252

Women of Color (ISSN 1937-0555) is a publication for today’s career women in business and technology.

Women of Color magazine invites letters to the editor about any topics important to our readership. Article queries and letters should be sent to: CCG – Women of Color magazine, Editorial Department, 729 E. Pratt St., Suite 504, Baltimore, MD 21202. No manuscript will be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Women of Color magazine cannot be responsible for unsolicited art or editorial material. Subscriptions are $13/year. Please write to: CCG -Women of Color magazine, Subscriptions, 729 E. Pratt St., Suite 504, Baltimore, MD 21202. Copyright © 2016 by Career Communications Group Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

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PEOPLE AND EVENTS

STEM Goes

How Inclusion Promoted One Giant Leap for Mankind

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It’s not often that you get to read three inspiring books on women in STEM back to back. Among WOC magazine’s 2016 choices was the much anticipated Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterley. There was also Eileen Pollack’s A Perfect Life — the story about a fictional female scientist’s hunt for a genetic marker for a neuro-degenerative disorder.

In the 1970s Pollack excelled as one of Yale’s first two women to earn a bachelor’s degree in physics. Feeling isolated, she abandoned her dream of becoming a theoretical physicist. Years later, she wrote The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science Is Still a Boys’ Club, which was published last fall. The Only Woman in the Room is an exploration of the cultural, social, and institutional barriers still confronting women in STEM.

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Similarly, Shetterley’s book, which will be made into a 2017 movie, sheds light on the struggles of an earlier era. As Shetterley tells it, after the start of World War II, federal agencies and defense contractors coped with a shortage of male number crunchers by hiring women with math skills. America’s aeronautical think tank, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, headquartered at Langley Research Lab in Hampton, VA, created a pool of female mathematicians who analyzed data from wind tunnel tests of airplane prototypes.

These women were all graduates of historically Black colleges such as Hampton Institute, Virginia State, and Wilberforce University. According to Shetterley, despite the hardships of working under Jim Crow laws, these women went on to make significant contributions to aeronautics, astronautics, and America’s victory over the Soviet Union in the Space Race.

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Take 3: Professionals on the Move General Motors has promoted ALICIA BOLER-DAVIS, 2014 Women of Color Technologist of the Year, to executive vice president for global manufacturing and labor relations. In her new role, Boler-Davis reconnects with the manufacturing area, where she began her career in 1994. She will lead 180,000 employees at 171 facilities in 31 countries and have responsibility for labor relations, reporting to Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO. In her previous position, she was responsible for enhancing the automaker’s customer experience to a level that keeps its customers coming back to company brands such as Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC and advancing the global quality of those brands into the future.

The United States Senate confirmed Army Major General GWENDOLYN BINGHAM for appointment to the rank of lieutenant general. Lt. Gen. Bingham has also been assigned as the new Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management, United States Army, in Washington, DC. The general is the 2014 Women of Color Award winner for Professional Achievement in Government. Most recently, she served as the commanding general of the United States Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, Life Cycle Management Command, in Warren, Michigan. She also focused on engagement with the larger Southeast Michigan community through avenues like advisory councils and STEM programs during her time at the Life Cycle Management Command in Warren.

JOAN ROBINSON-BERRY began service as vice president and general manager of Boeing South Carolina in June 2016. In this position, she leads Boeing’s South Carolina facilities and reports to Ray Conner, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The South Carolina site includes engineering and 737 MAX work. The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft series is being developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes as the successor to the Boeing 737 Next Generation series. The 737 MAX family of airplanes is designed to deliver more of everything. Robinson-Berry is the first African American to win an Amelia Earhart award, the first African-American woman to sit on a Boeing Engineering Process Council, and the first African-American woman to become a program manager in a multi-billion-dollar commercial airplane program. She also lent her talent overseas to create one of Africa’s first aerospace curriculums in Ghana.

By editors@ccgmag.com www.womenofcolor.net

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ONE ON ONE

Delia Grenville

Corporate Strategy, Innovation & Platform Engineering, User Experience Architect Intel Corporation 2015 Technologist of the Year

Passing the Torch

Impact of WOC Award Takes Winner by Surprise

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When Delia Grenville was bestowed with

engineering, and user experience at the

the Women of Color 2015 Technologist of

time of the award, has built a body of work

the Year Award, she didn’t fully realize the

over 25 years as she worked as a research

impact the recognition would have on her

scientist, technology strategist, and program

professional life.

manager. She’s also the inventor of six digital

She received more opportunities as a speaker and panelist, received invitations to meetings and luncheons, and found herself with increased access to top executives at

packet for the award, she was described as being a visionary thinker who brings her all to everything she does.

her company, Intel. In fact, after receiving

“When Delia was tasked with creating an

the award, she was given the opportunity to

overall corporate strategy for connecting

work with Intel’s vice president of engineer-

product requirements with end user research

ing as part of the Chief of Staff’s Office.

and design, not only did she create a process

Grenville, who was an architect at Intel specializing in strategy, innovation and platform

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content technologies. In the nomination

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and framework, she created an entire community of over 1,200 internal experts and stakeholders,” it states.

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“The award opened up a lot of career conver-

for entrepreneurial collaboration,” she shared.

sations in and outside of my company,” said

“There are so many ways to contribute to

Grenville. “It definitely gave me access to ex-

how the world views technology, women,

ecutive-level connections and conversations

and diversity. One of my favorite projects

I wasn’t having before. I don’t think where I

is with my sister, where we are bringing an

was in middle management, those conversa-

adventurous young girl of color, Sela Blue, to

tions would have occurred as quickly.”

life. I love applying my product development

Grenville, who earned doctorate and master’s degrees in industrial and systems management from Virginia Tech, said it’s beneficial for individuals advancing on the corporate ladder

body of knowledge to an entirely different domain. Selablue.com is a creativity opportunity where I can provide ideas to combine technology with print.”

to be aware of how they are perceived both

As for advice for the next Technologist of the

within their companies and beyond.

Year, Grenville said that she should think long

“A lot of times our viewpoints can be very filtered by our situations, our organizations that we are in,” she said.

One also shouldn’t fear that getting feedback from outside sources, such as in a wide

and hard about what messages she wants to drive home.

“You have a platform,” said Grenville. “How do you want to use that platform? Think about where you want to have an impact.”

network, is being disloyal, she said, adding,

And Grenville said her message to youth is

“Career management is especially important

simple.

for women as we tend to traditionally be more focused on others.”

“Believe you can,” she said, adding that those individuals who possess the “unique com-

When asked about the highlights of the past

bination” of artistic talent and technical and

year, Grenville cited attending Silicon Valley

scientific skill must recognize that they have

Comic Con (she represented Intel on an “En-

something special to bring to the world.

gineering for Tomorrow” panel) and meeting Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, participating in an Intel fashion and STEM panel with women who have combined technology with the arts, and speaking at a Women’s Club luncheon at which the audience kept expanding and chairs were continuously added.

She encourages those focusing on science in school not to undervalue the importance of the arts. It’s “up to students” to take the opportunity to blend arts and sciences to help them develop the unique abilities to invent, design, and create our future technologies.

“On a personal front, last year opened me up to expanding my horizons and creating space

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By Gale Horton Gay ghorton@ccgmag.com

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CAREER VOICES

Engineering Healthcare: Technology for Healthier Lives Janeen Uzzell had been working at GE Medical Systems (now GE Healthcare) for about five years by the summer of 2007 when healthcare leaders across America met at a senior executive event. The conference’s theme was “The Future Is Now: Effective Leadership in a Global Healthcare Environment.”

Five thousand miles away in Ghana, the GE Foundation, the philanthropic arm of GE, had launched its Developing Health Globally initiative, providing medical equipment, water desalination units, and power generators to the West African country’s resource-poor hospitals, health centers, and maternal child health posts.

Yet one of the keynote speakers at the four-day event was unimpressed.

An international consultant in healthcare, he compared the American system to the MTV show, Pimp My Ride, where a rapper and his crew transform an old vehicle into a flashy, moving music sound station, reported a St. Thomas newspaper.

“American health care places unbelievable amounts of high technology into a frame that is fired by an old, ineffective engine,” he said. Its system “rewards procedures and not keeping people healthy.”

Engineering Healthcare But GE professionals like Uzzell were in “the grind” with “eyes on the ground” providing “diversity of thought, creativity, and decision-making.”

Inspired by her mother, a successful businesswoman, and an older sister who was a nurse, Uzzell often dreamed of wearing a white swan uniform but an older cousin who was studying engineering motivated her to take a different path.

Janeen Uzzell

Global Director of Operations, GE Global Research, External Affairs, and Technology Programs 14 ‹

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Although Uzzell started with an engineering education—a mechanical engineering degree from North Carolina A&T State University coupled with an M.B.A. from Fairleigh Dickinson University—little did she know that her field would open a range of possibilities in organizing projects in healthcare and business.

Before GE, she worked on validation engineering at Johnson & Johnson, then a startup, which sent her to Brazil as part of the development of yellow fever vaccination and coached her career forward with the

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GE IN SUSTAINABLE HEALTHCARE In June General Electric opened a new $13 million GE Healthcare Skills and Training Institute, an education facility for healthcare professionals.

The center was launched by Dr. Cleopa Mailu, cabinet secretary, Ministry of Health for Kenya, and John Flannery, president and CEO of GE Healthcare, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Through the new facility, GE will train over 10,000 healthcare professionals from across Kenya and East Africa by 2020.

Farid Fezoua, president & CEO, GE Healthcare Africa said, “The center will support the development of a pipeline of biomedical engineers, radiologists, and technicians. This commitment to healthcare capacity building will help to reduce the country’s skills gap, improve job prospects, and build a solid national healthcare system and private healthcare sector.”

sponsorship of her M.B.A. Later, from 2002 through 2005, Uzzell led service engineers in GE Medical Systems (now GE Healthcare) that serviced healthcare equipment—the kind of big box GE technology in hospitals, such as CAT scans, MRIs, and x-ray machines.

“While I was leading the healthcare service business, GE started to run healthcare disparity programs,” Uzzell recalled. “GE Healthcare was funding a health program at Harlem Hospital, which had one of the top trauma centers,” she said.

The program was called “Hip-hop Stroke” and was set up to teach

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children about the leading cause of disability among adults in the U.S. Brain attacks, which strokes are, impact a high percentage of elderly foster parents and parents-with-care in the African-American community.

GE’s stroke program was at the hospital where Uzzell worked as a service operations manager, so they asked her to manage it. First, she started with information tables on stroke, handing out pamphlets on symptoms, available treatment at hospitals, and getting doctors to take blood pressure. Then Uzzell took up more volunteering in New York. Next, she was traveling out of state with healthcare programs focused on the improvement of health in diverse communities.

After a while, Uzzell was going as far as Kenya in east Africa with a Christian healthcare ministry.

Improving healthcare disparity programs and global health care

drop and dash,” she added.

Uzzell became an advocate in positioning GE as a trusted advisor in rural health. She strategized with ministries of health and heads of state in east and west Africa, as well as global partners, on how to align GE’s innovation to solve health challenges and expand access to healthcare through “disruptive” models.

As the director of healthcare programs and healthymagination for GE Africa, she led a team focused on building solutions for health in some of the world’s most challenging environments. Currently, Uzzell oversees operational and business development aspects of external funding for technology programs.

“When we started on the journey to provide better health, we focused on reverse engineering our products to ensure quality, access, and affordability for low-resource settings,” Uzzell said.

Before long, Uzzell was “sharpening” her skill internally, integrating the market and good management into improving healthcare disparity programs and global health care.

“Our results, though time-consuming, enabled the VSCAN, hand-held ultrasound to go to market, and it now services women globally,” she added.

When GE’s chief technology officer in the office for healthcare called Uzzell about a position in the GE Foundation’s Developing Health Globally program in Ghana, she bought in.

“We are now a digital/infrastructure company, and the Internet of Things brings advanced intelligence to everything we do,” Uzzell said. “Now we can solve the world’s toughest problems and deliver the best solutions faster and smarter. What took us years to build and deliver in the past will be enhanced by our innovative systems. It’s brilliant. We’re getting better every day.”

GE’s goal was going to focus on donating equipment, making sure the equipment was installed and properly serviced and that there were sustainable water and energy services.

It was the whole works, Uzzell said, but “we didn’t want to just

By Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com

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EDUCATION

What It Takes to Win a WOC Community Service Award

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To peruse Raquel Cundiff’s extensive resume is to look at a meticulously-crafted, extremely honed vision of academic and professional determination. To sit down and talk with her, though, is to hear the heart of a person whose life mission is simply to give back to others all that she has been given. Raised by parents who instilled in their children the drive to always do and be their best, Raquel has transcribed her passions for learning, teaching, math, and science into a successful career at Boehing and a fruitful mentoring relationship through her work with Women in Science and Engineering, or WiSE. Raquel took time out of her schedule to discuss her work with WiSE and her hope for women of color in STEM professions.

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Raquel Cundiff Customer Engineering Manager The Boeing Company

So who is Raquel Cundiff, really?

I was born the youngest of seven kids on the island of Cebu in the Philippines. My father was a professional basketball player in the Philippines. When he retired, he moved us to Missouri, and we became citizens in 1975.

such a fear and an intimidation of math and sciences.

I wanted to get rid of that.

I began getting to know them and asking them about their interests, and I would apply a math or science perspective to whatever their interests were. My goal in tutoring was not only to have students learn the subject but also to make them comfortable with what they learned. I didn’t want them to simply take the test and forget the information the next day; I wanted to show them that this is what they would use in life, and this is how they could use it. If they could apply the subject in any of their interests, they would get it and understand it beyond that one moment. That was a challenge to me, and I loved it. I realized that that was a key to getting students to really understand the fundamentals of math and science. That’s how it works in life. Once you find a passion in what you’re learning about or trying to study, that’s when you start to understand the importance of it.

Throughout high school and college, I always excelled in math, and I tutored math, science, and biology students. Students that came to me for tutoring had

I applied that thinking when I became a stress engineer at Boeing. As I began doing presentations, I always did well with understanding a high-level view

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she and my manager had been discussing the work I was doing at the company, and she asked if I would like to talk to some students with her at the University of Washington. At that time, it wasn’t the “Women in Science & Engineering”(WiSE) program; there were simply three women engineers who sat in a little cafe with five students, and that evolved into the WiSE program. The students wanted to know how we got involved in engineering, what challenges we faced in our industry, and how we overcame those challenges.

of what you’re talking about and explaining it to the leaders. I started receiving opportunities to work with our airline customers and to spend time educating them on structures, issues, and repairs. That opened up opportunities to work with airline customers directly as a customer engineer. Now that I am a manager, I bring in those tutoring and mentoring skills and apply them to my team. I want to know what they like about their jobs; I want to know their passions. I want to find out how the entire organization can benefit from someone else’s skill if that person is willing to share and use them to try to tailor their skills to impact, educate and build up the skill level of everyone. Those are the opportunities that I look for.

Do you find that your peers at Boeing reciprocate that philosophy?

Definitely. In fact, I am in charge of our interns at Boeing and provide mentoring for them. I see my team members talking to them during lunch and discussing their experiences. I didn’t ask my employees to do that, but I let them know that it’s really good to hear and see that they do it. I think it’s important for the interns to have them as resources to ask about choosing the right careers or to ask any questions.

I also see other employees wanting to teach other teams about what we do, how we can impact this project or how we can add value to it, and so on. I really appreciate that about my team. It’s not about what I’ve done or what others have done; it’s about growing the collective.

How was WiSE created, and what are the organization’s primary goals?

A coworker at Boeing and I played volleyball together;

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WiSE is a program that advocates for women in STEM subjects. As advocates, we provide mentoring and career guidance and tips on what to do coming out of school and going into the engineering industry. We help them with career goals, resume writing, presentation skills, and handling finances during the transition from college to a higher paying job. WiSE is divided into a student advisory board and a professional advisory board. As a co-leader and president of the professional advisory board, I help provide the professional mentoring and guidance to the students. The student advisory board provides insight on what they should be doing as students to prepare for their careers.

Why is a group such as WiSE important to STEM fields?

It’s important because it is an outlet; it is a support program for any student interested in this industry, because they don’t see many women as STEM professionals. By the age of nine, students are deciding if they want to go into a STEM field or if they want to do something outside of it. Many of our WiSE conferences that happen every year target high school and middle school. To see the middle school girls attend with their dads is amazing. We show them the large spectrum of careers that STEM covers. Some of them don’t realize that there are so many things they can do in these fields. They’re not exposed to it. The more we can promote and provide the support to them, the longer their staying power is. They will know that they have a resource they can go to.

Why do you think there are so few women in STEM professions?

I believe it is a lack of support. I don’t have the exact data on this, but I have seen some statistics that show an increase of women who go into engineering and leave within five years or so to go do something totally outside of engineering. I think the passion fades when they have to go through all the bureaucratic things

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EDUCATION

that happen in a mostly male industry. Plus, they don’t have anyone to share their experiences. Women and men look at and react to things differently. If those differences aren’t respected, why would I want to stay where I’m not respected?

So how does WiSE prepare young professionals for those challenges?

We bring our experiences to these young women.

Through WiSE we look at not just what goes on at Boeing; we look at Amazon, Microsoft, and the science fields, and we bring those industries to our events so that different professional perspectives are presented. We do not want to always talk from an airplane perspective. We want these women to see that, from airplanes to engineering to computers, engineers are doing and experiencing similar things.

We also want to provide support and mentorship to these young women. I didn’t have this opportunity as a student; I was one of two females in my class.

Oftentimes when women have goals but don’t have the advocacy behind them, the support doesn’t seem as strong as it can be. In life, when a suggestion is presented, the more people that support it, the stronger it becomes, and the greater its chances of being recommended and implemented. If there’s not a lot of support for it, it will most likely die. Unless that person is fighting everyday for that suggestion, or for her interest in engineering, it’s always going to be tiring. It’s the same situation with professional support.

Knowing that you can call or talk to someone who has gone through your situation and can help you through it is invaluable. It makes that person stronger, and it impacts them in a positive way. When I attend a meeting, have challenges, or talk to WiSE participants, my goal is to let people see that I’m going to overcome a challenge and to let them see why and how I overcame it. It’s good for the team, and it’s really good for the WiSE participants.

What other resources can these young ladies utilize for support?

I want these young ladies to see that they can find support in STEM fields and organizations, but they also have great supporters in the academic industry, such as their teachers and coaches. I looked to many of my high school teachers as mentors, but they didn’t know it. I would study how they would act or react and how they overcame challenges. I look for leadership qualities in everyone.

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We have our computers and we have our phones, but colleges also have resource centers. I do online mentoring, and I can help them get in touch with those resources. There are also opportunities with local industries. I try to challenge females in local STEM professions to visit the schools and help with Career Day or mentoring events. Those events allow young women to begin hoping and setting goals for their futures.

What has been the response from corporate and male STEM counterparts regarding prominent women in engineering and other science- and math-related fields?

Sometimes it’s not met with the support that I’d like, but I respect differences of people’s opinions. I realize that I can’t always change people’s minds, and I know that I am not going to be able to change everybody.

But when I see students in their early careers approaching and considering STEM professions, it’s enough to keep me going.

Finally, what are your thoughts regarding the state of women, specifically women of color, in STEM fields?

I think we as professional women of color in STEM fields need to talk about and share our challenges more. We need to tell our stories and talk about how we kept going, how we became stronger. In thinking of our next theme, we came up with No Ceiling with No Limits. I believe in that, because I don’t let limits or ceilings define me. I think it’s up to us to define ourselves. We have so much more than I think we give ourselves credit for, but it’s not until we are in those challenging situations that we realize how much stronger we are.

I came across a quote while doing a presentation that really summed up what I want to do with mentoring, in my work with STEM fields and in my community. It says, “I expect to pass through this world but once.

Any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

This is how I want to approach every opportunity I’m given to help move women forward. I’m just building more stories and experience to tell the next generation.

By Terrence Dove editor@ccgmag.com

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CORPORATE LIFE

5 Tips for Personal Success

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I Want to Be Successful Knowing yourself is the key to success because success is personal. You are more effective when you know who you are and what is important to you and then act accordingly.

This is the one point that ran through all the advice given at a recent Career Communications Group’s panel on success.

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Dr. Kendy Hall, a physicist at Raytheon, stated, “Know your strengths and your weaknesses.

The power of that is, if you understand your weakness, you understand who you need to surround yourself [with], so it allows you to be better.”

You know what you have to offer and where you can create value for others because of your strengths. “It’s a mutual respect and mutual sharing of knowledge,” said Hall, that can only occur when you are confident enough to acknowledge your weaknesses.

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In addition to knowing yourself, the panelist agreed that respect, being a leader, mentors, and sacrifice were very important factors to achieving success.

On the topic of respect, Dana Keefer, Vice President of Talent Management at Northrop Grumman, warns, “It takes years to build up respect but seconds to lose it.”

The way to gain respect is to be self-confident. People trust and are attracted to people who are confident but also show humility. Remember the saying that even the greatest master was once a disaster, be patient with people who aren’t on your level, share your knowledge, and be respectful. Also honor all your commitments: deadlines, meetings, and offers to help co-workers. And if you can’t honor a commitment, let your supervisor, co-workers, or clients know as early as possible.

Once you gain respect, you need to maintain it. You need to be consistent and to continue doing the things that earned you respect. Two things to avoid at

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all costs are engaging in workplace gossip or being unprofessional at work functions.

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Leadership is important too.

“When you contribute to the success of others, you become empowered yourself,” stated Kim Ikemia Arrington, CEO of Courageant Consulting. You become empowered by displaying your strength and creating value for someone else.

Arrington also stated, “You can be a leader from any level. There is an opportunity in any situation to show up and do what you need to do. You never know who is watching you.”

Keefer agrees. “Everything you do as a leader is being watched. It’s being watched by your organization; it’s being watched by your peers, by the people that report to you, the people you report to…it’s what we do and say every single day. It is the difference between okay leaders, good leaders, and amazing leaders.”

Keefer also discussed the role of knowing yourself in leadership. “Authentic leadership is a root construct. It goes back to who you are, your life, your experiences, your family, your challenges.” It is natural and good to emulate other leaders, but be careful not to forget who you are. If you do, “it doesn’t come across as real and authentic,” says Keefer. “The key to being a leader is having people follow you. If they don’t trust you, they won’t follow you,” continued Keefer.

4

Mentoring is also another important component for success. “No matter where you are in your career, mentors are important,” says Hall. Mentors are useful because they see things from a different perspective and can guide you along the path.

Keefer adds, “Mentors can be the key to unlocking rules.” It is useful to have a “broad network at different places and levels of the organization.”

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“Authentic leadership is a root construct.

It goes back to who you are, your life, your experiences, your family, your challenges.”

It is also important to mentors others. Hall says, “When you share, you create more.”

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On the journey to success, there will be sacrifices and hard decisions, so having a clear idea of who you are and what you want will be invaluable. You can make decisions that are in line with your values and long-term goals instead of what is easy or seems right under the pressures of the moment.

Sacrifice is often discussed in relation to work–life balance. Keefer, no stranger to work–life conflicts, stated, “I have never achieved balance. I have made some horrible decisions to spend more time at work than with my family. The reality is that’s why I’m in the position I’m in today. I’m not proud of some of those decisions.”

At Northrop Grumman, they provide programs that help employees make work–life choices by prioritizing—programs Keefer wishes were available to her when she was moving up in her career.

Arrington and Hall have also had to make similar choices.

In Arrington’s case, she had a clear picture of what success was to her. It gave her the courage to turn down a job that wasn’t in line with her view of

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success and to start her own business instead.

Hall left academia and went to work for a company that values work–life balance. He also states that because he loves what he does, it doesn’t feel like work.

Briefly, know who you are. This is the basis for everything related to success. It allows you to define what success means to you and makes it easier to act with integrity because you know what you value. You gain respect and trust when you act with integrity. People will follow you when they respect and trust you. Acknowledge your weaknesses, and learn from others.

Pay it forward by helping someone else in return. And there is no success without work and sacrifice.

By Denise Stephens editors@ccgmag.com

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Illustration Bryan Davis

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DON’TIt’s a Great to Be QUIT!Time in STEM

By Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com

Adapt, adjust, and modify, but don’t quit STEM, urged Dr. Pamela McCauley at the Women of Color STEM Conference. www.womenofcolor.net

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M

McCauley is an ergonomics-biomechanics expert and award-winning engineering professor. She was speaking on biases pushing women out of the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) field, why women leave the tech industry, and the many factors driving them from science and engineering jobs.

Women were dropping out in droves by 2008, when the Center for Talent Innovation (CTI) published a study, “The Athena Factor: Reversing the Brain Drain in Science, Engineering, and Technology.”

According to the report, 52 percent of highly qualified women working for STEM companies quit their jobs, driven out by hostile environments, isolation, extreme work pressures, difficulty with executive presence, and a lack of clarity surrounding career paths.

Five years later, CTI found many of the barriers documented in their first report continue to daunt and demoralize women.

Although 80 percent of women in STEM in the United States said they love their work, a sizable proportion also said they

were likely to quit their jobs within a year.

Women of Color magazine spoke to women executives about these workplace barriers through a lens refined by their own experiences.

DR. LISA WICKER Founder, Linwick & Associates, LLC Lisa Wicker once managed Chrysler’s talent acquisition.

After decades of success in HR and diversity roles with Fortune 500 companies, she started a global human resources firm based in Detroit, MI, and Charlotte, NC. Dr. Wicker has been voted “Ace Recruiter” and “One of the Most Successful Businesswomen in Detroit” by The Detroit News.

“I’ve read studies where the numbers of women in STEM are not where we thought they’d be in 2016,” Wicker said.

“Although the number of degreed women nationwide is higher, it doesn’t translate to the numbers in corporate hallways, even with demographics changing between the millennial genera-

tion and baby boomers. Perhaps our colleges have to look at how to prepare people better to navigate the challenges of a workforce dominated by men,” she said.

According to Dr. McCauley’s findings, most women in STEM jobs leave in their mid to late thirties.

CTI said the understanding that the full utilization of the talent pool is at the heart of competitive advantage and economic success unites some of the largest corporations that represent nearly 6 million employees and operate in 192 countries around the world.

“Innovation is increasingly seen as the key to unlocking competitive advantage, as much for countries as for companies and individuals,” she noted. “Innovation is a major element in a nation’s economic status. Yet women are leaving STEM,” she said.

Women of Color Special Recognition honoree Cheryl Moo-Young said business-travel demand might be one

Read Linda Gooden’s 10 Rules 1. The customer is king.

In one of my early college summer jobs, I worked for a small local bank. Each morning the manager would hold a five-minute meeting before we opened for business. At the end of each meeting, he would remind us to remember one thing: The customer is king.

He would also note that if you provided good service, you would be rewarded with continued business. Over the years, as I led a large and highly competitive technology business, I continued to follow his guidance, and along with sustained performance, it enabled us to continue to add customers to the portfolio and grow the business into the largest provider of Information

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Technology to the U.S. government.

2. Understand the numbers.

The failures associated with the dotcom bubble in the late ’90s illustrate this best. None of the businesses failed because of a lack of technology or innovation. They failed because great technology is necessary but not sufficient. Successful businesses combine the technology with market knowledge to create business plans that result in strong financials and business success.

3. Admire ways to disrupt you—never become complacent.

Clay Christensen wrote a series of books on disruptive innovation. To explain disruption, he highlighted the plight of the U.S. steel industry.

He cited that although foreign steel was initially of lower quality and did not appear to be a business threat, over time, they surpassed the U.S. industry and created business success. When leading a business, you must always ask, who is planning to disrupt my business? How do they plan to do it? Do we have both the offensive and defensive strategies in

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reason that a lot of companies have problems retaining middle management women. More often than not, women have to figure out how to balance work, travel, and family life, she said.

A senior manager at a consulting, technology, and outsourcing service, MooYoung is part of company management who travel to offices and operations in more than 200 cities in 56 countries.

“At the senior level, you really have to have ‘staff for your life’ and ‘staff for your job and career’ and figure out how to make these components work,” Moo-Young said.

CHINETA DAVIS Chineta Davis, 2007 Technologist of the Year, worked for a global security company that provides products in autonomous systems, cyber, and C4ISR. She entered the workforce when there were very few women in engineering. Davis spent more than thirty years in the STEM industry before retiring at 55.

Davis says although companies are making more of a change, especially with cultural pressure from social media and younger women, than ever before in executive ranks, “Women need to find other women or men they bond with to learn from and figure out a way to work through differences,” she advised.

“I can understand the isolation women go through, and I can definitely tell you when women get into the executive rank, there is a feeling of isolation,” she said, “but millennials are not going to go to or stay at a company that doesn’t have what they’re looking for,” she added.

Taking a leaf from her parents’ playbook, Davis always kept retirement in her line of sight. Since she left the workforce in 2009, she has focused on providing corporate mentoring and STEM motivational-focused public speaking. “I spend time as well doing charity work,” Ms. Davis said.

DIXIE GARR Dixie Garr, who retired as vice president of customer success engineering at Cisco Systems at 50, also had clear long-term goals when she joined the workforce as a software engineer at twentysomething.

Reflecting on her tactics for building a sense of belonging, Garr said she found that behaviors are oftentimes unconscious.

Like anything in life, building relationships is not always successful, she said, but “how can I complain about not being included when I have the power within to build a relationship? Managers may not have time to hang out with you for coffee or listen to your sob story, but anybody will help if presented with concrete goals and an action plan,” Garr said.

“You need to have an audacious, bodacious goal and then want to be bold

a plan to preclude their action and continue to grow the business?

6. Ethics and integrity are everything—never compromise.

4. Identify the “right” people, and let them work.

We all know the rules. Ethics is part of most higher learning curriculums. In fact, Andrew Stark writes, “Over 500 business-ethics courses are currently taught on American campuses; fully 90% of the nation’s business schools now provide some kind of training in the area.” Yet we often read of another company’s ethical lapse. It seems so easy— do what’s right. Yet very intelligent people either forget the rules or feel they are above the rules. To be a successful leader, you must understand the essence of the old saying that what is done in the dark often comes to light. There are many examples—an aerospace firm where the CEO, with less than 60 short days until his planned promotion from COO to CEO, had a public ethical lapse that cost him his career and millions in unearned salaries, or the recent public departure of the CEO of a major news franchise.

In 1994, along with three colleagues, we developed a strategic plan to build a leading IT company within the company, and we did. The key was finding the right people. Who were the right people? People who put the team first and ego second; people who cared about the customers; people who cared about the products and services we delivered; and people who have a driving passion for being successful and remember to be hard on problems, not the people.

5. Use diversity as a business advantage—treat people fairly.

Most demographic projections indicate the U.S. will be a minoritymajority country by 2050. One could ask how minorities can be minorities if they are the majority, but that is a question for another day. The important aspect of this change is that we must recognize, nurture, and promote diversity in our organizations to capture the employees that have the best ideas to ensure the brightest future for the business.

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7. Remember that your competitors hire smart people too.

When one is successful, it is easy to believe that your success is unassailable, and that is the point in time when you are most vulnerable to the competition. To avoid believing your own perception of the world, it is always good to use external benchmarks to ensure you WOMENOFCOLOR | FALL 2016

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WHERE ARE WE TODAY? enough to let that goal be contagious by telling people what you want, even if they laugh at it,” she said.

LINDA R. GOODEN Former Executive Vice President Lockheed Martin Corporation The corporate world is not perfect, admits Linda Gooden, who served as executive vice president of information systems and global services at Lockheed Martin until 2013.

“In many ways, her career mirrors some of the cultural shifts society has gone through over 30 years,” wrote Nick Wakeman in Washington Technology magazine. “Greater opportunities for women and minorities in the business world and defense market in particular,” he noted along with the “challenges she had to stare down” before (and after) leading the largest provider of IT services to the federal government for a decade.

“There will always be stereotypes,” Gooden said. However, she added that women and men willing to earn a STEM degree, get a job in the field, apply themselves, and demonstrate consistently high performance will be treated fairly.

“Business exists to make a profit,” Gooden said, “and STEM talent is an essential enabler.”

22%

29%

of graduate students in engineering are women.

of the world’s researchers are women.

24%

57%

of the U.S. STEM workforce is female.

of graduate students in biological sciences are women.

29%

of graduate students in mathematics/ computer science are women.

To help focus on the things that mattered, Gooden created a go-to-battle list: 10 rules that she gleaned from her experience of leading organizations of diverse people in the corporate world.

are dealing with reality and to utilize that information to continuously adapt your business strategies to achieve continued success.

8. Live to fight another day—never give up.

You won’t win every program, every promotion, or every award. The only perfect being who walked the earth was Jesus. Since most of us are human, we will make mistakes. Mistakes are a natural part of the learning process. The key is to learn from life’s lessons and try to leverage and/or repeat the successes and avoid the mistakes. This is a very simple rule yet so difficult to do in real life as it highlights two key areas. First, humility and acknowledging you may be imperfect.

Second, committing to like learning to ensure you understand both the battle and the tactics to be successful.

9. B usinesses must adapt or die—no different than any other species.

Darwin said it most eloquently: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” As leaders, we must embrace change. Working in the technology business, you come to understand that the only constant is change. I began my career using punched cards, and as I retired, telekinesis was on the horizon. Wars were peer to peer; now

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any rogue nation can present a threat. Simple things like the television had three major channels; today your entertainment choices are only limited by your budget and desire. As leaders, one must learn to manage change to achieve competitive advantage. This reinforces the need to never stop learning and evolving.

10. D on’t forget to have fun—finding your balance is essential for good health.

There are three primary reasons I added this rule. First, everyone spends a lot of time working. I believe over the years I spent more time working than doing any other activity. Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, I am not alone. Second, research shows that people who feel good about their work are more motivated and more productive, which leads to higher quality. Finally, finding your perfect balance and making time to do things outside of work allows you to clear your head and look at work from a new prospective.

In summary, you are the greatest generation. This time is your time.

You have more technology, more access, and more opportunity than any predecessor generation. You are ideally positioned to leverage business needs for STEM resources into highly successful and profitable careers regardless of ethnicity, dress, or gender.

www.womenofcolor.net

By Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com

2016

TECHNOLOGIST

OF THE YEAR

D

r. Boskovic leads a large research group that builds understanding in optics, surface science, and thin films in order to make important inventions.

These innovations are for high bandwidth communications, data center applications around the world for productivity and higher capacity, and novel glass surfaces. “Aleksandra is an excellent example of professional achievement for women in science and technology,� noted Dr. David L. Morse, executive vice president and chief technology officer.

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Dr. Aleksandra Boskovic Research Director, Optics, Surfaces, and Integration Technologies Corning Incorporated

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A Corning® Research manager shows a demonstration of Corning® Gorilla® Glass for Automotive applications to Dr. Aleksandra Boskovic.

kovic explained on the telephone.

“They are all related to optical telecommunications systems. There are different ways and methods we can improve those systems to increase the bandwidth, which is basically how much information we can put in them,” she said.

Optical fiber and wireless technologies for high-speed communications networks are among several products that Corning offers. Others include Dr. Aleksandra Boskovic holding a piece of shaped Corning® Gorilla® Glass. emissions-control products for cars and trucks. There’s also glass tubing that Corning’s global customers shape into vials, cartridges, ampules and syringes, s one of our top leaders in research and development, “ or drug storage and delivery convert. Since 2007 more than she is setting the example for others to follow. She 4.5 billion devices have been designed with Corning® Gocoaches and mentors employees inside and outside rilla® Glass, perhaps including the one you’re reading on now. of her organization; with women employees in a variety of Corning’s latest high-performance glass has been successfulforums, she shares her career stories and how she overcame ly incorporated into high-resolution smartphones and tablets career obstacles. Aleksandra is a role model for many women that feature upward of 500 pixels per inch. and men,” he said.

A

Dr. Boskovic’s career began in physics, recalled Dr. Gary S. Calabrese, senior vice president for Corning Global Research, in a letter of recommendation several months before the 2016 Women of Color STEM Conference.

“She was instrumental in establishing an important system of modeling tools to help design, test, and manufacture our products,” he added.

Dr. Boskovic has five patents that enable telecommunications systems around the world to keep up with bandwidth growth at the speed of light. She invented an optical networking device for optical networks with increased transparency, a four-wave mixing reduction method in lightwave transmission, and an optical communication system with a fiber link capable of transmitting optical signals with high optical launch power over long distances. Her most recent invention is an optical communication system for use in communication networks.

“My inventions are related to bandwidth growth,” Dr. Bos34

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In her previous role as leader of Corning’s European Technology Center (CETC) in France, Boskovic firmed up the lab’s reputation as a center of excellence on the forming of glass.

The lab delivered improvements to Corning’s glass melting technology as well as new glass ceramic recipes.

Aleksandra was born in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro is known for its famous landmarks, such as the 98-foot-tall statue of Christ the Redeemer, with his arms stretching 92 feet wide at the peak of the 2,300-foot Corcovado Mountain.

The city of Rio is also known for its beautiful Copacabana and Ipanema beaches.

Young Aleksandra grew up in a small apartment in one of the high-rise tenements that dotted the Copacabana neighborhood. Her father worked as a technician for the local electricity company, and her mother was a stay-at-home mom.

Both parents wanted their only child to have a stable job “in computer science,” she said.

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“My passion was to be a scientist and do research, and I was good in the technical areas like math and physics. My parents wanted me to go to college so I could have a stable future and a steady job. In Rio, the biggest thing was tourism, so it was hard for my parents to imagine how one could make a living as a scientist,” she added.

“When my [parents] would ask me what I wanted for my birthday or Christmas, it was always a microscope, or a stethoscope, or a chemistry set. Those were the kinds of things that grabbed my attention.”

In 1985 Aleksandra started a degree in computer programming at the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. At the end of her first year, she told her parents, who were paying her way through college, that she had decided to change to physics.

Although the university she attended was one of the best in Rio, the number of students enrolling each year for pure science was low compared to liberal arts, business, marketing, and engineering.

The switch from computer programming to physics added another year for the first-generation college student. But after completing her bachelor’s in physics in 1989, she won a scholarship and went on to earn a master’s degree in physics at the same university.

My role is to make sure my organization is contributing to the bottom line through inventing the next wave of products and technologies for Corning. My job, and my organization’s, is to invent the future for Corning in our area of expertise.

She studied detection of picosecond pulses and graduated in 1992 with a scholarship from the national telecommunications company, which had taken an interest in her work.

The following year, Aleksandra left her family in Brazil to pursue her dream. She joined the physics graduate program at Imperial College, London. Home to the greatest concentration of research of any major UK university, Imperial holds an award that recognizes advancing women’s careers in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine in academia.

Aleksandra’s thesis focused on the generation of short pulses with fiber lasers and on optical non-linear effects in general.

She joined Corning shortly afterward.

Aleksandra’s 5 SECRETS TO SUCCESS It’s not always easy to do what you love for a career, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, Lori Deschene once said, but here are a few secrets to success.

1. MAINTAIN a professional network.

I met another Corning researcher at the Optical Networking and Communication Conference while doing my Ph.D. in England. She was also Brazilian, but we had never met before. A professor from Imperial College who happened to be at the conference introduced me to her. We all worked in the same field of optics.

Although we shared a nationality, the initial connection was purely professional. I kept the contact as I finished my Ph.D., and through her, I found out about the job opening. I applied and eventually got hired.

2. B ELIEVE career and job changes can happen in one corporation.

I started as an entry-level scientist at Corning’s central research facility in Sullivan Park. I came straight out of my Ph.D. nineteen years ago and never changed companies. I know this is unusual, but my plan is to retire with Corning. Today my job consists of research in optics, surfaces, and integration technologies. The group has about 100 technical people, with a large fraction of them having Ph.D. degrees.

My role is to make sure my organization is contributing to the bottom line through inventing the next wave of products and technologies for Corning. My job, and my organization’s, is to invent the future for Corning in our area of expertise. I help my organization do that through identifying the directions we should go and the right topics to focus on and building a leading edge base of knowledge. Of course, I cannot do any of that without investing in the people in the organization and focusing my energy on helping them do their best.

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Aleksandra’s SECRETS TO SUCCESS 3. R EMEMBER technical leadership career goes beyond the technical.

I report to the senior vice president of Research for Corning, Dr. Calabrese. Even though my job is a leadership role, which includes management and supervision, I see my job as highly technical. I have learned that technical competencies will just take me so far. In order to truly excel, I need to go beyond the technical and excel at leadership skills as well.

• You must have technical excellence. If you don’t, people will not listen to you or value your input.

• Don’t let bureaucracy take over. Yes, there are processes that need to be followed, paperwork to file. Find a way to do what is needed as efficiently as possible; it should not take the lion’s share of your time.

• Develop your leadership skills. Invest time into being good with people (people development, compassion, etc.), understanding your customers (internal and external), listening to a range of opinions (being inclusive of diverse thinking), building good problem solving/analytical skills, and clear communication.

4. T RUST that meeting challenges requires identifying priorities.

One of the key challenges in my current role is the breadth of technologies and businesses I have to interact with. This means that the complexity and range of information I have to be aware of all the time is very large. It is impossible for me to be equally involved in everything that is going on, and I need to make choices of where to focus deeper. I have to be able to quickly identify higher risk areas and react quickly to make sure we continue to deliver high-quality results.

5. E NJOY favorite moments:

Nothing compares to the feeling of professional accomplishment I get when I see: A product introduced to the market; products that I have had a personal role in developing, such as LEAF® optical fiber, ClearCurve®fiber, etc., become successful in the marketplace; a problem solved by a plant or a new manufacturing process introduced and I can recognize my (or my organization’s) contribution to it.

Someone that I have invested my personal time to help grow get that dream job.

The organization I lead values what I did. For example, the care that CETC took in organizing a celebration when I was leaving to come back to the U.S. and that people took a personal interest in crafting a gift for me. Those are the days I go home happy and feeling I did my job.

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#STEMIsAGirlThing

WOMEN OF COLOR STEM AWARD WINNERS2016

I

t’s been 14 years since Women of Color magazine noted the increasingly important role women are playing in developing and controlling the technology America depends on for its economic growth and security. A convergence of events had made the task of defending America difficult: an economic downturn coupled with a challenge to national security.

Despite these setbacks, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted that engineering disciplines would experience growth, as would the need for qualified scientists. Below are outstanding women who, by connecting their technical skills to present-day and future challenges, are keeping the United States at the top of the global economy.

TECHNICAL INNOVATION – INDUSTRY

Phyllis Spence Engineering Fellow Raytheon Company

VISIONARY AWARD

Pat Walker Locke

President Seeds of Humanity Foundation, Inc.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGIST OF THE YEAR

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

PRESIDENT’S AWARD

Monica Brown

Research Director Corning Incorporated

Project Engineer Staff Lockheed Martin Corporation

Vice President, Human Resources Corporate & Shared Services Group The Boeing Company

Anudeep Cheema

Aleksandra Boskovic, Ph.D.

Amber Brown

BUSINESS LEADERSHIP

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Vice President - Investment Specialist J.P. Morgan Private Bank

Business Development & Proposal Operations Manager Northrop Grumman Corporation

Leah Taylor

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT – GOVERNMENT

Andrea Veil

Executive Director, Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT – INDUSTRY

Joi Harris

Vice President - Gas Operations DTE Energy

COMMUNITY SERVICE – INDUSTRY

Sydney L. Davis

Business Support Advisor Consumers Energy

COMMUNITY SERVICE – INDUSTRY

Raquel P. Cundiff

Customer Engineering Manager The Boeing Company

COMMUNITY SERVICE – INDUSTRY

Vannia Willis

Contracted Research and Development (CRAD) Program Manager Huntington Ingalls Industries

COMMUNITY SERVICE – GOVERNMENT

Tiffany Owens

Systems Safety Engineer Naval Sea Systems Command

CORPORATE PROMOTION OF EDUCATION

Rosa Bushkuhl, P.E.

Project Engineer, New Business Development Consumers Energy

CORPORATE PROMOTION OF EDUCATION

Katy Wong

Anita Lee Wright

MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP – GOVERNMENT

Darlene Baxter

Deputy Director, Project Planning and Control NASA Langley Research Center

MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP – INDUSTRY

Esther Betancourt

Director of Engineering Defense Systems Harris Corporation

MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP – INDUSTRY

Audra E. Ryan-Jones

Vice President, Federal Civilian Market Segment Leader Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION – GOVERNMENT

Victoria Chung

Head, Simulation Development and Analysis Branch Research Services Directorate NASA Langley Research Center

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION – INDUSTRY

Evelyn “Elven” Chern, Ph.D. Lead Principal-Technical Architect AT&T

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION – INDUSTRY

Sophia Shiue

Business Process Manager Information and Communication Technology Product Design, Development, and Product Planning FCA US LLC

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION – INDUSTRY

Regina Sullivan, Ph.D. Aeronautical Engineer, Sr. Lockheed Martin Corporation

Paula Noble

Director, Enterprise IT Delivery Management T-Mobile Supervisor, Information Communication and Technology (ICT) MOPAR Warranty Systems FCA US LLC

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT – GOVERNMENT

Commander Kelly Oberia Elmore, MD

Courtney H. Coulter

Lead Electronics Engineer U.S. Army Communications – Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center

CDR, MC, USN Director, Healthcare Business U.S. Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton

Camille R. Daniel

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT – GOVERNMENT

Dr. Juanita Harris

Director, Weapons Development & Integration Directorate Department of the Army Senior Executive Service (SES)

Project Manager, Lead Analyst, Asst.

Group Supervisor Force Projection Sector The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Ming Hu

Director, Technology AT&T

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT – INDUSTRY

Arundhati Desai

Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netter Sensor System (JLENS) Deputy Program Manager Raytheon Company

Andrea Jemison-Smith

Melissa E. Morrison-Ellis, PMP

Manager - Torque and Core Technology General Assembly Manufacturing Engineering FCA US LLC

K-12 PROMOTION OF EDUCATION

Alicia Morgan

Program Leader and Advisory Board Chairperson Heart House Dallas and Bryan Adams High School Academies of Engineering and Biomedical Sciences

STUDENT LEADERSHIP

Courtney Lee Mason

Valarie W. Mackey IT Director The Coca-Cola Company

Shava Meadows

Systems Engineer Air Force Research Laboratory

Amy Nguyen

Computer Scientist/Project Lead Duke V2/V3 United States Army

Jennifer Stringfellow

Student United States Naval Academy

Lead Data Manager, Test Engineer Missile Defense Agency

Alana Tyler Murphy

TECHNICAL INNOVATION – GOVERNMENT

Senior Manager - Systems Engineering Raytheon Company

Sharon Robinson-Keith

Elaine Ward

Mission Systems Lead Engineer F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office

Technical Director, Enterprise Strategy & Transformation Technical Center The MITRE Corporation

TECHNICAL INNOVATION – INDUSTRY

Evelyn R. Anderson, CISM®, CGEIT®, CRISC™

Project Manager FCA US LLC

Tabice Ward

Director - Information Protection & Security DTE Energy

Senior Technical Staff Member Global Technology Services Global Risk and Compliance Management IBM Corporation

Systems Engineer Senior Staff Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

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WOC AWARD WINNERS

Career Achievement Government

Andrea Veil

T Business Leadership

Leah Taylor

Vice President – Investment Specialist J.P. Morgan Private Bank

L

eah Taylor joined the First National Bank of Chicago (a predecessor firm of J.P. Morgan) right out of Harvard’s M.B.A. program. As an Investment Specialist with JP Morgan Private Bank, she works with clients to grow their wealth through investment, banking, and lending solutions. “There are two characteristics important to success,” Taylor said. “First, you need to like people and enjoy helping them. Second, you need to be motivated and organized.” Her team includes bankers, analysts, portfolio managers, and trust officers. If you are curious about a career in financial services, talk to people who work in different functions in finance, she advised. “That way, you can learn about investment management, corporate banking, investment banking, and the hedge fund/private equity sector,” she said. Taylor believes that no matter what type of degree you have, take courses in finance, accounting, and economics.

“Also, an M.B.A. gives you great understanding of the principles of business,” she said. Lastly, in your first position out of college or graduate school, choose an institution that is going to invest time in training you. “As a young person, that training will really help you to get started on the right foot,” she said.

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Executive Director Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

hroughout her 24 years at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Andrea Veil has had many notable career achievements. Most recently, she became the first African-American female to be appointed as the Executive Director of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Ms. Veil is dedicated to the mission of protecting public health and safety as well as the environment. She is also dedicated to mentoring next generation nuclear professionals. She has more than 30 mentees and has been awarded multiple times by the NRC Federal Women’s Program Advisory Committee and the NRC Office of Small Business and Civil Rights. The ACRS was formed in 1953 and statutorily mandated by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to advise the NRC Commission (presidential appointees) on various nuclear safety matters. Ms. Veil manages a support staff for the Committee of Special Government Employees, facilitates the meetings and resulting required documentation, and serves as liaison to the NRC staff and the Commission.

Career Achievement Industry

Joi Harris

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Vice President, Gas Operations DTE Energy

oi Harris is responsible for managing utility gas operations, including its transmission, distribution, and gas storage systems. Among her significant accomplishments is her championing of efforts to ensure employee safety for DTE Gas. Her impact includes innovations that have saved the company over a quarter million dollars annually, stellar improvements in operating performances, and refining workload management processes to reductions that place the company into a top ranking among its peers. She manages some 1,300 employees throughout Michigan and under her leadership, and DTE Gas has increased diversity placements of females and minorities in strategic positions. She serves as a member of Wayne State University Industrial and System Engineering Advisory Board and also serves as vice president of the Board of Directors for the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP). Her commitment to DAPCEP is a vital example of “giving back” as she was a participant in the organization for many years as a child. www.womenofcolor.net

WOC AWARD WINNERS Community Service – Industry

Raquel Cundiff

Customer Engineering Manager

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The Boeing Company

aquel Cundiff is an outstanding proponent of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and inspires girls and women to explore careers in STEM. She mentors college students through the University of Washington’s (UW) Women in Science & Engineering (WiSE) program and helps guide them as they transition to professional careers.

In the early years of this program, she was one of three professionals who provided support to events sponsored by the WiSE UW Program. Over the past few years, she has led workshops at the annual WiSE conference and has gone on to be one of the founding members of the WiSE Professional Advisory Board supporting the University of Washington. She was nominated 2014/15 President of the WiSE Professional Advisory Board, which has a membership of up to 15 women in various science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and represents companies within Puget Sound in

the state of Washington. Ms. Cundiff is applauded for her dedication to the community and early-career professionals at Boeing. She has co-led the Professional Development section of the Boeing Women in Leadership program and has been a strong voice for personal development.

Community Service – Industry

Sydney Davis

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Business Support Advisor Consumers Energy

ydney Davis is an environmental business advisor for Michigan’s largest electric and natural gas utility. At Consumers Energy, she has led successful efforts developing and aligning information technology for her organization. In equal measure, she is on a mission to close the STEM gap with Girls That Can, a non-profit Ms. Davis founded in 2015. Girls That Can started a computer science program, which Ms. Davis holds during the summer for public school students, in partnership with local colleges and universities. The unique pairing of instruction in computing, programming, mobile phone application development, robotics, web design, and development— with exposure to real-world technology companies—is unmatched by any local program. With community support, Girls That Can empowers high school girls to become innovative leaders in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields by teaching them how to produce creative ideas, products, services, and solutions.

www.womenofcolor.net

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WOC AWARD WINNERS

Community Service – Government

Tiffany Owens

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Community Service – Industry

Vannia J. Willis

Contracted Research & Development Manager 2 Newport News Shipbuilding, a Division of Huntington Ingalls Industries

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annia Willis has 18 years of professional experience, and her passion for STEM outreach and education is just as self-evident.

In 2005 she helped start a Lego Mindstorms Robotics program in southeast Washington, DC. During that time, she was educational achievement coordinator at Matthews Memorial Baptist Church, also based in the district, and developed a tutoring program for middle and high school students.

In 2007, as part of Maryland MESA, she challenged middle school students in a program designed to prepare them for various careers in mathematics, engineering, science, and technology. Ms. Willis’ most recent efforts include serving as the lead coordinator for the BEYA/ WOC STEM Workshops since 2009, being a tutor for the Taking Action to Overcome Obstacles (TATOO) tutoring program, serving as a pilot for the Girls with Engineering Minds in Shipbuilding (GEMS), and as technology lead for the First Robotics Program.

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System Safety Engineer Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division

or the past several years, Tiffany Owens has led her division’s Bring Your Child to Work Day, a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) outreach activity designed to expose children of employees to the work their parents do in support of the U.S. Navy. Ms. Owens has been active in the Metro Richmond Science Fair, the FIRST Leo League, and FIRST Robotics Competition. She developed and conducted STEM enrichment activities at Richmond and Henrico Public Schools as a volunteer. She has filled the roles of chartering member, president emeritus, and public relations chair for the Richmond Professionals Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. She has been recognized for her technical and community contributions through numerous awards, including Richmond Style Weekly’s “Top 40 Under 40” Honoree 2012, Naval Surface Warfare Center Distinguished Community Service Award, and the Richmond Joint Engineer’s Council Community Service Award.

Corporate Promotion of Education

Rosa Bushkuhl

Engineering II, New Business Dev. of Technology and Strategy Consumers Energy

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osa Bushkuhl is a project engineer in New Business Development at Consumers Energy. Through her advocacy work, she promotes STEM education and Consumers Energy as an employer of choice. She inspires and motivates high school students to pursue STEM careers and is an outstanding STEM role model. Recently she volunteered to promote STEM at schools, colleges, and universities by preparing and conducting a seminar on renewable energy—and Consumers Energy’s renewable energy developments— at Michigan State University for the Detroit Area Precollege Education Program. This program promoted the understanding of renewable energy and pursuit of advanced education. www.womenofcolor.net

WOC AWARD WINNERS

Corporate Promotion of Education

Katy Wong

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Systems Engineer Sr. Staff Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

s a senior staff systems engineer at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Katy Wong executed a more than $10 million project while capturing a separate $3 million plus contract and leading a $70 million plus proposal. Meanwhile, Ms. Wong has shown true dedication to the cause of education for her systems engineering team and her business area. She is involved in many technical associations with the goal of learning and bringing information and ideas back to her team. She distributes educational opportunity notices and supports her team’s efforts to participate in educational experiences. In addition, she serves as a mentor for several of her junior teammates, providing advice and guidance and finding them opportunities to learn through job experiences. Ms. Wong continues to provide outreach through activities in and outside of work. Her educational promotion and STEM support rise from her passion for opening access to anyone willing to learn. She is a supporter of the Harvey Mudd College Presidential Scholars program that provides funds for resource-limited college talents.

Her efforts focus on Lockheed Martin, International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and Harvey Mudd College activities.

Corporate Responsibility

Amber Brown

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Project Engineer Staff Lockheed Martin Corporation

mber Brown advocates the values of the people of Lockheed Martin (LM) on many stages. Her passion for improving inclusion across the Aeronautics unit and the rest of the corporation is evident through her involvement on the Lockheed Martin Corp.

Diversity and Inclusion Council. Ms. Brown has served on the Aeronautics Diversity Council since 2014 and has progressively taken on more challenging roles and responsibilities. As its chair in 2015, the council was able to execute two new events that impacted more than 800 employees.

Connect and Engage in Fort Worth was a huge success that had the best survey results yet. She also gained the support and engagement of many new executives. In addition, she has reached out to schools via STEM programs, volunteering for Engineering Week and Toastmasters International. www.womenofcolor.net

“I began my career using punched cards, and as I retired, telekinesis was on the horizon. Wars were peer to peer; now any rogue nation can present a threat.

As leaders, one must learn to manage change. This reinforces the need to never stop learning and evolving.”

— (Read Linda Gooden’s 10 Rules)

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WOC AWARD WINNERS

Corporate Responsibility

Anita Lee Wright

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Business Development & Proposal Operations Manager Northrop Grumman Corporation

nita Lee Wright is diversity and inclusion advocate at Northrop Grumman. Under her leadership of the Victory over Impairment and Challenge Enterprise (The VOICE) employee resource group, Northrop Grumman has made it a priority to improve access to services, resources, and information. Ms. Wright is also a volunteer with the Youth Leadership Forum for high school students with disabilities and Career Links Mentoring Program for university students. She was appointed by the California Secretary of Health and Human Services as a board member of the Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, which is committed to workforce diversity and the advancement of employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Her personal leadership and dedication to providing an increased understanding of technology’s potential to improve access and opportunities in STEM fields for our future workforce will enable innovation and provide an untapped employee pipeline for industry.

Managerial Leadership – Government

Darlene Baxter

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Deputy Director, Project Planning and Control NASA Langley Research Center

arlene Baxter has won over 30 awards over her thirty-four-year career, including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. This medal is awarded to a government employee for performance that sets a benchmark for others to follow; contributing to projects, programs, or initiatives; and having been instrumental to the past and ongoing success of NASA. Throughout, Ms. Baxter has excelled in managing budgets and resources to ensure allocations are well planned and aligned with the organizational strategy. Her continuous high performance and leadership abilities have earned the respect of her peers and the Center’s leadership. She has held a variety of management responsibilities, from procurement and business manager to her current position as Deputy Director for Program, Planning and Control in the Aeronautics Research Directorate (ARD) at NASA Langley Research Center.

During this time, she has provided management for programs/projects and departments that has supported approximately 600 individuals, both civil servants and contractors. In her current position, she manages a budget of $209 million, which covers 489 civil servants and some 171 contractors and is heavily involved in the project planning and integration efforts between ARD and several directorates at Langley and other NASA Centers. She also supervises a team of 10 civil servant employees from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer.

www.womenofcolor.net

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WOC AWARD WINNERS

Managerial Leadership – Industry

Managerial Leadership – Industry

Audra E. Ryan-Jones

Esther Betancourt Director of Engineering, Defense Systems Communication Systems Harris Corporation

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sther Betancourt holds five U.S. patents in various engineering fields. She has built strategic plans for various businesses throughout her career. Recently she has delivered complex programs and innovative products for the defense industry. She has also managed offerings and portfolios related to systems businesses.

Ms. Betancourt has 24 years of experience in product development and leading international teams.

In one assignment, she led an organization of 220 systems professionals delivering tactical networks to customers worldwide.

She possesses vast knowledge of systems engineering practices, imaging algorithms, display technologies, software quality assurance, voice of the customer, and hardware/software commercialization processes, and she is skilled at developing and maintaining strong customer and partner relationships. She has expertise in mergers and acquisitions analysis, identification of transformational markets, and capturing research funds.

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Vice President, Federal Civilian Market Segment Leader Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

udra Ryan-Jones is a transformational leader. She is known for her in-depth knowledge of the business, skillful work with clients, strong support of her people and teams, collaborative nature, and high standards for both business excellence and integrity. She is a mentor and sponsor, and many people throughout her professional and community network point to her as having been instrumental in their career journey. Ms. Ryan-Jones has responsibility for the operational success of a 747-person organization with 838 contractors supporting 17 civilian agency government customers, with responsibility for an operating budget in excess of $450 million. Prior to joining HPE, she worked at Xerox for twenty years, where she held many senior management roles and led the international team that implemented the global strategy for the Document Outsourcing and Communication Services Line of Business. In 2006 she was promoted to vice president for go-to-market operations with responsibility for North America. In that role, she oversaw $959 million in overall signings representing a 55 percent year-over-year growth.

Outstanding Technical Contribution – Government

Victoria Chung

Chief, Simulation Development & Analysis Branch Research Services Directorate NASA Langley Research Center

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ictoria Chung has led flight simulation facilities for evaluating and testing aerospace concepts and technologies. They include visual, display, flight instruments, and flight deck design for next generation air-ground, ground-air, and air-air operations, as well as flight information systems services that give pilots and air traffic controllers highly accurate traffic, terrain, and weather data, and

www.womenofcolor.net

WOC AWARD WINNERS

Outstanding Technical Contribution – Industry

Evelyn “Elven” Chern, Ph.D.

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Lead Principal Technical Architect AT&T

n 2014 Dr. Evelyn Chern led a team effort that won AT&T a TM Forum Excellence Award, a prestigious global recognition. Other recognitions she has received include the TM Forum Operations Excellence Award as well as the Business CIO and Architecture Vendor and Management’s first Circle of Excellence Award, Excellence in Business Innovation of FR/ATM Automation, Most Valuable Team (ATM Conversion), e-Excellence Leadership Award, Software Excellence Award (USRP), and Dale Carnegie Highest Award for Achievement, among others.

She possesses mastery of multiple dimensions to provide architectural direction, define operational processes, and establish policy/standards as well as solution automation to improve efficiency and technical leadership for implementation, define change management, user access, and other key requirements that the requirement visualization tool needs to support. The depth and breadth of her knowledge, skills, and inter-personal relationships has brought successes to projects and teams.

Outstanding Technical Contribution – Industry high-fidelity aerospace vehicle environment for human factors engineering, performance, and handling qualities research. For all this work, she and her team won numerous technical achievement awards as well as the Collier Trophy, signifying a major advance in aviation. Ms. Chung manages the agency’s simulation assets that include six high-performance, human-in-the-loop flight simulators and systems integration labs.

These NASA Langley assets, valued at $80 million, which are a part of the portfolio of simulation assets that she manages for the agency, can simulate the performance of vehicles ranging from general aviation to military aircraft to large commercial aircraft (737, 757, 787) to spacecraft (commercial crew, Orion crew vehicle, Lunar Lander).

www.womenofcolor.net

Sophia Shiue

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Business Process Manager, Product Planning, Information and Communication Technology Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

ophia Shiue received a U.S. Patent in 2014 for the Virtual Vehicle System—a solution for cohesively managing business processes and end products from product configuration, engineering design, and manufacturing process to service products creation.

The concept in the Virtual Vehicle System was to identify product changes and align to their impact in end products. This was done using the lightweight image of the engineering part design represented virtually in Graphics Bill of Material application. Mrs. Shiue was also the technical lead for implementing the World Product Configurator application that would enable Fiat and Chrysler to work on common global vehicle configurations.

She has been instrumental in launching the Graphics Bill of Material system by teaming up with Right Hemisphere to produce the Manufacturing and Service product illustrations. This resulted in a 42% reduction in the graphic creation process. She worked with Siemens and conducted a proof of concept by integrating their Cortona product with Teamcenter PLM, which was never done before in the industry. She also undertook the creation of the Chrysler Mopar Service Handbook and was awarded the J.D. Power ranking of second best in the industry.

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WOC AWARD WINNERS

Outstanding Technical Contribution – Industry

Regina Sullivan

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Aeronautical Engineer Sr. Lockheed Martin Corporation

r. Regina Sullivan is a member of the Revolutionary Technology Programs (RTP) group within Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs, where she investigates technologies that have the potential to transform or disrupt the current state of art. While working within RTP, she made significant contributions during the development of the Compact Fusion Reactor (CFR) program. If successful, the CFR program would address the planet’s ever increasing demands on energy generation in a clean and sustainable manner.

Her contributions to the in-depth analysis and development of plasma diagnostics were instrumental to the CFR team’s ability to perform over 200 individual experiments during 2015, thereby acquiring the necessary experimental data needed to graduate the program to the next phase. In addition to her contributions on the CFR program, she also helped lead experimental testing of the Hyper-thermal Power Supply (HPS), which attempts to generate power using a hypersonic flow.

President’s Award

Paula Noble

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Vice President, HR Corporate and Shared Services Group The Boeing Company

aula Noble is a trusted leader who models the Boeing leadership attributes every day. In her current role as Vice President of Human Resources Corporate and Shared Services Group, she leads a human resources team that supports multiple businesses and is also responsible for the development and implementation of an enterprise-wide human resources functional excellence strategy and process designed to yield a world-class human resources function. Dennis Muilenburg is chairman of the board, president, and chief executive officer of The Boeing Company. “Paula is on the frontline of our companywide efforts to redefine the Human Resources team and the related tools and systems that will propel our business well into its second century. It is a project critical to our long-term success and competitiveness, and I can think of no better person to help us achieve our aggressive goals,” he said. Since joining Boeing in 1994, Ms. Noble has held multiple human resources leadership roles and overseen a number of human resources activities throughout the company, including equal employment opportunity and affirmative action, compensation and benefits, and labor relations.

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“You need to have an audacious, bodacious goal and then want to be bold enough to let that goal be contagious by telling people what you want, even if they laugh at it.”

— Dixie Garr

www.womenofcolor.net

WOC AWARD WINNERS

Professional Achievement – Government

Cmdr. Kelly Oberia Elmore, MD

Director of Healthcare Business U.S. Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton

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r. Kelly Elmore has distinguished herself as a healthcare business leader as well as an OB/GYN. She developed the Mothers in Transition Program, which surveyed 16,000 women, serviced 225 families, and justified case manager support in maternal-infant clinics. She also improved cervical cancer screening from 10 percent to 90 percent and established specialty clinics at Naval Health Branch Clinics in Arizona and Port Hueneme, CA, which reduced civilian care referrals by 78 percent.

Appointed by the OB/GYN specialty leader, Cmdr. Elmore co-authored the Bureau of Medicine’s Manual of Medicine, Women’s Health Chapter, and led a team of eight subject matter experts to investigate hydro birth in the Navy. She demonstrates leadership through several initiatives and tirelessly advocates for community health. Cmdr. Elmore is a visionary and is constantly developing and strategizing ways to improve patient experiences and improve access to care. Selected among a very competitive field of applicants, Cmdr. Elmore is now responsible for managing 43 personnel who provide access, case management, and services for more than 58,000 military beneficiaries. www.womenofcolor.net

Professional Achievement - Government

Dr. Juanita M. Harris

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Director, Weapons Development and Integration U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center

r. Juanita Harris joined the federal Senior Executive Service (SES) in 2015. Members of the SES operate and oversee nearly every activity in approximately 75 federal agencies. Harris is the director of a center that conducts research, exploratory and advanced development, and technology demonstrations and provides engineering and scientific expertise in all aspects of weapon system design and development for the U.S. Army. Over her 31-year career, she has served with distinction in the corporate world and the Department of Defense. Starting as an electronics engineer, she moved through the ranks, culminating with her current position as a member of the SES. In addition to her assignments in the engineering field, Dr. Harris mentors future engineers in numerous secondary education youth forums and STEM camps as well as young adult career seminars and programs that highlight science and engineering. She has also engaged minority institutions and historically Black colleges and universities in research as well as guiding future researchers in critical areas required to support future Army capabilities.

Professional Achievement – Industry

Melissa Morrison-Ellis

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Senior Principal Systems Engineer Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems

elissa Morrison-Ellis always makes the short list to participate in highvisibility, mission-critical projects. Among her accomplishments at Raytheon is leading the achievement of Level 5 Capability Maturity Model Integration certification for the System Verification and Test directorate. Several U.S. Department of Defense and federal government contracts require this certification. Morrison-Ellis’ efforts have resulted in millions of dollars for Raytheon. MorrisonEllis is a Raytheon Six Sigma specialist and has completed several leadership programs. In 2015 she was one of 18 employees selected for Raytheon’s Program Management Development Program. Morrison-Ellis earned a civil engineering bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University and a master’s in engineering management from Tufts University. She was one of two civil engineers and the first woman of color to be accepted and to graduate from the Master of Engineering Management Program at the Gordon Institute.

Morrison-Ellis serves as the deputy program manager of the Joint Land-Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS). JLENS is a multibillion-dollar program for an elevated sensor system providing over-thehorizon surveillance and fire control.

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WOC AWARD WINNERS

K–12 Promotion of Education

Alicia Morgan

Site Leader and Advisory Board President Heart House Dallas and Bryan Adams High School

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licia Morgan works tirelessly to promote STEM in K–12 education. She oversees an online portal that introduces educational and career options in STEM. She also provides information for an online portal about mentoring, internships, research experiences, part-time and full-time jobs, and extracurricular opportunities. As a program leader at Heart House, she facilitates learning centers for K–8th grade Dallas Independent School District students, resulting in increased enrichment in STEAM/STEM education, social skills development, and comprehension. As the advisory board chairperson of the Academies of Engineering and Biomedical Sciences at Bryan Adams High School, Dallas, Texas, she impacts “Project Lead the Way” programs and National Academy Foundation (NAF) certification focusing on education, culture, and achievement in the Academy through strategic planning.

She takes the lead in monitoring and improving the performance of the Academic Advisory Board of community leaders, teachers, school administrators, and district staff for community partnerships.

“I try to challenge females in STEM professions to visit schools and help with Career Day or mentoring events.

Those events allow young women to begin hoping and setting goals for their futures.

I want these young ladies to see that not only can they can find support in STEM fields and organizations, but they also have supporters in the academic industry such as their teachers and coaches.”

— Raquel Cundiff, Customer Engineering Manager, The Boeing Company

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Student Leadership

Courtney Lee Mason United States Naval Academy

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idshipman First Class Courtney Mason is a senior and Aerospace Engineering major at the United States Naval Academy (USNA). Following high school, she was accepted to the Virginia Military Institute to study mechanical engineering and to participate in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps. In 2013 she was inducted as a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy. Mason has dedicated a great deal of time to student leadership activities. She has headed several STEM events for girls, Sea Perch Events, and Teachers’ Days. In 2015 Mason headed the first Robotics Regional Championship at USNA. As a result of Mason’s

desire to encourage young people to pursue STEM, she was selected as president of the Midshipmen STEM (MSTEM) outreach program. Under her leadership, MSTEM reaches local and national communities to engage and encourage students in STEM studies. Mason was awarded the Christine Weeks Memorial Award for her passion and willingness to help others. She is the first junior to receive this honor. Mason’s peers respect her leadership abilities and dedication to service to others.

She is seen as an excellent role model for her peers and students.

www.womenofcolor.net

WOC AWARD WINNERS

Technical Innovation – Industry

Sharon Robinson-Keith

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F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office Missions Systems Lead Engineer

haron Keith developed and designed, coded, tested, integrated, and validated software systems in support of the F-14D Weapon System and Target Programs.

She was able to evaluate and track system requirements for consistency and correctness. Keith also provided technical support to ensure the system and software met the Navy’s operational needs. In addition to the F-14D Weapon System and Target Programs, Keith designed and developed software required for supporting Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems. She coordinated and managed architecture and design efforts for the UAV. Keith was responsible for evaluating and analyzing current and future UAV software requirements by preparing detailed projections concerning cost and potential problems. She has more than 28 years of experience in naval aviation as an electronics engineer. Her experience includes research, development, testing, evaluation, production, and sustainment of manned and unmanned Navy aircrafts. She began her Navy career in 1979 in the cooperative education program. Keith later served her first tour of duty in the Software and Computer Directorate of the Combat Systems Software Division. In 1996 Keith earned a Master of Science in engineering management from George Washington University. In 1984 she earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Southern University.

Technical Innovation – Industry

Evelyn Anderson

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IBM Global Technology Services Senior Technical Staff Member

velyn Anderson has more than 22 years of experience in IT security. In 2014 she became a Senior Technical Staff Member (STSM) within IBM. Anderson was the first and only African-American female appointed to this role in her unit.

She is also the first Global Service Line Owner appointed to STSM, which is one of the highest non-executive technical leadership roles within IBM. Anderson has led global teams focusing on identity and access management, policy management, security operations management, and physical security. Additionally, Anderson’s main responsibility was to lead the creation of a global standardized delivery framework to support logical and physical security. This framework had to comply with security policy requirements and be globally adopted across IBM. This project was a challenge because there were no globally supported controls in place. Anderson had to provide innovation, integrity of services, leadership, consistency, and more—all while making sure to meet stakeholders’ requirements. Never one to back down from a challenge, Anderson successfully reached all program objectives. Anderson earned a Master of Business Administration in technology management from University of Phoenix. She also has a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Howard Payne University.

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www.womenofcolor.net

WOC AWARD WINNERS

Technical Innovation – Industry

Phyllis Spence

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Engineering Fellow Software Engineering Center, Missile Systems Raytheon Company

hyllis is a technical leader in the aerospace field with specific concentrations in embedded software design and architecture.

Demonstration of her software depth is found directly through her contributions to a generic missile design middleware at Raytheon as well as her leadership roles on many programs across Raytheon Missiles Systems (RMS), such as AI3, JSOW C-1, and EKV. She received patent application recognition for the Universal Armament Interface (UAI) Store Simulator (USS), which is a highly configurable, near realtime weapon simulator that runs on Windows and supports aircraft platform UAI certification. Spence is responsible for overseeing the real-time embedded software in the Air and Missiles Defense Systems product line at Raytheon Missile Systems (RMS). As such, one of her responsibilities is to monitor and share information about individual programs in an effort to improve the productivity and performance of all programs in the product line. She joined Raytheon as a principal software engineer on the Pathway product line. She was promoted to senior principal software engineer and is currently a Raytheon Engineering Fellow. Spence earned an undergraduate mathematics degree from the University of Hong Kong and an undergraduate music degree from the University of Rochester Eastman School of Music. She later earned a master’s degree in computer science from Nova Southeastern University.

Visionary Award

Priscilla (Pat) Walker Locke

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Seeds of Humanity Foundation, Inc. Founder, President and Chief Executive

riscilla (Pat) Walker Locke is founder, president, and chief executive officer of Seeds of Humanity Foundation, Inc. The foundation provides opportunities for students to explore science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). There is also a focus on ethical values, cultural awareness, and standardized test and leadership training. Locke has several responsibilities, including overseeing and conducting leadership training sessions, standardized test training, and STEM workshops.

Her work with Seeds of Humanity Foundation, Inc. is the most recent in a long list of accomplishments. Following high school graduation, Locke joined the U.S. Army. Her stellar performance as a communications soldier at Fort Polk, LA, resulted in an invitation to apply for the United States Military Academy at West Point. Locke was admitted to the prestigious academy in 1976. She was among the first group of women to graduate from West Point and was one of the first two African-American women to do so. In 2013 Locke was inducted into the Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame. Other honors include receiving the Key to the City of Detroit and the National Society of Black Engineers’ Legacy Golden Torch Award. www.womenofcolor.net

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TECHNOLOGY RISING STARS WOC AWARD WINNERS

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Monica Brown

Anudeep Cheema

Director, Enterprise IT Delivery Management T-Mobile

Manager, Warranty Systems Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)

onica Brown is currently an IT director with T-Mobile in Atlanta, GA. Before her position at T-Mobile, she was the director of IT Store Solutions Program Management for Bed Bath and Beyond. During this time, she implemented a gift registry application that increased sales from 7 percent to more than 30 percent in less than 6 months.

She also led the efforts to create a project management office (PMO) to centralize the process and tools required to manage multiple IT portfolios. As the director of Enterprise IT Delivery Management for T-Mobile, Brown builds and leads the PMO organization within a specific domain area for Enterprise Delivery Management’s large-scale, highvolume transactional systems and implementations. She also leads a program delivery team that works to develop an effective, cohesive, and high-quality process that aligns technology capability with business strategy. Brown is responsible for managing a portfolio of more than $150M in IT programs.

In addition, she provides oversight for a staff of more than 70 resources. These resources consist of senior managers, program managers, and shared services. Brown also cultivates strategic partnerships and contracts with T-Mobile technology vendors to optimize service costs.

The partnerships help to maintain the appropriate balance of in-house and outsourced resources.

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nudeep Cheema is a manager with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. She has built a successful career that spans more than 23 years. She is an IT professional with a focus on automotive business processes.

Prior to her present position, Cheema was a systems analyst and a project manager. She was in charge of leading extensive development and launch efforts for applications, which included being responsible for the design, build, and delivery of various strategic initiatives.

Cheema also created a process to identify the market where a vehicle is registered so the correct warranty coverage code can be applied. During this time, she also project managed rewriting a complete authorization application in Java from .NET Data technologies.

Cheema is currently responsible for 13 warranty systems supporting business operations in Mexico, Canada, and the United States. She is also responsible for working collaboratively and globally with FCA counterparts in different regions to define common processes, tools, and systems. Cheema earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science, physics and mathematics from the University of Delhi.

She earned a Bachelor of Education from the University of Kurukshetra.

Courtney Coulter Lead Electronics Engineer U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command

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ourtney Coulter is an accomplished engineer and program manager with the U.S. Army. Coulter excels in Near Real Time Identity Operations and has achieved major accomplishments in this area. Coulter created the Near Real Time Identity Operation system, which reduced checkpoint processing and screening times by 66 percent.

This resulted in an increased rate of identifiable personnel and reduced unintentional delays for non-personnel.

She played an important role in developing a highly recognized solution for the U.S. Central Command’s Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR).

www.womenofcolor.net

WOC AWARD WINNERS

Camille R. Daniel

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Project Manager & Assistant Group Supervisor Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

amille Daniel joined the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in 2005. She is currently project manager for a program that investigates cyber resiliency and ship safety for Navy submarines and platforms. She is also the operations manager for an Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare program, where she ensures that the work being done by the laboratory is aligned with the sponsor’s and Navy’s needs as well as helping to run the day-to-day management tasks. As the APL representative at the Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command (NMAWC) and at Commander, Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT), Daniel made several important contributions, one of which was generating high-level briefings on several topics for the Pacific Fleet commands and senior Fleet department heads.

Daniel’s work with NMAWC’s Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Functional Framework analysis resulted in the development of a standard set of metrics to measure Fleet performance. The connections made at those two naval commands continue to be leveraged in her work today and are integral to the success of the programs that she works on. Daniel is also the assistant group supervisor for a technical group of 60 professionals known as the Signal and Systems Analysis Group. She got her start at APL by conducting analyses in submarine, anti-submarine, and mine warfare programs. This resulted in becoming the lead analyst for the imaging and combat control systems performance analyses programs. Daniel was responsible for organizing results and briefing external and internal organizations.

Military leaders were impressed with the results and categorized the system as a critical capability. She has worked on designing, developing, and integrating conceptual fusion systems into products that strengthen the security of the United States military and its allies. Coulter began her career as a software developer constructing multi-sensor fusion solutions. Her display of talent in this area resulted in more complex and advanced projects, including identity intelligence and forensics exploitation endeavors.

Coulter earned a Bachelor of Science in computer engineering from Bethune-Cookman College.

She also has a Master of Science in business administration from Texas A&M University and a Master of Engineering in systems engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. www.womenofcolor.net

Arundhati Desai

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Business Process Manager FIAT Chrysler Automobiles

rundhati Desai is a business process manager with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). She has been active in information technology for more than 20 years and recently joined FCA’s Vehicle Safety Information and Communication Technology group. One of her recent accomplishments is improving FCA’s reporting system under the federal guidelines of the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act (TREAD). Due to the inaccuracy of past TREAD reporting to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, FCA paid $70 million in fines and was required to resubmit 294 reports in eight months with information going back to 1994. Arundhati’s leadership and participation with re-architecting and resubmission of the FCA TREAD reports has helped the company immensely.

She worked diligently to ensure timely delivery of the reports. She has worked to make sure reports are created with accurate information, including new data sources and that the data is reviewed for accuracy. If not for her input, FCA would have been unable to successfully address reporting errors. She has also ensured that the FCA TREAD system is overhauled and is robust for future report delivery as well. Arundhati earned a Master of Science in computer engineering from Wayne State University.

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WOC SPECIAL RECOGNITION HONOREES

Ming Hu

Andrea Jemison-Smith

Director, Technology Development AT&T

General Assembly – Torque and Core Technology Manager Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

M

ing Hu leads a high-caliber team responsible for architecture solutions for many of the mission critical projects and industry leading products and services at AT&T. Her team supports AT&T’s Mobility and Business Services, Entertainment Group, Internet of Things, Digital Life, Cricket, and Digital Experience by providing ideation consultation, architecture assessment for project funding, and integrated solution design for project implementations. As one of the top-ranked directors at AT&T, Ming led her team in consistently delivering high-impact results while striving for service excellence. Over half of her direct team members (Lead Principle Technical Architects) are Service Excellence award winners. In 2015 Ming’s team members won the prestigious Technology Development Chairman’s Award as lead architects for the success of IoT (Internet of Things) Connected Car, Mobile Share Data Rollover, and NumberSync MSSI. The team’s customer satisfaction score also reached a new high last year. Serving as advisor at AT&T Tech Dev Innovation board, Ming has won the IT Innovation Award twice. Outside of work, she is an active volunteer at local schools and a mentor at Aspire Mentoring Academy.

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ndrea Jemison-Smith is a manager for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).

She began her FCA career in 2014 after more than 20 years as a fastening systems engineer for the Ford Motor Company. While with Ford, she served as Global Fastening Engineering Implementation Lead. This position allowed her to establish training procedures and an aggressive integration plan throughout the company. The Torque Integrity Program in the first Ford Asia Pacific assembly plant in South Africa was launched under her supervision. The program successfully trained the Operating Committee and 15 engineers during a three-week period. During the course of her career, JemisonSmith has gained expert knowledge in many areas of automobile production. Her main interest is manufacturing with a specialization in torque tool and joint development. Prior to joining FCA, Jemison-Smith completed Six Sigma Academy from Ford Motor Company and is Six Sigma Black Belt certified. Jemison-Smith earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Lawrence Technological University.

Valarie W. Mackey

V

Director The Cola-Cola Company

alarie Mackey is a director-level professional with more than 15 years of experience. She specializes in strategic planning and execution and in creating successful responses to challenges. As a leader and manager of global team members, Valarie is committed to helping employees reach their career goals. The majority of her career in consulting and industry has been spent having overarching accountability for Technology Solutions to enable business success and leading cross-functional transformational initiatives. Valarie is known as a relationship builder who is excellent with maintaining business relationships with vendors and internal and external organizations. Promoting community outreach and attracting new employees for the Coca-Cola IT Organizations is also a priority for Mackey. She achieves this by building relationships with STEM organizations and educational institutions. As an information technology performance leader, she created STEM initiative programs for middle and high school students, college interns, and recent college graduates. This effort increased Coca-Cola’s talent pool by more than 300 percent. The Coca-Cola Company relies on Valarie to create and execute strategies to improve employee capabilities and organizational performance through crafting leadership, educational, and career development opportunities for employees. Valarie has an industrial engineering degree from North Carolina A&T State University. www.womenofcolor.net

WOC SPECIAL RECOGNITION HONOREES

Sherrie Littlejohn

S

Head of Technology Strategy and Innovation Wells Fargo

herrie Littlejohn is an expert in leading successful large-scale, technologybased transformation enterprises. Her expertise in building and maintaining business relationships has helped her successfully manage relationships with IT industry leaders, universities, private equity firms, and venture capitalists, just to name a few. With more than 30 years of experience in areas such as strategy, architecture, development, and operations, she is certainly an asset to Wells Fargo. The company values her expertise in

assessing overall IT technology problems for manageability and capability to improve customer service. In addition to her Wells Fargo accomplishments, Littlejohn has been recognized as an active member of her community. The San Francisco Business Times recognized Littlejohn as one of the Bay Area’s “Most Influential Women in Business,” and San Francisco-based publisher eAccess Corp. recognized her as one of the “50 Most Important African-Americans in Technology.” Littlejohn currently heads the Internal Innovation Strategies team. The team includes Innovation Labs, Advanced Technology Business Development, and the Enterprise Patent Office. She is also executive advisor to the Wells Fargo Women’s Team Member Network.

Shava Meadows

S

Weapon Integrations Engineer/Mechanical Engineer Air Force Research Lab

hava Meadows is a weapon systems engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory and a program manager with exceptional skills. Her talent has helped her make significant advances in science and technology with the U.S. Air Force. Ms. Meadows is currently the lead program manager for the $7 million Autonomous Collective Defeat of Hard and Deeply Buried Targets program. The goal of the program is to save warfighter lives by developing robotic weapons that enable autonomous facility exploration. Ms. Meadows’ Air Force career spans more than 13 years, and during that time, she’s headed multiple high-visibility, multi-milliondollar research programs for the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) and for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. The programs include the research/development and production to field the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a powerful non-nuclear bomb, which can punch deep into the ground to destroy buried targets, including nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons facilities. Ms. Meadows began her career with the AFRL Munitions Directorate. She gained experience as a deputy capability planner for counter chemical and biological agent defeat. She also worked with the CrashPad and Shredder advanced tech development and demonstration programs, which resulted in the creation of the CrashPad Quick Reaction Capability program. The program fielded warheads and operational bombs and was designed to protect the military and the public by defeating biological agents and weapons.

www.womenofcolor.net

“The award opened up a lot of career conversations in and outside of my company.

It definitely gave me access to executivelevel connections and conversations I wasn’t having before. I don’t think where I was in middle management, those conversations would have occurred as quickly.”

— Delia Grenville, 2015 Technologist of the Year

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WOC SPECIAL RECOGNITION HONOREES

Amy Nguyen

Jennifer Stringfellow

Computer Scientist United States Army

Lead Data Manager, Test Engineer Missile Defense Agency

A

my Nguyen is currently the Counter Remote Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (CREW) Duke V2/3 computer scientist and project lead in the Communications– Electronics Command Software Engineering Center Army Reprogramming Analysis Team – Program Office. Because of her work on the Duke V2/3 software, soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations can safely maneuver their vehicles against remotecontrolled improvised explosive device electronic threats. Nguyen is a role model and leader for her team. Her work ethic, technical expertise, and leadership skills have earned her the respect of her teammates, peers, and supervisors.

The Duke V2/3 software is installed in more than 32,000 U.S. Army ground vehicles around the world.

The software ensures soldier safety and protects U.S. Army equipment. Nguyen consistently works to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the system.

She achieves this by making improvements to the development processes of the Duke software.

Her dedication, diligence, and focus on quality have earned her a stellar reputation as a computer scientist. Her responsibilities include sustaining the Duke V2/3 software firmware.

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J

ennifer Stringfellow is the senior lead data manager for the Missile Defense Agency. As lead data manager for flight and ground testing, Ms. Stringfellow provides critical contributions to the Missile Defense Agency’s mission to develop, test, and deploy the Ballistic Missile Defense System. The purpose of this system is to protect the homeland, deployed military, allies, and friends from ballistic missile attack. With a background in engineering and management, Ms. Stringfellow is perfectly suited for this position, which requires technical and managerial expertise. Ms. Stringfellow is often assigned complex and demanding projects. An example is when she identified the most efficient manner for transferring flight test data when faced with limited bandwidth and resources for post-mission activities. This task was exceptionally challenging because one of the ballistic missile test ranges was on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean.

Ms. Stringfellow is also the interface to the Missile Defense Agency executive leadership for guidance and critical decisions. In addition, she is a member of the Integrated Event Test Team, conducts executive reviews, and performs a host of additional duties.

Alana D. Tyler Murphy

A

Integrated Product Team Program Manager Surveillance Radar Programs’ Follow-on Support Contract Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems

lana Tyler Murphy joined Raytheon—a technology leader specializing in defense and civil and cyber security—after earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from University of Maryland-College Park in 2001. Seven years later, she was handpicked to serve as an engineering initiatives liaison to the vice president of engineering in the company’s Integrated Defense Systems business unit. Tyler is currently responsible for performance, cost, schedule, and execution of an $81 million budget program with a 40-person team. In addition, she is a section manager to 23 engineers located across the globe and is also responsible for career development, hiring, and on boarding of teammates. Tyler has experience in mechanical and systems engineering supply chain. She is a member of Raytheon’s Black Employee Network and the National Society of Black Engineers Alumni Extension. She supports a number of community organizations that increase awareness of opportunities in STEM for girls and minorities. She also serves as a Big Sister.

www.womenofcolor.net

WOC SPECIAL RECOGNITION HONOREES

Tabice Ward

T

Director of Information Protection & Security DTE Energy

abice Ward has more than 20 years of IT experience in areas such as software delivery, operations and support, project management, and cybersecurity. Ward has accomplished much for DTE Energy, with making considerable continuous improvements to the cybersecurity program as measured by various cybersecurity maturity models as one of her many accomplishments. Ward’s efforts have resulted in DTE Energy displaying increased yearly maturity across all domains. These results have been favorable for the company as benchmarked against peer utilities.

Her accomplishments have earned Ward a seat among the Senior Executive Leadership team at a regular forum. Another notable accomplishment is the building of a collaborative cross-functional forum that removed business unit silos. These silos had hindered communication and collaboration across units for years. IPS is now known for successfully partnering with various business units. Ward is currently director of Information Protection and Security (IPS) at DTE Energy.

She is responsible for overseeing cybersecurity programs and compliance, including network and application security, identity access management, and security awareness and risk management. Ward earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Wayne State University. She has also completed University of Michigan’s Executive Development program.

www.womenofcolor.net

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2016

Women of Color Technology

ALLB STARS & RISING STARS

y 2020 around 22 percent of the world’s cars will be connected to the Internet (290 million vehicles), and by 2024 more than half of home Internet traffic will be used

by appliances and devices. By 2026 a trillion sensors will be connected to the Internet. Our digital, physical, and biological worlds are converging. Here are 300 women who are a vital part of the dramatic technological change happening all around us. Some work in robotics. They design and operate software that runs automated machines or robots as well as computer systems. They are building intelligent robots and self-driving cars of the future. Others are data scientists and engineers focused on information, statistics, and analysis. Some are computer scientists solving complex problems in computing from gene editing to 3D printing. Others are physicists and mathematicians working on defining the requirements for programs and projects or supporting improvement in technology and processes. To do their jobs in interaction design, project management, product management, and software development, they all rely on business analysis skills for success.

TECHNOLOGY ALL- STARS

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Felicia Bogdan

Principal Scientist

Abbott

Pat Cole

Site Director

Abbott

Sharmila Bose

Director-Technology AT&T

Yvonne Ho

Senior Technical Director

AT&T

Florence Jewell

Director-Billing Operations

AT&T

Karla Kimble

Principal Software Delivery Program Manager

AT&T

Leasa Legree

Director-Technology AT&T

Annette Moffitt

Director Network Engineering

AT&T

Pamela Osborne

Director Chief of Staff Distribution & Channel Marketing

AT&T

Ebony Williams

Senior Technical Director

AT&T

Lisa Armbrister

Senior Vice President

Bank of America

Tracy Adams

Associate

Booz Allen Hamilton

Oluyinka Ajirotutu

Associate

Booz Allen Hamilton

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www.womenofcolor.net

TECHNOLOGY ALL-STARS Metoi Booker

Senior Lead Technologist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Sabina Chowdhury

Associate

Booz Allen Hamilton

Tamara Cumberlander

Lead Engineer

Booz Allen Hamilton

Guia Ellerby

Lead Engineer

Booz Allen Hamilton

Hillarie Flood

Principal

Booz Allen Hamilton

Temeka Foster

Associate

Booz Allen Hamilton

Wanda Gardiner

Senior Lead Technologist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Giselle Goicochea

Lead Associate

Booz Allen Hamilton

Eleni Hailu

Lead Technologist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Mehrnaz Mortazavi

Senior Lead Technologist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Mikia Potter

Lead Technologist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Niti Rajvanshi

Senior Lead Technologist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Shantel Samuel

Senior Lead Technologist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Druana Sanders-Forcha

Lead Engineer

Booz Allen Hamilton

Marisa Santisi

Senior Associate

Booz Allen Hamilton

Myrlene Gelibert-Bush Manufacturing Lead-Recruit, Retain and Develop /Convergence Lead

FCA US LLC

Joy Flucker

IT Portfolio Manager

General Motors

Roxane Gross Holmes

SAP SPMSenior Analyst

General Motors

Ushashree Nandigala Program Lead-Next Gen Showroom Solutions and Dealer Recall Tools, Information Technology

General Motors

Bhargavi Sarma

Manager, Solutions Architecture-GCCX IT

General Motors

Martha Gray

Service Manager

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Paulette Harris

Designer IV

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Samaria Hunter

Manager, Cyber Security Assurance Group

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Leah Kimble

Supervisor Material Handling 1

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Mary McDermott

Manager Engineering 3

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Gwendolyn Wilkerson

Director, Material Acquisition

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Chao Beck

Advisory Software Engineer

IBM Corporation

Kim Eckert

Senior Technical Staff Member & Chief Architect

IBM Corporation

Priya Kunka

Development Manager, Cloud Managed Services

IBM Corporation

Sonia Mezzetta

Initiative Program Lead and Data Architect

IBM Corporation

Shiretta Shaw WW Technical Sales Enablement and Communications Leader

IBM Corporation

Sheila Sholars

Senior Client Success Manager

IBM Corporation

Sonali Surange

Software Architect, Big Data Analytics

IBM Corporation

Christine Zhang

IBM Technical Sales Specialist

IBM Corporation

Rajani

Project Manager

Infosys Ltd

Sujata Banerjee

Senior Principal - Business Consulting

Infosys Ltd

Ramya Ganesan

Project Manager

Infosys Ltd

Anu Ganguly

Principal Consultant

Infosys Ltd

Hala Heymassi

Associate Partner - Business Consulting

Infosys Ltd

Shuchita Jain

Senior Client Solution Manager

Infosys Ltd

Vijayarekha Krishnamurthy

Manager - Client Services

Infosys Ltd

Sumitha Mahalingam

Principal Consultant

Infosys Ltd

Shruti Nadkarni

Principal Consultant

Infosys Ltd

Jayashree Narasimhan

Project Manager

Infosys Ltd

www.womenofcolor.net

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TECHNOLOGY ALL-STARS Seeja Radhakrishnan

Senior Project Manager

Infosys Ltd

Sambhavi Ramakrishnan

Senior Project Manager

Infosys Ltd

Bharathi Rao

Group Practice Engagement Manager

Infosys Ltd

Geetika Sharma

Senior Project Manager

Infosys Ltd

Michelle Greene

Vice President Information Technology Corporate Business Relationship Management

Johnson Controls, Inc.

Ahkesha Murray

Deputy Manager, MI Research Institute

LMI

Celia Blum

Principal Project Engineer, Orion Program

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Elouise Jones

Multiple Function Financial Analyst Senior Staff

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Sadhana Kumar

Staff Software Quality Engineer on JASSM Program Lockheed Martin Corporation

Elaine Mayfield

Multi-Functional Purchasing Manager

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Jacqueline Petit

Electronics Engineer Staff Lead, SSC

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Michelle Mckinney

President/ CEO

M&M Technical Service, Inc.

Sharon Monica Jones

Research Aerospace Engineer

NASA Langley Research Center

Iris Wagstaff

AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow

National Institute of Justice

Deidre Jones

Director Office of Facilities

NOAA

Dr. LaToya Myles

Lead Research Physical Scientist

NOAA

Jacqueline Rousseau

Program Manager

NOAA Office of Education

Rhapsody Renee SmithDearring

Physical Scientist

NOAA

Jannie Barrett

Deputy Task Order Lead

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Patricia Jones

Affordability Manager and Process Improvement

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Diane Shimizu

Information Technology Manager

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Olga Diaz

Business Development Manager

Oracle

LaVerne Cose

Vice President-Division Manager

Science Applications International Company

Johanna Ramos

Senior Systems Engineer

Science Applications International Company

Gayle Westbrook

Engineering and Operations Manager

Science Applications International Company

Andrea Lyons

Global Pricebook Manager

Siemens PLM Software

Lynda Matthews

Lead Technician

Siemens PLM Software

Patricia Alexander Manager, SSg Business Operations Supporting International & Business Integration

The Boeing Company

Kim Armstrong Sr. Manager-Enterprise Learning Strategy, Training & Development

The Boeing Company

Leslie Bradley

Chief of Staff, Business Integration Lead

The Boeing Company

Kathleen Chang

Senior Project Manager

The Boeing Company

Sonya DeLoatch

Integrated Planning & Scheduling Specialist

The Boeing Company

Rochelle Evans

Enterprise Help Desk Wireline Field Service Lead

The Boeing Company

Darlene Fox Manager, Product Systems Software Suppler Management Maryhelen (Helen) Grover

Process Analyst

Michelle Hayes IT Manager, Product Development System Engineering

The Boeing Company The Boeing Company The Boeing Company

Delicia Hestle

Business Operations Specialist

The Boeing Company

Tina Hinton

Design and Analysis Technical Lead Engineer

The Boeing Company

Rhonda Hodges IT Manager, Enterprise Change and Release Management

The Boeing Company

Latricia Isaacs

Process Analyst

The Boeing Company

Sharon Lucas

Strategic Work Placement, Program Leader

The Boeing Company

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www.womenofcolor.net

TECHNOLOGY ALL-STARS IT Program Manager

Cheri Ndaw

The Boeing Company

Angela Porras

Quality Engineer

The Boeing Company

Asma Sage

IT Manager

The Boeing Company

Sheree Thompson Information Technology, System Design & Integration Specialist Staff Analyst Executive Integrator

Denise Tsuji

Honora Whitfield Sr. Manager, Learning, Training and Development

The Boeing Company The Boeing Company The Boeing Company

Teresa Burrows

Director, Program Manager II-IT

TIAA

Tatjana Curcic

Principal Physicist

U.S. Air Force, Office of Scientific Research

Faye Leffler

Civil Engineer

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Shenell Shapard

Administrative Officer

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Ghada S. Ellithy Research Civil Engineer (Geotechnical)

U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center

TECHNOLOGY RISING STARS Laleh Loghavi

Principal Engineer

Abbott

Nicole McBean

Group Leader, Manufacturing

Abbott

Jennifer Mendoza

Program Manager

Aerotek

Karla Oliver

Quality Engineer

Aerotek

Keshia Clarke

Senior Specialist Applications Developer

AT&T

Susmita Gorai

Specialist Applications Developer

AT&T

Jingfei “Jenny� Shi

Specialist-Applications Developer

AT&T

Lashandria Henderson

Senior Vice President

Bank of America

Joaille Araujo

Staff Engineer

Booz Allen Hamilton

Mona Asudegi

Senior Consultant

Booz Allen Hamilton

Samantha Chiu

Associate

Booz Allen Hamilton

Armelle Dory

Lead Technologist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Kayla Farrow

Staff Engineer

Booz Allen Hamilton

Christal Gordon

Lead Scientist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Krystal Johnson

Senior Consultant

Booz Allen Hamilton

Patrice Lalor

Staff Engineer

Booz Allen Hamilton

Deepali Powale

Lead Technologist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Maria Rodriguez

Lead Technologist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Jessica Sanford

Senior Lead Technologist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Casey Smith

Associate

Booz Allen Hamilton

Brittany Streeter

Lead Technologist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Kathy Tran

Staff Technologist

Booz Allen Hamilton

Sitara Weerasuriya

Senior Consultant

Booz Allen Hamilton

Benita Chumo

Research and Development Engineer

Boston Scientific Corporation

Priya Khanchandani

Senior Design Quality Engineer

Boston Scientific Corporation

Patricia Solliday

Senior Packaging Engineer

Boston Scientific Corporation

Tiffany Hoang

Application Developer Specialist

Cigna Healthcare

www.womenofcolor.net

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TECHNOLOGY RISING STARS Kimberly White

System Analyst Senior Specialist

Jianmei Chai

SR Information Security I, IT-IS_NERC/CIP Compliance Consumers Energy

Lori Fobes

Director Project Quality Management

Consumers Energy

Keiana Love

Field Mobility & Technology Program Manager

Consumers Energy

Jennifer Smith

Project Manager

Consumers Energy

Navya Thota

IT Technology Analyst I

Consumers Energy

Yan Jin

Cigna Healthcare

Corning Incorporated

Xinyuan Liu

Senior Research Scientist

Corning Incorporated

Zhen Song

Research Associate

Corning Incorporated

Kassie Brown

Senior Software Engineer

Cox Automotive

Rosalyn Nix

Scrum Master/ Senior Analyst

Cox Automotive

Tashara Cooper

Management Analyst

Department of Navy

Ana Medina

Manager, Northwest Planning and Design

DTE Energy

Frances Collins

Principal Engineer

EASi

Laura Dewitt

Senior Manager of Delivery

OperationsEASi

Tessy Abraham

Supervisor-Virtual Validation

FCA US LLC

Monica Farrera Boone System Integration Responsible EngineerElectrical Systems

FCA US LLC

Tamarah Riley

WCM Pillar Lead/Industrial Engineer

FCA US LLC

Gabriela Sanchez-Sorondo

Productivity & Standards Lead Industrial Engineer

FCA US LLC

Gunmeet Sandhu

Advanced Development Engineering - Uconnect

FCA US LLC

Dongni An

Software Test Engineer

General Motors

Jacinda Gray

Senior Controls Engineer

General Motors

Rochele J. Terry

Group Leader

General Motors

Caroline Kamunyi

Software Test Analyst

General Motors

Kimberly Kirkpatrick

Senior Software Test Lead

General Motors

Tressia M. Mills

Performance Integration Engineer

General Motors

Padma Priya Ati

IT Software Developer

General Motors

Peilling Wu-Smith

Manager, Operations Research, Global R&D

General Motors

Weynishet Zula

Senior Software Development

General Motors

Jianghong He

Senior Scientist

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

Seema Patel

Project Manager

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Nicole Perez

Enterprise Operations Manager

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Ambre Caule

Project Manager IV

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Ladrena Ford

Cost Analyst

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Jimmie Gerrish

Supervisor Material Handling 1

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Travia Holder

Software Development Analyst 3

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Marie Lawson

Electrical Engineer 3

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Kristal Mayfield

Material Planner II

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Molly McLellan

Industrial Engineer II

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Donna Melton Manager 2 Planning and Scheduling (Acting Manager 3) Alexis Moore

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Financial Analyst III

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Huntington Ingalls Industries Huntington Ingalls Industries

www.womenofcolor.net

TECHNOLOGY RISING STARS Michelle Pope

Electrical Designer 3

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Shinaca Reed

Welding Foreman

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Damayra Rosado-Amaro

Project Management III

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Brenda Straight

Administrative Generalist 2

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Davida Warren

Cyber Event Management Analyst

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Nassica Gresseau

Program Manager, IBM Remote Lab Platform

IBM Corporation

Venus Hipolito

Characterization Engineer

IBM Corporation

Jing Liu

Senior Certified IT Specialist

IBM Corporation

Leteshia Lowe

Advisory Engineer

IBM Corporation

Pimmi Malhotra

Senior Software Engineer

IBM Corporation

Janani Mukundan

Research Staff Member

IBM Corporation

Kristy Ortega

Flash System Solutions Offering Manager

IBM Corporation

Jennifer Reiner

Technical Advisor Manager

IBM Corporation

Jennifer Shioya

Enterprise Storage RAS Advisory Engineer

IBM Corporation

Soumya Balachandran

Senior Associate Lead - Global Immigration

Infosys Ltd

Shweta Choubey

Project Manager

Infosys Ltd

Nayana Prabhakar

Technology Lead

Infosys Ltd

Iti Purohit

Consultant

Infosys Ltd

Gisela Rojas

Principal - Business Consulting

Infosys Ltd

Vishnu Chethana Thatavarti Technology Lead

Infosys Ltd

Zoe Jin

Manager Modeling-Power Solutions

Johnson Controls, Inc.

Alexis Miller

Data Scientist

LMI

Alexandra Abad

Associate Research Scientist, EO

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Fay Annisette

Operations Engineer Senior

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Monique Conley

Software Quality Engineering Manager

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Shantel Gathen-James

Environmental Health & Safety Engineering Staff, MFC Lockheed Martin Corporation

Julia Gupta

Senior Member of Engineering Staff

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Shikha Handa

Program Management Asc Manager

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Irene Helley

Aeronautical Engineering Manager

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Nalby Intharaksa

Systems Integration Business Analyst Senior Staff

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Shaemekia Jamison

System Integration Business Analyst Senior

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Shabana Kodwavi

Quality Assurance Engineer Senior

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Medora Lesko

Engineering Planner

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Daisy Luong

Systems Engineer Manager

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Sharae Meredith

Research Scientist Staff

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Malabon Mikiala

Cyber Fusion Team Lead

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Kimberly Norris

Systems Engineer Senior

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Chhaya Patel

Project Specialist Staff

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Kery Lynn PerezItems

Analyst Staff

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Nichole Renda

Parametric Engineering Manager

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Karen Sanchez

Project Engineer Staff

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Amanda Sugimura

System Engineer Manager

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Irene Vasquez

System Engineer Staff

Lockheed Martin Corporation

www.womenofcolor.net

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TECHNOLOGY RISING STARS Adriana Vogelpohl

Advanced Technical Leadership Program

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Srujana Samineni

Manufacturing Engineer

Missile Defense Agency

Rihana Williams

Test Resource Manager

Missile Defense Agency

Diana Santiago-deJesus

Research Chemical Engineer

NASA Glenn Research Center

Tiffany Williams

Research Chemical Engineer

NASA Glenn Research Center

Erica Alston

Research Scientist

NASA Langley Research Center

Devin Pugh-Thomas

Research Scientist

NASA Langley Research Center

Yolanda Shea

Physical Scientist

NASA Langley Research Center

Harris

Engineering Technician

NAVAL Air Systems Command

Rolanda Findlay

Aerospace Experiment Psychologist Naval Air Warfare Center - Training System Division

Kandra Woodruff

Computer Scientist Naval Air Warfare Center - Training System Division

Connie Standifer

Integrated Logistics Support Manager Naval Support Activity - Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division

Nikeya Gibbs

Logistics Management Specialist NAWCAD, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program Office

Treena Arinzeh

Professor

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Annette Akers

Computer Operations Analyst

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Jenny Huang

Systems Engineer

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Hiba Mooney

Environmental Health & Safety Engineer

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Yvonne Okafor

Circuit Design Engineer

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Diana Tanious

Systems Test Engineering Manager

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Arti Thumar

Systems Engineer

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Tejovathi Vangala

Software Engineer

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Lorin Wilken

Procurement Analyst

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Mariela Santiago

Engineer

NUWC Division Newport

Angela Brownlee

Sales Manager

Oracle

Olga Diaz

Business Development Manager

Oracle

Tracee Jordan

Project Manager for Contract Management

Program Executive Office, Aircraft Carriers

Jane Mei

Financial Management Analyst

Program Executive Office, Aircraft Carriers

Virginia Menefee

Systems Specialist

Program Executive Office, Aircraft Carriers

Olena (Helen) Napolitano

Lead Business Financial Manager

Program Executive Office, Aircraft Carriers

Amuche Clermount

Senior Software Engineer III

Raytheon Company

Myesha Williams

Manager, II Software Engineering

Raytheon Company

Mychelle Greene NASA Agency Applications Office Identity, Credential and Access Management

72

Science Applications International Company

Kameron Spencer

IT Program Manager

Science Applications International Company

Beverly Uzzelle

Marketing Manager

Science Applications International Company

Euridice del Rosario Avilez

Maintenance Sales Manager

Siemens Industry Software

Leticia BarreiroInside

Sales and Demand Generation Manager

Siemens Industry Software SA de CV

Monica Lechuga

Marketing Country Manager

Siemens Industry Sur 2453 SA de CV

Erika Anderson

Employee Data Management Specialist Manager

The Boeing Company

Melissa Audain

Supplier Diversity Compliance Analyst

The Boeing Company

Vidhya Bavi

Program Analyst

The Boeing Company

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TECHNOLOGY RISING STARS Joy Best

Materials Process and Physics Engineer

The Boeing Company

Natalie Bland

Project Manager, ISS Development Project

The Boeing Company

Ana Bolan`os

Defense Logistics Agency Scheduler

The Boeing Company

Lashawnda Bowen IT, Change & Release Management IT Versatile Technologist

The Boeing Company

Lindsey Buckner

Procurement Advisor

The Boeing Company

Karriema Calhoun

IT Process Analyst

The Boeing Company

Kim Chin

System and Data Analyst

The Boeing Company

Taleen Dakessian

Structural Analysis Engineer

The Boeing Company

Lindsay De Jong

Partner, IT Service Management Office

The Boeing Company

Kasie Dugan

IT Capital Integration and Governance

The Boeing Company

Frida Gonzalez

Database Administrator

The Boeing Company

Sydney Hamilton

Structural Design Engineer

The Boeing Company

De’shanna Hayden Change and Release Management Versatile Technologist

The Boeing Company

Kristin Innes

Enterprise Recourse Planning Business Analyst

The Boeing Company

Crystal Jackson

Instrumentation Operations Engineer

The Boeing Company

Jeanelle James

Data and Systems Analyst Finance Systems

The Boeing Company

Shanell Jett

Small Business Liaison Officer

The Boeing Company

Stephanie Lee

Data Engineer

The Boeing Company

Amber Macon

Procurement Agent

The Boeing Company

Tiffany Mason

Procurement Agent

The Boeing Company

Kristen May

Information Technology Versatile Technologist

The Boeing Company

Sadena McFadden

System & Data Analyst

The Boeing Company

Marie Mimi Panemalaythong Staff Analyst Learning, Training and

Development

The Boeing Company

Courtney Russell

Chief of Staff

The Boeing Company

Gulsen Saffe

IT Manager

The Boeing Company

Sadie Stokes

Programmer Analyst

The Boeing Company

Cindy Su

IT Project Manager

The Boeing Company

Melanie Sutherland

Engineer

The Boeing Company

Silvia Tirado

Systems and Data Analyst

The Boeing Company

Kara Washington

System and Data Analyst

The Boeing Company

Shallyn Williams

Manager, Global Trade Controls

The Boeing Company

Kavita Joseph

Manager, Lead Business Manager-IT

TIAA

Stephanie Antonietti

Lieutenant Junior Grade

U.S. Coast Guard

Tamaris Hidalgo

Coast Guard Base New Orleans C4IT ESD Supervisor U.S. Coast Guard

Chanel Lee

Rotary Wing Aviator/Aviation Material Officer

U.S. Coast Guard

Carrie Wolfe Industrial Manager for Industrial Production Facility New Orleans

U.S. Coast Guard

Robyn Anderson Lead, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Ground & User Requirements

U.S. Air Force

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CAREER OUTLOOK Careers of the Future

INSIDE  Job Horizon:

More Than a Million New Digital Jobs on the Horizon

 Recruiting Trends:

Organizations That Get It, Where Women Would Rather Work

 Professional Life:

People You Should Know and Their Steps to Career Success

www.womenofcolor.net

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CAREEROUTLOOK | Job Horizon

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Job Horizon

Skills & Careers of the future, Hallmarks of the Digital Revolution cience, technology, engineering, and math skills will get you hired. In the next decade, 80 percent of jobs in telecommunications, utilities, industrials, healthcare, IT, finance, energy, and consumer staples will require STEM skills, says the Department of Defense. www.womenofcolor.net

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CAREEROUTLOOK | Job Horizon

O

n the forefront of information technology (IT) innovation for decades, Department of Defense (DoD) scientists and engineers work at the cutting edge of technological breakthroughs. There are more than 100,000 scientists or engineers in a workforce bordering on three million.

The DoD employs nearly half of the scientists and engineers across the federal government. Currently, they work on big data, high performance computing, and the security needs of government entities.

However, according to the IBM Center for the Business of Government, the private sector has more tools available for recruiting than the federal government does.

These include internships, mentoring, summer employment, and STEM scholarship programs. The federal government is now working to add these tools to their recruitment portfolio for STEM candidates, the Center said.

According to the World Economic Forum, increasing innovation will be multiplied by emerging technology in artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, energy storage, and quantum computing.

Some of the largest companies deploying emerging technologies include Internet advertising, search engine, and software giant—and parent company of Google—Alphabet Inc., JP Morgan Chase, ExxonMobil, Bank of America, AT&T, Verizon, WalMart Stores, Microsoft, Comcast, P&G, Ford, IBM, General Motors, FedEx, PepsiCo, Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealthcare, Pfizer, Intel, CVS, McDonald’s, the Home Depot, Target, and General Electric (GE).

Apple Inc., which released its best, most advanced iPhone ever in September, is at the forefront of mobile devices development, personal computing, and software. Samsung Electronics is a global leader in semiconductor and electronics, and Internet retailer Amazon.com is outpacing its competitors in cloud computing and app hosting.

As director for tech strategy at New York City-based broker dealer JNK Securities Corp., Jem Pagán is focused on innovation in old industries, such as technology, media, and telecoms. Other markets connected to technology that Pagán researches are Over-The-Top content delivery of audio, video, and media over the Internet, or OTT.

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Skills and Careers of the Future, Top Employers at the Forefront Science, technology, engineering, and math skills will get you hired. the next decade, 80 percent of jobs in telecommunications, Skills and Careers of the Future,Inutilities, Top Employers the Forefront industrials, healthcare,at IT, finance, energy, and consumer staples will require STEM skills, says the Department of Defense.

80 % 80 %

Science, technology, engineering, and math skills will get you hired.

In the next decade, 80 percent of jobs in telecommunications, utilities, industrials, healthcare, IT, finance, energy, and consumer staples will require STEM skills, says the Department of Defense.

On the forefront of information technology (IT) innovation for decades, Department of Defense (DoD) scientists and engineers work at the cutting edge of technological breakthroughs. There are more than 100,000 scientists or engineers in a workforce bordering on three million. The DoD employs nearly half of the scientists and engineers across the federal government.

Currently, they work on big data, high performance computing, and the security needs of government entities.

On the forefront of information technology (IT) innovation for decades, Department of Defense (DoD) scientists and engineers ENGINEERS work at the cutting edge of technological breakthroughs. There are more than 100,000 scientists orSCIENTISTS engineers inAND a workforce ACROSS FEDERAL bordering on three million. The DoD employs nearly half of the scientists and engineers across the federalTHE government.

GOVERNMENT Currently, they work on big data, high performance computing, and the security needs of government entities.

SCIENTISTS OR ENGINEERS

100,000

50%

100,000

50

SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS

THE FEDERAL % ACROSS GOVERNMENT

DoD STEM covers the following career categories SCIENTISTS OR ENGINEERS

DoD STEM covers the following career categories

COMPUTER SCIENCES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

LIFE SCIENCES

MATHEMATICS AND RELATED SCIENCES

MATHEMATICS COMPUTER SCIENCES LIFE LIFE AND PHYSICAL AND RELATED AND INFORMATION ARCHITECTS SCIENCES ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE SCIENCES TECHNICIANS TECHNICIANS

ENGINEERING TECHNICIANS

LIFE AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE TECHNICIANS

ARCHITECTS

PHYSICAL SCIENCES

SOCIAL SCIENCES

ENGINEERING

PHYSICAL SCIENCES

SOCIAL HEALTH SCIENCES PRACTITIONERS

HEALTH ENGINEERING TECHNICIANS

HEALTH PRACTITIONERS

HEALTH TECHNICIANS

Top federal agencies with the

HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF STEM EMPLOYEES ARE

Top federal agencies with the

HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF STEM EMPLOYEES ARE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

68%

63%

56%

50%

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

68%

63%

56%

50%

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

48%

44%

42%

37%

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

48%

44%

42%

37%

NAVY

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

35%

32%

NAVY

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

35%

32%

Source: Partnership for Public Service, The Biggest Bang Theory, 2013

www.womenofcolor.net Source: Partnership for Public Service, The Biggest Bang Theory, 2013

Job Horizon

Big Industries

GOODS PRODUCING

MINING AND LOGGING

OIL AND GAS EXTRACTION

CONSTRUCTION

MANUFACTURING

MACHINERY

COMPUTER AND ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT

SEMICONDUCTORS AND ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS

ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTS

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT AND APPLIANCES

TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT

MOTOR VEHICLES

NONDURABLE GOODS

Jem Pagán, JNK Securities Corp.

This role exposes Pagán to some of the largest organizations that are driving goods and services, from supply chain to manufacturing, pharmaceuticals to automotive, and Cloud to information technology and media.

“The conclusion I’ve come to is that every company is now a tech company,” Pagán said. “There’s no company developing a product or service that does not have eighty percent of that product or service development delivery tied into technology,” he said.

People have lots of different names for this era of increasing innovation or fourth industrial age, but Pagán says he likes to call it the digital twin mode.

“It simply means that the things we touch physically and tangibly in this world now have a digital twin,” he explained.

4th Industrial Age or Digital Twin Mode

Just about every product, good, or service you can think of has a digital twin. Your house, car, smartphone, refrigerator, washing machine, and even your box of cereal all have digital representations.

Ye a r 1 7 8 4 Industrial Revolution 2 Division of labor, electricity, mass production

2

Ye a r 1 9 6 9

Industrial Revolution

3

Year 1870

By Lango Deen Industrial ldeen@ccgmag.com Revolution

1870

www.womenofcolor.net

THE WORLD’Sthat INDUSTRIAL AGES “The companies are going to be around in the next 10 years are those that will be able 1784 Industrial Industrial 1 strategy,” to Revolution build out a digital andRevolution tangible 1 Steam, water, mechanical Pagán said. production equipment

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Industrial Revolution 3

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CAREEROUTLOOK | Recruiting Trends

Tomorrow’s

JOBS

What are the careers of the future, and how should you prepare for them?

According to a recent Bureau of Labor

Statistics Career Outlook paper, “STEM 101: Intro to Tomorrow’s Jobs,” STEM occupations were projected to grow by more than 9 million jobs between 2012 and 2022.

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Fast-growth occupations include computer systems analysts, applications software developers, and systems software developers.

Jem Pagán is currently the director of technology strategy for JNK Securities, a research and trading firm for institutional investment organizations in New York City.

JNK research on trends in digital transformation shows that mobility, cyber security, data-driven processes and decisions, the Internet of Things, and autonomous driving are changing the STEM fields.

Many science, technology, and engineering fields involve change, but how are careers going to change? Which careers are going to be hot by the time the next generation of STEM graduates hit the streets?

“Those questions drove the list of my 10 top careers in the next decade,” Pagán said. “I think my research demonstrates a lot of adoption is taking place right now and for the next seven years.” www.womenofcolor.net

Recruiting Trends new STEM graduates to think outside the box.

“There’s a skill sets gap and a shortage of qualified professionals because they’re no longer confined to specialized areas,” Pagán added.

“The digital transformation has become an opportunity for qualified and available STEM professionals to take advantage of,” he noted.

Top Careers in the Next Decade Data Scientist Computer Scientist Mathematician Business Process Analyst Wireless Communication Semiconductor/Sensor Developer Gaming Augmented Reality Robotics Nanotechnology

“Almost every activity we take online is digitized and tracked,” said Jake Porway, former New York Times data scientist and now CEO of DataKind, at a recent SAS Global Forum keynote.

“Almost every interaction we now have with our world or between each other takes place with a digital interface in between, something that creates data…data that allows us to see things we’ve never seen before,” Porway pointed out.

Once mobile devices gave us access to location, businesses had a better story on geolocation, demographics, and the in-car experience, Pagán said. Using data to market products to different demographics has opened up new opportunities for professionals and

www.womenofcolor.net

How can you prepare for those hot jobs of the future?

STEM is key. All workers use their knowledge of science, technology, engineering, or math to try to understand how the world works and to solve problems.

Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ description of science, technology, engineering, and math, STEM fields are closely related and build on each other.

For example, math provides the foundation for physics—and physics, in turn, for engineering. Engineers can apply their knowledge of physics to make devices that are useful for testing theories. Advances in physics may then lead to advances in engineering and technology.

Experts say every organization has a data scientist. According to some, data science is a continuation of old data analysis fields such as statistics, data mining, and predictive analytics.

In the last decade, the job of extracting knowledge from data has focused on information, statistics, business analysis, data development and data engineering, and computer science.

Computer scientists find new ways to use technology. They study and solve complex problems in computing for medicine, science, and business.

Business analysts may be involved in everything from creating the enterprise architecture to defining the requirements for programs and projects or supporting improvement in technology and processes.

The International Institute for Business Analysis (IIBA) says job titles for business analysis practitioners include business analyst, business systems analyst, systems analyst, requirements engineer, process analyst, product manager, product owner, enterprise analyst, business architect, management consultant, business intelligence analyst, data scientist, and more.

According to the IIBA, other jobs, such as management, project management, product management, software development, quality assurance, and interaction design, rely heavily on business analysis skills for success.

Robotics is part mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science. It deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of automated machines or robots as well as computer systems.

To learn more about real-life data science and other hot jobs, we looked at what some Women of Color award-winning professionals do in a digital world.

By Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com

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CAREEROUTLOOK | Professional Life

PEOPLE & STEM NEWS

You Should Know Do you know that every day we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data?

So much that 90 percent of the data in the world today has been created

as a software engineer. According to a 2013 Burch Works study, data scientists typically have a background in computer science, mathematics, or engineering.

The top five skills listed by data scientists are Data Analysis, R, Python, Data Mining, and Machine Learning.

in the last two years alone.

Jem Pagán is currently the director of technology strategy for JNK Securities, a research and trading firm for institutional investment organizations in New York City.

IBM says this data comes from sensors used to gather climate information, posts to social media sites, digital pictures and videos, purchase transaction records, and cell phone GPS signals, to name a few. This data is big data.

JNK research on trends in digital transformation shows that mobility, cyber security, data driven processes and decisions, the Internet of Things, and autonomous driving are changing STEM fields.

With data growing at such huge amounts each day, experts have predicted that the United States could face a shortage of 1.5 million data scientists and managers, people who know how to use the analysis of big data to make decisions.

Many science, technology, and engineering fields involve change, but how are careers going to change? Which careers are going to be hot by the time the next generation of STEM graduates hit the streets?

No doubt about it, data is a huge career opportunity.

“Those questions drove the list of my 10 top careers in the next decade,” Pagán said. “I think my research demonstrates a lot of adoption is taking place right now and for the next seven years.”

Although accredited short courses and boot camp-style courses in today’s most in-demand skills can get you on the fast track, it’s important to note that over 79 percent of data scientists that list their education on LinkedIn have earned a graduate degree, and 38 percent have earned a Ph.D. The State of Data Science Report found 11,400 data scientists were employed by companies known to LinkedIn in June 2015.

A 2016 Stitch data report found there are 6,500 data engineers, but there are 6,600 job listings for this role in the San Francisco Bay area alone.

Many data engineers, 42 percent, come from a background 84

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Once mobile devices gave us access to location, businesses had a better story on geolocation, demographics, and the incar experience, Pagán said.

Using data to market products to different demographics has opened up new opportunities for professionals and new STEM graduates to think outside the box.

“There’s a skill sets gap and a shortage of qualified professionals because they’re no longer confined to specialized areas,” Pagán added.

www.womenofcolor.net

Professional Life “The digital transformation has become an opportunity for qualified and available STEM professionals to take advantage of,” he noted.

TOP CAREERS

IN THE NEXT DECADE Data Scientist Computer Scientist

COMPUTER SCIENTIST Computer scientists find new ways to use technology. They study and solve complex problems in computing for medicine, science, and business.

Camille D’Annunzio Manager, Automated Sensor Exploration Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems

Amy Nguyen Computer Scientist United States Army 2016 WOC Special Recognition Honoree

Mathematician Business Process Analyst Wireless Communication Semiconductor/Sensor Developer Gaming Augmented Reality Robotics Nanotechnology

DATA SCIENTIST The Information Technology and Services industry employs the largest number of data scientists, but there are data scientists in the federal government, the U.S. military, and nonprofit organizations.

To learn more about real-life data science and other hot jobs, we looked at what some Women of Color award-winning professionals do in a digital world.

Cortnie Abercrombie Big Data and Analytics Leader IBM Cortnie Abercrombie is an advocate and evangelist of chief data scientists, chief data officers, and chief analytics officers. She is the emerging roles leader for Big Data and Analytics at IBM. Her career has focused on inspiring action and innovation and using data and analytics at Verizon, Citi, NTT, and IBM.

www.womenofcolor.net

Amy Nguyen works to keep the American soldier safe and to protect billions of dollars’ worth of equipment. She is an expert on the Duke V2/V3 system, which detects enemy systems.

The system ensures that Remote Counter Improvised Electronic Devices allow the Army to develop Duke V2/3 software products. These products are installed on U.S. Army ground vehicles and total more than 32,000 around the world.

The Department of Defense Software Engineering Center (SEC) provides much of the expertise needed to support computers as well as logistics and business systems in the modern digital environment.

MATHEMATICIAN STEM fields have some of the top destination careers for people with master’s and doctoral degrees. More than 10 percent are in mathematics, and almost 9 percent are in statistics.

Camille D’Annunzio earned a Ph.D. in applied mathematics at the University of Maryland-College Park in 1985.

Before that, she was a math major at Cornell University, where she added chemistry to the equation. She graduated as a double major in 1977. Camille has worked on many projects over the years, but here are a few of her proudest accomplishments.

Camille usually works with a team to develop products, which she says is always existing and challenging. During one of these product designs, she had to develop a biological simulation, build on her chemistry, and teach herself biology to build an accurate model.

“While working to improve an existing product and in the process of trying to understand how the software worked, I realized we were solving the wrong mathematical problem—a nearby problem but still the wrong problem,” she said. “Recognizing and fixing the issue, which significantly improved performance, brought me a real sense of accomplishment.”

BUSINESS PROCESS ANALYST Business analysts may be involved in everything from creating the enterprise architecture to defining the requirements for programs and projects or supporting improvement in technology and processes.

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CAREEROUTLOOK | Professional Life The International Institute for Business Analysis (IIBA) says job titles for business analysis practitioners include business analyst, business systems analyst, systems analyst, requirements engineer, process analyst, product manager, product owner, enterprise analyst, business architect, management consultant, business intelligence analyst, data scientist, and more.

According to the IIBA, other jobs, such as management, project management, product management, software development, quality assurance, and interaction design rely heavily on business analysis skills for success.

Sophia Shiue Business Process Manager Fiat Chrysler Automobiles 2016 WOC Outstanding Technical Contribution – Industry

She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in Taiwan and then a master’s degree in computer science from Western Michigan University.

WIRELESS COMMUNICATION Wireless Telecommunication is one of the fastest growing industries.

More than 40 percent of Americans own smartphones, and in 2016 we’ll download over 44 billion apps on cellphones made by companies such as Samsung, Nokia, BlackBerry, HTC, LG, Motorola, Huawei, and Sony Ericsson. The major U.S. carriers are Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, MetroPCS, U.S. Cellular, Cricket, and TracFone.

GAMING

Sophia Shiue is a business process manager at the FCA Headquarters of Chrysler Group LLC. She has been deeply involved in applications that have benefitted the automotive industry for about 20 years.

Sophia has a United States patent for the virtual vehicle system (VVS). VVS uses a lightweight image of the engineering part design represented virtually in the graphic bill of material app. The system is used to manage business processes and end products from product configuration to engineering design and manufacturing process all the way through to service products creation.

Lisette Titre-Montgomery Video Game Developer Lisette Titre-Montgomery is a video game developer. Her artistic skills include special effects, character modeling, and texture painting. In addition, she has also managed global art teams in Japan, China, Australia, India, and the Philippines.

Lisette has contributed to some of the industry’s highest profile games, including The Simpsons, Dante’s Inferno, Dance Central 3, SIMS 4, and Transformers: Age of Extinction, for Android and iOS. Her most recent project is with Ubisoft San Francisco on South Park’s next AAA game sequel, The Fractured but Whole.

Titre-Montgomery’s passion is being a diversity advocate for the game industry. She speaks publicly about how gamebased curriculums are the key to engaging today’s youth in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (S.T.E.A.M) education and careers.

By Lango Deen ldeen@ccgmag.com

“Please do not let anyone discourage you from pursuing a STEM field. You have to put in the work and study hard, but it is well worth it in the long run. As a young child I was asked by some well-meaning teachers, “Wouldn’t you rather be a nurse or a social worker?” I politely said “no” and never looked back. I also encountered a counselor in college who deliberately tried to steer me away from engineering even though I had great grades and a greater work ethic. You may encounter haters along the way, but remember that their bias is their problem...not yours”.

—

Andrea Veil Executive Director, Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

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2016 WOC STEM CONFERENCE

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