Lady Paragons Women in STEM

Janelle North is a graduate from the University of Michigan - Dearborn with degrees in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management.  She has two decades of experience in the automotive industry. Her diverse roles have included design engineering, manufacturing engineering, future technology and product strategy and planning, human-centered design operations, and vehicle personalization for aftermarket accessories. Her career has afforded her extensive travel opportunities, including frequent visits to Mexico City, Germany, and throughout the United States.  Two of her most memorable work experiences are off-roading in Moab, Utah and launching in Mexico City!

Several years ago, Janelle developed a strong interest in mindfulness and wellness as a way to combat stress. She is one of the founding members of the Ford Mindfulness Club! The club has grown to over 2700 members globally within the Ford community since 2020. In addition to her professional pursuits, Janelle enjoys mentoring.

Aisha Ayoub is a Mechanical Engineer from University of Florida (BSME 2007). She has extensive engineering experience at multiple Fortune 100 companies leading development on automobiles, airplanes, spacecrafts, rockets, operating systems, and most recently augmented/virtual reality devices (AR/VR). Aisha was part of the core team at SpaceX that delivered industry leading historical firsts such as: the first ever reusable rocket (Falcon) to land and be used for reflight; the first private spacecrafts (Dragon) to dock and berth at the International Space Station (ISS) delivering Cargo and Crew. These launches brought crewed spaceflight back to the USA after nearly a decade. Aisha most recently worked on the next generation of AR/ VR devices at Microsoft in Seattle, where she lives with her husband, Omair, and their 2 precocious children, Orhan (8) and Norah (6).

Lindsey Scopel is a client relationship and revenue growth expert in the custom software space with over 15 years of experience collaborating with Fortune 50 enterprise clients to deliver complex, full-stack programs. Her journey began in STEM as a biologist and zookeeper, before transitioning into the tech space to write logic for a major OEM's vehicle configurator and iPad wish-list app. Her leadership as a woman in tech spans from running a CMS migration program supported by more than 50 resources, to growing a boutique tech agency's book of business to over $20M annual recurring revenue as the Vice President of Corporate Development & Strategic Alliances. Lindsey is passionate about coaching women in STEM, spending time with her horse & two cats, and adventuring around the globe to new destinations.

Naseem Alizadeh is a licensed architect in Massachusetts, Michigan, and California. She currently lives in Oxford, England, with her husband and two young daughters, but practices both in the US and in the UK.

She opened her own practice, Bureau for Architecture & Urbanism, in 2009. BAU focuses on client-led work and development projects.

Naseem holds a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard University (2002) and a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University (1998). 

Aileen Huang-Saad is the Director of Life Sciences, Health, and Engineering Programs at Northeastern’s Roux Institute (Portland, Maine) and an Associate Professor of Bioengineering. Leveraging her experience with design, entrepreneurship, education research, and industry, she seeks to close the gap between higher education and professional practice. Specifically, she is designing interdisciplinary experiential education life sciences, health, and engineering programs to attract, retain, and advance talent in the state of Maine. These programs are designed to re-imagine how higher education and communities can work together to impact economic and talent development. Dr. Huang-Saad currently serves as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Springer’s Biomedical Engineering Education and is a member of the Maine State Workforce Board and the National Academies’ Roundtable on Systemic Change in Undergraduate STEM Education. She is also an American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Fellow.

Heather Shenkman MD, FACC is an interventional cardiologist in practice in Tarzana, California.  She is author of “The Vegan Heart Doctor's Guide to Reversing Heart Disease, Losing Weight, and Reclaiming Your Life”.  While Dr. Shenkman is skilled at performing invasive procedures to open blocked arteries of the heart, she is a strong advocate for a healthy lifestyle, including plant-based eating and regular exercise.  She is also an avid athlete, having completed two Ironman triathlons and over 100 endurance events including triathlons, century cycling events, swim meets, and marathons.  She is the mother of 4 year-old Ava. 

Wendy Shimata is currently the Vice President of Autonomous Systems at Varda Space Industries, a small space start-up in Los Angeles focused on in-space manufacturing and commercial reentry. She's responsible for the technical growth and development of the GNC, software and mission operation teams in an effort towards moving towards autonomous systems architectures and execution. Prior to Varda, she was at SpaceX for 7 years working software on crewed spaceflight programs, and Boeing Satellite Systems working in GNC. In her spare time, she loves exploring new coffee and korean barbeque joints in LA and spending time with her three year old daughter.

Interview with April Perkins, Manager of Business Orchestration for SAP Center of Excellence at thyssenkrupp Materials North America, who describes her STEM journey as a series of ‘happy accidents.’ April has 24 years in the metals industry, working with teams globally and has a strong passion for building up the next generation of STEM enthusiasts. She has successfully led multiple high-performing teams at tkMNA and started a women in STEM DEI group, women@STEMX, with sights on getting more and more women and young girls interested in STEM careers. April has a dual major from U of M-Dearborn in Engineering and Business Management, is a certified career coach (World Coach Institute), has participated in the U of M-Dearborn GOLD (graduates of the last decade) mentoring program 2012-2014 and is an activate advocate for animal welfare within the community. 

Interview with Nikita Tiwari, Sr Customer Experience Engineer at Intel's Client Computing Group. She brings the most compelling usages to the personal computer working alongside the OEM partners to manage and deliver their experience roadmap and co-engineer differentiated use cases. She has 9+ years of experience in silicon-processor debug, validation, artificial intelligence (AI) applications and automotive image processing unit (IPU). She has received a patent for her work in AI along with several publications. She obtained her Masters in ECE from Portland State University. Nikita chairs the Women at Intel Network (WIN) global (xSite) employee resource group and has held leadership positions in external organizations like Society of Women Engineers, Michigan Council of Women in Technology, TechWomen Mentoring Program, etc. She was recently awarded the 2020 SWE Distinguished New Engineer Award and the 2018 SWE New Emerging Leader award. She is one of the chairs for the SWE@Intel Awards committee. Nikita loves connecting people and helping them leverage from each other. Outside of work, Nikita and her husband enjoy hiking, running and spending time with their daughter Aarya.

Interview with Pooja Sund, Engineering PM Director at Microsoft, where she leverages her passion for technology, data analytics and leadership. She is a Gold medalist and three-time CFO Award winner, showcasing her commitment to delivering exceptional results. She has 17+ years of global experience in setting visionary goals and successfully executing them by leading high-performing teams. Pooja also actively contributes as a Board member at Pacific Northwest University and co-leads the Women at Microsoft ERG. As a keynote speaker, she has worked with organizations such as the FBI, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, USPS, IIA National and regional chapters in the US and Canada.