Photo By Shayna Gosney | NUWC Keyport’s Women’s History Month event facilitator Ashley Jones asks panel...... read more read more
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In honor of Women’s History Month, Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport held a roundtable discussion and Q&A session on March 22 onboard NBK-Keyport, as well as virtually via Microsoft Teams, that highlighted the careers of women leaders in the region.
The roundtable discussion was facilitated by Ashley Jones, an electrical engineering technician at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility. Jones is an accomplished tradeswoman, a dedicated advocate for the advancement of women in skilled trades and other nontraditional employment roles, and the recipient of numerous pageant titles, including Mrs. Washington and Ms. World America, Millennial. Most recently, she was a guest of Tools & Tiaras, Inc. at the Trades Women Build Nations conference.
The panel also featured four NUWC Keyport female professionals in leadership roles: Cybersecurity Engineering Branch Manager Kebra Thompson, Undersea Systems and Sustainment Engineering Deputy Department Head Rhea Galles, Unmanned and Theater Undersea Warfare Systems Department Project Management Officer Ronni Wolfe, and Undersea and Combat Systems Depot Production Controller and Federal Women’s Program Manager Erin LeMieux.
Following opening remarks by NUWC Keyport Technical Director Michael Slater, Jones began asking panelists about their careers, paths to success, and advice for women looking to work and advance in STEM and the trades.
She began by asking what first brought each of them to pursue technical work. Thompson, a former longtime high school math teacher, said a passion for cryptography led her to her current career in cybersecurity. Galles said it was learning about all the interconnections between "processes, people and engineering" in the course of her bachelor's degree in industrial engineering that first got her interested in working in that field.
Wolfe, who started her career at NUWC Keyport in 2001 as an electronics mechanic apprentice in the MK 30 Target Shop, credited two different experiences with leading her down the path to a leadership position: her pursuit of a project management certificate from the University of Washington and her time in the collateral duty role of Special Emphasis Program Manager for the Federal Women’s Program.
LeMieux said she originally worked in early childhood education, teaching STEM to children ages two to five, but eventually became dissatisfied with her work. “I felt that some of the things that we had to do on a daily basis was more paperwork, more logistics, and it wasn't actually spending time with the children like we were supposed to,” said LeMieux. This led her to apply for an apprentice opening at NUWC Keyport.
Asked to name one thing they need in order to help them succeed, the panelists gave a range of responses, but the “common thread,” to quote Thompson, was having courage. “Courage to do hard things, courage to have tough conversations, courage to let yourself fail, let yourself be vulnerable, admit what you don't know,” said Thompson. “Every step of my career path, the next step has been something totally new and scary for me.”
Panel members also cited engagement in their work, the ability to work effectively with their teammates and opportunities for continuous learning as crucial to their professional success.
Jones also asked panelists to describe their most impactful mentoring relationships and experiences and to offer parting advice for women who are just starting out their careers in STEM and the trades.
In answer to the first prompt, Galles emphasized the importance of maintaining your relationship with your boss and said that every boss of hers has mentored her in some way. Her advice to female trade workers and STEM professionals who want to see their workplaces more fully embrace diversity and inclusion was to make themselves agents for that change.
"Sometimes you have to have the courage to step into the uncomfortable so that other people can have it someday, too," Galles said. "It might be hard to step in, but you're allowing a whole group of people behind you."
Wolfe stressed the need to be proactive when seeking out a mentor. "I think [potential mentors are] all around us, but it wasn't that they reached out to me," she said. "This is one thing I want everybody to take away. Your mentors aren't going to go seek you out […] You've got to reach in and advocate for yourself and say, Hey, this is what I want from it."
LeMieux recounted a series of mentoring experiences she's had over the years and how they've shaped her views on what makes a good mentoring relationship. She said she believes it's important to have a mentor who pushes you to do your best, has the ability to expand your sphere of influence, and checks in on you both professionally and personally.
Those seeking mentorship or tips on how to maximize their mentoring experiences should check out the NUWC Keyport Mentorship Series, a forum for experienced mentors to share advice and feedback on the mentoring process. For more information, contact NUWC Keyport Federal Women’s Program Special Emphasis Program Manager Norma Domingo.
-KPT-
About Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport
NUWC Keyport provides advanced technical capabilities for test and evaluation, in-service engineering, maintenance and industrial base support, fleet material readiness, and obsolescence management for undersea warfare to expand America’s undersea dominance.
| Date Taken: | 03.23.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.23.2023 19:06 |
| Story ID: | 441074 |
| Location: | KEYPORT, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 187 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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