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Women in STEM Episode 31 – Wendy Shimata, VP of Autonomous Systems at Varda Space Industries
Interview with Wendy Shimata, who is currently the Vice President of Autonomous Systems at Varda Space Industries, a small space start-up in Los Angeles focused on in-space manufacturing and commercial reentry. She’s responsible for the technical growth and development of the GNC, software and mission operation teams in an effort towards moving towards autonomous systems architectures and execution. Prior to Varda, she was at SpaceX for 7 years working software on crewed spaceflight programs, and Boeing Satellite Systems working in GNC. In her spare time, she loves exploring new coffee and korean barbeque joints in LA and spending time with her three year old daughter.
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Women in STEM Episode 30 – April Perkins, Manager of Business Orchestration at thyssenkrupp Materials
Interview with April Perkins, Manager of Business Orchestration for SAP Center of Excellence at thyssenkrupp Materials North America, who describes her STEM journey as a series of ‘happy accidents.’ April has 24 years in the metals industry, working with teams globally and has a strong passion for building up the next generation of STEM enthusiasts. She has successfully led multiple high-performing teams at tkMNA and started a women in STEM DEI group, women@STEMX, with sights on getting more and more women and young girls interested in STEM careers. April has a dual major from U of M-Dearborn in Engineering and Business Management, is a certified career coach (World Coach Institute), has participated in the U of M-Dearborn GOLD (graduates of the last decade) mentoring program 2012-2014 and is an activate advocate for animal welfare within the community.
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Women in STEM Episode 29 – Nikita Tiwari, Sr Customer Experience Engineer at Intel
Interview with Nikita Tiwari, Sr Customer Experience Engineer at Intel’s Client Computing Group. She brings the most compelling usages to the personal computer working alongside the OEM partners to manage and deliver their experience roadmap and co-engineer differentiated use cases. She has 9+ years of experience in silicon-processor debug, validation, artificial intelligence (AI) applications and automotive image processing unit (IPU). She has received a patent for her work in AI along with several publications. She obtained her Masters in ECE from Portland State University. Nikita chairs the Women at Intel Network (WIN) global (xSite) employee resource group and has held leadership positions in external organizations like Society of Women Engineers, Michigan Council of Women in Technology, TechWomen Mentoring Program, etc. She was recently awarded the 2020 SWE Distinguished New Engineer Award and the 2018 SWE New Emerging Leader award. She is one of the chairs for the SWE@Intel Awards committee. Nikita loves connecting people and helping them leverage from each other. Outside of work, Nikita and her husband enjoy hiking, running and spending time with their daughter Aarya.
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Women in STEM Episode 28 – Pooja Sund, Engineering PM Director at Microsoft
Interview with Pooja Sund, Engineering PM Director at Microsoft, where she leverages her passion for technology, data analytics and leadership. She is a Gold medalist and three-time CFO Award winner, showcasing her commitment to delivering exceptional results. She has 17+ years of global experience in setting visionary goals and successfully executing them by leading high-performing teams. Pooja also actively contributes as a Board member at Pacific Northwest University and co-leads the Women at Microsoft ERG. As a keynote speaker, she has worked with organizations such as the FBI, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, USPS, IIA National and regional chapters in the US and Canada.
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Women in STEM Episode 27 – Meghann Hallock, Lead Physician Assistant, TeamHealth LongHorn Group
Interview with Meghann Hallock, Lead Physician Assistant at TeamHealth LongHorn Group. Currently, she is the Lead APC at St. David’s South Austin & Bastrop Emergency Departments, where she was recently nominated for APC of the year. She has a Masters in Physician Assistant Studies and a Bachelor’s of Science in Health Professions with a Minor in Aging and Adult Life, both from Grand Valley State University. Her Master’s Research Thesis was on “The Timeliness of Antibiotic Administration in Neutropenic Patients at Risk for Sepsis”.
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Women in STEM Episode 26 – Marie Adams, Director of Genomics Core, Van Andel Institute
Interview with Marie Adams who is the Director of Genomics Core at Van Andel Institute and an expert in the latest next-generation sequencing techniques. Marie earned a M.S. in genetics from Iowa State University and also serves as president (2023-2024) of the Association of Biomolecular Research Facilities (ABRF).
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Women in STEM Episode 25 – Kalyani Mallela, Manager of Systems Engineering, Starkey Hearing Technologies
Interview with Kalyani Mallela who is Manager of Systems Engineering at Starkey Hearing Technologies. She has also held multiple positions with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) including president of the Minnesota Section. Kaylani has a Bachelors of Engineering in electronics and communications engineering and Masters of Science in electrical engineering and management of technology.
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Women in STEM Episode 24 – Jennifer Morikawa, Sr Manufacturing Engineer at GM, Past SWE Region Governor
Interview with Jennifer Morikawa, Sr Manufacturing Engineer at General Motors and past SWE Region H Governor.
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Women in STEM Episode 23 – Valerie Woolard, Software Developer for NationBuilder
Interview with Valerie Woolard, who is a Software Developer at NationBuilder. She’s also been a Search Quality Associate at Google and interned at McSweeney’s as an assistant editor, fact checker, copy-editor and journalist. Find her at http://www.valeriewoolard.com/
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Women in STEM Episode 22 – Stacey DelVecchio, Chemical Engineer at Caterpillar, Past SWE President
Interview with Stacey DelVecchio, Chemical Engineer, Additive Manufacturing Product Manager at Caterpillar Inc., Past Society of Women Engineers (SWE) President.
