BALTIMORE - Marylandian -- The Women of Color STEM Conference,  which is marking 25 years of promoting the significant achievements of women in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine, is excited to announce the winners of the 2020 Women of Color Awards. With winners across 15 categories, the awards are granted by a selection committee drawn from industry, government, and academia.

This year, more than 40 women will be recognized. Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, Ph.D., RN, FAAN will receive the top honor as Technologist of the Year. The award represents recognition of high merit, the broad effect on people in many disciplines, and value to society as a whole. Among her many achievements in the field of nursing and public health, Rear Admiral Trent-Adams has had a direct impact on building systems of care to improve public health for marginalized populations domestically and internationally. Other notable award recipients include Adrienne Somerville of the Naval Air Systems Command who will be receiving the President's Award. Additional award categories include career achievement, community service, corporate responsibility, diversity leadership, educational leadership, managerial leadership, new media/IT, outstanding technical contributing, professional achievement, technical innovation, student leadership, technology all-star, and technology rising stars.

Each year the Women of Color STEM Conference hosts several award ceremonies and a forum of leaders from Fortune 500 companies,  government agencies, colleges, and universities to discuss key issues in the scientific and technical workforce, share best practices, and showcase opportunities for professional development, networking and recruiting.

The theme for the 2020 Annual Conference "The World is Counting on Us: Reset to Rise" is focused on giving attendees the expert insights and tools that they need to shape growth in a changing landscape, and address the underrepresentation of women in engineering (15%) and computer and mathematical sciences (26%). Race and ethnicity are salient factors in rates of participation in the science and engineering workforce (NSF, Science & Engineering Indicators, 2018).

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Although many attendees will be onsite, the Women of Color STEM Conference is also offering attendees across the United States virtual access to seminars and workshops during the three-day event, which is dedicated to promoting professional role models and providing an important platform to share their stories.

This year's class of achievers will be recognized during the 2020 Hybrid Conference October 8-10.

Meet the 2020 Women of Color STEM Award Recipients

Technologist of the Year

RADM Sylvia Trent-Adams, Ph.D.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

President's Award

Adrienne Somerville
Acquisition Group Head
Commander Fleet Readiness Center

Career Achievement – Government

COL Antoinette Gant
Commander, Louisville District
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Chavonda Jacobs-Young, Ph.D.
USDA Agricultural Research Service Administrator and USDA Acting Chief Scientist
USDA Agricultural Research Service

Career Achievement – Industry

Tonya Noble
Director, International Defense Training
The Boeing Company

Karen Rodriguez, Ph.D.
Divisional Vice President; Corporate Engineering
Abbott

Community Service – Government

Priscilla Ford
Workforce Development Specialist
Fleet Readiness Center Southwest

Community Service – Industry

Demetria Hall
Hardware Engineer Staff
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

Jasmine LeFlore
Sr. Project Engineer
Collins Aerospace

Corporate Responsibility

Karen Bradford
Director, Strategic Partnerships
NASA Ames Research Center

Diversity Leadership

Tamberlin Golden
Plant Director
General Motors

Educational Leadership – College-Level Promotion of Education

Bushra Ahmad Saeed, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of the District of Columbia

Educational Leadership - Corporate Promotion of Education

Claudia Morales
Supplier Quality Assurance Systems Staff Specialist
Bell Textron Inc.

Managerial Leadership – Government

Shitarria Battle
Chief Engineer, C2 Systems Development
Missile Defense Agency

Managerial Leadership – Industry

Beethika Khan, Ph.D.
Program Director
National Science Foundation (NSF)

Shanique Smith
Director
Raytheon Missiles & Defense

New Media/IT Leadership – Government

Barbara Pilate
Computer Scientist
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center

New Media/IT Leadership – Industry

Rachel Smith
Assistant Vice President - Technology
AT&T

Outstanding Technical Contribution – Government

Antonella Alunni

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Aerospace Engineer
NASA Ames Research Center

Trena Jackson
Operations Research Analyst
NAVAIR

Outstanding Technical Contribution – Industry

Carol Brevett, Ph.D.
Principal Scientist
Leidos

Vanessa Michelini
IBM Distinguished Engineer
IBM

Professional Achievement – Government

Monique Brisson
Research Electrical Engineer
Air Force Research Laboratory

Jasmine Gilliam
Physical Security Inspector
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region III

Tekia Govan
Project Manager
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Regulation

Professional Achievement – Industry

Xiomara Calderón-Colón, Ph.D.
Materials Scientist/Project Manager
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Rayna Matsuno, PhD
Epidemiologist III
Leidos

Jenine Patterson
Principal Systems Engineer
The MITRE Corporation

Student Leadership – Undergraduate Level

Michelle Dominguez
Engineering Student
NASA Ames Research Center

Technical Innovation – Government

Candice Hatcher-Solis, Ph.D.
Team Leader, Neurobiology of Cognitive Performance
711th Human Performance Wing, Air Force Research Laboratory

Technical Innovation – Industry

Yufang Hou, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
IBM Research - Ireland

Evelyn Moore
Director of Engineering and Chief Engineer, F-18 Program Engineering
The Boeing Company

Special Recognition

Yevette Bratten
Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer
DigiFlight, Inc.

Inderpal Deol
Director and Chief Engineer, Fos Gen
DTE Energy

Stacey Dixon
Deputy Director
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Sheronda Jeffries
Technical Leader Quality Engineering
Cisco

Latitia McCane, Ph.D.
Director of Education
Huntington Ingalls Industries

Kavita Vigneau
Vice President, Engineering
Quicken Loans

Sucheta Walimbe
Executive Vice President, Information Technology
Ford Motor Credit Company

Stephanie Watson
Senior Engineer III
Consumers Energy

Cindy Woods
Operations Division Chief, National Weather Service
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Women of Color STEM Conference

The Women of Color STEM Conference has been the venues where women and men from diverse backgrounds have come to recognize outstanding achievements in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), celebrate excellence in STEM-related fields, and create a career learning and networking environment.

www.womenofcolor.net

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