THIS PRESTIGIOUS LIST SHOWCASES THE TRAILBLAZING CAREERS OF DIVERSE

WOMEN IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, AND MATH (STEM) CAREERS

NOMINATED FOR RECOGNITION BY MAJOR EMPLOYERS IN THE U.S.

manager since 2020. She joined the IT consulting company with 25 years of experience in project management. In her role as technology lead, AT&T Wi-Fi engineering software development processes have seen a marked improvement in metrics. For example, there has been a 38 percent productivity increase and a 91 percent defect reduction, which was greatly appreciated by AT&T’s Wi-Fi engineering leadership. Geerheard is a shining star in a team of primarily male colleagues. She loves to help others in the areas of project management, release management, and change management.

JOELLE FRANCOIS is a manager of projects at Jacobs. She oversees project managers and the execution of capital water, wastewater, and water resources projects. Francois started her career after she graduated from the University of Central Florida with a master’s degree in civil engineering. Her first position was at a construction site. But a pregnant Black woman doing inspections was quite a novelty. After Francois’s husband entered medical school, they moved to different cities. Throughout her experience with various municipalities, airports, and other transportation agencies, she developed a keen insight into the workings of these agencies and broadened her horizons.

DANIELLE HILLIARD is an assistant supervisor in Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory’s concept design and realization branch. Two hundred branch staff design and build advanced prototypes for space exploration and national security missions. Before APL, Hilliard worked at Cessna Aircraft and the Naval Sea Systems Command. In parallel to her professional career, Hilliard served as a U.S. Army reservist from 1993 to 2000. A year later, she joined APL’s air and missile defense sector as a lead engineer on weapons and sensor systems. She recently completed her Ph.D. in technology management at Capitol Technology University.

ARDIS CARLOS-ALIM is vice president of global engagement within the JP Morgan Chase (JPMC) cybersecurity team. In 2015, she planned events that impacted 300,000 JPMC employees. She also delivered the annual Cyber Awareness Month campaigns in October, which ran in major financial centers, including New York, London, and Hong Kong. In addition, Carlos-Alim has impacted the lives of many through mentoring and coaching. She regularly volunteers for internal events hosted by Women in Cybersecurity, and CyberKidz, an external cyber education program. In addition, she has co-led the Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program in Jersey City, NJ.

CRYSTAL WOODS is a system engineering lead in integrated mission systems at L3Harris Technologies. She manages systems requirements for the C-130H Avionics Modernization Program. She routinely helps other systems engineers and is dedicated to giving back. As a member of the Diverse Employee Network, she supports Project Christmas Tree, which helps distribute Christmas presents to local agencies for area residents. She has also served as a mentor at a school for over 12 years, emphasizing the importance of STEM as an advocate for engineering education and helping explain what an engineer does. development. She also has management responsibility for over 180,000 personal computers and phone devices. In this role as leader of a team that is operational 24/7, one big challenge is finding balance. Bolden is also a volunteer in the school system, supporting her older daughter, son, and her youngest child, who was born with Down syndrome. In addition, she is a Lockheed Martin Women’s Impact Network and Black Excellence Council member.

KJERSTEN KIPP is a systems engineer at Leidos, where she currently works in partnership with government and industry customers to lead information exchange venues with U.S. military units. Kipp began her career in the Navy. After separating from the military, she first worked for SAIC, then went outside the defense industry to serve as a tech director for Riverside Health Systems before managing IT projects for Dollar Tree. Outside of work, she is a coach for a nonprofit that trains young people to improve their times in road races and a running club that brings together runners and walkers.

AKOSS SCHUPPIUS is a project management professional at LMI. She oversees the LMI team supporting the strategic plan of the United State Postal Service (USPS). In addition to the USPS, she has supported initiatives for the Departments of State, Homeland Security, Defense, and Marine Corps Logistics Command. Schuppius is a founding member of LMI’s Minority Ethnicities affinity group and the change management community of practice. She volunteers as chair for the Rotary Club of Rockville, devoting time to the environment, peace, and the local community. She is a member of the University of Pennsylvania Black Alumni Society.

JESSICA RICHARDSON is currently a network/information technology cyber lead and program analyst at the Missile Defense Agency. In this role, she has managed a team of network engineers maintaining network uptime greater than 99 percent. Richardson’s work impacts the development of missile defense systems to defend the U.S., its deployed forces, allies, and friends, from missile attacks in all phases of flight. As MDA delivers the capability to the warfighter, the cyber security of MDA test networks is critical. In addition, Richardson has led the implementation of a network failover solution that ensures continuity during a network outage.

CASSANDRA BOLDEN is an IT manager in the enterprise operations business at Lockheed Martin. She mentors early-career employees, supports growth, and establishes the time for staff training and professional

NORMA RIVERA is a technical specialist in the office of product support at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division. She leads a program that provides a vital service to the U.S. Naval fleet and warfighters with the latest tools and information. Rivera also provides support and guidance to the onshore fleet activities, training commands, and department personnel as the policy point of contact for the technical manual management program (TMMP) with the Naval Sea Systems Command and Naval Information Warfare Systems Command. She has overseen more than 5,940 TMMP customer service requests and serves as a mentor to team members.