Moderator: Dr. Knatokie Ford Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Dr. Knatokie Ford is a Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) where she oversees development of national initiatives to raise visibility and improve the image of STEM fields and practitioners. She previously served as a AAAS Science &Technology Policy Fellow at OSTP from 2012-2014 and is founder and CEO of Fly Sci Enterprise, LLC. Prior to working at OSTP, Dr. Ford was a postdoctoral research fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. She also spent time in Los Angeles where she had the opportunity to work as a background actress in television and film and serve as a middle school teacher in an underserved community in South Central Los Angeles. Dr. Ford completed her PhD in Experimental Pathology at Harvard University where she studied age-related macular degeneration and received a BS/MS in Chemistry/Biological Chemistry from Clark Atlanta University. Panelists: Nadine Tribur, Instrumentation/Electrical Department Manager, S & B Engineers and Constructors (www.SBEC.com), Ltd., Houston, TX 77087 Nadine Tribur, P.E. is the Instrument/Electrical Engineering Department Manager at S&B Engineers and Constructors. She oversees a department of 230 engineers and designers. She currently serves on the University of Houston Industry Advisory Board whose purpose is to review program offerings and course content to ensure that the current and future needs of engineers and engineering technologist in the industry are being met. Additionally, she serves on the Control Systems PE Test Committee through NCEES which develops test material and criteria for the Control Systems PE exam. Mrs. Tribur has a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Houston. Katie Mehnert, Founder and CEO Pink Petro, (www.pinkpetro.com), leading social media site for women professionals in the petrochemical energy sector Katie Walthall Mehnert is the founder and chief executive officer of Pink Petro™, the first and only social media channel designed to unite, connect, develop and grow women working across the energy value chain and help close the gender gap in the energy industry. Mehnert also is the president of Cognovi Communications, a consulting business that provides strategic change management solutions to the energy and utilities industry. With nearly 20 years of experience in the energy industry, Mehnert focuses on helping organizations transform culture, improve safety and identify operational risk. As a ‘People Engineer’, she enables energy companies to cut through waste, deliver value and focused solutions to operational and talent challenges.Prior to owing her own consulting business, Mehnert served in safety, change and organizational leadership roles at BP and Shell. Dr. Christyl Johnson, Goddard Space Flight Center, Deputy Director for Technology and Research Investments Dr. Christyl Johnson manages the center's research and development portfolio, and is responsible for formulating the center's future technology goals and leading an integrated program of investments aligned to meet those goals. Christyl Johnson joined NASA Goddard as deputy center director for science and technology on Dec. 6, 2010. In July 2012 Goddard Center Director Chris Scolese reorganized some of the responsibilities of the Goddard Executive Council, at which point Johnson assumed her role as deputy director for technology and research investments. Johnson came to NASA Goddard from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where she served under the President's science adviser as the executive director of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), which is the principal means within the executive branch to coordinate science and technology policy across the Federal research and development enterprise. She was responsible for ensuring the establishment of clear national goals for Federal science and technology investments in a broad array of areas across the executive branch, including basic science, technology, energy, environment, natural resources, and homeland and national security. Prior to joining the White House staff, Johnson served as the assistant associate administrator in NASA's Office of the Administrator. In this role, she and the associate administrator provided the oversight of the agency's technical mission areas and field center operations. Johnson came to the Office of the Administrator from the Office of the Chief Engineer, where she served as the deputy chief engineer for program integration and operations. There, she provided an integrated focus for the development, maintenance, and implementation of agency engineering and program/project management policies, standards, and practices. Prior to her appointment to the Office of the Chief Engineer, Johnson served as the associate director for exploratory missions in the Office of Earth Science, where she managed the formulation and development for all exploratory missions. The missions that she managed included QuikToms, GRACE, CLOUDSAT, Triana, AQUARIUS, HYDROS and OCO, and involved mission development activities at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Goddard Space Flight Center, Langley Research Center and several international and industry partners.
Johnson began her career at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., in 1985 in the Remote Sensing Technology Branch where she designed and built laser systems for advanced active remote sensors. In 1991, she became the program manager and lead engineer of the Diode-Pumped Cr:LiSAF Technology Development Program. In this role she established several initiatives, one of which was an industry and NASA collaboration to build an efficient Differential Absorption Lidar for remote sensing of water vapor. Under this program, Johnson delivered the first tunable diode-pumped Cr: LiSAF laser system to achieve 33 mJ. This achievement was highlighted internationally, and Johnson was invited to collaborate with scientists at Los Alamos National Labs, using this laser system for three weeks of field measurements in the desert of New Mexico. Johnson also established a state-of-the-art laboratory for stress optic coefficient measurement of laser crystals, and utilized this laboratory to provide the science community and laser industry with the first stress optic coefficients for the Cr:LiSAF laser material. Johnson held a variety of project management and senior engineering positions at Langley involved in the design, development and application of state-of-the-art and advanced systems and subsystems for atmospheric, aeronautic and space flight research missions.
Johnson earned her bachelor's degree in physics from Lincoln University, a master's degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University, and a Ph.D. in systems engineering from George Washington University. Linda Millis, Executive Vice President, SolPass Linda Millis has a career rich in cybersecurity analysis, including national and homeland security issues. Her expertise includes WMD threat assessment, intelligence analysis, program management, domestic preparedness for bioterrorism threats, tracking financial assets of terrorists and protecting critical infrastructure. At SolPass, Millis follows her personal interest and experience to connect the private sector and government organizations in the job of solving cybersecurity issues while protecting privacy and civil liberties. Originally trained as a Russian linguist, Linda had a distinguished public career. She served in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and held senior positions at the National Security Agency (NSA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the White House, where she served on the staff of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and the Commission on the Roles and Capabilities of the Intelligence Community. In addition to her public service, Linda has worked in the private sector to help the business community and government collaborate on homeland security and intelligence issues. While with the Business Executives for Natural Security (BENS), she created an innovative homeland security partnership between business and government, which the White House embraced as a model for the rest of the nation. Linda earned her BA in Russian Studies from the University of Maryland and her Master of International Public Policy degree from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She is an adjunct faculty member for the Biodefense graduate program at George Mason University. Chaitali Dave Director, EPC, Fabricated Equipment & Logistics for Phillips66. Chaitali Dave has over 17 years of experience in the Oil & Gas Industry with the last 15 years working within the EPC contracting world and recently joined Phillips 66 in 2012. Chaitali is responsible for managing the relationship with Engineering, Procurement & Construction contractors and supporting capital projects. She is also responsible for managing the Fabricated Equipment and Logistics categories. Chaitali received her BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Florida. She currently lives in Houston with her husband Raj and their young daughter Ria. On the rare days when she has had enough sleep, she enjoys reading, working out and trying new foods. Terry Roberts, President & Founder CyberSync, Inc., WhiteHawk, Inc. Terry Roberts is establishing the first Cyber Security E-Commerce Community - enabling all businesses (especially mid-sized and small companies) to have continuous online access to tailored learning, smart buying and connections, to the best products, services, insights and trends industry wide. Previously Terry was the TASC VP for Cyber Engineering and Analytics, running all Cyber/IT, Financial and Business Analytics cross cutting innovative technical services. Prior to TASC, Terry was the Executive Director of the Carnegie Mellon, Software Engineering Institute, leading the technical body of work for the entire US Interagency, with a special focus on leveraging and transitioning commercial innovation and acquisition excellence to government programs and capabilities. Before transitioning to industry in 2009, Terry Roberts was the Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence (DDNI), where she led, together with the Director of Naval Intelligence, more than 20,000 intelligence and information-warfare military and civilian professionals and managed more than $5 billion in resources, technologies, and programs globally, leading the initial approach for the merging of Naval Communications and Intelligence under the OPNAV N2/N6 and the creation of the Information Dominance Core. Prior to being the Navy DDNI, Terry Roberts served as the Director of Requirements and Resources for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (USDI), spearheading the creation and implementation of the Military Intelligence Program (MIP), in partnership with the Director of National Intelligence, the Services, the Combat Support Agencies, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). An intelligence professional for over 30 years, Terry has held many senior intelligence positions, including Director of Intelligence, Commander Naval Forces Europe and Commander-in-Chief NATO AFSOUTH; Director, Defense Intelligence Resource Management Office (manager of the General Defense Intelligence Program); Director, Naval Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) Scientific and Technical Intelligence (S&TI) analysis at the Office of Naval Intelligence; special assistant to the Associate Director of Central Intelligence for Military Support and the Chief of Staff for the Director Military Intelligence Staff. In addition, Terry has directed, conducted, and enabled intelligence operations globally, with much of this work being focused on the requirements, planning, and implementation of intelligence and communications technologies, software, and architectures. Terry Roberts is the Co-Chair of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) Cyber Council and four Task Force efforts, a Member of the AFCEA Intelligence Committee, on the Naval Intelligence Professionals (NIP) BOD and participates in the Cyber Education Advisory BOD’s for the USNA and Marymount University. Terry’s personal awards include the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service; the Navy Senior Civilian Award of Distinction, the NGA Personal Medallion for Excellence; the Coast Guard Distinguished Public Service Award; the Director of Central Intelligence National Intelligence Certificate of Distinction; the National Intelligence Reform Medal; and the National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation. Dr. Ashanti Johnson is the Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Recruitment and an Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Texas at Arlington (UT Arlington) Dr. Ashanti Johnson received her B.S. (1993) in Marine Science from Texas A&M University-Galveston and her Ph.D. (1999) in Oceanography from Texas A&M University. Her areas of research include: 1) environmental aquatic radiogeochemistry, 2) professional development of students and early career scientists, and 3) science and engineering diversity-focused initiatives. Dr. Johnson’s radiogeochemistry research activities focus on the utilization of various biogeochemical indicators to interpret past events that have impacted the marine, estuarine and freshwater environments in the Arctic, as well as in coastal regions of Georgia, Florida and Puerto Rico. Her professional development and diversity-focused activities are designed to facilitate the advancement of students representing diverse socioeconomic, cultural, gender, racial and academic backgrounds. She is the director of the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative Broker-Facilitator for Predominately White Institutions and Predominately Black Institutions, the NASA and NSF-funded MS PHD’S in Earth System Science Professional Development Initiative and the NSF-funded Pathways to Ocean Science Project. She was PI and director of a NSF-funded LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate Graduate Fellowship Program and an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Minority Ph.D. Program, co-director of an NSF-funded GK-12 Graduate Fellowship Program, and coordinator of an NSF Alliance for Graduate Education to the Professoriate Program. Dr, Johnson has served on several boards, including the National Academies Gulf Research Advisory Group, the NSF Advisory Committee on Environmental Research and Education, AGU Committee on Education and Human Resources and Subcommittee on Diversity, International Safe Water Conference Steering Committee, Savannah River Environmental Sciences Field Station Advisory Board, and the University of Maine’s ADVANCE Advisory Board. She has received numerous honors and awards and has published in both scientific and education journals. She received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring at the White House, was recognized by TheGrio.com, an NBC product, as one of 100 History Makers in The Making and profiled in the Black Enterprise Magazine March 2011 Issue’s “Women In STEM” Feature Story. |