NACME’s new president and CEO pushes math for engineering

White Plains, NY – Dr Irving Pressley McPhail is the new president and CEO of the National Council for Minorities
in Engineering (NACME), replacing Dr John Brooks Slaughter. McPhail’s goals for the organization include placing NACME at the forefront of policy discussions that impact STEM careers; driving systemic change in STEM curricula from middle school through higher education, and helping employers develop increasingly effective practices for recruiting, retaining, developing and promoting underrepresented minority engineers.

The first step was a study and roundtable where forty education experts worked to develop a plan to create engineering-related math curricula, particularly for community college students.

More than half of diverse science and engineering BS and MS recipients begin their college careers in community colleges. The NACME plan calls for greater focus on engineering-related projects in developmental math courses, and increased awareness of engineering professions. The experts suggested adjusting current community college math curricula to include engineering-related skills and pave the way to higher-level courses. NACME plans
to find funding for the curricula changes, and to launch pilot programs at leading community colleges.

The roundtable and report were funded by a grant from Lumina Foundation for Education.
A downloadable version of the executive summary and the full report, “Beyond the Dream: From Developmental Mathematics to Engineering Careers for Underrepresented Minorities,” are available online at www.nacme.org/beyondthedream.

NAWMBA launches greater Boston chapter

Boston, MA – The National Association of Women MBAs (NAWMBA) recently added a Boston chapter with technically oriented leaders. Linda Moraski, CEO of PeopleServe, is chapter president. Local board members include Ilirjana Travers, IT project manager at the MathWorks, and Mary Anne Halligan, global solutions marketing manager for EMC.

NAWMBA is a not-for-profit organization that helps women MBAs reach leadership positions in corporate America and enhances the diversity of the nation’s workforce. It focuses on education, professional development, networking and collaboration. The Boston chapter kickoff meeting in August was attended by more than seventy businesswomen and supporters.

“We are thrilled to bring the NAW-MBA to Boston,” says Moraski. “Our goal is to establish
a strong professional network that will serve as a platform to help advance careers and leadership opportunities for business women.”

Women, she notes, do not need MBAs to become members. “If you hold a graduate business degree, are an MBA student, have general business experience or simply support the mission of NAWMBA, we encourage you to join.”

For more information visit www.mbawomen.org.

Savvy Geek Chix offer survival strategies

Palo Alto, CA – This March the Anita Borg Institute (ABI) launched Savvy Geek Chix, a series of evening networking events. The first evening, hosted by SAP, was devoted to surviving and thriving in difficult times: strategies for retaining your job, utilizing your network to find a job, and key steps to follow before and after a layoff.

More than a hundred women and men, some of them tech recruiters, chatted, participated in a resume clinic and listened to a panel discussion of career strategies. Panel members included Sabrina Coleman, senior manager of the IT strategic program office at BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, and Dr Tessa Lau, research staff member at IBM Almaden Research Center.

Future evenings are planned. To learn more check out www.anitaborg.org/initiatives/savvy-geek-chix.

Booz Allen exec receives award

Chicago, IL – Neil J. Gillespie, an SVP at Booz Allen Hamilton, received this year’s Rodney D. Chipp memorial award from the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). Every year SWE presents the Chipp award to a corporate exec who has made far-reaching contributions to acceptance and advancement of women engineers and creation of an inclusive environment.

Gillespie has actively mentored, coached, advocated for and sponsored many technical women at Booz Allen. In the early years he focused on building a pipeline of technical and professional women to be considered for development and advancement opportunities. When he became a VP he promoted women’s issues through internal people strategy and personnel organizations.

Gillespie has worked for Booz Allen Hamilton for twenty-seven years, starting on the project staff and progressing to manager, VP, and now SVP. He currently leads the company’s missile defense and Huntsville, AL businesses. Before joining Booz Allen he served in the Navy.

Girl Scouts USA & Microsoft launch online safety campaign

New York, NY – Girl Scouts of the USA and Microsoft Corp have joined forces to create an online safety resource with girls as the technical experts. The site includes detailed advice and information about online safety issues written by teen girls, with resources for both teens and parents.

The site is called “LMK,” text-speak for “let me know.” The campaign allows girls from thirteen to seventeen to share their concerns online with peers. The site centers on subjects often best discussed at a teen-to-teen level, like cyber-bullying, predators and social networking.

Microsoft offers resources and provides online safety guidance in support of LMK. “Most teens understand the Internet and technology better than their parents,” says Erika Takeuchi, product manager for Windows client interactive and digital creative development. But parents have access to a site designed to help them understand and act in the rapidly changing world of online safety.

Teen girls will find help at lmk.girlscouts.org, their parents at letmeknow.girlscouts.org.

MIT renames & refocuses its “leaders” program

Cambridge, MA – After twenty years, the MIT “leaders for manufacturing” program has
been restructured with an emphasis on the diversity of the global economy.

The institute has renamed the program MIT “leaders for global operations (LGO).”

The new name “reflects how our understanding of manufacturing has broadened to include all aspects of operations across the entire supply chain,” says David Simchi-Levi, professor of civil and environmental engineering and engineering systems and LGO faculty co-director.

In fact, diversity in the program extends to the participants as well as the content. Simchi-Levi notes that the Class of 2011 has the highest percentage of women (34 percent) in the program’s history. The class of forty-seven includes ten Asian Americans, two African Americans and five Hispanics.

The School of Engineering two-year graduate program awards MBA or MS degrees from
the Sloan School of Management and an MS from the School of Engineering. The program partners with businesses like Boeing, Raytheon, Amazon and Dell to give students real-world experience. And it looks beyond traditional manufacturing sectors to include supply chain retailers and newer industries like biotech. For more information, see lgo.mit.edu.

Otak announces team with sustainability focus

Portland, OR – Engineering, architecture, planning, urban design and landscape architecture firm Otak has named
a new team to lead efforts in sustainable urbanism and architecture, transportation and infrastructure, water and natural resources. The team includes Fares Kekhia from
the Otak international group.

“These changes reflect our continued emphasis on innovation and helping our clients achieve their goals of building livable communities and a sustainable future,” says Otak president and CEO Nawzad Othman. “The creativity and skill of our leadership team and our professionals will be fully engaged in supporting our clients in the U.S. and abroad.”

More than a hundred Otak employees are currently based in Abu Dhabi, engaged in projects like hotels, residential and mixed-use communities, urban planning and transportation in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. 

D/C

Back to Top