CELEBRATING WOMEN IN NITRD

The National Coordination Office honors Women’s History Month, which is during the month of March, by celebrating the women in NITRD who contribute to the Program.

“Everyone wins when we have an inclusive image of a STEM professional: this allows us to increase the talent pool, foster critical STEM skills among the broader community, and promote a healthier, more culturally sensitive workplace… An inclusive workforce provides a rich set of perspectives that enable innovation and creative discovery. I’m proud to say the NITRD Co-chairs and the NCO are committed to an inclusive NITRD, and so I challenge you with this question: What will you do today to empower a co-worker, neighbor, relative, or friend?” – Kamie Roberts, Program Manager, NIST Artificial Intelligence Executive Order and Former NCO Director and Co-chair, NITRD Subcommittee (August 2018 – October 2023).

In honor of Women’s History Month, NITRD illustrated the contributions made by women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Take a journey through history with our Influential Women in STEM webpage and learn more women that have made contributions in STEM. Need a bit of inspiration? Find empowering quotes made by women in STEM who have brought great achievements to society on our Inspirational Quotes by Influential Women in STEM webpage. Need insight or encouragement on entering a STEM field? Check out the Insight into STEM Careers webpage, where five women give advice that would have been beneficial when they began their path in STEM.

 

Women in NITRD – Public Sector

Nina Amla

Nina Amla

NSF

Senior Science Advisor

Dr. Nina Amla is the Senior Science Advisor for the Computer Information Science and Engineering Directorate at the National Science Foundation.

Rael Ammon

Rael Ammon

HHS

Management Analyst

Rael develops new programs to address emerging public health issues, including the opioid epidemic and natural disaster response, in America’s communities. NITRD’s collaboration offers her innovative uses for new technologies that can make a positive impact on public health nationwide.

Maya A. Bernstein

Maya A. Bernstein

HHS

Lawyer and Subject Matter Expert

Maya is a lawyer and subject matter expert with 30+ years of experience in information policy. She started her federal career at OMB and also served as the Privacy Advocate of the IRS. In her current role, she represents HHS in government-wide policy discussions especially regarding the sharing of identifiable data in complex IT environments. Her work encompasses the breadth HHS activities, including medical records privacy, access to research data and information quality, consumer-generated information, social welfare, insider threats, pandemic response, and reproductive health. She is an appointed member of the Federal Privacy Council and was the recipient of its Award for Excellence in 2021.

Cindy Bethel

Cindy L. Bethel

NSF

NSF Program Director (IPA)

Cindy Bethel is a Program Director with the National Science Foundation. Her work focuses on the interaction of people with technology. These include Human-Robot Interaction, Human-Computer Interaction, Human-Centered Cybersecurity, and Ethical & Responsible Research. She is on leave from Mississippi State University where she is a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and the Director of the Social, Therapeutic, and Robotic Systems Lab.

Moria Bittmann

Moria Bittmann

NIH

Program Director

Moria is a mechanical and bioengineer who manages robotics, bionics, and medical simulators programs at NIBIB. Her professional interests include biomedical robotic technologies and ethics related to medical devices.

Laura Biven

Laura Biven

NIH

Data Science Technical Lead

Laura is a Data Science Technical Lead at the Office of Data Science Strategy, Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health.

Cheri Caddy

Cheri Caddy

DOE

Senior Technical Advisor for Cybersecurity

Cheri leads coordination of cyber R&D efforts and alignment with national R&D priorities and policy. Her research focuses on cyber for operational technology and converged architectures. She has led technical projects in cyber vulnerability testing, supply chain security, and technical standards in senior roles at the White House and spanning the intelligence, defense, and critical infrastructure security communities. Cheri has been a Senior Cybersecurity Fellow at the McCrary Institute for Cyber & Critical Infrastructure Security at Auburn University since 2017.

Almadena Y. Chtchelkanova

Almadena Y. Chtchelkanova

NSF

Program Director, CISE/CCF

Dr. Almadena Chtchelkanova is a Program Director at the CISE Directorate at NSF managing awards in the areas HPC, Foundations of Emerging Technologies, Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation, etc. She spent five years at Strategic Analysis, Inc. providing support to DARPA, and four years at NRL. Dr. Chtchelkanova has MA in CS from UT Austin and Ph.D. in physics from Moscow Lomonosov State University in Russia.

Allison Dennis

Allison Dennis

NIH

Program Officer, NLM

Dr. Allison Dennis serves as a Program Officer at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) of NIH. She manages awards in the areas of Bioinformatics, Translational Informatics, Personal Health Informatics, and the SBIR/STTR program. Prior to joining NLM, Dr. Dennis oversaw initiatives in AI with the NIH Office of Data Science Strategy where she advanced health IT standards for scientific discovery with ONC.

Dr. Dilma Da Silva

Dilma Da Silva

NSF

Acting Assistant Director

Dr. Dilma Da Silva is an acting Assistant Director at Directorate for Computer Information Science and Engineering, Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF), National Science Foundation

Wei Ding

Wei Ding

University of Massachusetts Boston & NSF

Professor, UMass Boston & Program Director, NSF

Dr. Wei Ding is a Program Director of NSF’s Information and Intelligent Systems Division. She is a Professor of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Dr. Ding is an IEEE fellow. Her research interests include data mining, machine learning, artificial intelligence, computational semantics, and with applications to health sciences, astronomy, geosciences, and environmental sciences.

Marla L. Dowell

Marla L. Dowell

NIST

Director, NIST CTL and NIST Boulder Laboratory

Marla leads an interdisciplinary NIST Laboratory with emphasis on standards, measurements, and advanced communications research to enable dramatic changes in how consumers, manufacturers, governments, and others provide and consume information, transact business, provide and use essential services. She works closely with its partners in industry, academia, and across the federal government to address the insatiable societal demand for connectivity, one that requires significant advancements in communication technologies.

Deborah Guadalupe Duran

Deborah Guadalupe Duran

NIH

Sr Advisor to Director. National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

Dr. Duran is the Senior Advisor on Data Science, Analytics and Systems to the Director of the National Institutes of Minority and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health. She focuses on implicit and explicit biases in data curation, AI designs, algorithm development, and the impacts on communities. She strives to increase underrepresented women and diverse populations capacity to utilize big data, cloud computing, and data science resources. She developed the ScHARe (Science Collaborative for Health disparities and Artificial intelligence bias Reduction) Research Collaboration Cloud Platform Cloud Platform focusing on social science data, including social determinants of health, to better understand health disparities and health inequities.

Christine Dymek

Christine Dymek

AHRQ

Director, Digital Healthcare Research Division, HHS

Christine is a computer scientist and health IT researcher who is dedicated to advancing the productive use of information technology within health care. Her team focuses on providing foundational research in AI-related innovations for healthcare, health IT usability, consumer health IT, clinical decision support, health IT safety, and patient-reported outcomes.

Christine Edwards

Christine Edwards

NSA

Deputy Chief, Adaptive Cyber-Defense Systems Office, Laboratory for Advanced Cybersecurity Research

Dr. Edwards is an electrical and biomedical engineer, with over 28 years of experience within the Department of Defense where she has held a variety of developer, researcher, technical advisory, and leadership positions. Her research interests are focused on artificial intelligence and neuroscience, and their overlap, to create innovative solutions across multiple application domains, e.g. computer vision, and cybersecurity.

Maureen Falvella

Maureen Falvella

NIH

NIH Deputy Chief Information Security Officer

Maureen Falvella oversees the Cybersecurity program at NIH. She develops strategies, directs operations, and oversees the budget to protect information assets. Maureen has a Master of Science in Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity Investigation and a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration.

Hsin Fang

Hsin Fang

NIST

Computer Scientist

Hsin is a computer scientist at NIST/OISM, where she works as a security analyst on system monitoring and protection. At NIST/ITL, Hsin has collaborated with IETF/ IPNG and IETF/NGTRAN on IPv6 standard and IPERF/XIWT on network traffic data collection and analysis, developed interoperability testing beds, and conducted tests for industry partners. Before joining NIST, Hsin worked in the area of system security for AIX and Mach Kernel, and design/develop The Integrated Reasoning System (TIRS) for expert systems at IBM.

Kimberly Ferguson-Walter

Kimberly Ferguson-Walter

Navy

Laboratory for Advanced Cybersecurity Research, DOD

Kimberly’s research interests are focused on the intersection of computer security, artificial intelligence, and human behavior. Her research background includes cyber deception, reinforcement learning, transfer learning, and intelligent tutoring systems. She is a founding member of the cybersecurity technical group at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) and a representative to the NITRD Artificial Intelligence Interagency working group.

Kathleen Fisher

Kathleen Fisher

DARPA

Director, Information Innovation Office

Dr. Kathleen Fisher is the Director of DARPA’s Information Innovation Office. She was the Chair of the Department of Computer Science at Tufts University and a principal member of the technical staff at AT&T Labs. Dr. Fisher is a Hertz Foundation fellow, an AAAS fellow, an ACM fellow, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Harvey Mudd College.

Stephanie Garcia

Stephanie Garcia

HHS

Branch Chief, Office of Technology, ONC for Health IT

Stephanie Garcia, Branch Chief in the Office of Technology the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, develops strategy for and oversees a portfolio of work that includes aligning the use of health IT across HHS and the advancement of standards-based approaches for health IT use in research.

Candice Gerstner

Candice Gerstner

NSA

Applied Research Mathematician

Candice Gerstner is a technical leader with over 10 years experience in machine learning, applied mathematics, and computer vision. She leads multidisciplinary teams to develop approaches for Generative AI, Multimedia Forensics, and Authentication as Chair of the Multimedia Authentication Steering Committee. Candice earned her PhD from ODU in Mathematics.

Yulia R. Gel

Yulia R. Gel

NSF

Program Director, DMS and TIP

Yulia R. Gel is a Program Director at the National Science Foundation, Division of Mathematical Sciences. Prior to joining NSF, she was a Professor of Statistics at the University of Texas at Dallas. Her research interests include statistical foundations of data science, topological and geometric methods in statistics and machine learning, inference for complex networks and spatio-temporal processes, in applications to risk analytics in environmental sciences, biosurveillance, power systems, and blockchains. She is currently on detail at the NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP).

Sharon Geva

Sharon Geva

NSF

Program Director, Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC), CISE Directorate

Sharon is a Program Director in the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure at NSF and the Co-Chair of the NITRD MAGIC group. As Program Director she provides program management expertise in the advanced computing and the cyberinfrastructure learning and workforce development areas as well as the research expansion program to broaden participation in computer information science and engineering.

Elena Ghanaim

Elena Ghanaim

NIH

Health Science Policy Analyst, NIH

Elena Ghanaim is a Policy Analyst for the Policy and Program Analysis Branch (PPAB) at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). She focuses on the NIH Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) Policy, health privacy regulations, and human research participant protection issues.

Nada Golmie

Nada Golmie

NIST

Chief, Wireless Networks Division, Communications Technology Laboratory

Nada is a computer scientist and research engineer leading projects related to modeling and evaluation of future-generation wireless systems and protocols, serving as a cochair for the 5G mmWave Channel Model Alliance heading, with extensive research experience and publications in media access control and protocols for wireless networks.

Cindy Orellana Good

Cindy Orellana Good

DOT

Director, Office of Financial Innovation and Transformation

Cindy has been in the public sector for 15 years and has dedicated most of her time in helping organizations overcome challenges and identifying opportunities for growth. She is currently the Director at the Department of Treasury’s Bureau of Fiscal Service Office of Financial Innovation and Transformation, where she looks at new and emerging technologies to improve the productivity, quality of service, and accuracy of Federal financial management.

Susan Gregurick

Susan Gregurick

NIH

Associate Director of Data Science

Susan K. Gregurick, Ph.D., was appointed Associate Director for Data Science and Director of the Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on September 16, 2019. Under Dr. Gregurick’s leadership, the ODSS leads the implementation of the NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science through scientific, technical, and operational collaboration with the institutes, centers, and offices that comprise NIH.

Carol Hawk

Carol Hawk

DOE

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems Program, Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, DOE/CESER

Carol is a high-energy physicist directing DOE R&D programs that promote resilience in the Nation’s energy delivery cyber infrastructure to enable critical operations to continue even in the presence of cyber attacks.

Thuc T. Hoang

Thuc T. Hoang

DOE

Director, Office of Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC), DOE/NNSA

Thuc manages the ASC High Performance Computing (HPC) systems’ research, development and operation activities, including the NNSA Exascale Computing Initiative, to provide advanced simulation capabilities for the NNSA Stockpile Stewardship mission.

Erin Jane Iturriaga

Erin Jane Iturriaga

NIH

Program Officer/Clinical Trials Specialist

Erin is a Branch Chief for Health Research Development at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) with a research and regulatory background in biomedical, data, and nursing sciences and manages a diverse portfolio from basic science to transformative technology and large clinical that helped transform the use of technology. Her interests include technology development, treatment trials, mobile/digital trials, social determinants of health, and various data science/machine learning projects.

Young Ah Kim

Young Ah Kim

DHS

Management & Program Analyst

Technology Modernization (TM) evaluating relevant and improved technologies that will further DHS OBIM’s mission. R&D efforts within the federal, state, local government, academia, international, and industry partners.

Padma Krishnaswamy

Padma Krishnaswamy

FCC

Senior Engineer, Office of Engineering and Technology, FCC/OET

Padma is a senior engineer with the Office of Engineering and Technology at the FCC. She applies her electrical and systems engineering background, together with extensive experience gained in various Internet-related technical and program management roles in the private sector, towards contributing to the FCC’s mission. Her professional interests include the continuing evolution in network services and technologies, network architectures, measurements and characterization, secure and trustworthy networking, and network resilience.

Christine Lai

Christine Lai

CISA

Cybersecurity R&D/AI Security Lead

Christine Lai is a cybersecurity/machine learning researcher and leads the AI security initiative at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Her focus is on leveraging future and emerging technology solutions to address challenging national security problems.

Alexandra (Sandy) Landsberg

Alexandra (Sandy) Landsberg

DOD

Deputy Director, High Performance Computing Modernization Program

Sandy is an aerospace engineer who is a nationally recognized leader in computational modeling, algorithm development, simulation of complex physics-based applications, and software development for high performance computing.

Irina Leonova

Irina Leonova

FDIC

Corporate Expert

Irina is a Corporate expert at the FDIC specializing in financial data infrastructures, digital assets, distributed ledge technology and structured financial instruments. Among her recent projects is the establishment of the Global Legal Entity Identifier foundation as a tool to monitor global financial stability risks.

Naomi Lefkovitz

Naomi Lefkovitz

NIST

Senior Privacy Policy Advisor, NIST/ITL

Naomi is leading the team developing the NIST Privacy Framework, her work focuses on privacy and cybersecurity risk management and integrating solutions for protecting individuals’ privacy into information technologies, including digital identity services, Internet of Things, smart cities, big data, mobile and artificial intelligence.

Leslie Leonard

Leslie Leonard

DOD

Computer Scientist, DOD

Leslie Leonard, a Computer Scientist at the U.S Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), serves as the Cybersecurity Research lead for the High Performance Computer Modernization Program’s (HPCMP) Security team. Dr. Leonard leads research and development for new technologies, tools, and techniques that enable the HPCMP to defend, mitigate, and secure five Defense Supercomputing Resource Centers and the Defense Research and Engineering Network.

Juan Jenny Li

Juan Jenny Li

NSF

Program Director, CISE-OAC

Dr. Juan Jenny Li is currently an IPA program director of NSF Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure from Kean University (a Hispanic and Minority Serving Institution of New Jersey). She has been actively participating in NITRD activities related to her research on cyberinfrastructure supported AI advancement. She has published over 100 articles in peer reviewed book chapters, journals, and proceedings. She is a holder of 20 patents.

Asiyah Yu Lin

Asiyah Yu Lin

NIH, NIAID

Senior Data Scientist, Office of Data Science

Dr. Asiyah Yu Lin is a seasoned ontologist and data scientist trained in immunology, pediatrics, and medical informatics. Her career spans a range of medical research and technical roles at academic institutions, private start-ups, and in government. At the NIAID, Dr. Lin leads to the development of the NIAID Data Ecosystem and is involved in strategic planning on NIAID data science initiatives and trainings.

Kathleen B. Loftin

Kathleen B. Loftin

NASA

Center Chief Technologist, Kennedy Space Center

Loftin manages KSC’s research and technology projects, ensuring there the robust research and technology portfolio addresses the challenges of NASA’s mission. Loftin serves as the principal advisor to leadership and to the Agency’s Office of the Chief Technologist on matters concerning center-wide technology development and leverage. Loftin also serves as a change agent regarding the workforce’s capacity to innovate, and is responsible for documenting, demonstrating, and communicating the societal impact of KSC’s technology accomplishments.

Kathy Lyons-Burke

Kathy Lyons-Burke

NRC

Senior Level Advisor for Information Security, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

Kathy Lyons-Burke serves as the Senior Level Advisor for Information Security for the Office of the Chief Information Officer at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). During her 40 years of computer security experience, she has been an Associate Department Head in the Special Projects Department of the Center for Integrated Intelligence Systems at the MITRE Corporation before she joined NIST and then NRC.

Mekisha Marshall

Mekisha Marshall

National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office

Chief S&T Advisor, The Office of the Director of National Intelligence

Mekisha Marshall serves as the Chief Science and Technology (S&T) Advisor at the National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office (NMIO), which is the National Intelligence Manager advising the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on the maritime domain. She focuses primarily on countering new threats to US national security and new technologies promising to improve maritime security and marine conservation.

Melissa Midzor

Melissa Midzor

NIST

Program Manager, National Advanced Spectrum and Communications Test Network (NASCTN), NIST/CTL

Melissa is a physicist working on complex spectrum sharing measurements between Commercial and Federal system. NASCTN is a multi-agency organization that provides trusted and validated data to accelerate the design and deployment of spectrum sharing technologies. She is the former Director for Electronic Warfare Integrated Laboratories (EWIL) at NAVAIR, Pt. Mugu CA.

Wendy J. Nilsen

Wendy J. Nilsen

NSF

Deputy Division Director, CISE/IIS

Wendy Nilsen is the Deputy Division Director in the Information and Intelligent Systems Division of the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate at NSF. Previously, she was the lead Program Director in the Smart Health program. Her work focuses on the intersection of computing, especially artificial intelligence, and human functioning.

Diana Parzik

Diana Parzik

USAID

Information Disorder & Resilience Specialist

Diana Parzik is an Information Disorder & Resilience Specialist at USAID’s Center for Democracy, Human Rights and Governance, where she is helping to lead the agency’s efforts to address Mis- Dis- and Mal- information and the challenges around the rise of authoritarianism. She began her career with USAID in 2016 in the office of Civil Military Cooperation where she worked closely with the U.S. Africa Command.

Jessica Yoo Perry

Jessica Yoo Perry

DOE

Technical Program Manager, CESER

Jessica is a Technical Program Manager with 3 graduate degrees (Cybersecurity Risk and Strategy, MBA, Industrial Engineering) and post-military experience across cybersecurity policy, Research Development & Demonstration (RD&D), operations, and engineering in both private and public sectors. She is an honorably discharged military veteran and a 2024 graduate of the State Department’s National Security Executive Leadership Seminar. Jessica is a contributing author to the quadrennial NITRD 2023 Federal Cybersecurity Research and Development Strategic Plan.

Kimberlee Potter

Kimberlee Potter

VA

Scientific Portfolio Manager for Restorative Medicine

Kimberlee Potter is the Scientific Review Officer for Surgery, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, and Endocrinology-Bone Merit Review panels and the Portfolio Manager of Restorative Medicine at the Office of Research and Development for the Veterans Affairs. Previously, Dr. Potter was at the National Institutes of Health where she developed novel techniques for the non-invasive assessment of engineered tissue constructs. She received her PhD from Cambridge University.

Kamie Roberts

Kamie Roberts

NIST

Acting Deputy Director, ITL

Kamie is an Acting Deputy Director, Associate Director for Government and Industrial Liaison at Information Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Angela Robinson

Angela Robinson

NIST

Mathematician, Cryptographic Technology Group

Dr. Angela Robinson is a mathematician in NIST’s Cryptographic Technology Group. She participates in the NITRD efforts which relate to privacy-enhancing cryptography. In particular, she helped develop the National Strategy on Advancing Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing and Analytics and is working on the update to the Privacy R&D National Strategy.

Suzanne Sloan

Suzanne Sloan

DOT

Principal Technical Advisor, Transportation Technology Policy

Suzanne Sloan is a principal technical advisor for transportation technology policy at the U.S. DOT Volpe Center. Ms. Sloan is recognized for her significant contributions to the adoption of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) including research on innovative technologies for surface transportation to support improvements in safety and system optimization. Key focus areas include ITS architecture, standards, and spectrum policy related to vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications.

Merrill Smith

Merrill Smith

DOE

Senior Advisor, Office of Electricity, DOE

Merrill is an engineer working on DOE initiatives targeting smart grid technologies that will increase the resiliency and reliability of the power grid, including microgrids and related technologies, such as clean distributed energy generation, combined heat and power, renewables and advanced power systems.

Heidi Sofia

Heidi Sofia

NIH

Program Director, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH/NHGRI

Heidi is a biochemist and computational biologist who manages NIH genomics, data science, and informatics portfolios, with interests in enabling technologies and next-generation standards for challenging problems in genomic biology and health, including secure data sharing with privacy.

Shani Spivak

Shani Spivak

NSC

Director for Emerging Technology and International Collaboration

Shani Spivak is serving as Director for Emerging Technology and International Collaboration at the National Security Council. Prior to joining the NSC, she was a technology advisor at the FBI, where she founded a Women in Tech advocacy group, and helped drive AI ethics and governance work. She has a background in electrical engineering and is a veteran of the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps.

Ann E. Stapleton

Ann E. Stapleton

USDA

Senior Advisor for Agricultural Technology and Systems

Dr. Ann E. Stapleton is on detail as Senior Advisor for Agricultural Technology and Systems at the USDA Office of the Chief Scientist; she was previously National Program Leader in the USDA Institute of Food Production and Sustainability, Division of Plant Systems – Production, serving as the program director for NIFA-funded AI Institutes awards. Dr. Stapleton recently served as a National Science Foundation program officer in the EPSCoR office and co-led NSF’s data education and literacy team. She has more than ten years’ experience in development of cyberinfrastructure for biology and has published in computer science, statistics, and biology journals.

Ceren Susut

Ceren Susut

DOE

Associate Director of Science, Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Office of Science

Dr. Ceren Susut is the Associate Director of Science for Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) in the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC). ASCR is the nation’s leading supporter of fundamental research in applied mathematics, computer science and networking research and the steward of the world’s fastest high-end computing resources at ORNL, ANL, and LBNL.

Reva Schwartz

Reva Schwartz

NIST

Deputy Associate Director, ITL, Office of Emerging Technology

Reva Schwartz is a research scientist and Principal Investigator on Bias in Artificial Intelligence for NIST’s Trustworthy and Responsible AI program. Her research focuses on evaluating AI system trustworthiness, studying AI system impacts, and driving understanding of socio-technical systems within computational environments.

Elham Tabassi

Elham Tabassi

NIST

Acting Chief of Staff, Information Technology Laboratory, NIST/ITL

Elham is the acting chief of staff of the Information Technology Laboratory at NIST where she has worked in the past 20 years with a technical focus on computer vision, machine learning, and biometrics.

Ngwe Thawdar

Ngwe Thawdar

AFRL

Electronics Engineeer, AFRL

Ngwe is an electrical engineer and researcher who has led diverse teams to design, implement and demonstrate cutting edge technologies in wireless communications and networking. She is currently the technical lead for AFRL’s Terahertz Communications portfolio.

Mary Theofanos

Mary Theofanos

NIST

NIST Fellow

Mary Theofanos is a Computer Scientist and Sr. Technical Advisor with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Information Technology Laboratory where she performs research on usability and human factors of systems and most recently on diversity and inclusivity

Amy Walton

Amy Walton

NSF

Program Director, Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure in the Directorate for CISE, NSF

As Program Director at NSF’s Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure, Amy Walton provides program management expertise in several areas critical to the future of advanced cyberinfrastructure and data science activities. She co-led NSF’s Harnessing the Data Revolution working group, led the development of the Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation program, and created the Data Infrastructure Building Blocks program.

Dana Wolff-Hughes

Dana Wolff-Hughes

NIH

Program Officer, Office of Advanced Simulation and Computing & Institutional R&D Programs, NIH

Dana Wolff-Hughes, PhD, is a program director in the National Cancer Institute’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS). In this capacity, she supports work which validates and utilizes digital technology for cancer risk factor assessment in research and population surveillance.

Patricia Wolfhope

Patricia Wolfhope

DHS

Senior Subject Matter Expert, DHS

Ms. Wolfhope manages and transitions digital forensic systems and is responsible for developing, testing, integrating, and delivering technical solutions to Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies.

Goli Yamini

Goli Yamini

NSF

AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, NSF

Goli Yamini is an AAAS S&T Policy Fellow in CISE, Division of Information and Intelligent Systems, at NSF. She works with the Smart and Connected Health program to address key health questions. Prior to her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences/Biophysics, Dr. Yamini was a fellow at the Laboratory of Neurogenetics at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in NIH.

Women in NITRD – Private Sector

Maxine D. Brown

Maxine D. Brown

University of Illinois Chicago

Former Director of the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (retired)

Maxine D. Brown is a Former Director of the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois Chicago. EVL, an interdisciplinary research laboratory, applies “visual data science” solutions to problems of national and global importance. More specifically, EVL faculty, staff and students partner with international computer scientists and domain scientists – from academia, government laboratories, industry and non-profits – to work on research, development, technology transfer and training of advanced visualization, virtual-reality, collaboration and networked cyberinfrastructure.

Marcy Collinson

Marcy Collinson

Oracle

Sr. Principal Global Strategic Partnerships, Oracle for Research

With an Anthropology degree, Marcy started her career in primatology and veterinary medicine. She transitioned to human nursing education, marketing, fundraising, events, and corporate relations. She was a Senior Programs Manager at AWS overseeing cloud management for higher education and scientific research. She now leads strategic partnerships for the Oracle for Research Team, where her passion for bridging research and technology for societal advancement can come to light.

Ewa Deelman

Ewa Deelman

University of Southern California

Research Professor & Director, Science Automation Technologies

Ewa Deelman is a Research Professor at the University of Southern California Computer Science Department and the Research Director of the Science Automation Technologies at the USC Information Sciences Institute. The USC/ISI Science Automation Technologies group explores the interplay between automation and the management of scientific workflows that include resource provisioning and data management. Dr. Deelman pioneered workflow planning for computations executing in distributed environments.

Kjiersten Fagnan

Kjiersten Fagnan

LBNL

Chief Informatics Officer and Data Science and Informatics Leader, DOE Joint Genome Institute

Kjiersten is an applied mathematician who works at the interface of computing and biology. She leads interdisciplinary teams in the areas of laboratory information management systems, data management, workflow automation, and data accessibility.

Florence Hudson

Florence Hudson

FDHint

Founder and CEO

Florence Hudson is the founder and CEO of FDHint, where she consults in advanced technology, diversity, and inclusion. She is special advisor for the NSF Cybersecurity Center of Excellence at Indiana University and the Northeast Big Data Innovation Hub at Columbia University leading EU-US collaboration on Next Generation Internet. Florence is the editor of the book “Women Securing the Future with TIPPSS for IoT”.

Jessica Li

Jessica Li

College of Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Professor and Interim Associate Dean for Research and Director of the Bureau of Educational Research

Jessica Li is a professor of Human Resource Development at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, where she also serves as the Interim Associate Dean for Research and Director of the Bureau of Educational Research. She is also the Cross-Functional Lead, Education and Workplace Development, Discovery Partners Institute, University of Illinois System. She is the editor-in-chief of the journal Human Resource Development International.

Alison Derbenwick Miller

Alison Derbenwick Miller

Oracle Corporation

Vice President, Oracle for Research

Alison has spent her career advancing STEM education and research, putting action behind Oracle’s commitment that all students deserve the opportunity to build computing skills. She grew Oracle Academy into the company’s flagship philanthropic education program that supports millions of students worldwide. Most recently, she launched Oracle for Research to build Oracle’s research product portfolio and democratize access to cloud technologies for researchers conducting important work that drives meaningful change.

Heidi Lee Morgan

Heidi Lee Morgan

University of Southern California

Senior Computer Scientist

Heidi MORGAN, Ph. D. is a Senior Computer Scientist in the Networking and Cybersecurity Division at USC-ISI. Dr. Morgan moved to ISI in 2016 from Florida International University where she was the Director and Co-Founder of the Center for Internet Augmented Research and Assessment. CIARA fosters a domain-specific tailoring of Internet technologies to support faculty research, and in the process improve graduate education.

Lavanya Ramakrishnan

Lavanya Ramakrishnan

LBNL

Staff Scientist, Computational Research Division

Lavanya is a computer scientist building software tools for computational and data-intensive science, especially for workflow, resource, and data management. More recently, she and her team have been using user research methodologies to complement technical insights with user and social perspectives to improve the design of computational tools and technologies.

Jennifer Schopf

Jennifer Schopf

University of Texas at Austin

Director, Networking Partnerships TACC

Dr. Jennifer Schopf has spent more than 25 years working to make it easier for researchers and scientists to share their data and use advanced cyberinfrastructure. In her current role, she works to ensure effective data transfers to enable collaborative science. Prior to this, she led International Networks at Indiana University (IN@IU), spent four years at the National Science Foundation (NSF), and held positions at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Globus and Argonne National Laboratory, and the UK National eScience Center.

Women in NITRD – NCO Staff

Jacqueline Altamirano

Jacqueline Altamirano

NCO/NITRD

Executive Assistant and Coordinator (contractor)

Jacqueline provides high-level executive support to the NCO Director and Deputy Director. She is the NCO administrative liaison to the White House, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate.

Caitlyn Blizzard

Caitlyn Blizzard

NCO/NITRD

Communications and Public Affairs Coordinator (contractor)

Caitlyn serves as the communications and public affairs coordinator for the NITRD national Coordination Office (NCO) where she spearheads the organization’s strategic communications including managing content development and internal and external messaging.

Nekeia Butler

Nekeia Butler

NCO/NITRD

Executive Secretary (contractor)

Nekeia is an administrative professional, biologist, and writer providing executive support to the Federal agency members of the NITRD Program and high-ranking government officials and serving as liaison to the NSTC Executive Director.

Melissa Cornelius

Melissa Cornelius

NCO/NITRD

Technical Coordinator (contractor)

Melissa Cornelius is the Technical Project Coordinator for the National Coordination Office (NCO) for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Program. As Technical Project Coordinator, Ms. Cornelius provides subject matter expertise, meeting coordination, and facilitation, in support of the Interagency Working Groups, Computing-Enabled Networked Physical Systems (CNPS) and Software Productivity, Sustainability, and Quality (SPSQ).

Mallory Hinks

Mallory Hinks

NCO/NITRD

Technical Coordinator (contractor)

Dr. Hinks is a Technical Coordinator for the NCO and the NITRD Program. She provides subject matter expertise, meeting coordination, and facilitation, in support of the Wireless Spectrum R&D and Large Scale Networking Interagency Working Groups.

Ji Hyun Lee

Ji Hyun Lee

NCO/NITRD

Technical Coordinator (contractor)

Ji is an information management specialist and a former systems architect who has worked in topic areas including RF communications, information and tactical systems.

Virginia Moore

Virginia Moore

NCO/NITRD

Chief of Staff and Contract Program Manager (contractor)

Virginia manages the internal operations and the contract deliverables for NITRD National Coordinating Office.

Olachi Onyewu

Olachi Onyewu

NCO/NITRD

Technical Coordinator (contractor)

Olachi Onyewu is a Technical Coordinator for the NCO and the NITRD program. She provides subject matter expertise, meeting coordination and facilitation in support of the Digital Assets FTAC.

Ann Schwartz

Ann Schwartz

NSCR

Program Director, NSCR

Dr. Ann Schwartz joins the NITRD NCO as the inaugural Program Director for the Pilot Office of the National Strategic Computing Reserve (NSCR).

Diane Theiss

Diane Theiss

NCO/NITRD

Financial Analyst and Deputy Chief of Staff (contractor)

Diane manages all areas of finance and operations for the NITRD NCO.

The National Coordination Office celebrates #WomenInNITRD to recognize the women who strengthen the Federal science and technology research organizations through their leadership, passion, and fortitude. This webpage is being launched as part of National Women’s History Month, which traces its origins back to women protesting for better working conditions in 1857, the advent of the International Women’s Day in 1909, and National Women’s History Week established by Congress in 1981 (P.L. No: 97-28) and expanded in 1987 (P.L. No: 100-9) to the month of March. On March 1, 2019, President Donald J. Trump signed the 2019 Presidential Proclamation on Women’s History Month.

Standing on the shoulders of women of previous generations, women in NITRD have been able to overcome difficult cultural and social barriers to sit in the classroom and at the conference table, raise families, build careers, and provide senior-level leadership in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). We offer this recognition and appreciation, knowing that girls of today will see women in NITRD as role models who worked hard and chose demanding fields of study and research to help improve our world.

 

Women’s History Month and Other Related Resources/References

 

 

SHARE YOUR RECOGNITION AND APPRECIATION

 

#WomenInNITRD !!!

 

 


Page updated: March 1, 2024