The Art of Engineering

Caroline and Denise talk about how a love of math and science drew her to an engineering expo while in high school. Shortly out of college, Caroline was interviewed by Evonik Industries where she is now a production engineer in the healthcare and nutrition division. She takes advantage of the many mentorship programs offered at Evonik, including Women’s Interest Network which continues to motivate and inspire her.  You’ll also learn how Custom Powder Systems and Evonik came together to solve a production line challenge no other company was able to tackle.

In this episode, Denise speaks with Dr. Namrata Karki about her journey all the way from Nepal to Stevens Point, Wisconsin.  Growing up in Nepal, her parents stressed the importance of education.  Her passion and love of higher education pointed Dr. Karki in the direction of America.  Today, she leads a team of scientists and engineers at Ortho Molecular, and mentors other up-and-coming experts in the field.  She and Denise share inspirational stories of how to push through and go after your dreams.

Sarah’s career has gone from working nationally on the regulatory side of pharmaceuticals at the FDA, to working globally on the regulatory side of the creation of pharmaceuticals with AstraZeneca.  Sarah received her post-doctoral degree at the National Institutes of Health, and spent many years at the Food and Drug Administration.  Now at AstraZeneca, she works in research with the coordination of regulations through multiple countries around the world.  Sarah and Denise talk about the value of mentors and why it’s important to seek one out.

Guest:  Lynn Aurelius, Business Development Manager at Bollé Safety

A fascinating conversation about the personal safety equipment used in industrial plants around the world.  Lynn talks about how she made the unique leap from being a calligrapher to her current position at Bollé Safety.  In March, her company made the decision to begin creating safety protection for health care and first responders.  Lynn and Denise also discuss what it was like breaking into an industry that traditionally didn’t have many women, as well as how to encourage more young women to get into the industry

Guest:  Helga Salling, Senior Director at IPS-Integrated Project Services

Helga and Denise talk about what it takes to be a female leader in the pharma industry.  Topics include the myth of defining a woman by what she wears, leading from the heart, and embracing who you are in the workplace.   Helga shares what inspired her to begin writing about leadership in the workplace and how she deliberately works to raise others to success.

Guest:  Richalle Ritts, Manager of Process Engineering at Integrated Project Services

Richalle Ritts is not only the Manager of Process Engineering, but she’s also a Mom.  When the lockdown happened in the spring, she quickly learned where the difficulties and the opportunities lay.  In this episode, we’ll learn about some of the unintended benefits of how working from home has helped her family, and helped her team be more effective.  Plus a discussion about helping people find the right information about pharmaceuticals in an age when facts and details are coming from multiple sources.    

Guest:  Dr. Eleanor Small - Product Development founded in Design for Manufacturability with Johnson & Johnson 

Dr. Small shares how chemists take a small formula and make it on a large scale and why team input and customer data are so important.  She comes from a family of health professionals and shares how being around science was a big influence for her.  Today, she sees how the pharma industry is collaborating in a way never seen before to fight COVID-19.  She talks about the challenges (and benefits) of working from home, and what business owners are looking for from young engineers.

Guest:  Michelle Bridges - Executive Trainer with The Great Game of Business

Denise speaks with Michele Bridges about her work in the medical sales market and how she is able to take difficult concepts and make them easy to understand. Michele also discusses “The Great Game”, and explains how involving every staff member in an organization in making decisions and having accountability on every level has transformed the companies she’s worked with and has helped them grow their profits.

Guest:  Shannon Goodson - Engineering Manager with Meridian Medical Technologies

Host Denise McIntosh talks with Shannon Goodson about her early interest in chemistry and how that led to working for a pharma company at a young age. She played a role in the processing and packaging of liquids, powder processing, and blister lines, among other things, and quickly gained respect in the industry. In this episode, Shannon shares how her love for curiosity helped her navigate her son’s unique challenges with autism, and how she not only has a passion for the engineering industry, but genuinely loves getting to know other smart and innovative women.

Denise speaks with Stephanie Wilkins, co-owner of Pharmaconsult US.

Stephanie Wilkins was encouraged at a young age to look into subjects like drafting and auto repair. She quickly picked up knowledge and skills, and soon found herself working in companies while surrounded by men. Stephanie discovered working in the corporate world was quite different from the experiences she had learning from her early mentors, though she never once considered being a woman a limitation. She and host Denise McIntosh discuss the progress that’s been made for women in the engineering and manufacturing industries.