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In a conference call from Career Communications Group's head office Wednesday, Oct. 25, Career Communications Group CEO and publisher Tyrone Taborn informed automotive executive Alicia Boler Davis that she had been voted 2018 Black Engineer of the Year by the Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) Selection Committee.
The 16-person BEYA Selection Committee is made up of leading scientists and engineers from the federal government, academia, and industry.
When Boler Davis accepts the torch as the thirty-second Black Engineer of the Year in the nation's capital February 2018, she will be the sixth woman to receive this award from the Council of Engineering Deans of the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which graduate more than 33 percent of all black engineers in the United States.
“This is the thirty-second time I have had the honor of making this call on behalf of the BEYA Selection Committee,” said Taborn, CEO of Career Communications Group, the company behind BEYA at the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Global Competitiveness Conference.
“It's important at this time, particularly in this time that we're going through, for young women to see women like you, Mary, and Linda being so visible,” Taborn added. “You make what sometimes seems impossible possible. It reinforces the major contributions that you make and the opportunity there.”
Mary Barra, chairman, and CEO of General Motors Company is the first female CEO of a major global automaker. Barra said General Motors is exceptionally proud of Boler-Davis.
“I couldn't be more proud of what Alicia does for the company, what she does for women at General Motors and much more broadly the different activities you're involved in,” Barra said.
Linda Gooden, a former executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Corp now on the board of General Motors, said Boler Davis would be a “positive role model to the next generation of women as the 2018 Black Engineer of the Year.”
Gooden, who is the 2006 Black Engineer of the Year, is one of six women to have received the top award. The list includes Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Wanda Austin, former president and CEO of The Aerospace Corporation, Lydia W. Thomas, former president and CEO of Mitretek Systems (now Noblis), and Stephanie C. Hill, senior vice president of Corporate Strategy and Business Development at Lockheed Martin Corporation, a longtime corporate supporter of the annual BEYA STEM Conference.
“I'm really humbled to accept the nomination as 32nd Black Engineer of the Year,” Boler Davis said. “I appreciate the efforts of Mary and Ken (Barrett) and all the people who nominated me. And many people like Linda, who have opened the doors. It's an absolute honor. I'm very fortunate and I take my responsibility to be a positive role model seriously.”
As 2018 Black Engineer of the Year, Boler Davis, who is GM's executive vice president of global manufacturing, is recognized as a global ambassador of goodwill for underrepresented minorities in science and technology, and for women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). She will keynote the 2018 Council of Engineering Deans of Historically Black Colleges and Universities meeting at one of the historically black colleges and universities with ABET-accreditation.
The 2018 BEYA nominees are (listed alphabetically by award title):
Black Engineer of the Year Mrs. Alicia Boler Davis Executive Vice President, Global Manufacturing General Motors
Dave Barclay Affirmative Action Mr. Darryl Farrow Director, Global Diversity & Inclusion The Boeing Company
Dave Barclay Affirmative Action Mr. Drew Valentine Vice President, People & Culture IBM
Career Achievement - Government Mr. Timothy Bridges Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection U.S. Air Force
Career Achievement - Industry Dr. Charles Johnson-Bey Cyber Solutions Engineering and Technology Director Lockheed Martin Corporation
Community Service - Industry Mr. Steven Brown President of Dreams, Imagination & Gift Development Program (DIG) Gas Turbine Controls Engineer General Electric
The Dean's Award Mr. Derek McGowan Diversity Outreach Program Manager Lockheed Martin Corporation
Education Leadership - K-12 Promotion of Education Ms. Tokiwa Smith Executive Director Science, Education, Mathematics Link Inc.
Educational Leadership - College-Level Promotion of Education Dr. Terri Norton Associate Professor University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Most Promising Engineer - Government Captain Jason Fischbach Lead Engineer - Power, Space, and Cooling U.S. Air Force
Most Promising Engineer - Government Ms. LaAndrea McDonald BMDS Test Data Manager Missile Defense Agency
Most Promising Engineer - Industry Mr. Hamza Syed Lead Multi-Discipline Systems Engineer The MITRE Corporation
Most Promising Engineer - Industry Ms. Chandria Poole Deputy Program Manager Northrop Grumman Corporation
Outstanding Technical Contribution - Government Mr. Reginald Williams THAAD Post-Production and Sustainment Lead Missile Defense Agency
Outstanding Technical Contribution - Industry Mr. Kent Etienne Technical Lead Engineer, Senior Mechanical Design Engineer The Boeing Company
Outstanding Technical Contribution - Industry Mrs. Arissa Hodges Group Leader/Lead Communications Engineer The MITRE Corporation
Professional Achievement - Government Mr. Byron Williams Programs and Project management Branch Chief U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Professional Achievement - Industry Mrs. Kathryn Hamilton Engineering Program Manager Northrop Grumman Corporation
Professional Achievement - Industry Mr. Eric Biribuze Product Line Lead Corning Incorporated
Research Leadership Mr. Andrew Adams Acting Assistant Section Supervisor The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
Senior Technology Fellow Dr. Jon Goldsby Materials Research Engineer NASA Glenn Research Center
Senior Technology Fellow Mr. Nathan Brooks Associate Technical Fellow, Technical Lead Engineer The Boeing Company
Student Leadership - Undergraduate Level Mr. David Hill Worldwide Sales Engineer Intern Cisco Systems
Student Leadership - Undergraduate Level Mr. Bright Tsagli College Assistant Bronx Community College
Technical Sales and Marketing Mr. Karoom Brown Senior Vice President, Business Development & Strategy Leidos