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The upcoming BEYA STEM Conference will be hosted on Feb. 11-13. In light of the global pandemic, the digital twin of the physical event will provide a new experience for attendees. This year's overarching theme "Stand up! Step up! Make the Change" is a call to action for all participants, including K-12 and college students, professionals, executive leadership, educators, military leaders and veterans, and more.
"Any time our land has made the call, we have stepped up," said BEYA Chairman Tyrone Taborn, chief executive officer (CEO) of Career Communications Group (CCG), on the annual event's recognition of Black leaders. "This has been incredibly obvious during one of the most unprecedented global pandemics our society has faced. The conference's digital twin experience allows these leaders further recognition while opening the door for further reach into the future generation of STEM leaders."
The BEYA STEM Conference is produced by Career Communications Group, Inc. (CCG), a diversity leader working with American employers to promote multiculturalism and gender equity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Gerald Johnson, executive vice president of global manufacturing at General Motors, will receive top honors as 2021 Black Engineer of the Year for his outstanding accomplishments in STEM and influencing GM's diversity and inclusion programs and COVID-19 responses.
Other BEYA categories recognize exceptional careers in government and industry, and actions that have energized both corporations and communities alike prior to and throughout the global pandemic.
Click here for the full list of BEYA winners below:
Black Engineer of the Year Gerald Johnson Executive Vice President, Global Manufacturing General Motors
Career Achievement in Government Commander Michael Paisant Commanding Officer U.S. Navy
Zachary Tudor Associate Lab Director, National & Homeland Security Science and Technology Idaho National Laboratory
Career Achievement in Industry Frederiek Toney President, Global Customer Service Ford Motor Company
Bryan Scott Vice President, Enterprise Services The Boeing Company
Chairman's Award Calvin Butler Jr. Senior Executive Vice President, Exelon and CEO, Exelon Utilities
Community Service Demetria Hall Systems Engineer Staff Lockheed Martin Corporation
Karen "Lori" Hickman Program Cost Schedule & Control Analyst Northrop Grumman Corporation
Cyber Leadership Award Fernando Martinez Director Walmart
Thomas Warner Vice President, Cyber & Intelligence Lockheed Martin Corporation
Dave Barclay Affirmative Action in Government Quincy Alexander Supervisory Research Engineer U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center
Kenneth Bailey Director, NOAA Office of Inclusion and Civil Rights National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Dave Barclay Affirmative Action in Industry Craig Reed Chief Procurement Officer Corteva Agriscience
Brittany Wheeler, D. Eng. Work Transfer Manager Collins Aerospace
Educational Leadership – College-Level Promotion of Education Jerrod Henderson, Ph.D. Instructional Associate Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering University of Houston
Educational Leadership – Corporate Promotion of Education Anthony Smith Sr. Director Dept of Navy, Office of Naval Research
Engineering Deans Legacy Award Claudia Rankins, Ph.D. Program Director National Science Foundation
Entrepreneurial Fellow Israel Smallwood Sr. Project Program Manager (IOT) AT&T
Most Promising Engineer in Government Brandy Diggs-McGee Research Mechanical Engineer U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center
1st Lt. Samuel Nyamekye Deputy Chief, Propulsion Technology Branch Aerospace Systems Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory
Most Promising Engineer in Industry Kadon Kyte Human Factors & Ergonomics Engineer The Boeing Company
Charles Muse Assistant Program Engineering Manager- Autonomous, SAV Production General Motors
Most Promising Scientist in Government Candice Hatcher-Solis, Ph.D. Team Lead, Neurobiology of Cognitive Performance 711 HPW, United States Air Force
Larico Treadwell, Ph.D. R&D Chemistry, Advanced Materials Laboratory Sandia National Laboratories
Most Promising Scientist in Industry Nyaradzo Longinaker Statistician Advisor General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)
Outstanding Technical Contribution in Industry Obiefuna Okafor, Ph.D. Senior Project Leader, Capital Management Corning Incorporated
Alain Adjorlolo Project Engineer Lead The Boeing company
Outstanding Technical Contribution in Nonprofit Adam Freeman, Ph.D. Senior Materials Chemist Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab
Yuan-jun Wei, Ph.D. Computer Science Lead The MITRE Corporation
President's Award Devdas Shetty, Ph.D., P.E. Dean & Professor, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences University of the District of Columbia
Professional Achievement in Government Phillip Williams, Ph.D. Deputy Center Chief Technologist NASA Langley Research Center
Nydeia Bolden-Frazier, Ph.D. Technical Advisor, Sub-core Technical Competency Warhead Lead Air Force Laboratory Munitions Directorate, Ordnance Division, Damage Mechanisms Branch
Professional Achievement in Industry Veronica Wesley Principal Systems Engineer Raytheon Technologies
Research Leadership Cassandra Okechukwu Principal Health and Life Scientist The MITRE Corporation
Brannon Sam, Ph.D. Research Investigator Corteva Agriscience
Senior Investigator Norbert Satchivi, Ph.D. Principal Investigator Corteva Agriscience
Senior Technology Fellow Byron Sleugh, Ph.D. Global Biology Leader Corteva Agriscience
Student Leadership – Graduate Level SFC Robert Nicholson Operations and Plans NCO U.S. Army, Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC), 923rd Contracting Battalion
Student Leadership – Undergraduate Level Wesley Combs University of Houston
Technical Sales and Marketing Eric Cunningham North American Executive Director Sales & Marketing General Motors
My Ha Director Walmart
Keith Hamilton Sr. Director of Programs & Business Development Spirit Aerosystems
Admiral Michelle Howard Legacy Award Darryl Boyd, Ph.D. Research Scientist Dept. of Navy, Naval Research Laboratory
Arlington W. Carter Legacy Award Sydney Hamilton Mechanical Design Engineer The Boeing Company
Dr. Eugene DeLoatch Legacy Award Oliver Myers, Ph.D. Associate Professor/Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence for Undergraduate Studies Clemson University - College of Engineering, Computing, and Applied Sciences
Dr. John Slaughter Legacy Award Olie Burton Director, Enterprise Technology Services & Support General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)
Dr. Sandra Johnson Legacy Award Makita Phillips, Ph.D. Structural Analyst Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab
Dr. Wanda M. Austin Legacy Award Krystal Porter Lead Engineer Leidos
John D. Harris II Legacy Award Keith Burrell Engineering Fellow Raytheon Technologies
Rodney Adkins Legacy Award David Williams Director - Program/Project Management AT&T
Stephanie C. Hill Legacy Award Wilma Davis Principal Engineer Bell Textron Inc.
For 35 years, the BEYA STEM Conference has been a leading event for professional development, networking, and providing a resource for minorities to feel empowered. For more information about the 2021 BEYA STEM Conference, visit www.BEYA.org.
The goal of the BEYA STEM Conference is to create connections between students, educators, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professionals while facilitating partnerships with individuals and their local STEM resources.