My Best Friend At Work
Your immediate and virtual best friend providing advice, support and mentoring to advance your career.
By the time this picture of me was taken at a work event, I had already been asked by a colleague what my husband's favorite meal was and had been left out of countless happy hours. I had not yet had my solution to an engineering problem blatantly stolen by a man and passed off as his own nor had I been singled out in a meeting that was running a few minutes over 5PM to be asked if I needed to go get my kids.
These seemingly small incidents or actions, called microaggressions, happen daily to women engineers and it becomes a death by a thousand cuts situation that contributes to many women leaving engineering or leaving the workforce altogether. Only 20% of all engineering degrees go to women. And only 13% of engineers in the workforce are women.
I am obsessively passionate about women's empowerment in STEM because I know how hard it is to be the only female in the room and experience these microaggressions. But I also know how amazing it is for women to reach their true potential in their careers and continue advancing to positions of power and influence.
I founded My Best Friend at Work to further my reach as an advisor and a coach, a friend and supporter, a cheerleader and an unwavering advocate to show women in STEM how to be more confident, handle situations in their job like a pro, and ultimately kick 🍑 at work.
*No men were hurt in the posting of this picture. They are all amazing individuals but I didn't get permission to post their photo so I disguised.
My background
Schooling.
I am a Mechanical Engineer (BSME) from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (2003). I have my MBA (Masters in Business Administration) from Indiana University Kelley School of Business (2012).
Career.
In my 20 years in Corporate America, I have held 14 different roles in a variety of functions. Test Cell Engineer, Combustion and Performance Senior Engineer, Six Sigma Black Belt and Master Black Belt, Corporate Responsibility Leader, Business Unit Warranty Leader, Chief Engineer, Chief of Staff to the VP of Quality and Deputy Director of Global Quality .. to name a few.
Support of technical women.
My true passion is helping women, especially technical women, advance their careers through mentorship. I have mentored over 50 employees, led women’s mentoring circles, and started technical women’s initiatives when they didn’t exist within my company.