LOS ANGELES, Nov. 1, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sixty-three Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) employees received awards for their achievements at the fifteenth annual Women of Color in Technology STEM (Science, Technology Engineering and Math) Conference in Dallas. The conference recognizes outstanding women in the STEM fields and provides opportunities for professional development, networking, and recruiting.
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Vicky Harper-Hall, manager of socio-economic business programs and government relations for Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector in El Segundo, Calif., was honored with the Diversity Leadership – Industry award. Harper-Hall oversees all aspects of company programs related to small, small disadvantaged, women-owned, historically underutilized, veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses as well as historically black colleges/universities and minority institutions. She also works to increase company partners' participation in government and commercial contracts. Harper-Hall earned a master's degree of business administration from West Coast University, Los Angeles and a bachelor's degree from California State University, Long Beach.
Sharon Hollins, a systems engineer and lead risk and opportunity manager for the supply chain procurement division at the company's Shipbuilding sector's operations in Newport News, Va., was honored with the Special Recognition award. With a broad range of experience in production, design, structural engineering, manufacturing engineering, program management and system engineering, she is currently responsible for implementing risk management programs in her organization. Hollins earned her bachelor of science degree in civil engineering technology from Old Dominion University and a bachelor of arts degree in English/secondary education from James Madison University.
Danita Mitchell, manager of advanced digital systems for the company's Electronic Systems sector in Baltimore, was honored with a Special Recognition award. With a wide range of experience in advanced technology programs, she currently manages the development of a technical staff of electrical engineers, and leads multi-disciplinary teams engaged in state-of-the-art designs and research and development projects. She also supports multiple community and education outreach initiatives. Mitchell earned a Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, bachelor's and master's of science degrees in electrical engineering, and a master's of science degree in computer science from the Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Tami Randolph, a program manager in the company's Information Systems sector in Fairfax, Va., was honored with a Special Recognition award. Experienced in project management, systems engineering, software development and business development, she provides leadership to the research, development and integration of signals intelligence systems. Dr. Randolph now leads a large, cross-organization, multi-disciplinary team in the pursuit of a large business opportunity. She earned her bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, and master's and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Amanda Vallejo, a senior management executive for the company's Shipbuilding sector's Gulf Coast operations in Pascagoula, Miss., was honored with the Diversity Leadership – Industry award. Responsible for the design and implementation of a diversity and equal employment opportunity program for more than 16,000 employees in three states, she led a team that developed a set of initiatives to address the needs of the company's English-limited workforce. The program was recognized as a corporate best practice by the New York-based Council of the Americas think tank. Vallejo attended the University of Southern California.
Latesha Young, test equipment asset management and metrology systems project manager for the company's Aerospace Systems sector in Redondo Beach, Ca., was honored with the Educational Leadership award. An engineer specializing in software and database development, she has supported a wide range of software development projects. Young is active in the company's diversity initiatives and is the company liaison to the Boys & Girls Club of the South Bay, which recently honored her as Volunteer of the Year and named her to its board of directors. She earned her bachelor's of science degree in computer engineering from North Carolina State University.
Dr. Meina Xu, a systems engineer on the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite communications system capability insertion program for the company's Aerospace System sector in El Segundo, Ca., received the Professional Achievement – Industry award. She is responsible for the development of a revolutionary anti-jamming algorithm. Dr. Xu has held technical lead positions for numerous contracts and was a key technical participant in several winning technology development proposals. She earned a bachelor's of science degree from the University of Hawaii, and a master's of science degree and doctorate from the California Institute of Technology, all in electrical engineering.
Receiving the Women of Color STEM Conference Technology All-Star Award were Northrop Grumman employees: Renee Alexander, Michelle Carpenter, Deilia Chu, Sabrina Chu, Nicholle Collins, Veronica Covington, Michele Douglas, Veldesta Evans, Taneca Goode, Cecillia Holmes-Addison, Helen Hurston, Linda Ishibashi, Kimberly James, Abigail Koerkenmeier, Grace Liu, Ernestine Lowery, Hui Ma, Valerie Mansfield, Chandra McCulley-Hooker, Tandra McWright, Sofia Monawer, Kathy Moon, Melanie Nichols, Patricia Powers, Marlen Ramirez, Vicky Rose, Maria Ribeiro, Mabel Shih, Tiffrany Swift, Kattie Walton and Shen-Hui Wu.
Northrop Grumman employees honored with the conference's Technology Rising Stars award were: Januca Berry, Tiffany Charley, Kathleen Choate, Karinn Hemingway, Carole Johnson, Jae Kim, Sikinl Knight, Marie Lawson, Mairim Ramos-Lebron, Nakima Lynch, Robin Lyons, Lakeida McCastle, Kelly Mixon, Laura Muramoto, Lakeshia Neerhof, Thao Nguyen, Mi-Young (Molly) Park, Lawanda Reynolds, Sandra Rivera, Shontrell Robinson, Sherry Saulsberry, Thi Tang, Tina Vines, Jeniene Wiseman and Alie Yang.
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit for more information.
CONTACT: Bruce Lundy Northrop Grumman Corporation (310) 201-1616 bruce.lundy@ngc.com