Northrop Grumman honors at BEYA STEM Conference

Northrop Grumman Corporation employees Kathryn Hamilton and Chandria Poole have been honored at the Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Global Competitiveness Conference in Washington D.C. Thirteen Northrop Grumman employees were also recognized as BEYA Modern-Day Technology Leaders.

Other Northrop Grumman employees participated in panels, seminars and presentations at the conference. Wes Bush, chairman and chief executive officer spoke at the event’s Stars & Stripes dinner. Chris Jones, corporate vice president and president, Technology Services, was the keynote speaker for the BEYA Student Leadership Award dinner. Sandra Evers-Manly, vice president of global corporate responsibility, and president, the Northrop Grumman Foundation, delivered a seminar and Shawn Purvis, corporate vice president and president, Enterprise Services, participated in an executive leadership coaching panel.

Impressive female STEM role models

Hamilton and Poole were recognized for their dedication to community service, education, leadership and outstanding technical and professional contributions, among other achievements.

Hamilton, an engineering program manager for Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, received a BEYA Professional Achievement award. She provides operational support for several navigation and positioning systems programs. Previously, Hamilton was a systems engineering lead with a focus on requirements development and management, and led a project to streamline engineering processes and compliance across 18 facilities. She has been active in her community as a former board member for TEAM Science, where she has taught summer science camp workshops for 6th graders for more than ten years. She also helped establish a FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics program at a local elementary school.

Hamilton is a past recipient of the Women of Color in Technology All-Star national award. She received her bachelor of science in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California.

Promising engineering talent

Poole, deputy program manager for Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, received a BEYA Most Promising Engineer award. She oversees the modernization of complex legacy systems as they transition to modern cloud based technologies and is the lead engineer for one of the company’s independent research and development efforts. Previously, Poole worked in information technology and technical services roles as a software developer, a systems engineer and a test engineer. She authored a U.S. patent for the enhancement of live and simulated participant interaction in simulators.

Poole serves as a mentor for the Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot program, the nation's largest and fastest growing youth cyber education program. She is also actively involved in ‘Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day’, which helps inspire girls’ futures in STEM. She earned a bachelor of science in computer engineering from DeVry University and a master’s of science in industrial engineering with a concentration in engineering management from the University of Central Florida.

The 13 Northrop Grumman employees who were honored as BEYA Modern-Day Technology Leaders are: Clarence Agbi, Latarsha Bryant, Khali Cannad, Rodney Elmore, Titus Jeffries, Shonna Luten, Neville Maycock Jr., LaShoine Melton, Mei Nickles, Amina Obe, Sheila Prather, Jonathan Taylor and Afi Wilkins.