The BEYA Stem Conference Announces 2021 Official Award Winners

BALTIMORE - Dec. 1, 2020 - PRLog -- The BEYA STEM Conference will be hosting it's 2021 event on Feb. 11-13. The goal of the BEYA conference is to create connections between minority students, educators, and stem professionals while facilitating partnerships with individuals and their local STEM resources. In light of the global pandemic, this year's conference will be a digital twin of the physical event and create a new experience for attendees and awardees.

This year's event focused on an arching theme of the theme "Stand up! Step up! Make the Change," will gather participants from students, professionals, executive leadership, educators, military leaders and veterans, and more.

"Any time our land has made the call, we have stepped up," said CEO of CCG Dr. Tyrone Taborn on the annual event's acknowledgment 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."

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.

BEYA STEM Conference 2021 full award winner list

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
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.

About BEYA & CCG

The BEYA STEM Conference is produced by Career Communications Group, Inc. (CCG), the leader in workforce diversity, working with all types of companies to help support them in promoting multiculturalism and gender equity in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). 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.