26TH ANNUAL WOMEN OF COLOR STEM CONFERENCE
WOMEN OF COLOR
AWARDS
CEREMONY SimuLive from The TCF Center • Detroit, MI
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2021 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
CEREMONY PARTNER
EMCEES Priya Mann
Andrew Humphrey, CBM
Reporter WDIV-TV
Meteorologist and Station Scientist WDIV-TV
WE RISE. A CELEBRATION OF RESILIENCE. To see what the faces of STEM excellence look like, look no further than our Awards Ceremony, where we celebrate the exceptional contributions of women from industry, government, the military and academia. We honor their strength, accomplishments and ability to rise above any challenge as they move their organizations and our nation forward. Our women of STEM inspire our young people who see those who look like them and are encouraged to follow their own dreams. At a time when the demands on women’s roles have been greater than ever—from leaders in STEM and business to caretakers of their family’s health and wellbeing and educators overseeing their children’s virtual learning—we can never celebrate them enough.
Senator Stephanie Chang, State Senate
Garlin Gilchrist II
Michigan State Senate
Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
STEM CITY USA CO-HOSTS Ray Kennedy
Courtney Taborn
Career Communications Group
Career Communications Group
CONFERENCE CO-HOST Steve Demetriou Chair and CEO Jacobs
WELCOME MESSAGE Monica Emerson Principal of Inclusive Performance Solutions National Chair of the Women of Color STEM
CEREMONY PARTNER GREETINGS Olakunie Arowolo Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Actalent
GEM OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNUS AWARD
DIVERSITY LEADERSHIP IN INDUSTRY AWARD
Yazmin Feliz, Ph.D.
Mrs. Odetta Scott
Postdoctoral Researcher Columbia University
Associate Director, Indirect Procurement Collins Aerospace, Operations & Quality Raytheon Technologies
PRESENTER
Pamela McCauley, Ph.D., C.P.E., Former Program Director of the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps Current Associate Dean at North Carolina State University, Wilson College of Textiles 2019 WOC Technologist of the Year
COMMUNITY SERVICE IN GOVERNMENT AWARD
Treva T. Brown, Ph.D. Physical Scientist U.S. Naval Research Laboratory PRESENTER
Pamela McCauley, Ph.D., C.P.E., Former Program Director of the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps Current Associate Dean at North Carolina State University, Wilson College of Textiles 2019 WOC Technologist of the Year
COMMUNITY SERVICE IN INDUSTRY AWARD
Daniel Chambers Multi-Functional Engineering and Science Manager Lockheed Martin PRESENTERS
Audrell Samuels, Subcontract Administrator, Staff, Lockheed Martin
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY AWARD
Rhonda Childress Vice President and IBM Fellow Business Information Security Officer IBM PRESENTER
PRESENTER
Dorothea Wong, Executive Director, Indirect Supply Chain, Raytheon Technologies
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP – COLLEGE-LEVEL PROMOTION OF EDUCATION AWARD
Freddie Dixon, Ph.D. Professor of Biology Program Director, National Science Foundation Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program Program Director, NSF Scholarships in STEM University of the District of Columbia PRESENTER
Victor McCrary, Vice President for Research and Graduate Programs, University of the District of Columbia Vice Chair, National Science Board
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP – CORPORATE PROMOTION OF EDUCATION AWARD
Lakshana Mohee, Ph.D. Education Development Manager Ansys PRESENTER
Andrew Humphrey, CBM, Meteorologist and Station Scientist, WDIV-TV
MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP IN GOVERNMENT AWARD
Ms. Leah Haugen Program Manager, Partnership Intermediary Air Force Office of Scientific Research PRESENTER
Virginia Mayo, Distinguished Engineer, Security and Compliance - Resiliency Services, IBM
Priya Mann, Reporter, WDIV-TV
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY AWARD
Yazmin Seda-Sanabria
Candice M. Smith, PMP Director, Engineering People Strategy The Boeing Company PRESENTER
Greg Hyslop, Executive Vice President, Engineering, Test and Technology, The Boeing Company
MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP IN GOVERNMENT AWARD Chief, Civil Works Data Analysis and Information Systems Institute for Water Resources U.S. Army Corps of Engineers PRESENTER
Bruce T. Crawford, Senior Vice President Strategic Development/ Growth & Sales, Critical Mission Solutions, Jacobs; and 2020 Black Engineer of the Year
26TH ANNUAL WOMEN OF COLOR STEM CONFERENCE MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP IN INDUSTRY AWARD
Deborah A. Brown Senior Director, U.S. Toxicology Laboratories Abbott
OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION IN INDUSTRY AWARD
Bindu Sundaresan
PRESENTER
Director - Cybersecurity AT&T
Bob Kunkler, Vice President, Toxicology, Cardiometabolic and Consumer Products and Services, Abbott
Tonya Hallett, Vice President, Human Resources, Amazon
MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP IN INDUSTRY AWARD
Lakela Lofton Program Manager Huntington Ingalls Industries PRESENTER
Gary Fuller, VP Program Management, Huntington Ingalls Industries
NEW MEDIA/IT LEADERSHIP AWARD
Jasmine W. Strait Director, U.S. Specialized Infrastructure Operations The Boeing Company PRESENTER
Susan Doniz, Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of Information Technology and Data Analytics, The Boeing Company
PIONEER AWARD
Master Sergeant Bonnie Rushing Instructor, USAF Academy United States Air Force PRESENTER
Andrew Humphrey, CBM, Meteorologist and Station Scientist, WDIV-TV
OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION IN INDUSTRY AWARD
Eunice Allen-Bradley Angled UltraSonic Inspection Original Equipment Manufacturer Implementation Lead Pratt & Whitney Engineering Raytheon Technologies PRESENTER
Geoff Hunt, Senior Vice President, Pratt & Whitney Engineering & Technology, Raytheon Technologies
PRESENTER
OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION IN GOVERNMENT AWARD
Leslie Leonard, Ph.D. Computer Scientist U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center PRESENTER
Bruce T. Crawford, Senior Vice President Strategic Development/ Growth & Sales, Critical Mission Solutions, Jacobs; and 2020 Black Engineer of the Year
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT IN GOVERNMENT AWARD
LTC Latoya M. Manzey Deputy District Commander U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District PRESENTER
Bruce T. Crawford, Senior Vice President Strategic Development/ Growth & Sales, Critical Mission Solutions, Jacobs; and 2020 Black Engineer of the Year
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT IN GOVERNMENT AWARD
Master Sergeant Tahnika Bessant 334th Fighter Squadron First Shirt 4th Fighter Wing U.S. Air Force PRESENTER
Torry A. Johnson, Manager, Minority University Research and Education Project, NASA
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT IN GOVERNMENT AWARD
Candi Hudson, Ph.D. Technical Advisor Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement U.S. Department of the Interior PRESENTER
Priya Mann, Reporter, WDIV-TV
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT IN INDUSTRY AWARD
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT IN GOVERNMENT AWARD
Tracey Espero
PRESENTER
Director of Platform Programs and Orca Program Manager, Maritime Undersea Huntington Beach Site Executive The Boeing Company PRESENTER
Kristen Robertson, Vice president and general manager of Autonomous Systems, a division within Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS), The Boeing Company
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT IN INDUSTRY AWARD
Mandakini Kanungo, Ph.D. Research Associate – Thin Films & Surfaces Corning Research and Development Corporation PRESENTER
Dr. Gary Calabrese, SVP and Director of Corning Global Research, Corning Incorporated
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT IN INDUSTRY AWARD
Bruce T. Crawford, Senior Vice President Strategic Development/ Growth & Sales, Critical Mission Solutions, Jacobs; and 2020 Black Engineer of the Year
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT IN INDUSTRY AWARD
Delores Alexander Vice President Global Services Supplier Management The Boeing Company PRESENTER
William A. Ampofo II, Vice President, Supply Chain, Boeing Global Services, The Boeing Company
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT IN INDUSTRY AWARD
Deirdre Fultz Plant Manager - Indiana Transmission Plant Stellantis PRESENTER
Changchang Liu, Ph.D.
Steve Demetriou, Chair and CEO, Jacobs
Research Staff Member IBM Research IBM
Ms. Florence Heidel
PRESENTER
Dr. Seraphin B. Calo, Distinguished Research Staff Member IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, IBM
TECHNICAL INNOVATION AWARD
Mei Li , Ph.D. Corteva Laureate Corteva Agriscience
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT IN INDUSTRY AWARD Scientist L3Harris Technology, Inc. PRESENTER
Sonya Sepahban, CEO and Co-Founder, OurOffice, Inc.
PASSING THE TORCH
RADM Sylvia Trent-Adams, ret., Ph.D., RN, FAAN
Terry Barclay, President & CEO, Inform
Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas; and 2020 Technologist of the Year
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT IN GOVERNMENT AWARD
TECHNOLOGIST OF THE YEAR
PRESENTER
Rona Bunn Chief Information Officer U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration PRESENTER
Priya Mann, Reporter, WDIV-TV
Mei Cai, Ph.D. Director, Battery Cell Systems Research Chemical & Materials System Laboratory General Motors Research and Development General Motors PRESENTER
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT IN GOVERNMENT AWARD
Kent Helfrich, Chief Technology Officer, Vice President, General Motors
Maria N. Goerger, Ph.D.
CLOSING REMARKS
Special Assistant for AI, M&S, and Analysis for the Information Technology Lab Director U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center
CONFERENCE HOSTS
ACADEMIC CO-HOSTS
CONFERENCE SPONSOR
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