Published 4/19/2022

Women in Manufacturing Education Foundation Announces Board of Directors

The educational arm of Women in Manufacturing has appointed 22 board members for 2022 that offer a broad range of experience and a deep pool of expertise.

Workforce Development

Edited by: Jenny Rush

Former Senior Managing Editor, Modern Machine Shop

First-term board member Kori Carlson, Women in Manufacturing Education Foundation. All images courtesy of Women in Manufacturing.

The Women in Manufacturing Education Foundation (WiMEF) has elected 22 members to its 2022 Board of Directors, whose terms began on April 1. 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.

First-term board member Melissa DeTamble

The board is led by chair Cara Herzog, director, diversity, equity and inclusion, people and culture, Southwire Company, Carrollton, Ga.; vice chair Shameka Lewis, site manager of safety and security, HelloFresh, Grand Prairie, Texas; secretary Steve Speich, intelligent solutions group factory manager, John Deere, Fargo, N.D.; and past chair/treasurer Mary Ellen Grom, executive director, customer experience solutions, AFL, Duncan, S.C.

First-term board member Mani Khanuja

First-term members of the 2022 WiMEF board are Kori Carlson, president, Brooklyn Tool Co., Minneapolis, Minn; Melissa DeTamble, chief human resources officer, PLZ Corp., Downers Grove, Ill.; Mani Khanuja, senior artificial intelligence and machine learning specialist, Amazon Web Services, Vancouver, B.C.; and Vanessa Li, program manager, Novelis, Kennesaw, Ga.

First-term board member Vanessa Li

“On behalf of the entire WiM organization, I am excited to welcome this new group of leaders to the WiMEF Board of Directors,” says WiM president Allison Grealis. “I look forward to working with them to continue developing and delivering effective and affordable programming that helps women advance in their industry careers.”

Additional members of the WiMEF board who are continuing their service include Rachel Camarillo, executive vice president & chief financial officer, Erin Air, Seattle, Wash; Michel Conklin, executive director, BotsIQ, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Heidi Gerhard, head of talent, BASF Corporation, Florham Park, N.J.; Sascha Harrell, IN-MaC director of education & workforce, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.; Kaitlyn Kelly, operational excellence coach, Trane Technologies, Lexington, Ky.; Danielle Lancianese, director – Tile & Stone Category, Shaw Industries Group, Inc., Dalton, Ga.; Leslie LeMair, vice president of sales & marketing, George Utz, Minneapolis, Minn.; Jenn Martin, engineering manager, Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing, North America, Georgetown, Ky.; Jo Ann Mitchell, MBA, JMitchell Consulting, Fair Lawn, N.J.; Melissa Rocha, director of global sourcing, Kymera International, Charlotte, N.C.; Catherine Ross, director of education, smartforce development, AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, McLean, Va.; Shauna Smith, global process excellence leader, SPX FLOW, Charlotte, N.C.; Carrie Uhl, chief procurement officer, GE Healthcare, Waukesha, Wis.; and Laura Wilde, senior director quality & mission assurance, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Huntsville, Ala.

Grealis thanked outgoing members of the WiMEF board for their outstanding service: Alicia Cannon, Apex Filling Systems; Sheila LaMothe, Goyer Management International; Susanne Lauda, AGCO Corp., and Gretchen Zierick, Zierick Manufacturing Corp.

The WiM Education Foundation (WiMEF) is the 501(c)(3) arm of Women in Manufacturing Association, a more than 11,000-member-strong association dedicated to supporting, promoting and inspiring women who have chosen a career in manufacturing.