Women in Manufacturing Education Foundation Board of Directors Announced

The Women in Manufacturing Education Foundation (WiMEF) is pleased to announce the election of 21 members to its 2023 Board of Directors, whose terms begin on April 1, 2023.

The board is led by Chair Veronica Braker, Senior Vice President of Global Operations, ADM, Decatur, IL; Vice Chair Mary Ellen Grom, Executive Director, Customer Experience Solutions, AFL, Duncan, SC; Secretary Steve Speich, Intelligent Solutions Group Factory Manager, John Deere, Fargo, ND; and Past Chair/Treasurer Cara Herzog, Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, People and Culture, Southwire Company, Carrollton, GA.

First-term members of the 2023 WiMEF board are:

• Kori Carlson, President, Brooklyn Tool Co., Minneapolis, MN
• Joanna Perz, Global Sustainability Leader, Ingersoll Rand, Davidson, NC

“On behalf of the entire WiM organization, I am excited to welcome Kori and Joanna to the WiMEF Board of Directors,” said WiM President and Founder Allison Grealis. “Education creates a roadmap for progress and, with this new board at WiMEF, we will continue to pave the way for women in the manufacturing industry to reach their full potential.”

WiMEF funds the Leadership Institute for Women in Manufacturing and STEM, the Leadership Consortium, the Management Development Program, and the Empowering Women in Production Program, as well as a Virtual Learning Series that provides monthly webinars. These programs have helped thousands of women and men in the industry grow professionally and personally since the foundation’s inception.

Additional members of the WiMEF board who are continuing their service are:

• Michel Conklin, Executive Director, BotsIQ, Pittsburgh, PA
• Melissa DeTamble, Chief Human Resources Officer, Burke Porter Group, Ada, MI
• Sascha Harrell, IN-MaC Director of Education & Workforce, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
• Mani Khanuja, Senior Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Specialist, Amazon Web Services, Vancouver, BC
• Danielle Lancianese, Director – Tile & Stone Category, Shaw Industries Group, Inc., Dalton, GA
• Leslie LeMair, Vice President of Sales & Business Development, Federal Package, Chanhassen, MN
• Shameka Lewis, EHS Supply Chain Category Director, Kellogg Company, Fort Worth, TX
• Vanessa Li, Program Manager, Novelis, Kennesaw, GA
• Jenn Martin, Engineering Manager, Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing, North America, Georgetown, KY
• Jo Ann Mitchell, MBA, JMitchell Consulting, Fair Lawn, NJ
• Melissa Rocha, Director of Global Sourcing, Kymera International, Charlotte, NC
• Catherine Ross, Director of Education, Smartforce Development, AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology, McLean, VA
• Shauna Smith, Vice President, Global Operations and Product Realization PPE, IDEX Corporation, Charlotte, NC
• Carrie Uhl, Chief Procurement Officer, GE Healthcare, Commerce, MI
• Laura Wilde, Senior Director Quality & Mission Assurance, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Huntsville, AL

Grealis also thanked outgoing members of the WiMEF board for their outstanding service: Rachel Camarillo, Erin Air; and Kaitlyn Kelly, Trane Technologies.

The WiM Education Foundation (WiMEF) is the 501(c)(3) arm of Women in Manufacturing® Association, a more than 16,000-member-strong association dedicated to supporting, promoting and inspiring women who have chosen a career in manufacturing. WiMEF provides and supports effective and affordable educational opportunities for women in manufacturing. For more information, visit www.wimef.org and www.womeninmanufacturing.org.