CELEBRATING WOMEN IN NITRD
The National Coordination Office honors Women’s History Month, March 2023, by celebrating the women in NITRD who contribute so much to the NITRD 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, NCO Director and Co-chair, NITRD Subcommittee
Being a STEM professional can seem challenging at times. 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. Just remember When you find your passion… run with it!
WIN – Public Sector
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 Bernstein
HHS
Senior Advisor, Privacy Policy and Coordinator
Maya is a lawyer and subject matter expert with 25 years of experience in information policy. She started her federal career at the Office of Management and Budget and also served as the Privacy Advocate of the IRS. In her current role, she represents HHS in government-wide policy discussions, especially regarding personally identifiable information and confidentiality in complex IT environments. Her work includes the breadth of HHS activities, such as health IT, research, consumer-generated health information, social welfare, cybersecurity, sharing of administrative data, prescription drug surveillance, insider threats, and personnel privacy.
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
NIH
Program Director
Moria is a mechanical and bioengineer who manages biomechanics and bioelectrics portfolios at NIBIB. Her professional interests include biomedical robotic technologies and computational modelling approaches to medical devices.
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.
Dawn N. Castillo
NIOSH
Director, Division of Safety Research
Dawn is an epidemiologist. She oversees research to prevent traumatic injuries among workers, which includes public health sciences and engineering. She also manages the Center for Occupational Robotics Research which provides scientific leadership to guide the development and use of occupational robots that enhance worker safety, health and wellbeing.
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.
Tess deBlanc-Knowles
OSTP
Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence OSTP/NAIIO
Tess deBlanc-Knowles is a Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence, contributing to NAIIO’s efforts to maintain U.S. leadership in AI research and development and deepen international engagement. Prior to joining NAIIO, she served as a Director of Research and Analysis at the National Security Commission on AI, was Chief of Staff of the Atlantic Council, and spent time at U.S. Special Operations Command. She is on detail to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from the National Science Foundation.
Allison Dennis
HHS – ONC for HIT
AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow
Allison Dennis is a AAAS S&T Policy Fellow in the Chief Scientist Division within the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. She focuses on science initiatives advancing the use of data standards for precision medicine and making health data available for research. Dr. Dennis has a background in biomedical research and has worked on topic areas in genetics, virology, and computation.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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).
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
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
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
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
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
DOE
Program Manager, 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
NIH
Program Officer/Clinical Trials Specialist
Erin is a Program Officer and Clinical Trials Specialist 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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Margaret Martonosi
NSF
Assistant Director
Margaret Martonosi serves as NSF CISE AD, stewarding the CISE directorate’s $1B annual budget on behalf of research, education, workforce and infrastructure funding in CISE topic areas and for science as a whole. While serving at NSF, Martonosi is on leave from Princeton University’s Computer Science Department where she has been on the faculty since 1994, teaching and conducting research in the areas of classical and quantum computer systems.
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
NSF
Program Director, CISE/IIS, Smart and Connected Health
Wendy is a clinical psychologist whose work focuses on interdisciplinary intersections between technology and health, including methods for health data collection and analytics in sensing, analytics, cyber-physical systems, information systems, big data, robotics, and manufacturing.
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.
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.
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.
Kamie Roberts
NCO/NITRD
Director, NITRD National Coordination Office (NCO), NCO/NITRD
Kamie is a computer scientist on loan to NCO from NIST’s Information Technology Laboratory, where she provided leadership to a wide range of programs, including IT standards, networking, health IT, big data, and future computing technologies. She leads NITRD work to coordinate Federal R&D in networking and IT with an enhanced focus on transitioning the results into use for the Nation’s benefit.
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
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
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.
Ceren Susut
DOE
Program Manager, Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) Division, DOE/ASCR
Ceren is a chemist managing multi-institutional collaborations and partnership programs in high-performance and quantum computing, physical sciences, and computational science research.
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
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
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.
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
NIH
Health Scientist Administrator, Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), NIH
Dana is a physical activity epidemiologist providing direction for OBSSR research efforts related to the development of and evaluation of mobile and wireless health technologies utilized in behavioral and social sciences research.
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
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.
WIN – Private Sector
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
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
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.
Sharon Geva
University of Michigan
Director of Advanced Research Computing, The University of Michigan
Sharon Broude Geva is Director of Advanced Research Computing (ARC) at the University of Michigan (U-M) Office of Research. ARC supports and catalyzes computational research at the university through programmatic initiatives, multidisciplinary collaboration, instruction, and research computing consultation and training. Sharon’s interests are in policy, business and organizational models, workforce development, and diversity initiatives for advanced research computing.
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
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
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
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.
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.
WIN – Alumni
Roselie A. Bright
FDA
Epidemiologist, Office of Health Informatics, Office of the Chief Scientist, Office of the Commissioner
Roselie is an epidemiologist [with a Harvard Doctor of Science degree in the field] researching applications of big data tools and machine learning to FDA concerns. Her focus is modern surveillance for patient harm related to marketed FDA-regulated products.
Frances Carter-Johnson
NSF
Education Data Scientist
Frances Carter-Johnson is an Education Data Scientist in the Division of Human Resource Development within the NSF’s Education and Human Resources Directorate. She is responsible for data creation, maintenance, utilization and analyses to assess outcomes of STEM broadening participation programs. She uses her background in physics, mechanical engineering, public policy and evaluation to guide data science and big data educational and workforce issues.
Joanna Chan
HHS
Supervisor, Data and System Development Teams, HHS/ACF/ORR
Joanna supervises the Data and System Development Teams of ORR Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program which cares for unaccompanied alien children referred by other federal agencies. The System Development Team manages a system used by over 100 stakeholder groups to track each child under ORR custody. The Data Team provides data analytics to help ensure the welfare to each child and to support timely release of the children to suitable sponsors.
Irina Dolinskaya
NSF
Program Director
Irina is an industrial engineer whose research is in transportation science and logistics focused on adaptive modeling approaches to integrate dynamic real-time information.
Susan Fratkin
NCO/NITRD
Senior Consultant (contractor)
Ms. Fratkin is the Senior Consultant in support of the NITRD NCO’s Supercomputing21 (SC21) program and activities. Ms. Fratkin serves as the interface with the SC Program Committee on all matters relating to the planning of activities in support of the 30th Anniversary of the signing of the HPC Act of 1991 and the NITRD Program.
Cita M. Furlani
NCO/NITRD
(Retired) Director of the Information Technology Lab (ITL)
Cita is a computer and electronic engineer who served as the Director of the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) where she oversaw a research program designed to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by developing and disseminating standards, measurements, and testing for interoperability, security, usability, and reliability of information systems, including cybersecurity standards and guidelines. She also served as Director of the NCO from 2000-2002.
Jeri Hessman
NCO/NITRD
Technical Coordinator (contractor)
Jeri is a Technical Coordinator for the NCO and the NITRD Program. She provides subject matter expertise, meeting coordination and facilitation in support of the Fast-Track Action Committee (FTAC) on Advancing Privacy-Preserving Data Sharing and Analytics.
Sally E. Howe
NCO/NITRD
Associate Director of NCO/NITRD 2001-2007
Sally Howe spent her Government career at NIST, the NCO/HPCC and NCO/NITRD (the High Performance Computing and Communications Program preceded NITRD), and NIH’s National Library of Medicine. At the NCO she was responsible for reports required by law and for technical coordination and support. At NLM, where the NCO was first located, she built the NCO/HPCC print archive and finding aid and wrote blog posts about HPCC and NITRD from the 1980s to 1992, 1992 to 1995, and 1996 to 2015. She holds a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Brown University.
C. Suzanne Iacono
NSF
Head of the Office of Integrative Activities (OIA)
Dr. Suzi is the Head of the Office of Integrative Activities (OIA) at the National Science Foundation (NSF). Since she joined NSF in 1998, she has served in many leadership roles, including Acting Assistant Director in the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Deputy Assistant Director for CISE, Senior Science Advisor, Acting Division Director in Computer and Network Systems (CNS) and Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS), and Program Director in IIS.
Pamela K. Isom
DOE
Director, Office of Artificial Intelligence & Technology
Pamela is a senior executive and computer scientist with integrated business and information technology experience. She leads strategy and coordination of complex research, development and delivery of digital ecosystems with specialization in clean energy and equity through artificial intelligence and machine learning innovations.
Pat Johnson
NCO/NITRD
Senior Technical Writer and Editor (contractor)
Pat is the staff technical writer and a former instructional technology specialist who provides writing, editing, and document management expertise for policy, planning, and technical documents for the NITRD program.
Arthi Murugesan Krishna
USPTO
Advanced Solutions Division
Arthi is a computer scientist working at the intersection of data, analytics and AI at the USPTO. She studied AI under the guidance of Prof. Patrick Winston and obtained her PhD in Cognitive Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute under Prof. Selmer Bringsjord and Prof. Nicholas Cassimatis. Her journey at the USPTO spans user experience, customer outreach, coding, and more, all in the name of improving patent and trademark examination and processing tools. Her current work covers how AI and machine learning can yield potential new efficiencies in patent and trademark examination.
Chloé Kontos
OSTP
Executive Director, National Science and Technology Council
Chloé is the NSTC Executive Director, who supports the OSTP Director in the day-to-day management of the NSTC, including organizational process, strategy, and content coordination, and who oversees the activities of the executive secretaries and ensures coordination among the various NSTC-level bodies.
Theresa Brown Lattimore
OSTP
Executive Director, National Science and Technology Council
Tracie is an Army Civilian detailed to OSTP, whereas the Executive Director of National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) she oversees day-to-day operations of 45+ committees and sub-groups that develop national S&T goals and objectives, creates federal research and development strategies, and coordinates S&T policy development. She is currently a doctoral student in public health leadership and policy management at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.
Joyce Lee
NCO/NITRD
Technical Coordinator (contractor)
Jan E. Leighley
NSF
Program Director
Jan E. Leighley is founding director of the National Science Foundation’s Accountable Institutions and Behavior program, which supports basic scientific research that advances knowledge and understanding of issues broadly related to attitudes, behavior, and institutions connected to democracy, public policy and the provision of public services. She also holds an appointment as Professor of Government at American University, Washington D.C.
Mary McGinley
DHS
Director, Physical and Cyber Security, DHS S&T
Mary is responsible for management of work for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Transportation Security Administration, selected DHS law enforcement components, and Intelligence and Analysis.
Daniela Oliveira
NSF
Program Director, CISE/CNS/SaTC
Daniela Oliveira is a Program Director in CISE/CNS/SaTC at NSF. She then earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from UC Davis. She is on rotation at NSF from the University of Florida, where she is an Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, where she specializes on socio-technical aspects of cyber security systems research, including malware analysis and detection, cyber social engineering (phishing and mis/disinformation), and developer blindspots while coding.
Lynne Parker
OSTP
Assistant CTO
Lynne is a computer scientist who provides research leadership and strategic planning expertise in the areas of information and intelligent systems; areas of specialization include artificial intelligence, machine learning, intelligent systems, sensor networks, and robotics, including human-robotic interaction.
Nora Pasion
Army
Director for the Science and Technology (S&T) Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence
Ms. Nora Pasion is the Director for the Science and Technology (S&T) Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (C3I) Portfolio, in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, ASA(ALT), Arlington, VA. In this assignment she oversees the Army C3I program focused on Network C3I, Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing, and Tactical Space technologies, and serves as the senior advisor for these investments. Ms. Pasion is a defense acquisition professional with over 30 years of experience in Army test and evaluation, science and technology, and policy development.
Jean Rice
NTIA
Senior Broadband Program Specialist, Broadband USA
Jean is a telecommunications expert and educator working with Federal agencies; tribal, local, and state governments; industry; universities; and nonprofits on Smart Cities and Communities projects and technical assistance efforts to support widespread deployment of smart broadband infrastructure.
Amarda Shehu
NSF
Program Director, NSF CISE/IIS
Amarda is a computer scientist on loan to NSF from George Mason University, where she heads the Center for Advancing Human-Machine Partnerships. Amarda’s research focuses on novel algorithms in artificial intelligence and machine learning to bridge between computer and information science, engineering, and the life sciences. Research in her laboratory emphasizes problem solving, search, planning, optimization, and learning for the simulation, analysis, and characterization of complex dynamic systems operating in the presence of constraints.
Riju Srimal
DOS
Senior Foreign Affairs Officer, Office of Science and Technology Cooperation, DOS/OES
Riju is a neuroscientist who monitors the nexus of artificial intelligence and foreign policy and leads scientific engagement with Middle East countries.
Sonia Sachs
DOE
Computer Scientist, Program Manager, DOE/SC
Sonia Sachs is a computer scientist and Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) Program Manager in the Office of Science at the U.S. Department of Energy. She also manages the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF). Previously, Sonia managed the ASCR computer science portfolio in the areas of exascale programming models, programming languages, compilers, runtime systems, operating systems, performance & productivity tools, and hardware architectures. Her Ph.D. is in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley.
Michelle W. Tolbert
NCO/NITRD
Technical Writer and Editor (contractor)
Ms. Tolbert is the Technical Writer and Editor for the NCO and the NITRD Program.
Wendy Wigen
NCO/NITRD
Technical Writer and Consultant (contractor)
Wendy is an information management specialist and a former educator who has worked in topic areas including wireless spectrum, broadband, Big Data, and Internet policy.
Jeannette Wing
NITRD Co-Chair
Avanessians Director of the Data Science Institute and Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University
Jeannette is a computer scientist who served as Cochair of the NITRD Subcommittee during her tenure at the National Science Foundation. She has also worked at Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University. Her research interests are in trustworthy AI, security and privacy, formal methods, and programming languages.
WIN – NCO Staff
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Diane Theiss
NCO/NITRD
Financial Analyst and Deputy Chief of Staff (contractor)
Diane manages all areas of finance and operations for the NITRD NCO.
Diana Weber
NCO/NITRD
Communications and Public Affairs Coordinator (contractor)
Diana is a marine biologist and former Assistant Professor in marine science, conservation, and science communication who loves learning new things. She earned her Ph.D. in population genetics at the University at Albany-SUNY and her research has included genetic diversity, disease ecology, and wildlife trade in marine/Arctic environments.
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
- NITRD: Influential Women In STEM, 2020.
- NITRD: Influential Women in STEM: Insight, 2020.
- NITRD: Influential Women In STEM: Quotes, 2020.
- NITRD: Prominent Women Serving America, 2020.
- NITRD: National Women’s History Month: Women of the NITRD National Coordination Office, 2020.
- NITRD: National Women’s History Month: NITRD Looks Back at Outstanding Leaders, 2019.
- NITRD: National Women’s History Month: Women of the NITRD Interagency Working Groups, 2019.
- NITRD: National Women’s History Month: Women of the NITRD Subcommittee, 2019.
- DHS: Women of DHS Then & Now https://www.dhs.gov/blog/2018/03/05/women-dhs-then-now-celebrating-national-womens-history-month
- DOD: Women in STEM bring diverse backgrounds to NSA http://science.dodlive.mil/2017/02/20/women-in-stem-bring-diverse-backgrounds-to-nsa/
- DOE: Women @ Energy: STEM Rising https://www.energy.gov/listings/women-energy-stem-rising
- DOI/USGS: A Snapshot of Women of the U.S. Geological Survey in STEM and Related Careers https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/cir1443
- NASA: Women of STEM https://www.nasa.gov/education/womenstem
- NIH: Women in Biomedical Careers https://womeninscience.nih.gov/
- NIST: Women’s History Month: NIST’s First Female Ph.D. (Edison was a fan!) https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2017/03/womens-history-month-nists-first-female-phd-edison-was-fan
- NSF: Pioneering women in STEM https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=134386
Page updated: May 22, 2023