People in the News

IT’S PERSONAL

Greineder wins presidential award

STEVE GREINEDER, a retired Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport senior technologist for acoustic signal processing, has won a 2019 Meritorious Senior Professional Presidential Rank Award. The award, which is presented by the president of the United States, recognizes a small group of career senior executives who demonstrate extraordinary professional, technical and scientific achievements on a national or international level. Greineder won the award based on identifying a critical gap in national security centered on maritime critical infrastructure.

What was your reaction to being awarded a 2019 Meritorious Senior Professional Presidential Rank Award?

Surprised, appreciative and thankful. Throughout my entire career, I had one simple goal: to use my gifts and education to assist those that have chosen a career in the military. Toward that end, my focus has always been on improving existing systems or creating entirely new approaches to help reduce the uncertainty associated with undersea warfare. I believe I have been successful in that regard. That said, being honored by this award means that other people believe that as well. That feels good.

What inspired you to work in your field?

As a teenager growing up in Waterford, Conn., I routinely crossed over the Gold-Star Bridge up the river from the submarine base in Groton. As such, I frequently saw submarines returning to or leaving the base. I remember thinking what a cool job that would be. I began working at NUWC as a junior engineer developing and testing automated multi-target acoustic tracking algorithms. As I got older and did well academically, the seed of becoming an engineer was planted by my guidance counselor. Since I liked tinkering with electricity, electrical engineering was suggested as something I might enjoy. After my first semester at the University of Connecticut, I realized I really still had no idea what a career in electrical engineering would entail. During Christmas break, a friend of my mother’s suggested that I apply to the Naval Undersea [Warfare] Center for a summer job. There I found lots of challenging problems to think about and after almost 40 years later, I retired from that summer job.

How has the coronavirus impacted your life personally and professionally?

When COVID hit, the house became an office building to my wife, a newly hired first grade teacher and a semi-commuting junior in college. Since I had originally planned to return to NUWC as a retired annuitant to work part time, this provided the impetus to do just that.

What do you hope you have left behind as your legacy at NUWC?

I believe it is as simple/difficult as this. To be successful at anything: Know who you are and what you want; know what you know and what you don’t; learn what you need to know; understand that engineering, or work in any organization in general, is a team sport; and understand effective communication is essential in all team sports [and] learn how to communicate effectively. n

STAFFING

Brian Leite, a leader in the local staffing industry, has been promoted to Managing Executive at The Greysmith Companies. He has been a driving force in the company for 16 years. Now, as a shareholder, he is responsible for establishing goals and strategic objectives to drive corporate growth. Greysmith is a highly regarded strategic search and staffing firm and Brian is committed to delivering the highest level of satisfaction to its clients. Brian is also the Vice President of the Rhode Island Staffing Association where he leads legislative initiatives on behalf of the staffing industry and local business community.

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NONPROFIT

Michael L.

Pearis has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer of The Groden Network, a 501© 3 non-profit that has supported individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities since 1976. Pearis will now oversee the management of The Groden and Cove Centers, both in Rhode Island and The Halcyon Center in MA. He holds a BA from Florida A&M and an MBA (Finance) from Pepperdine University. Throughout his career, Pearis has held executive positions at several RI non-profits including Child & Family; About Families, LLC; and Meeting Street.