Women of Color STEM Conference Announces 2020 Winners

The Women of Color STEM Conference, which is marking 25 years of promoting significant achievements of women in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine, has announced 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.

Register now for the 2020 Women of Color STEM Hybrid Conference.

Other notable award recipients at the 2020 Women of Color STEM Conference, 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 under representation 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).

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 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, now in its 25th year, 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.