Cordell Hardy, Ph.D
3M
Company
St. Paul MN
Location
Cordell Hardy is the Vice President, of Global R&D Operations, Corporate Research & Development, at 3M Company Headquartered in St. Paul, MN. Cordell has a B.S. and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Florida A&M University and the University of Minnesota, respectively. After joining 3M, Cordell worked in the Consumer Business Group, first as a product developer for consumer adhesives and tapes, then in various management roles within Stationery Products and Home Care laboratories. He then joined the Safety & Graphics Business Group in 2012, taking on a number of managerial assignments prior to his current role. Dr. Hardy is an active community advocate and serves on the Board of Directors of Minnesota Community Care, a large health clinic providing cost-effective care to underserved populations, as well as the Board of the 3M Foundation.
Lakiesha Hawkins
NASA
Company
Washington, D.C.
Location
Lakiesha Vessel Hawkins is the Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator (Deputy Manager, SES) for the Moon to Mars Program with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In this role, she leads development, mission integration, and risk management for elements enabling deep space exploration; including the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, human landing systems, spacesuits and Gateway station. In her early career, she tested multimillion dollar propulsion systems that helped power the Space Shuttle. Recognition of Ms. Hawkins’ career contributions include the Outstanding Leadership Medal, NASA’s second-highest honor. Ms. Hawkins holds a BS in mechanical engineering from Florida A&M University through the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, and a MS in engineering management-industrial engineering from the University of South Florida. Ms. Hawkins in active in several professional and civic organizations. She relishes opportunities to mentor students and young professionals, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). She is a senior member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and is active with the Links Inc., Jack and Jill of America, Inc., and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Eunice Heath
Dow
Company
Bryn Mawr PA
Location
Eunice Heath serves as Corporate Director for Sustainability at Dow. She leads the coordinated planning and implementation of the 2025 Sustainability Goals, as well as sustainability integration and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting disclosure cross the company and business units. Ms. Heath joined Dow in 1991. In 2013, she assumed a role in corporate sustainability, which included responsibilities for Dow 2025 circular economy implementation and liaison to external organizations such as The Sustainability Consortium, Green Chemistry Commerce Council and American Chemistry Council Value Chain and Retail Committees. She is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt, a recipient of the 2007 Black Engineer of the Year Award, 2011 Women of Distinction winner by the Philadelphia Business Journal, 2013 Champion of Champions award by NSBE, 2017 Honoree of Forty Women to Watch Over 40 by Forbes Media, 2020 Honoree of 25 Badass Women Shaking Up the Climate Movement by GreenBiz and recently named to the 2020 HERoes Role Models for leadership in championing women in business and driving change for gender diversity in the workplace. Heath earned her MBA at the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial & Systems Engineering at the University of Florida.
Jacquay Henderson
Square Peg Technologies
Company
Washington DC
Location
Jacquay Henderson is the Founder and CEO of Square Peg Technologies. As a graduate of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, where he obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering from Florida State University, he has remained active in the university and is currently serving on the Council of Advisors for the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department. He is supporting the department’s efforts with the National Science Foundation’s Technology Infusion Program (TIP) to boost enrollment and enhance the experience of minority students at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. In 2019, Square Peg Technologies was named on the Seminole 100 List for being one of the fastest-growing businesses owned by Florida State University alumni. Additionally, Square Peg Technologies is a member of the Department of Defense’s Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) helping to build the next generation of space technologies for federally-funded space-related projects. Mr. Henderson was named 2019 Small Business Person of Year by the DC Chamber of Commerce. His company was also recognized as one of Washington, DC’s Best Places to Work in 2019 by the Washington Business Journal and was honored by the Northern Virginia Technology Council on the NVTC Tech 100 List for driving tech innovation, implementing new customer solutions, and leading growth in the Greater Washington region. As a technology and small business thought leader, his aim is to push the fields of technology and engineering forward and empower small businesses to use data analytics and artificial intelligence.
Tameika Hollis
Illuminate
Company
Washington DC
Location
Tameika Hollis is Chief Operations Officer (COO) for Illuminate. Previously, Tameika was Vice President at Northrop Grumman (NG). Her previous roles at Northrop Grumman included Executive Director of Executive for the Cyber and Intelligence Mission Solutions and as an operating unit Executive Director of Passive RF programs. Prior to Northrop, Ms. Hollis worked at Boeing Satellite Systems and Raytheon Corporation. She has a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from Florida A&M University, a master’s in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and completed the General Management Program at Harvard University. Ms. Hollis volunteers by visiting schools to spark students’ interest in engineering and leads workshops at the Society of Women Engineers and National Society of Black Engineers National Conventions.
Jason Maxwell
KaMin
Company
Sandersville GA
Location
Jason Maxwell is the Vice President of Operations at KaMin Solutions, a company focused on mining and processing kaolin. Maxwell joined KaMin Solutions (formerly J.M. Huber Corporation) in 2003, and has served in a variety of roles including Plant and Product Manager. Mr. Maxwell has over 21 years of industry experience and has previously held leadership and engineering positions at Owens Corning Fiberglass, Alcatel and Transitions Optical. He also currently serves on a number of boards ranging from the Georgia Mining Foundation (Treasurer), the Georgia Mining Association (Treasurer), the FAMU/FSU Engineering Advisory Board, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Advisory Board, and a member of local community boards and other associations. Mr. Maxwell earned his M.B.A. from Georgia College and State University in 2009 and his B.S. in chemical engineering from Florida State University in 1999.
Tom McCormick
Primoris Services Corporation
Company
Bartonville TX
Location
Tom McCormick graduated from Florida State University with a BS in Civil Engineering in April 1987. He has served as Primoris Service Corporation’s President and Chief Executive Officer since November 2019 and as one of their directors since August 2019. Prior to joining the company, Mr. McCormick held a variety of executive positions with Chicago Bridge & Iron Company. Prior to 2007, Mr. McCormick worked for more than 17 years at BE&K Engineering & Construction on a variety of heavy industrial projects. In addition to his bachelor’s degree, Mr. McCormick also has an Advanced Executive Management Degree from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France. He currently lives in Bartonville, TX.
Ricardo Schneider
Danfoss Turbocorp
Company
Tallahassee FL
Location
Ricardo Schneider is the President and CEO of Danfoss Turbocorp in Tallahassee, Florida. He joined Danfoss in 1992, holding several different positions in three different countries. He led a global team to develop, produce and supply solutions, enabling the reduction of over 30% energy efficiency for residential air conditioning systems in the USA, meeting the new Sessional Energy Efficiency in 2005. He is a member of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, and a former Chairman of the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute. He is a member of the Florida State University Research Foundation Board of Directors and the Tallahassee-Leon County Economic Vitality Leadership Council. Mr. Schneider holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Brazil, Executive education from Harvard Business School.
Levasseur Tellis
Ford Motor Company
Company
Detroit MI
Location
Levasseur Tellis is the leader of Automated Vehicle (AV) Regulatory Compliance within the Ford Motor Company. In this role, Levasseur supervises the compliance of the Ford Motor automated vehicles to all applicable safety and environmental regulations on a federal and local level. He also supervises all internal feature development for AV response to First Responders and response to disruptions to its intended function. He received his master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Florida A&M University through the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. Since 1998, Mr. Tellis has worked for the Ford Motor Company on various Active Safety and Driver Assistance features and enablers such as Forward Collision Warning, Collision Mitigation by Braking, Pedestrian Detection, and Vehicle to Vehicle and Vehicle to Infrastructure Communication. Levasseur lives in Southeast Michigan.
Keevin Williams
Space Florida
Company
Titusville FL
Location
Keevin Williams is the Vice President, Special Projects and Strategic Initiatives for Space Florida. He joined the organization as the Senior Director of Business Development in 2009. Leveraging his past experiences, Mr. Williams’ role has evolved to serve as the organization’s structured and project finance specialist. He has been a key part of Space Florida teams capturing and closing nearly $2 billion in projects and financing since his arrival, playing key roles in projects for companies like AAR, Blue Origin, CAE USA Inc, Embraer, Northrup Grumman; OneWeb-Airbus Satellites, and projects like the $100 million Shuttle Atlantis Exhibit at NASA-KSC Visitor Center Complex. Prior to joining Space Florida, Mr. Williams served as president of the Florida Black Business Investment Board, Inc., a statewide public-private capital program for small and minority-owned businesses; and Vice President of Government Relations and lead the Insurance Division of the Florida Bankers Association (which he created in the wake of federal financial modernization legislation in the late 1990s). Mr. Williams has nearly two decades of economic development, legislative and regulatory policy development, and project finance experience and is a graduate of the University of South Florida (Tampa) and the Florida State University College of Law.