Currently, I’m working in the consumer goods industry but am most proud of my time at Kennedy Space Center as a Propulsion and Life Support Engineer, where I led a team of engineers that solved an impossible task for astronaut rescue that was a return to flight mandate after a space shuttle explosion. It was technically and politically monstrous with plenty of failed experiments before we had a breakthrough. It is not the failures at solving the impossible tasks that define us; it is the tenacity to find another way to succeed.

For fun I race in half ironman distance triathlons and yes this is my definition of fun. Truthfully, sometimes I wonder why I keep doing these races because the course is out to beat you, it is relentless, it is painful and all the training done in preparation doesn’t seem enough. But I don’t quit. Every race is dedicated to my daughter who is a survivor of childhood disease, a school shooting and a chronic illness that limits her life. She does not complain so it would be trivial for me to complain about my self-induced pains.

Entering the last phase of my career I want to ignite a generation of technical women to take on the hardest tasks, take risks and move society forward on our biggest challenges in education equity. We need all of our talented young minds engaged in solving new impossible challenges. If we screen out people by gender or color we are limiting the possibilities and lowering our chance for transformation.

Degrees

2001 PhD – Operations Research
1992 MSME – Mechanical Engineering
1983 BSME – Mechanical Engineering