In Orbit: A KBR Podcast

Arguably some of the most important work KBR does today supports the physical and mental well-being of defense and space professionals. In this episode, Dr. Holly Robles, senior program manager in Behavioral Health with KBR’s Science and Space business unit, discusses some of KBR’s work in health and human performance, the risk factors associated with various behavioral health issues, and the biggest challenges in the field.

CONTENT WARNING: This content could be triggering for some listeners. It discusses mental health, suicide and suicidal ideation.

Marketing and communications (marcom) are the tools brands use to tell their story to the world. If you’re not doing them right, then your business and stakeholders can pay the price. KBR gets that. Our guests for our season 4 premier, KBR marketing experts Philip Ivy and Jessica Burnett, tell us how KBR marcom empowers its team members and is deploying digital innovation to work strategically with all points of the business and propel it forward.

You’ve heard of “airworthy” and “seaworthy.” But what makes a system cyberworthy? Find out on this episode of In Orbit, featuring Krishaan Wright, cybersecurity lead with KBR’s Government Solutions International APAC. Krishaan discusses cyberworthiness, current threats to the cyber terrain, and a cutting-edge new solution, Achilles, that has the potential to be a game changer in the defense sector and beyond.

KBR’s employee resource groups (ERGs) are central to the company’s commitment to being a place where people can belong, connect and grow. This October, KBR is launching a new ERG, ADAPT, which is dedicated to disability inclusion. Elgan Iorwerth, co-chair of ADAPT, sat down with us to talk about the group’s important mission of creating a community of support and educating, empowering and enhancing the experiences of individuals with disabilities of all kinds across KBR.

Data runs the world — and MANY of the solutions KBR delivers for its clients, including the work our experts do to advance defense and national security interests. We’re thrilled to feature one of those experts on the latest episode of the podcast. Kim Cates, senior data scientist with KBR’s Defense Systems Engineering business, spoke with us about her journey in data science, how her cutting-edge work is helping solve customer problems, and how KBR’s culture enables her to take charge of her career.

The aviation industry is one of the fastest-growing contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Fortunately, companies like KBR are doing their part to stem the tide with cutting-edge technologies like PureSAF(SM), launched in alliance with Swedish Biofuels. Dr. Monica Normark, director of Biofuels with KBR's Technology business, gave us a primer on the benefits of biofuels and explained how PureSAF has the potential to be a game changer for the aviation industry and other sectors as well.

Facts: 1) Humans are going back to the moon — and beyond! 2) KBR people are helping make it happen. 3) We’re here to talk about it in our second episode featuring KBR’s ongoing support of NASA and the Artemis lunar missions. We sat down with Kelsey Livesay from KBR’s Science and Space business to talk about her and her team’s involvement with Artemis and other crucial missions at this incredible moment in spaceflight history.

We took a little summer break, but we're back with all-new content! First up, we had a chance to speak with Michael Kluck, senior project manager-Engineering for KBR’s Integrated Solutions business, who put some of his pandemic downtime to good use and wrote a book, “Modularization: The Fine Art of Offsite Preassembly for Capital Projects.” Mike tells us about about his journey from subject matter expert to author of what is both a hands-on guide to modularization and a study on effective project management.  Don't miss it!

Cyberattacks are more sophisticated and happening with more frequency than ever before. They’re also costing companies and governments billions. Fortunately, KBR has a team of well-respected, highly certified experts helping to meet those challenges. Our guest on this episode, Derrick Nixon — vice president of Cybersecurity Solutions at KBR — talks us through KBR’s cutting-edge capabilities and world-class workforce that are helping customers respond to and defend against threats in the cyber domain.

As part of our summer series on KBR employee resource groups (ERGs), and in commemoration of Juneteenth, In Orbit is proud to feature MERGE — KBR’s Minority Employee Resource Group for Empowerment, which was created to advance our culture of inclusion and diversity through support and connection of underrepresented groups across the company. Host John Arnold sat down with MERGE chair and founder, Johnnie Richardson, to talk about the ERG’s mission, the phenomenal work they’ve already done in the areas of education, mentorship and philanthropy, and their exciting future plans.